The last twelve years of homeschooling have given me the fantastic opportunity to explore a wide range of educational methodologies and philosophies. From Waldorf to Montessori, Classical to Charlotte Mason, un-schooling to unit studies, there are so many good ones out there.
What works best depends on so many factors, including whether you are homeschooling or classroom teaching, the personality and preferences of the students and the teacher, the ages of the children, the culture in which they are raised, and many more.
My methodologies and philosophies have varied during different seasons of life.
Some looked better on Pinterest than they did in real life! And some that I thought were a little out-of-my-comfort-zone proved to be our very favorites.
If I were to sum up my educational philosophy today, it would be a mash-up of Classical Education, Charlotte Mason Education, and Thomas Jefferson Leadership Education.
A combination of the best aspects of each of these approaches has the potential to bring a high-quality, rich, and rigorous education to the modern middle-schooler living in an iPod-listening, X-box playing, media-saturated culture.
Below, you’ll find a list of the qualities I find most helpful from these three educational philosophies, as well as links for more in-depth articles that you may enjoyl:
Classical Education (for more click herehttps://welltrainedmind.com/a/classical-education/)
- Mentally rigorous—virtue is developed through rigor.
- Sets a high academic bar, students rise to the challenge.
- Teaches through the three developmental phases of the Trivium: Grammar (the what), Logic (the why) and Rhetoric (the application and communication)
- Is “language focused”, not image focused. (Encourages students to process information and ideas with written and spoken words rather than images or screens. This forces the brain to work harder.)
- Knowledge between the disciplines is Interrelated.
- Uses a systematic approach—3 & 4 year cycles of history and science.
- Uses memory work, often in the form of song or rhyme, to store information.
A Thomas Jefferson Leadership Education: (for more, click here: http://simplehomeschool.net/the-7-keys-of-great-teaching-in-leadership-education/)
- Seeks a “Leadership Education” rather than “Conveyor Belt” education—does not simply push students through a series of benchmarks, but prepares them with the Big Ideas and Big Stories, so they can lead and think.
- Emphasizes classic literature and the great stories.
- Teaches through 3 developmental stages similar to Classical Model, but starting formal instruction a bit later.
- Uses a mentorship model rather than instructor model, to inspire students.
- Values quality over conformity
Charlotte Mason Education (for more, click here: http://simplehomeschool.net/7-characteristics-of-a-charlotte-mason-education/)
- Emphasizes “Living Books”—quality literature rather than dumbed-down texts.
- “Language Focused” rather than screen and image focused.
- Education is for the sake of the joy of being educated.
- Values Nature Study.
- Develops good mental “habits” for learning.
There is much overlap in these philosophies, and they balance one another well.
Another factor to consider when adopting a philosophy is the reality that few middle school students today have yet had a truly Classical, Thomas Jefferson, or Charlotte Mason education, especially if they have been in a traditional public school. And, our students today are often saturated in a media-heavy, image-filled culture.
A transition time is to be expected.
Therefore, at the heart of a good educational philosophy is the ability of the teacher to hold her ideals, and then to wisely adapt them for the individual student, classroom and culture in which they are serving.
Inflexibility and philosophical dogma rarely serve in real life…rather, the philosophy is to serve the student and the teacher, not the other way around.
The educational philosophy is simply the framework upon which a teacher builds.
The Bible and the Gospel are the foundation.
And upon that foundation, many philosophical frameworks may be firmly attached and a fine education may be built.
My personal preference is for a Classical-Thomas-Jefferson-Charlotte Mason-esque framework, built upon the foundation of God’s Word, with plenty of grace, wisdom and flexibility.
Warmly,
Shawna
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