Where the World Has Been & Where We Are Going
As Athena and I begin to establish an educational rhythm this summer, I find this schooling cycle evolving on its own in a very organic process. Classical home education is becoming extremely popular. A recent thread on a parenting discussion board revealed a higher number of classically rooted homeschooling families than I would have anticipated. As such, there now exist more and more specializations within the broader philosophy. A method encouraging the modeling of self-education by the parent and a considerable focus on “leadership education,” Thomas Jefferson Education, has developed a good sized following. I actually have every intention of getting my hands on the DeMille’s work some time soon, as my limited knowledge leads me to believe this might be a great path to take during the middle and high school years for us. Some families are exploring a classical method that focuses primarily on Latin and allows all other studies to branch out from there, aptly refered to as The Latin Centered Curriculum. Again, it is an intriguing approach, although I must admit this one does not spark my interest as much as TJEd. Over the past month, I find us developing a more particular, somewhat specialized approach also. We seem to be working from a History Centered Curriculum these days. All of our other studies seem to be flowing out of our history work. This seems to be unfolding through a very natural and logical process. As certain topics arise in our history work, they weave a path into further science exploration. They produce stacks and stacks of fiction and non-fiction reading material. They give way to a bottomless font of narration and copywork sources. They produce facinating works of art. And they even seem to ground our math lessons. Discuss a word problem with puppies and lollipops and Athena seems totally disinterested. Add and subtract trilobites, pikaias and mammoths and now we are talking.
In a way, this makes the utmost sense. History is THE story. It is everything. How we came to even have the concepts of mathematics or the discoveries of science are deeply rooted in the story of history. As history unfolds and humankind discovers and explores our world, so to does my child. History leads her where she wants to go and seems to give her the framework upon which to hang the treasures of her passion for knowledge. So for now, we will continue with our recent successes and pursue our history studies as the cornerstone of our educational program. History-Centered Curriculum, here we go!
