The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home, Revised and Updated Edition by Susan Wise Bauer, Jessie Wise Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home, Revised and Updated Edition
Book Review: Invaluable resource!
Summary: 5 Stars
When I began seriously considering homeschooling my daughter, someone recommended this book as one of the first to get. I needed any help I could find, so I ordered it. What I got was an amazingly readable guide to an educational method I've always liked but didn't know by name. So many things in this book just clicked with me, especially the strong emphasis on reading real literature and the novel idea to teach history in chronological order. Imagine that! I've never been a history lover and this is a great chance to at least let my child enjoy it.
Even if you end up not agreeing with everything in the book, or you decide the strict classical education is not for you - this book is still worth every cent! There is an amazing wealth of resources for every subject and encouraging bits of wisdom within - for everyone from unschoolers to to public school parents.
Book Review: Easy to use but lacks a Christian distinctive....
Summary: 3 Stars
Put together well but lacking in a ChristianWorld View, August 31, 2004
I appreciated the way this book was put together-easy to gather basic facts, reading suggestions, etc. My beef would not be with the way the book is laid out. Anyone could pick the book up, follow the author's advice and have some success in home schooling, at least according to an acievement test. :|
My concern with this book would be the same concernn for much of what I see in the classical movement that follows a greek model for education. As a Christian home educator, my goal is not to begin with the knowledge of man (the Greek mind-set) but with the knowledge of God (the Hebrew mind-set). I am interested in more than transference of knowledge, I want my children to understand the holiness of God. I am not interested in educating only to my child's aptitudes & talents, I am responsible for educating their whole person. In the end, I am accountable before God not for how well they "know thyself" but for how well they know God & submit to the authority of His Word.
I do think that the classical model is superior if it follows a Hebrew model. This would be achieved if you sifted the ideas of this book through Scripture and taught children how to reason and relate from the Word of God. Of course, this book is not designed to do that & will not.
If you are interested in the classical method, I would suggest in place of this book the following:
1. Teaching the Trivium by Harvey & Laurie Bluedorn
2. The Noah Plan Self Directed Study in the Principle Approach from Foundation for American Christian Education.
Either of those works will help you gain the mind of Christ in your education philosophy and help you develop a methodology that is in line with both the 1.classical "timing" of subjects and 2. the Scripture's commands to take every thought captive.
Finally, while the book is put together in an easy to use manner, I would not necessarily desire any of their suggestions or follow their model. I would rather spend my money on one of the books I listed above.
(I previously reviewed this under my fedwife id)
Book Review: Super reference for all moms & dads
Summary: 5 Stars
This book begins by reminding the reader that every involved parent is a home schooler in some way. If you are checking your child's homework, then you are doing some home schooling. At the beginning there is also a quote from language teacher Ruth Beechick, "Our society is so obsessed with creativity that people want children to be creative before they have any knowledge or skill to be creative with." If you agree with this, then this book is for you.
I knew it was for my family because here in Japan I am responsible for my three American kids' education of "Western Civilization," whether or not this term is out of fashion. The Japanese school system can take care of its side, with which I have no problem - especially in math and science. But if you need a tool to check up on what is going on with your kids' classical education, or you live on a deserted island (with Internet so you can order the texts it requests), then this is a sort of bible.
The book sets itself up according to age. Part I, the Grammar Stage, is from birth to 4th grade. It gives a (proven) Montessorian view of the "Parrot Years" where a child's brain cells are working a billion times more than an adult's. Part II is called The Logic Stage for Fifth to Eighth Grade and includes information on how to deal with the argumentative child. Part III is called The Rhetoric Stage and is for Ninth to Twelfth Grade.
The book is new, but is contents are "Classical." What is surprising about the contents to many of us is how out-of-date they seem to have become, yet, are very so important. Example: Part I, Chapter 8: "Dead Languages for Live Kids: Latin". It explains why Latin works for kids and even includes a bit of exasperation on why it is no longer in the curriculum.
Everything is here, from the Maths to the Sciences, Philosophy, the three Rs, and Religion. (The authors recognize the difficulty public schools have on the topic of religion.) Again, everything is here: Lists of books to read and be read, hours of the week that should be spent on each subject at each age, and the reasons why these subjects should be introduced regardless of current curriculums. It's not only for home schoolers but also for those parents who would like to augment. At the same time, many of the children raised on this book also play hockey, are captains of their teams, have plenty of friends, and unfortunately, go Ivy. (They could do better than that!)
Book Review: Not for my ADD/ ADHD kids ...
Summary: 3 Stars
First of all, this is a very comprehensive curriculum plan and I do not wish to repeat the gleaming reviews of others. I am here to question whether or not this curriculum plan will work for children with ADD/ ADHD. I have given it my best shot for two years now and have come to the conclusion that it is NOT for our family, no matter how strongly I would like for it to work. It may work for children with ADD/ ADHD but it probably is not the BEST plan, and I believe this approach to learning is best effective with certain personality types and learners. If you have a child who must learn through experience (hands-on activities), cannot sit still, is easily distracted, struggles with fine motor skills (handwriting), or has any behavior problems associated with ADHD, etc... it will wear you out trying to follow the program in this book! My ADHD / ADD children did learn to read very early using Phonics Pathways (which was recommended in the old edition of this book). They now are voracious readers. They love listening to The Story of the World audio CD (the book was a flop for us)... and I gained valuable information about homeschooling in general from this book. There are some great resources in general inside the cover... but there are other books that list useful resources as well. I wish I could recommend the best curriculum book/ plan to use for chidren with ADHD, but I am now searching for such a book. If I had a second chance, I would not have tried to follow this curriculum for 2 years... I should have found somehting better sooner.Book Review: By far the best educational book on how to educate your child
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a GREAT book. They have a great website too. Good for homeschoolers and traditional schoolers alike.