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April 10, 2008

On Book Lists

I look forward to homeschooling high school. We plan to do a Great Books program, and I'm excited about reading classics I've never read, such as Paradise Lost.

A few months ago I was rummaging through boxes in our basement, and I came across the box that holds all my college papers. Imagine my surprise when I came across a paper on Paradise Lost. A paper that I had written. A paper that meant that I had read Paradise Lost. Read it, wrote about it, and, apparently, wiped it from my memory. It left no impact whatsoever.

The other day, a somewhat distraught woman posted on the Well-Trained Mind board. Homeschooling was stressing her out; she was unhappy. She found no fun or joy in educating her children, only stress and pressure. Instead of being able to enjoy the process and the journey, she could only see what she hadn't gotten done: What books her children hadn't read, what assignments they hadn't done, what educational markers they hadn't checked off. One specific thing that caused her stress was book lists. She said that whenever she saw a book list, she felt that her children had to read all the books on the list, in order to be well-educated. She did not feel that she was well-educated, and did not want to risk that for her kids.

I can relate. Although I'm generally pretty relaxed about what we do, I've fallen prey to the stress of book lists. I'm a type-A overachiever, at least when it comes to academics (not, unfortunately, when it comes to housework). (Or is that fortunately?) However, I've been saved by two things:

1) Connor is a slow reader, when it is not a book of his choosing; and

2) I refuse to have a stressful homeschool. If he's a slow reader, I absolutely will not allow putting pressure on him to read faster to result in stress or guilt.

Long book lists are great. There are so many, many wonderful books to read that we can't read them all in 12 short years. And that's the point ... we can't read them all. We can't. And what a shame if we could! It's only high school. That's the longest we will homeschool. High school. It's not college. It's not life. We do not have to cram the collective wisdom of the ages down the throats of our children by the end of 12th grade.

Reading five Great Books, by the end of high school, is immesurably better than reading none. Reading ten is even better, and is more than I read in high school, certainly. How many are being read in your local high school?

It's got to be better to read what you can, at the speed you can, with depth and understanding. I'm certain the reason I've forgotten reading Paradise Lost is that I read it in a survey class, as part of a huge reading list. What is the point of plowing through a long list, without depth and retention? What is the benefit of having read a book you go on to forget, except to check off a box that says you did? In a homeschool, doing so does nothing but put band-aids on your insecurities. I'm not saying that we don't sometimes need those band-aids, but let's call them by their name.

So don't let the long readings lists haunt you. Don't let them be a source of stress, or guilt. Do what you can, and do it well. You will be a thousand times better off than the student who reads quickly, without depth; checks the box, and dumps it all right out of her brain.

For more on this idea, see "Multum non Multa."

Posted by lynx at April 10, 2008 8:47 PM

Comments

I've lately been pondering why exactly so many of us remember so little about what we learned in school, whether it be K-12 or college. As I homeschool my dd and learn "new" things, I think, "Why did I not learn this in school?" Or did I? Like your Paradise Lost. I also wonder just how much she will remember. Is it worth all this time, for it to simply slip right out her brainpan? Is my job to review and review and review in hopes that she will remember?

I have always worked to have a "rigorous" program. But is it just too much, too quickly? I want to give her the education I wish I had, but in all reality, at her age, I didn't wish for this. It wasn't until I left home, lived on my own, sowed some wild oats, went back to college and met a few truly great thinkers that I became interested in being more educated. And despite the horribly-lacking education I received in K-12, I've somehow managed.

I've read Climbing Parnassus (one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read) and LCC, but I couldn't let go of the idea of the "cultural literacy" that I wanted dd to have. How can she learn all she needs to learn if I waste so much time going "deep".

But the more I reflect on this, the more I'm thinking that all I really need to give her are the tools for self-education. And you're right, that doesn't come from a race through books, no matter how Great they are. I'm finally starting to come to grips with "Multum non Multa" at its core. It's a much deeper concept than it seems on the surface. And it's taken over ten years of learning about different educational philosophies for me to finally feel like maybe, just maybe, I'm starting to understand what it means to be educated. It's not a list of books, or a scope and sequence. It's not a set of information that all good Americans should know. It's knowing how to use the tools you choose.

Posted by: genie at April 11, 2008 12:19 AM

Very well said. I had similar thoughts when I read that thread last week. It was one of those threads that I couldn't even make myself post to. I enjoy homeschooling my kids and I refuse to let fear destroy this.

btw - I read Paradise Lost with my son this year. It was one of the more difficult books we read. It is one of those that should be read slowly and deeply.


Posted by: Karen at April 11, 2008 7:50 PM

I haven't kept up with your blog for so long. It's nice to catch up. I agree in the "less can be more so long as it is done right" approach. Of course, if anyone can do it "right" it will be you. I still crack up every time I think of the "Etu Brutus/seizure" scene played out at your house with your boys:) Something "cool" is happening in your school!

With all that said, I am voraciously reading all the classics I can, on my own with a book club. I'm also doing the TJEd 5 Pillar program and LEMI training. I can't wait for Masterpiece Theatre to come on each Sunday evening (ask me that 15 years ago...I would not have taken the time nor appreciated the works).

With age comes a new maturity and understanding of the lessons within - even when we block them out:) I realize that what I'm gaining now, could hardly, if ever, be gained by a child or teen - no matter how many times a classic is read and discussed. People need a fair amount of life experiences before digging into and fully understanding many classics. Yes, it is so much better to linger over a few.

While I wish my children could understand as I do now, I am excited to realize that someday (sooner than I, I hope), my children WILL be able to (hopefully) appreciate the classics as I do now. The greatest teaching gift I have now is, that, the more I read, the more knowledge I am able to impart to my children in small, meaningful lessons.

A simple example: DD (10 yo) is really into the movies High School Musical, Grease, and Hairspray. As we talk about the movies, we've been able to move beyond fashions, attitudes, catch phrases and songs to so many "deeper" concepts: figuring out how the plots are similar to stories from Shakespeare and with each other; talking about high school cliques vs. being a part of a leadership and moving across social lines; ethics; and so much more. I love our discussions! I can see when an AHA! moment happens as we talk.

While I view her current favorite movies as "light" I understand now, that in time (teen years) she will truly be able to appreciate a classic (i.e. watching or reading Jane Austen) - and be deeply moved by the images and words. She is not a syntopical reader yet - but someday will be. It all takes time. And there really isn't a need to rush. Actually, we can't rush the process - we can only help it unfold.

One more DD "thing": while DD was going through a particularly rough trial with a friend teasing her about homeschooling, I pulled out "Little Women" and read about Amy's trial with her peers, in school. I also read a chapter on burdens from the book with her. I didn't need to add the book as an in-depth study to our curriculum "must-do's". Nor did I need to read the whole book to her - but because of my personal reading, I was prepared and armed (and guided) to read only those two sections with her. Someday, possibly on her own, she will read and grow to love the humble March family as I do now. (I have to add, excitedly, that I did see her thumbing through the book on her own, today...). The key for me, is to keep on reading - and when it is necessary, pull out what is needed from that reading, at the right moments. Oh, and I do read aloud every little instance I find, of characters learning or using Latin:)

*************
Two years ago, I went back and read "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn". Between pages 83 and 85, the wisdom passed from mother to child became the base for our own LCC/homeschool style:

~Read a bit of Shakespeare each day (use it for acting out scenes, parsing sentences, learning poetry, history, science, etc.)

~Choose and read each day, from "your" "national book" (e.g. the Bible, US documents, stories of the human odyssey, Greek/Roman history, etc.). Basically, this is THE book you would use to teach from if you were stranded on an island with one source. (Admittedly, we use a variety of the choices above, as we are not on an island...and when we are able, we read in Latin).

~Allow fantasy during the early years so children have a "place" to go back to during trials (Santa Clause, fables and fairy tales, Harry Potter books, etc.)

~Write and draw in a personal journal as you explore many different styles of expression

~Learn to manage money and resources (math, practical arts)

~Partake in, and enjoy music

This is a simple but effective formula. As we read (or re-read) the classics, it is easy to see the above formula in action time and time again in the lives and homes of people past. It is also clear to see that this formula works when the whole family is doing these activities together, minus many of the interruptions of modern life.

Keep up the blogging! I love what I learn here!

Posted by: Concierge at April 15, 2008 12:39 AM