Classics...Not Textbooks

The Thomas Jefferson Educational philosophy, like many other educational philosophies (including Charlotte Mason, Whole-Hearted Education for example), focuses on having children read and study classic literature (in all subjects) in place of textbooks, and be exposed to all sorts of other classic works of music, art, etc. 

Why? In the words of Oliver and Rachel DeMille (founders of The Thomas Jefferson Education) (taken from their book cited below, bold added):

"All that separates us from the wisdom available from the past that will solve the problems of today is our choice to engage ourselves in significant study from the best minds and records society has to offer. These important classics are not only books but elevating works and individuals from every field, land and walk of life. Our minds will be expanded to comprehend the greatest ideas throughout the history of mankind as we study the lives and think the thoughts of leaders of the past and present. As we incorporate into our lives timeless principles that bring success, we will find ourselves living with increased capacity and impact. We will not only come Face-to-Face with Greatness, we will become great ourselves."

Oliver & Rachel DeMille in Leadership Education: The Phases of Learning

"Classics, not Textbooks" 
...is the First Key in the Thomas Jefferson Education's "Seven Keys of Great Teaching." Why classics?

Textbooks are usually paraphrased summaries of great works. Classic themselves are works worth reading over and over again because a person learns more each time, and, as stated in this quote, have the ability to expand minds, increase our capacity and impact, and have the potential to lead us to becoming great ourselves. 

Sally Clarkson, author of Educating the Whole-Hearted Child, and another huge proponet of exposing young children to classics, said "If you do nothing else in your homeschool, read to your children!" (Here is an article she wrote about this: http://www.itakejoy.com/how-to-read-aloud-to-your-children/)

Here is one homeschooling mom's experience of never reading or enjoying the classics, to understanding the value in them and incorporating them into her family homeschool: http://simplehomeschool.net/classical/

And finally, my personal experience with classics thus far has been this: I don't know how I went 32 years without ever reading Victor Hugo's Les Miserables! 

From the urgings of my mentors, the DeMilles (just from what I have been reading so far- I don't know them personally!), and all that I have been reading about the importance of classics, I have felt a huge desire to delve into this world that I have largely ignored my whole life. In between my reading about homeschool (Leadership Education: Phases of Learning, by the DeMilles) & motherhood (Motherhood Realized, by Power of Moms), I have found a few free moments  (with a 4 and 1 year old, the bathroom is really the only place...) to finish my own education. I picked up Les Miserables on a family trip as we passed through Northampton, MA, and I knew it would be a great book to start (I grew up with the musical and have always been moved by the story). My goal is to read as many classics as I can! 

So far I have been able to share what I'm reading about with my family (my 4 year old continues to ask about what I read lately, and my 1 year old repeats over and over again "Jean Veljean"). Just in the first few chapters there have been many lesson that even a 4 year old could understand and discuss with me. Obviously, I have to explain the events in an age appropriate way, but I have been amazed at what even he can get from this book. Man, it's really true. Classics are powerful!

As for my kids, we have been doing a lot of Dr. Seuss, as well as Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories (a big hit with my 4 year old, even though a lot of the vocabulary goes over his head), Rober Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses (we read a poem or two while eating), and most importantly, the Bible and Book of Mormon stories (we read the children's picture versions as well as the actual verses from the scriptures). 

Since my kids are still so young, I take advantage of meal times to do the following: daily scripture stories, classic poems, memorizing a monthly scripture, and discussing a monthly value (which I get from the wonderful program at: valuesparenting.com). (Additionally, throughout the day and especially before bed, we will read library books and other stories.) The consistency of doing these things during meal time has resulted in having these classics on our minds throughout the day and bringing them into our conversations, which, I believe is the purpose and intention of the classic authors- to have us discuss them and change our very natures by what we learn.

At the Richmond HEAV Homeschool Convention last month, I went to a workshop on "Designing Your Own Lit Program" by Adam Andrews. "Intriguing!" I thought. It was an awesome workshop, which I will go into more detail in another post. But the essence was that by identifying the main story elements (especially the conflict, climax, and resolution) of whatever you are reading (including children's books), you can gain insight into what the author is trying to say. And that, right there, is the most important thing you can learn from the book, and should provide ample material for discussion. Mark Twain didn't write Huck Finn so that we would learn new vocab words or remember meaningless details unrelated to the main message (this is what public school worksheets are geared towards- vocab, fill in the blank, etc). No, he wanted us to take a look at racial issues, to see that something is wrong with the way our society is working. This should inspire deep conversations. Understanding WHY a book is written is what we should be looking for. 

Andrews recommends the following for a good lit program: 1- Read a classic, 2- Discuss the story elements and discover what the author is trying to say, 3- Discuss further and find the personal application. 4- Read another classic and repeat. That's it. Hence, we are trying to fill our home with classics, have discussions about what the authors are trying to tell us, and become better people through it all.

I hope this has inspired some of you to start reading a classic yourself that you can even share with your family, as well as start reading more classics with your children and discussing themes and lessons learned throughout the day. If you haven't read too many classics in your life, you may feel, as I did, "I can't believe I haven't read this until now!" and your life will never be the same again.

Happy reading!