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The Core: Teaching Your Child the Foundations of Classical Education
In the past, correct spelling, the multiplication tables, the names of the state capitals and the American presidents were basics that all children were taught in school. Today, many children graduate without this essential knowledge. Most curricula today follow a haphazard sampling of topics with a focus on political correctness instead of teaching students how to s
...morePaperback, 256 pages
Published
June 8th 2010
by Palgrave Macmillan
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Once you start reading this, it becomes clear that the intent of this book is to introduce the ideas of a "classical" education to parents considering home schooling for their children. The book is clearly written, moves along well, and does provide some distinct ideas for what to do if home schooling is chosen. I have little doubt that, if followed through, this book can contribute to a successful home schooling experience. The author, who is an active blogger on these topics, has ...more
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The Core, by Leigh Bortins, is a book about how to give your child a classical education. It is written for the elementary aged school child, primarily with home-educators in mind, although someone whose children were in public school would probably benefit from it too.
It is a well written, and fairly easy to read manual. A guide to an overall view of classical homeschooling. It is not really a step by step handbook as the Well Trained Mind or the Latin Centered Curriculum are, this one...more
It is a well written, and fairly easy to read manual. A guide to an overall view of classical homeschooling. It is not really a step by step handbook as the Well Trained Mind or the Latin Centered Curriculum are, this one...more
If you are considering homeschooling with the classical method/trivium and are persuaded by arguments appealing to your tendency to brag and feel smug and snidely superior, this book might be helpful to you. Otherwise, don't waste your time, there are other books out there which cover far more practical ground without the snotty tone. Also, dear author, so your child can identify Millard Fillmore on sight? Big deal. There's a lot more to a comprehensive education than the rote memorization of no...more
I loved the chapter on Geography. I want to do more actual drawing of maps rather than just coloring them in. The rest of this book sort of bugged me because there is so much emphasis on memorization. Memorizing facts hasn't been, at least at my house, the "fun" or "exciting" experience that she makes it out to be in the book. My kids learn better by being immersed in a subject and reading and reading about that subject rather than just sitting to memorize a bunch of facts or...more
A few useful quotes and references, i.e., notes to self:
Rhetoric: formalized by Aristotle - the practice of specific skills in order to be the most persuasive in expressing truth, goodness and beauty.
p. 85: knowledge and power are inadequate; need wisdom and virtue
p. 92: The Writing Road to Reading (book)
The Story of the World - Susan Wise Bauer
The Lost Tools of Learning - Dorothy Sayers
p. 179: "We perish from want of wonder, not from want of won...more
Rhetoric: formalized by Aristotle - the practice of specific skills in order to be the most persuasive in expressing truth, goodness and beauty.
p. 85: knowledge and power are inadequate; need wisdom and virtue
p. 92: The Writing Road to Reading (book)
The Story of the World - Susan Wise Bauer
The Lost Tools of Learning - Dorothy Sayers
p. 179: "We perish from want of wonder, not from want of won...more
I really enjoyed this book and read it rather quickly even though there is a lot of information.
I am very intrigued with homeschooling, especially with the Classical Method. I wish this would have been an option for me when I was growing up.
This is another great reference book for those wanting to explore the Classical Method of homeschooling. I highly recommend it along with Susan Wise Bower's The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home.
I am very intrigued with homeschooling, especially with the Classical Method. I wish this would have been an option for me when I was growing up.
This is another great reference book for those wanting to explore the Classical Method of homeschooling. I highly recommend it along with Susan Wise Bower's The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home.
Debra
is currently reading it
I love the transparency in which Leigh gives us a glimpse into her thinking and humility as she strives to educate the next generation. I love this practical guide to educating your child at home with the Classical Conversations curriculum. I am so inspired to simplify and focus on what will bring fruit in the minds of my children as I have the challenge of giving them a solid foundation.
This book was great and I'm so grateful that Dani lent it to me. I'm thinking about buying two of the curriculum she talks about in this book. She also uses Bauer Wise but there are two other books she references too as well. They're in my cart and we'll see.... I think this book would be read with better eyes in a couple years. I feel our kids are a little young for some of her chapters, but it gave me a lot to think about.
Read for further research into the classical model. Useful, and I didn't really notice the haughty tone noted by other reviewers. There were some great suggestions and ideas incorporated throughout. A fine overview of the model that takes a lot less time to read than does "The Well-Trained Mind"! (But you really should read WTM, too...)
I enjoyed Susan Bauer's The Well-Trained Mind but found Bortins to be preachy and not terribly compelling. The part of her model that is compelling (and marketable) are the communities that meet weekly. Too much focus on memorization out of context for me and my kiddo.
I agree that maybe we should find a happy medium when it comes to educating our children and teach both old and new techniques. My problem with this particular text is I think the author has set out to belittle those of us who elect to use the public education institutes.
What a really great book! This is the book to read if you want to know what was missing in your own education and what you can add to your childrens' education.
Loved this book! Why? It makes the big picture easier to see. I would recommend this book to anyone in the field of education or parenting.
This is a good, practical introduction to why educate your children in your home, using the classical model. Much of the material will be repetitive for those that have read similar books, but the strengths in this book are that it is short, yet gives good examples of the expectations for each stage of the trivium, as well as material to cover.
Bortins is good at encouraging parents that they can give their kids a great education using the classical model, and also creative in how to a...more
Bortins is good at encouraging parents that they can give their kids a great education using the classical model, and also creative in how to a...more
I have read parts of this book, and will probably revisit it. The chapter on geography was very interesting.
Really good primer especially for homeschool classical educators. Also a great book to give to new people.
Provides a helpful guide for homeschooling children using a classical education model.
A great introduction to the world of classical education for your children.
Very practical handbook on doing classical education at home.
This book has me all fired up about educating my children. I'm glad I read it before my oldest got any older. Even if we don't homeschool, I will look at my role as a parent differently because of reading this book. In fact, I started using the ideas in the book to teach my kids before I even finished reading it.
Marsha
marked it as to-read
Sarah Miller
Great book about educating our children.
I clearly don't agree with her parenting style (that she only hinted at) but I have fallen in love with Classical Education and have found what feels right for my family!
I highly recommend this book for classical homeschoolers. It helped me to feel confident in my decision to classically train my children and provided me a strengthen education of "why". If you like The Well-Trained Mind, this would be a good read for you. The author does use a Christian approach, I do not, but still gained much from this book.
Interesting perspective and ideas. Another good reference source. I loved the author's tone of excitement toward acquiring new knowledge, for herself and her family. Honestly, it inspired me more toward better educating myself than my kids. And I'm okay with progress.
So far, so good. Nothing too great but a nice overview and a good reminder of a few things. I am not fond of educators talking about how they learn in pajamas and gathered in their king-sized bed. Fine, if you like that kind of thing
I'm learning I wish I'd had a Classical education so I could better explain what this book is about and why the American educational system desperately needs the skills outlined therein.
Great book so far!
Crissy
marked it as to-read
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