The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had in Reading Classics, Chronologically Through the Ages

Dec 28, 2014 grllopez ~ with freedom and books rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, homeschool, education

Inspired me to start reading the classics.

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Sep 05, 2017 Sorento62 rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: prefer-hard-copy, to-read-in-2017-challenge, guidance, owned

As much as I had anticipated reading The Well-Educated Mind, I have to admit I'm a bit bored and disappointed.

I started off taking a lot of notes but ended up skimming the last half of the book.

Edit for full disclosure: I have to admit I found enough of value in the book that I bought my own copy, and I don't buy very many books (mostly just borrow them from the library).

The first several chapters are cogent -- they offer me instructions for how I can systematically further my education by read As much as I had anticipated reading The Well-Educated Mind, I have to admit I'm a bit bored and disappointed.

I started off taking a lot of notes but ended up skimming the last half of the book.

Edit for full disclosure: I have to admit I found enough of value in the book that I bought my own copy, and I don't buy very many books (mostly just borrow them from the library).

The first several chapters are cogent -- they offer me instructions for how I can systematically further my education by reading. And the intro to the list of novels has some intriguing insights into analysis of prose fiction. For example,
1. Is the novel a fable or is it a chronicle? Generally, novels can be categorized as one or the other, either as an instructive parallel to reality or as a step by step description of what happened.
2. What does the main character want, both on the surface and more deeply? What is standing in the way of that desire? What strategy does the character employ to overcome the obstacle? Interesting to apply these questions to my own life as well...

spoiler for Uncle Tom's Cabin below
But the repetitive step by step methods put forth in the book for reading and analyzing different genres of literature, history, etc. quickly became tiresome. And while reading Wise Bauer's synopses of novels I have already read, I lost some respect for her due to a lack of nuance and also some inaccuracy in the facts of the story. In the summary of Uncle Tom's Cabin, for example, there is the sentence, "For this misguided identification with the aims of white people Tom eventually pays with his life." I think the character, Uncle Tom, would not agree, even in retrospect, that he was misguided in his decision, allowing himself to be sold down the river, to help preserve the relatively tranquil life circumstances of others on the Shelby homestead (both white and black), even though he did eventually lose his life. Jesus Christ was his hero, his model, and Tom did not shrink from sacrificing himself for the good of others. The Uncle Tom's Cabin synopsis also merges the character Arthur Shelby and his son George Shelby into one -- which is just sloppy.

As the author states in the history section, she has simplified the explanations in this book so that they are appropriate for a beginning student in classical self education. "Think of yourself as a beginning history reader. Beginning readers need simplicity before they progress to complexity. When you first teach a child her letter sounds, you tell her that "a" makes the sound heard in "cat". The truth is that "a" makes many other sounds as well, but if you tell the beginning reader all of the possible "a" sounds at the same time, she might give up in sheer confusion..."

Ultimately the advice given in this book is too plodding and methodical to hold my interest. But I do appreciate the concepts and some little gems of information and ideas gleaned from the book. I'm sure I will employ some of Susan Wise Bauer's suggested techniques, but I will not become a devotee.

I do aspire to writing more critical analysis of at least some of what I read, so at least there's that. ...more

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May 12, 2015 Sarah rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: education

Great reference book and complement to the book, How To Read A Book by Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Dren. Section one guides the reader on a technique for reading great works well, and section two provides wonderful reading plans. This is one to own on your shelf as a reference tool.

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Dec 26, 2017 Miranda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: well-educated-mind

I found this book to be rather inspiring - granted, I am a huge fan of Ms. Bauer. The book list alone is worth the price I paid. It's definitely a life reading list as I can't imagine someone reading all of these books in a few short years unless they were really dedicated. I also enjoyed the short history of each genre, plus the "discussion" questions to ask yourself after reading each book. Well worth the read! ...more

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