monk17
- Reviewed on Wednesday, August 08, 2007
- Grades Used: k-3
- Dates used: 2005-2007
“The Well Trained Mind, A Guide to a Classical Education at Home”
by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise
For the parent thinking of educating your child at home I strongly recommend this book. Even if you are not going to embark on a classical education this book is a wealth of information on different curriculums and methods in educating. Before deciding how to educate my child I read about Summerfield, Montessori, Waldorf, un-schooling, unit studies and a few others. I also investigated our local public and private schools before we made our decision to homeschool. I have nothing against any of the above mentioned methods and certainly they have there merits if implemented correctly. But we felt the classical education model would give our child the most options in her life.
The book lays out the trivium and takes no credit for invention and design. Basically three phases of learning used for the last couple of centuries with great success. It’s flexible enough to adapt to different strengths in children but doesn’t let skills atrophy in areas where the child isn’t particularly strong.
The book evaluates different curriculum available on the market that fits into the classical method. It also talks about some of the products that the authors sell but not to the detriment of other curriculum. I have looked at the original and the revised and have failed to find any dropped products. Everyone I’ve spoken to thought this was an extremely valuable resource in evaluating homeschool products.
The authors are obviously from a Christian background, but don’t push one brand of Christianity over another. I don’t think the book evangelizes and I don’t know what to would recommend in its steed if that’s an issue to you. There is a book by Sister Miriam Joseph, “The Trivium, The liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric”, that is, in my humble opinion written in a more secular style. However, not much practical advice is in the book for the homeschooler. I’m sure there are other books on the Trivium as well.
The authors recommend a great deal of Christian homeschool material particularly in the early grade language arts. After evaluating a lot of Language Arts programs I tend to agree with them, just not a lot of solid secular stuff out there. In fairness I haven’t evaluated the last third of the book in detail yet as I have all I can handle right now! Once again I would recommend this book for all that homeschool.
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sandraDumas
- Reviewed on Monday, October 02, 2006
- Grades Used: K-1
- Dates used: current
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Kimberly
- Reviewed on Monday, April 25, 2005
- Grades Used: any (3rd and preschool)
- Dates used: Constantly!
This is my Homeschool BIBLE. I have home schooled for 1 yr and peers think of me as an expert and a resource.
I must admit The Well Trained Mind taught me everything I know. It gave me detailed info and answered all my fears, not just questions. I think you can still create your own plan but this is such a thorough book that you'll feel well informed when you venture into other sites, groups, options. I cant stress the importance of this book. It is a MUST!!
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Amy Jo Waugh
- Reviewed on Thursday, March 17, 2005
- Grades Used: All
- Dates used: Ongoing
This book is an EXCELLENT resource for planning a classical education program for a child of any age. Both newcomers to classical thinking and loyal fans of the Trivium will find information to assist on their journey. Don't let the size of the volume intimidate you, large sections are devoted to each of the three classical stages of learning and many pages are consumed with extensive and very helpful resource lists. That being said, I think that it is important to note that although Mrs. Wise Bauer has a degree in theology this book, like her popular Story of the World series, is unabashedly secular. Religious studies are banished to a small section of the book, almost as an afterthought.
Her secular worldview likely has more of a detrimental impact in her Story of the World books where you have to supplement extensively to include Biblical teachings and what religious information is provided, you must confirm with a more authoritative source to avoid misinformation.
Additionally, the FIRST edition (if you can find it) of The Well-Trained Mind is preferable in my opinion since the biggest change in the revised edition is replacing many of the main resources for curriculum with her own line of products. A self-serving calculation, to be sure, that diminishes the value of the revision (at least in the area of resources) if not in the overall feel of the volume due to its arrogance.
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