Selling Ourselves Short 2

Woman readingImage by National Media Museum via Flickr

Susan Wise Bauer has written a wonderful article, "Stop Cleaning the Kitchen and Read a Book"; she encourages moms reading each day to learn more. This is what this blog is about. I am thankful that two years ago Marcia Sommerville challenged me (and all Tapestry of Grace moms) to read the Rhetoric (high school) level literature in her curriculum whether my children were at that level or not. I was fairly well read, but I still had holes and I've found that classics are better after 40 than at 16.

But in the last two years I've expanded Sommerville's definition and also spent time reading other topics that relate to what my children are studying. It's been an amazing experience.

Bauer's article includes some points most home schoolers would agree with, "As home schoolers, we rely too much on experts; this is true not just for home schoolers, but for the American culture at large." Almost all home schoolers I know would be quick to say that standard schooling is incorrect in it's reliance on experts to teach children. But many home schoolers rely on various insider experts in the homeschool world.

Prior to my switch to Tapestry of Grace I used a curriculum that included a guide to the series of books it used to teach American history. Over the years I had heard raves about this guide. I even bought a copy when I switched to Tapestry just in case. So when I finished reading my second books on the Civil War, I turned to that section of the guide. Only to be dumbfounded by the numerous factual errors and poor reasoning of the writer.

Bauer is clear in her article that it is exactly this that moms need to do:

In order to embark on the project of classical education— not just for our children, but also for ourselves—we have to rediscover a much older way of thinking.

In order to get educated, we do not have to go to graduate school. We have to read, take notes on what we read, and discuss ideas with our friends.

The first step in classical self-education is to turn away from the classroom and turn towards reading.

Interestingly for Bauer, she is often seen as an expert on history and literature and has written books for parents on history. But what she encourages is taking the next step to leave her behind and face the open road of learning on your own.

Not every mom will study the same topics, but as part of a network of moms they can become more knowledgeable than the experts they now rely on. Topics are often interrelated. My military history of the Civil War pointed forward to the failures of WWI generals to recognize the same facts of battle that the Civil War generals had already faced and learned.


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