An Overview on Classical Home Schooling

If you think about it, just about everything has a classical version. Movies, music, cities, these are just some of the aspects in life that have classical versions, deeply rooted in the foundations of such industries. Home schooling, not surprisingly has this as well. Yes, classical home schooling does exist. And in today's society where more and more parents are considering home schooling their own children, classical home schooling remains quite the crowd favorite.

Most of the time, the classical versions of certain things in life, you would find are simpler. These classical versions would even make more sense than the modern ones. Classical home schooling remains a crowd favorite because of this as well. The methods being used here may be a bit old, when you compare them to their modern counterparts. But no matter how old these methods are, you will surely find that when incorporated, classical home schooling does make more sense than most of the modern methods used today.

To understand the logic behind classical home schooling, it is imperative to define this thoroughly first. Adjustment is the operative word here. The way you would discuss lessons to a 5-year old kid would not be the same when you have a discussion with a 16-year old. The teaching style, as well as the learning style, would inevitably change along with the development of the student's cognitive skills. Just by reviewing this definition, you will surely say to yourself that classical home schooling does make a lot of sense.

There are three styles, or should we say stages, all throughout the student's learning path. These are the Trivium, the Analytical, and the Abstract.

The Trivium style is incorporated when the student is still in his grade school years. During this stage, concrete thinking skills should be your primary focus. Your child should be taught to memorize concrete facts and concepts on certain subjects, like History, Science, and the like.

The Analytical process takes place during middle school. During this stage, critical thinking and skills on comprehension should be encouraged and developed. You should encourage your child to further process the lessons you have taught over the years, so that he can form opinions and perspectives on these lessons and concepts.

The last stage, which is Abstract, takes place during high school. This stage sees your child starting to think for himself, incorporating his own thoughts, beliefs, and perspectives into the lessons he has learned. This last stage in classical home schooling is very important because this is when the formative years take place. This is when your child would start to realize his self-concept.