Homeschool moms collect practical tips and hacks by the dozen, endlessly browsing blogs and YouTube.
We seek out new systems, new schedules, new curriculum ideas, new tricks for getting more done or making school run more smoothly.
Reality check: practical tips without principles do more harm than good in your homeschool.
Every method or practical technique grows out of assumptions. If you simply grab practical tips that sound good without examining the principles underneath them, you will feel scattered, inconsistent, and unsure. You might adopt something that does not fit your convictions and be left in a state worst than the first.
Without a doubt, classical education principles matter. They are the foundation upon which we build our technique. We all have foundational assumptions and we function from them, especially when it comes to education.
The first principle we need is what we believe education is for. All education puts philosophy into practice. It takes what we believe about truth, virtue, and human nature and works it out in daily life.
In Consider This, Karen Glass comments that education is simply applied philosophy, and it’s true. That’s why most philosophers also had educational theories and plans: education is where philosophy puts on flesh and makes waves in the real world.
Over the last year, I have written about classical education principles and how they shape not only curriculum choices and teaching methods, but also the life we build at home. Because principles do not only shape how we school, they shape how we live.
Charlotte Mason had twenty principles she wrote as statements about the nature of children, about the nature of the world, and about the nature of learning. They are worth studying.
Christopher Perrin has some great videos with Latin mottos for 8 classical principles. They are worth watching.
Classical education principles begin with the conviction that education is about forming the person, not merely delivering information or drawing out preferences. Progressive education, on the other hand, usually puts the child’s interests, comfort, and self-expression at the center.
Classical education begins with the reality that truth, goodness, and beauty are all real and objective. Therefore, all humans should seek to know and embody all three more and more.
With that goal in mind, the teacher doesn't merely facilitate discovery or make information feel relevant. The teacher leads each student into an inheritance, helping him to conform himself to truth, goodness, and beauty.
Progressive education assumes education must change with the times. Classical education, however, treats education as an initiation into reality.
These differences affect everything, including what we teach, why we teach it, and what sort of person we hope our students become.
New to classical education principles? Start with:
- Virtue is the goal of education
Classical education holds that virtue is the goal of education, but that doesn't mean that we are responsible for making our children good. - Dear Mom who wants to give her 5yo a classical education
Too often new homeschool moms overthink the early years. Let me show you how you are classically educating your children when you bring them alongside you in real, everyday life. - Truth, Goodness, and Beauty in real life
The transcendentals sound fancy, but they can easily and simply be incorporated into every aspect of our daily lives.
Classical Education Principles
Some classical education principles have been distilled into pithy Latin mottos that have been used for centuries. The six that apply most to homeschooling and simply living a good life are
- Repetitio mater memoriae - Repetition
- Cum dignitate otium - Sabbath
- Esse quam videri - Virtue
- Multum non multa - Simplicity
- Fortiter fideliter forsan feliciter - Repentance
- Festina lente - Faithfulness
Principles apply to education as well as broadly to all of life. We learn as a part of any vocation or even any hobby. We should be always seeking to mature and to grow in wisdom, and these principles tell us the best paths for doing so.
After all, these Latin mottos were not originally made solely by educators for educators. These Latin mottos were proverbial wisdom. They are supremely applicable to education, but also to simply living well.
- Repetition, The Best Teacher (Latin motto: Repetitio mater memoriae)
If you homeschool classically, prepare to repeat yourself a lot. It's a feature, not a bug. - Living from a State of Rest (Latin motto: Cum dignitate otium)
We can work hard, be busy, and still keep a restful state of soul. - Choose What Is Good (Latin motto: Esse quam videri)
Virtue is choosing the better path, and it can be trained if we have a proper understanding of the value and limitations of civic and spiritual virtues. - The Simple Life (Latin motto: Multum non multa)
Simple doesn't mean minimal; a simple life is an integrated life not compartmentalized into unrelated facets. - All of Life Is Repentance (Latin motto: Fortiter fideliter forsan feliciter)
Education begins by admitting you are wrong and inadequate. This admission is painful; therefore, education is often painful. - Daily Faithfulness (Latin motto: Festina lente)
Education can't be done in fits and spurts. We must commit ourselves to the work and be diligent in our faithfulness.
Practical Applications of Principles
Everyone's application of particular principles will look slightly different due to circumstances, resources, and personality. Principles are durable and flexible enough to handle adaption in method.
I highly recommend you spend more time solidifying your principles than collecting practical tips and tricks.
Here's an account of how these classical principles play out in our homeschool: Classical Principles in Our Homeschool
No time is wasted which is spent solidifying your foundations, your principles from which you choose and act.
With clear classical education principles directing our decisions about what, why, and how we teach, we will grow in wisdom ourselves even while bringing our children along in wisdom with us.