Review of The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home (Third Editition) (Hardcover)

Book Review:The Well Trained Mind, A Guide to Classical Education at Home, by Jesse Wise. I enjoyed this book for it's curriculum guidelines for homeschooling using the classical style of home education.Written bya homeschooling parent and heradult homeschooled daughter, this book laysout the principles of the Trivium, the three-part process of training themind.She says that this is diametrically opposed to the principles ofunschooling, because here, the parent "supplies the mind with factsand thinking skills." This gives a clue as to the approach. It's notchild-led. It's very structured.

Although I had a little troublewith the idea of teaching very formal academics to a younger child, I likedthe progressive nature of the Trivium, I liked the clear structure of thecurriculum, and the extensive resource lists, and I liked the emphasis onclassical works.The trivium, as she states, is language-based and notimage based, so there is very little hands-on and art and music mentioned. I think the problem with this approach is if you have a child with anothertype of learning style.There is a lot of reading and writing.It may notwork well with all kids.I also note that there is little if anydiscussion on how to teach multiple children,or where to start if youdon't do this from the beginning, and a lack ofdiscussion in buildingloving family relationships.It sounds like 12 years of academics withlittle time for much else.I think if you use this book, you need tosoften the process with good relationship building and family skills.

Theprinciple is this:The first years, grades 1 through 4 are the"grammar" stage where the mind is supplied with facts and images(rules of grammar, math facts, phonics, poems, songs, stories in literatureand history).And I was glad to see that these four years were just anintroduction to facts, not a deep delving.Then, the"logic"stages, in grades 5-8 where the child is given tools to logically organizethose facts (including learning outlining, paragraph constructions,organizing skills and analysis), and the third stage is the"rhetoric" stage, grades 9-12 where the child is equipped toexpress conclusions forcefully.

The other part of this process is therepetition ever four years.The first ,5,th and 9 th grades study theAncienttimes (4000 B.C - 400 AD) and the grades 2, 6, 10 study theMedieval and Early Renaissance (400 AD - 1600 AD) , and thegrades 3, 7,11 study the Late Renaissance and Early Modern (1600-1850)and theModernto Present times is studied in grades 4, 8, 12.The science is dividedalso this way:The first time period is Biology and Human body andClassification (Ancients), the second is Earth Science and Astronomy(Medieval times), the third time is Chemistry (Late Renaissance), and theModern times studies physics and computer science.History is studied withthe same four time periods, as is the literature. Everything in a wholeyear follows the time period.After four years, you repeat the cycle, butwith more emphasis on analysis and logic and creativity.

A couple ofother things she says:she believes that peer socialization should nottake such a precedence in children's lives.That family and neighborsshould come first. She doesn't believe in dating in high school.Shedoes throw her personal ethics in here a lot. She also says that childrencan learn to do more than we think. We can challenge them.She has a lotto say about the literataure and movies that most educators let our kidsuse for academics.She has a section on testing, transcripts, lists ofresources, how to use certain books and resources, complete step by stepideas on developing notebooks, how to prepare the mind to think.I thinkthis book is very good, BUT, like other homeschooling books, it could makeyou feel inadequate as a homeschooling parent.ON the other hand, if youneed some guidance on classical studies, and want someone to lay out a goodcurriculum for you complete with resources, this is a good book to own.



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