Dec 18
 | Trivium Mastery: The Intersection of Three Roads: How to Give Your Child an Authentic Classical Home Education Diane Lockman $17.10  |
You may not know it, but you've been robbed.
Classical Christian education, your rightful inheritance, has been stolen from you by educational bureaucrats. Generations of well-meaning parents and innocent children never received their intended bequest. However, the new method that is being popularized in the homeschooling community looks more like the public school paradigm than the original classical model. In her research, Diane discovered that the primary premise ....read more
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December 25th, 2009 at 12:00 am
What research?
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
In short (3 page) chapters, the author gives detailed lists on what is required for a classical home education. Fair enough, the lists are detailed and, although repetitive, easy to follow. That is what I found most helpful about this book.
Things I did not like about this book:
-no footnotes
-no bibliography
-no index
-assumes reader knows who people are and why they are important (one example: on p88, she talks about Andrew Pudewa with no reference or footnotes)
-short chapter on why she disagrees with neo-classical education but does not elaborate on her research; lack of footnotes or bibliography is really felt here (she disagrees with Dorothy Sayer’s breakdown of classical education as “one woman’s theory”)
-does not introduce herself or her children (all personal information is under “About the Author” and not included in the text; her son is not mentioned until p62)
-does not state her qualifications (besides practicing as a CPA for 9 years) as a homeschooler; how long has she homeschooled? How old are her kids? The only date I read was 2006.
-”according to so & so…” with no footnotes or references appears several times
-no instructions on how to use Appendices
I really wanted to like this book, but the lack of footnotes or bibliography makes it inadequate and incomplete.
December 27th, 2009 at 12:00 am
This book transformed my fear about homeschooling into excitement!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
My husband and I recently decided to homeschool after leaving the classical Christian academy that our children had been attending. We wanted our kids to be inspired to think biblically, reason logically and eventually be able to clearly articulate their views in loving and respectful ways. We also wanted them to be spiritually and academically challenged in the process.
After agreeing to stick with the classical model, we realized that we didn’t know where or how to start. After reading quite a few books, I came across Trivium Mastery. I combed through the book twice (it is well-written, making it a pleasure to read) and have spent a significant amount of time on the author’s website gleaning even more information and encouragement about what the Trivium should look like at its best.
Ms. Lockman begins with an excellent overview of the history of the classical approach. This was eye-opening and made clear in my mind what can happen when the Trivium is applied based upon a correct view of its nature and function. Lockman then goes on to outline the results of individual family case studies in which she “makes over” their homeschool approach. This is the meat-and-potatoes portion of the book for those of us looking for the practical application of an excellent theory. I was originally quite daunted by the prospect of homeschooling. Now, though, I am thrilled at the idea of custom-designing a classical Christian home program that will make sense for our family.
I would like to finish by saying that, in many years of being a faithful Amazon customer, I rarely write reviews. This book, though, merits my taking the time to encourage others to read it. No matter what road you choose to take, you won’t regret spending some time on your journey with this thought-provoking book!