Customer Reviews

Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning: An Approach to Distinctively Christian Education (Turning Point Christian Worldview Series)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Wilson has delivered a great book for anyone who sees nothing wrong with public education and wonders why some schools don't measure up or why the education reformers are complaining. He also challenges every existing Christian school to a high standard. First, he establishes his belief that public school is pitiful and brief addresses suggested reforms, and then he writes at length about a thoroughly Christian education. He says that a cleaned-up "public school" education within an environment where prayer and chapel is allowed does not make a Christian education or even a good secular education. We must raise the bar dramatically in order to allow all students to learn the most they can. What does that mean? It means teaching a classically structured curriculum or the Trivium. Wilson advocates training our students to engage "the great conversation" of the past by reading the Great Books of the Western Canon, as recommended by Mortimer Adler.
Personally, I think he's exactly right, but this book didn't scratch my inch as parent wanting to teach my children a classical education at home. In fact, Wilson doesn't think homeschool classical education is an achievable goal for the average family; but he doesn't advise against it. He warns that while it may be better than public school, it may not be as good as it should be, considering historical standards of education, not measuring it against currently failing public schools. For my needs, this book helped me only a little. The greatest help to me would have been in its appendices which can be found online at ... There are three: Dorothy Sayers article on the Trivium is of great help; a description of Logos School's classical curriculum provides good details on what to teach; and a history of education.

I first read this book as a sophomore in college. I got so excited about the idea of classical Christian education, that I resolved on my future career: teaching mathematics and physics at a classical Christian school.

Mr. Wilson's comments about public school seem very accurate. They closely correspond with the few comments I have had from people who "survived" the public school. There seems to be a prevailing anti-intellectualism displayed amongst the graduates of the public schools. I especially enjoyed Mr. Wilson's critique of the "look-say" method. I have a friend who went through look-say, and to this day he cannot read out loud in anything like a natural manner.

Mr. Wilson's book represents the close of the public school system, yet in contrast to purely sarcastic negative articles and books, Mr. Wilson has given us a solution. This solution makes so much sense.

I have discussed the idea of classical education with other Christians. I tend to get two answers: either they are afraid of what the Greek philosophy will do to young Christians, or else they see what Mr. Wilson saw: that studying Greek philosophy is not to commend it, and that the primary purpose of doing so is to understand the world at the time of Christ. This will facilitate an understanding of the historical context of the Bible, which we are obviously commanded to study.

I did have one criticism, however. In his argument that foreign children are out-performing American children, Mr. Wilson fails to realize that the statistics are incorrect. The samples that the scores from foreign countries represent are taken from the elite: the best from foreign countries, whereas the scores from American children represent a much wider sample. Thus any argument about averages will fail at this point. However, it is still valid to compare highest scores. I happen to agree with where Mr. Wilson was headed, but this argument is weak because of the mathematics.

This criticism, however, is but a mild one, and it is the only one that I have. Other than this, the book is very tightly argued, and it is one of the clearest, best-written books I have ever read. Even if you do not agree with it, read it as a guide to writing!

I appreciate many of the Logos School curriculum materials, along with the overall philosophy of the school. I looked forward to reading founder Douglas Wilson's book.

At the beginning, the book was very interesting, mostly discussing what goals the Logos School has and how the school implements various curriculum to teach its students.

The author continually vaguely slams Christian schools that are basically secular but just add in Bible study/prayer time. I think it's fair to say that most people would not want this type of Christian school, but other than bashing these schools, Mr. Wilson did not give any advice to the reader as to how to identify these schools or help to bring about change.

When I reached the chapter on homeschooling, Mr. Wilson lost all credibility with me. Being an educator at a Christian school, I would assume he is also very familiar with homeschooling, and he in fact claims that he and his wife would choose this option, if "a good Christian school were not available." Reading his book, the reader begins to understand that Logos School is one of the few schools in the nation that might meet this criteria.

He then goes on to say that parents teaching at home in the early years who then place their children "in a Christian school to continue their education" have fundamentally identical education principles as the Christian school. BUT "if a home schooling family maintains that children can be given a complete education in the average home (say, K-12), then frankly there is an important difference in educational philosophy." Boloney. I began to see that the "difference" might have more to do with the funding of Christian schools, not the educational choices among each family.

The logic Mr. Wilson puts forth for this argument is bizarre. He claims that a homeschool mom could be dividing her time "teaching a 12-year-old, a 10-year-old, and an 8-year-old, and she has to teach each one of them history, math, English, science, etc." Hunh? The homeschooling families that I know blend as many of these subjects as possible. The only people that I know who teach each child separately in all of these subjects belong to virtual academies (publically funded schools where the children are taught at home by a parent).

Mr. Wilson claims that parents can more easily teach younger children at home but that it becomes more difficult as children get older. "[I]t is one thing to teach your 5-year-old how to read and quite another to teach Latin to an 11-year-old." Yes, Mr. Wilson, it is. Teaching reading is a far more scary thought, especially considering so many schools do a poor job. Latin's not so tough in comparison.

Additionally Mr. Wilson also claims that homeschooling parents are unable to adequately research claims of various textbooks they use to teach their own children. I beg to differ. Many homeschoolers can and do often refer to original material, just as one is led to assume must be done by Logos School (although there are no claims that Logos School "adequately researches" textbook claims).

Mr. Wilson interjects quotes by homeschooling experts Raymond and Dorothy Moore, and various "unschooling" theories to "prove his point." However, these experts and theories are fundamentally opposite of the whole rigorous classical approach that Mr. Wilson promotes. This would be similar to using quotes from (former California Governor) Jerry Brown to argue a platform of President Bush!

This book was a huge disappointment. I believe Mr. Wilson is capable of so much more, and unfortunately, he left a very bad taste in my mouth. Blech!

This book is a fascinating elucidation of the reasons behind the academic and moral failure of the American public school system, and a call to arms for Christian parents to rise up and create a viable alternative to that system. Wilson's arguments are lucid and well-thought out, clearly showing how the public school system has failed to teach children how to think independently, while at the same time force-feeding them with an ever-increasing number of "facts" without context.

He proposes a model ("Classical" Christian Education) that draws from the rich cultural heritage of Western Civilization, while still maintaining a distinctively Christian worldview. Crucial to that model is its grounding in the Classical "Trivium" (Grammar, Dialectic and Rhetoric) which he demonstrates is the foundation for learning in all other areas of study (which he lumps together as the "Quadrivium", going far beyond the classical definition of that term).

The author makes a very strong argument for one particular type of private school--classical christian. He spends much of this book showing the weaknesses in the alternatives: public school, other types of private schools, and homeschooling. He comes out strongest against public schools.

He then builds an argument for the "ideal" school. The book is an interesting exercise. Even if you do not share his conclusions about schooling children, Wilson will challenge your thinking on the subject. Personally, my sense of responsibility towards my children's education grew through reading this book.

For Wilson, the exercise is not just an intellectual one. He took the ideas expounded in this book and built a school for his own children around them. His experiences with the Logos School are interesting and add a practical dimension to the book.

People thinking of homeschooling would benefit from his criticism of the practice. He sees it as the second best alternative. He shows weaknesses in homeschooling, many of which can be overcome with preparation. This is a good read for anyone preparing to educate children.

This book brings to light the errors in modern education, gives one a drive to learn more and to pass on true knowledge to their children. "Standing on the Promises" is another top choice! Wilson writes in an easy to read manner and keeps interest at its peak throughout. I could not recommend any books on the subject more highly.

I read this two years ago when my husband and I started researching different education philosophies in preparation for homeschooling our children. We knew Wilson's writing from Credenda/Agenda and had liked his style of writing as well as his critical analysis.

In this book he lays out the arguments against public schools pretty succinctly. I come from a long line of public school teachers and so it was intriguing to me to see it all from a different angle. I am a product of "government schools" and was shocked to realize that when he wrote this book, I was a senior in high school! What we don't see when we're in the middle of something! It has all become clearer.

I appreciated the logic behind Wilson's arguments and must say that this book convinced me on the value of classical education and that it is the best way for my family to approach homeschooling.

Wilson does say that a private, Christian Classical school is the best option and that homeschool takes second seat. I don't have any basis to weigh this statement; there is no school like that anywhere near our home. So, like another reviewer said, we will prepare against the downfalls of homeschooling that Wilson points out.

This book is what I would hand to someone (ie my public school parents) to justify our decision to classically educate our children.

If you are just starting the process of planning you childs education, this is a MUST book. It identifies the problems of modern education, why the answers being offered won't work, and why classical christian education is the best answer. Hard hitting an honest, but a great foundational book for ANY educator.

My wife and I read this book as a prerequisite to getting our son into a private Christian school. While I am no education expert, my wife has a masters degree in the field, and experience in the public school bureaucracy.

We are seeing the approach that Wilson describes have fantastic results. At our son's school, the kids are tested at the end of third grade in the major subjects, and their scores are weighed against public school proficiency levels in each subject. There is not one subject where our 3rd graders are performing lower than a 6th grade (public school) level.

That alone speaks volumes. However, the book repeatedly makes the point that cleansing a public school curriculum from objectionable material and adding "chapel" or a Bible class does not a Christian school make. Our goal is to build an education around a Christian worldview, in hopes that our children can understand the Bible in context (without cherry-picking verses to suit some agenda) AND in application. This way, we don't raise "compartmental Christians," or folks who live one way during the week and another on Sunday.

Wilson also makes great points about what effect being accredited can have on a private school.

Lastly another focus of the overall text is to teach children to THINK. If public schools can graduate students that cannot read, do you really want to trust them with equipping your child with cognitive reasoning skills? Our answer is "no." This book lays a foundation to equip our kids with the ability to reason and think on a high level.

The book contained many valid opinions about public education, and it wasn't hard to agree with those opinions if you take a look at what our public education system is accomplishing (or rather, not accomplishing). However, his argument that private schooling should be the choice whenever that choice is available is based on some false assumptions, the most flawed of which is that private schooling can do a better job "raising" children than can that child's own parents. Homeschooling is seen as a last resort for Wilson, and though he deals with it carefully, he nonetheless manages to portray it in a negative light. He fails to realize that private schooling, just like public schooling, cannot possibly provide for a wide spectrum of children's needs. He claims that children will not receive a proper education at home beyond middle school, as if all homeschooling parents are local idiots incapable of researching curriculum and teaching multi-grade levels at the same time. Hogwash. Oddly enough, he calls on the theories of unschooling to prove some of his points, even though unschooling is the exact opposite of the model for classical education. He can't keep his argument straight, if you ask me. In sum, if your child does not fit within the rather inflexible mold for private schooling, like mine did not, then this book is not for you. If you believe that you can do a better job than a private school in teaching your own children, then this book is not for you. But if you need to know that you are doing the right thing by sending your children to private school (or, basically, a Logos affiliated school), by all means, read the book. But read it with caution, and read it with the awareness that this is the same author who professes that southern slavery was essentially a "harmonious" experience for slaves and that our modern worldview of slavery is based on propoganda (read his Southern Slavery: As It Was if you don't believe me). Douglas Wilson's sanctimonious grip on reality has reached its breaking point.