Customer Reviews

The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home, Revised and Updated Edition

5 star:		(73)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This book is a worthwhile read, but be careful not to take it for absolute gospel. The curriculum described herein is extremely rigorous and demanding and may therefore not be appropriate for every child. Also, realize that this book isn't a comprehensive review of homeschool curricula, but rather just the authors' opinions of their personal favorites. For example, two of my favorite curricula ("Spell to Write and Read" and "Rightstart Math") are not even mentioned by the authors. Both of these curricula have received exemplary reviews in several other homeschooling manuals, so I'm surprised that the revised edition does not even mention them. Before making a curricular decision, be sure to read other reviews of the curricular materials suggested in this text, as some of them may not work for everyone.
As someone with a doctorate in the science field, I'm not quite comfortable with the authors' approach to science. Their idea is basically that grammar stage students (grades I-IV) should focus primarily on facts acquisition. Their ideas for science teaching include writing definitions in a notebook and narrating back what they have read, as well as some limited experimentation. Basically, they're trying to teach science as if it were history or literature with a few experiments thrown in for good measure. This is NOT the way scientists do science. NOTHING in a science textbook is absolute fact- it is basically all codified theories based upon decades -or centuries- of systematic experimentation. And undoubtedly, parts of any science book in existence are susceptible to being modified or even disproved entirely in the future. Therefore, I think it's inappropriate even for so-called "parrot stage" students to be taught that science consists primarily of facts to be memorized.
Even a pre-schooler can understand the basics of scientific method if he/she is asked to make a hypothesis {"Do you think the ball will sink or float in the water? What about the rock? The boat?) then design an experiment to test this hypothesis ("How could we test your guess?") and perhaps start to develop a theory ("Why do you think the ping pong ball floated but the golf ball sunk?") etc.
I have some other minor issues with the authors' ideas regarding foreign language teaching. Specifically, they suggest students should learn Latin before studying a modern foreign language, unless the parents are also fluent or the children have ample opportunity to practice speaking. However, a substantial body of evidence indicates that younger children are much better at learning foreign languages. In fact, there are some sounds that, if not learned prior to a certain age, a child will likely never be able to pronounce correctly. With the advent of foreign language DVD's, multimedia CD-ROM's, and satellite television, children have ample opportunity to hear foreign language spoken correctly from a young age. In most parts of the United States, it would not be too terribly difficult to find a native Spanish speaker for conversation practice.
Finally, I feel that parts of this curriculum, particularly in high school, are overly rigorous for this age group. For example, do 14-year-olds really need to be reading Thucydides and Herodotus? Personally, I think this can wait until college for most kids, unless the child has a special interest in the Peloponnesian War! I also find it odd that the authors think it's ok to drop math after 10th grade for those not interested in a science field, yet at the same time, require all students to continue reading rigorous college-level history and literature all the way until graduation. Perhaps this discrepancy simply reflects their own background in humanities.
All critiques aside, I do think this book is a worthwhile read for anyone contemplating homeschooling. I gained a lot of ideas particularly for teaching history and literature from this book and I do plan to try the suggested history curriculum with my kids. Bottom line: read this book, use it as a guide, glean from it what you will, but don't try to do everything by the book.

Wow... some funny reviews below. I bought this book on the recommendation of a friend whose homeschooled Kindergartner loves learning and has been reading for close to two years. I've been an English teacher for ten years and have grown increasingly disenchanted with both public and private schools; I've watched bright, creative, passionate young people have the love of learning sucked out of them by a flawed and over-burdened system, or, worse, fall between the cracks because they have learning differences, despite the fact that they have amazing minds.

To the readers who assert that this book is for rigid, obsessive parents, I would urge them to read it again. It's not about rigidity, but about fostering excellence, which does take some hard work. I'm sure that this style of homeschooling is not for every child and every family, but it provides hundreds of resources, and I think there's something here for everyone. Granted, if you're not interested in a Classical approach, you may want to look elsewhere. But I would urge you to consider it, even if it sounds foreign or daunting.

And now for my snotty asides: the reviews that are rife with spelling and grammar errors, and insist that the methods in this book are too demanding for children, are a bit hard to take seriously, you know? Other reviews are clearly written by parents who are intimidated because of how little education they themselves have... but the wonderful thing about homeschooling is that you get to learn WITH your children. It should be exciting to you, and if it's scary to confront all of the science, math, history and literature that you don't know, so much the better! Don't we want to teach our children to seek knowledge, and to try things that are difficult? And what better way to do that than to model it ourselves? If you are a lifelong learner, your children will be too.

I have the greatest respect for those deeply religious Christians who indicated that while this book has much to offer, it's lacking in religious education, and they make up for on their own with Biblical study, many of whom include Biblical languages in said study.

I have less respect for the reviewers who are worried that the lessons of those evil Pagan Greeks (their words, not mine) will teach their children to question. Here's my favorite quote from a reviewer below: "I pray God will open the blind eyes of those lusting after intelectualism (note the spelling error) and lead them to True Wisdom of God! What good is Homer and Shakespeare to the soul?"

What good is Homer and Shakespeare to the soul!?! Don't you actually mean What good ARE Homer and Shakespeare to the soul? I don't even know how to begin to answer that. It's a clear case of "If you have to ask..."

I begin to see why literacy rates amongst the middle class are declining, and most high school students will never take Calculus. Buy the book if you're a homeschooler or teacher interested in educating thoughtful, interesting, interested critical thinkers.

Although our local public school system is quite good, this year my 7-year-old started having problems in school. Our once-enthusiastic daughter became reluctant to go to school, and her teacher told us that she sometimes cried when she was asked to read aloud in class. As avid readers who have taken great pains to share our love of books with our daugher, my husband and I were surprised to be informed at our daughter's first parent-teacher conference that her reading fluency was below average and that her teacher had been sending her to an afternoon "reading enrichment" teacher (special ed!) for assistance. The most disturbing aspect of this situation was not being told that our child was having reading problems (no note, call, or email) until two months of school had passed.

I immediately embarked on a search for resources to help me help my child. I plowed through books on teaching methodologies and reading remediation, and scanned innumerable websites. My search shortly led me to this book, a thorough compendium of resources for home-schoolers, after-schoolers, and anyone interested in taking charge of a child's education.

Ms. Wise and Ms. Wise Bauer have managed to outline a classical curriculum that is both rigorous and flexible. Their recommended approaches for teaching subjects at each developmental stage are detailed. Ample examples and resources are given. Some other reviewers have lamented that they could not possibly go through all the suggested material, and they are correct. The authors don't expect anyone to teach every topic within each subject - they expect that parent-educators will review the materials and choose what is appropriate and interesting for their child/ren. Anyone expecting a complete, scripted, classroom-like curriculum complete with supporting materials from these authors will be disappointed. The rigor of this model (for both parent and child) is the parental involvement it demands - nothing comes to you pre-digested.

The authors are very careful to describe not only the academic strengths and weaknesses of each suggested resource, but also to point out any philosophical or religious worldviews expressed by the authors that may be offensive to some parents. For example, the authors mention that a particular (and highly recommended) math curriculum cited includes quotes from Scripture, and that two recommended science titles include references to topics such as geologic timeframes and human reproduction. In both instances, parents are advised so that they may make informed decisions about whether to investigate a particular curriculum or text. Sadly, some reviewers of this book have labeled it "secular" for not espousing an overtly Christian worldview. I credit the authors for their straightforward neutrality in this regard, as Susan Wise Bauer has a postgraduate degree in Divinity, is apparently married to a minister, and writes unabashedly Christian articles for periodicals (see her website if you doubt). Additionally, at each developmental and educational stage, parents are advised how to incorporate THEIR PERSONAL RELIGIOUS BELIFS into their child's overall education in a manner that is appropriate to their stage in learning. I see no reason for any parent interested in classically educating their child to avoid this book on religious or spiritual grounds.

Some reviewers commented that they found the curriculum to be too structured and joyless. This brings me back to my daughter. How did we get from a 7-year-old whose reading fluency was sub-par to adopting a classical education model for after-school enrichment? Phonics. My investigation into teaching methodologies for emerging readers led me to question my daughter about how she was being taught to read in school. The decoding and word-recognition strategies she was learning were simply not working for her. I invested in the TWTM-recommended Phonics Pathways, and started working with my child after school from that book. We had a frustrating first few days - my daughter was very sensitive about reading out loud and became upset when she made a mistake. By day three, we were making progress in both her confidence and the phonics approach. At the end of the first week, I was so encouraged by my daughter's enthusiasm that I picked up the first volume of The Story of the World and ordered a text and workbook from Singapore math. We adopted an ambitious "after-school school" schedule and I have been scouting books about science based upon TWTM recommendations. My daughter now comes home from school wanting to "do" more school, and has been talking about how far ahead she will be when she goes back to school after the holidays! Her teacher has commented on her tremendously-improved reading fluency AND attitude at school. My daughter is not burdened by the schedule and does not find it too rigorous - she has found excitement in learning and in discovering that when presented with material appropriately, she can rise to the demand of tackling it. As the authors frequently repeat that their schedules are just suggestions and reassure the reader not to worry about "missing someting" or getting "off schedule" if the child needs extra help in a particular area (or becomes so excited by a topic that they spend a great deal of time exploring it), I'm puzzled by some reviewers' dogmatic approach to the suggested timeframes given in the book. Personalization of the educational program is essential and encouraged. It's up to you to make it work within your family's schedule.

Criticism of the scientific and mathematical rigor of the authors' program is probably justifiable, but again the authors repeatedly recommend that parents customize the program specifics to their child and the family's educational goals and interests. I appreciate the rationale behind the authors' approach - if children don't learn a ton of science in early elementary school, they will be exposed to it (in the 4-year-rotation scheme) two more times before graduation, but if they don't learn to read in the early school years their education is hampered forever. For my part, I enjoyed math and the hard sciences in college and had always planned to enrich my daughter's elementary-school basics in those areas. Again, the book emphasizes a particular (essential) skill area - reading, but that does not preclude you from being more rigorous and structured in the sciences. Additionally, the authors are writing to a pretty diverse audience, some of whom will not be receptive to mainstream science texts. I have taken their recommendations in this area with a grain of salt.

Our family is not able at this time to take our daughter out of school and dedicate her to home-schooling full time. My review is not a testimonial about the book as a homeschool guide - it is possible that we could have come to a phonics-based solution to my daughter's reading roadblock without having read this book, and the additional curricular materials I am presenting her don't directly address the problem she was having. I am grateful, however, for having encountered a book that provides my family with a framework for ensuring that I KNOW my daughter is getting an academically-rigorous education, even though her school was negligent in promptly communicating the difficulties she was having. Our household philosophy about the role that school plays in her education has changed from one of "leave the bulk of it to the experts" to "we are the experts on OUR child." TWTM provides a thorough framework and guidelines (not to mention tons of encouragement and reassurance) for home-schoolers, after-schoolers, and enrichers to do the same.

My wife and I experimented with this method in homeschooling one of our children. There is much to appreciate in Bauer's approach. I like the idea of tying everything to history: scientific advances make more sense when viewed within their historic context. However I would caution against following it too closely. She is a bit of a perfectionist, and not all of us may be blessed with the sort of wunderkind who takes to learning with the gusto that a strict interpretation of this method requires.

Also: take a careful look at the resources that she recommends before you buy them. She recommends Douglas J. Wilson and his publishing house for books on logic and Latin. She warns that Wilson is "very Presbyterian"; as a Presbyterian I am offended by this. Very nuts is more like it. He preaches returning to an Old Testament patriarchy (I am not talking about the typical evangelical complimentarian belief here)and has some curious ideas about slavery in the Old South. These ideas may not be front and center in the specific books that Bauer recommends, but you are supporting them by supporting Canon Press.

I am a bit upset by this because I bought The Well Trained Mind because it was published by Norton and because it seemed to distance itself in tone and in content from the usual fundamentalist homeschooling material. Wilson, however, makes James Dobson look like Gloria Steinham.

So, by all means, use as a resource, but don't think that you have to follow it to the letter, and be careful with Bauer's recommendations.

This is an excellent guide that EVERY homeschooler should have. HOWEVER, the 1999 edition has better resource lists in it, because it was written before Bauer and Wise began publishing their own Language and History books. I checked out the 1st edition from the library and LOVED it. I was a bit disappointed to get the 2nd edition (2004). I don't like the fact that they now recommend their own books, and don't recommend much else that would compete with their own series in these subject areas.

I own both copies of the Well-Trained Mind--the original and the revision--and the revision is a wonderful improvement on a wonderfully helpful original. The "how to" sections are clearer. All of the information is up to date. Readers can choose from a number of different curricula options; the authors give pros and cons for each. The resources are much simpler to use. For some subjects, the authors have included curricula, developed since the publication of the first book, that line up with the classical principles laid out in the original ground-breaking TWTM. These new resources are uniformly simpler to use and more affordable--and, in many cases, academically superior--to the original recommendations. In a total of FOUR PLACES, the authors recommend materials that they have developed themselves. That's FOUR PLACES in a book with literally HUNDREDS of resources. Those resources--the Story of the World series, First Language Lessons, The Ordinary Parents' Guide to Teaching Reading, and The Well-Educated Mind--are offered in the place of resources which many readers had trouble using--the Usborne history, which is fragmented and cartoon like; English for the Thoughtful Child, which is dated and requires way too much handwriting for many kids; Phonics Pathways, which is a GREAT phonics primer with absolutely NO help for the parent/teacher; and How to Read A Book, which the authors acknowledge is a classic BUT very hard for many high school students to read. (My kids are still middle school aged, but I've heard my home school friends gripe about all four of these resources.) Buy this revision. You won't be disappointed.

In education, as in many other things in life, the ends do not necessarily justify the means. While I love and support the goals of a classical and well-rounded education, this book works best when it's trying to be a general resource and guidebook rather than a to-the-letter blueprint. As other reviewers have pointed out, the fact that detailed (and in my opinion, overly lengthy) daily schedules are given mark a rigidity that is rarely seen in the homeschooling community. Their lists of guideposts and curriculum suggestions are great, but the book never acknowledges that there are other means, many of which are easier on the parent and the child.

Hence, the assertion by other reviewers/ critics that this book's pedagogy is overly simplistic is accurate. If you read the book cover to cover, you will possibly come away feeling as though you are totally prepared for the next 12 years of your child's education. However, education is not quite so cut and dry - emphasis on dry, as there is very little in the way of multimedia, hands-on, artistic or musical studies here. The only exception is the activity book for their "Story of the World" curriculum, which they dismiss as totally optional in their own text. I do not think engaging children's various learning styles and presenting the material in child-friendly ways that make the material accessible and vivid instead of just "words on a page" are optional, but that's just me.

Additionally, I don't know about other homeschooling parents, but one of MY goals as a home educator is not to "do school at home" (which this book first denies is necessary or beneficial then proceeds to spend 300+ pages instructing parents on how to do exactly that). My goals with my child are to give my child a lifelong love of learning and the tools and confidence to continue his education far beyond the limited scope I can provide him throughout his life. Learning is not nearly as formulaic as is laid out in this book at all, and in that sense, I found the text to be extremely pedantic.

Finally, it should be emphasized that this program is LANGUAGE based. I say this because many families are homeschooling children with special learning needs, particularly parents of children affected by Asperger's syndrome, high functioning autism, and other language-based delays. My son has Asperger's syndrome; there is no way that the curriculum and program as laid out in this book would be successful for him. We tried last year to follow this to the letter and found it horribly frustrating and tedious, particularly the emphasis on history (i.e., reading comprehension heavy, a major weakness in language delay disorders) and composition (exacerbating my child's dysgraphia). It's taken nearly a year for my son to get over the terror and dread of "doing history" after suffering through their history and language programs (Story of the World/ First Language Lessons). We abandoned both a little less than halfway through the first year, and I'm glad. Had we not done so, homeschooling would've continued to be a chore and a killjoy. We like Abeka and the equally comprehensive but far more intuitive "Complete Book of..." series.

I suppose that for a child whose learning style skews heavily to the visual, has superb language and reading comprehension abilities and is precociously patient and compliant, this curriculum is ideal. My child isn't one of those children and so this program didn't work for us. The book seems to suggest that the type of child to which this approach is geared is the norm, but I really don't think it is.

I read the original version of "The Well Trained Mind" checked out from a local library several years ago and was very impressed. As my children are nearing school age, I decided to buy the book intending to use it as a resource to suppliment their education. The revised edition disapointed me. Though I appreciated more up to date resources and ordering information, the authors omitted many resources that they recommended in the first edition that are still available in favor of their own books. I found that a great disservice to a very loyal readership. It significantly lowered my opinion of the author's character and credibility. Though I still plan on using the method presented, I don't think I will be buying any more of their material.

I loved this book! I couldn't put it down and it totally changed the way I looked at homeschooling. It was exactly what I was looking for and what I felt was lacking in our school. I am a Christian and I will say that although this book is not written strictly on a Christian worldview it is so easy to add exclusively Christian texts and customize your children's learning experience. I don't exclusively do classical education, I combine both Classical and Charlotte Mason and use Tapestry of Grace to happily achieve this. However, this book has wonderful resources listed to complete your classical homeschool. If you are a Christian please don't worry about what others have said about it being a humanistic way of learning...just because something originated in Greece doesn't mean that you need to teach the same humanistic philosophy that they did. Just ridiculous. Sounds like throwing out the baby with the bathwater to me. What classical education means is studying history in depth, in four year cycles, adjusting the intensity to your child's grade level and place in the trivium style of learning. It means exposing your child to great works of literature from the beginning, so that Homer is not so daunting and boring to them when they are thrown it in High School. It means combining these great works of literature and if you are a Christian, adding scripture memorization to the mix and learning classic languages that the scriptures have been written in (like latin, hebrew, and greek)so that your child has first hand knowledge of the scriptures. What is anti-Christian about that? Nothing, absolutely nothing. Buy this book, it will blow your mind and give you all the tools you need to find the books and know how to educate your child classically.

The authors clearly feel more comfortable with teaching language and history than they do with teaching mathematics and science. This significant imbalance is reflected both in the relative number of pages devoted to each of these subjects, and especially in the quality and quantity/depth of the suggested resources.

While the book remains a valuable resource, a follow-up edition would benefit greatly from a thorough revision and expansion of the sections covering mathematics and the pure sciences (the coverage of physics is particularly weak, while the coverage of computer science/programming is absolutely abysmal). I feel that such a revision is quite necessary for the book to achieve its full potential, even if this requires the services of an additional co-author with a much stronger scientific background.