The Core: Teaching Your Child the Foundations of Classical Education opens with a discussion of the problems with the current public education system. Author Leigh Bortins compares the public school system to factories churning out graduates who now lack the skills that youngsters had learned a century earlier in a single room school. Although children today are taught by professionals, they do not have the quality education that youngsters had received from their parents even before the public education system was established.
While the book does not provide an exhaustive list of curricula, it covers components of a classical education and why each is relevant. These components are:
- Traditional grammar, spelling, and writing rules
- A phonics approach to reading
- Importance of memorization and narration.
- Why you should master math facts through memory versus calculator
- Study of geography
- Broad study of history including memorizing timelines and important events
- Learning the scientific principles by fostering curiosity, learning to classify, and experimentation
- Develop appreciation of the arts through study of visual art, classical music, and drama
Although Leigh homeschools her children, she believes that even those who send their youngsters to the public school can supplement their youngster’s education so they enter adulthood with a classical education. If you are a parent concerned about your child’s education, The Core: Teaching Your Child the Foundations of Classical Education deserves a place on your bookshelf.