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We're entering section two of Educating the Wholehearted Child and reading chapter 6 this week.
It is clear from Scripture that educating is at the very heart of his design for the family. pg. 95
Family was the first institution. It was set up by God even before the Fall. Throughout the Old Testament, there is a strong sense of family, family responsibility, and family identity. A passage which is held at the center of this Jewish idea of family is Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Devout Jews recite these verses daily. {When I was learning Hebrew in college, I had to memorize this passage in Hebrew. While I can no longer recite the entire thing, I can still remember the first verse or so.}
No matter how you choose to run your homeschool, if you're a Christ-follower, your family and schooling should be driven by the truths that God is real and He has spoken. The best place to experience these truths is in the context of the family.
The Clarksons profile many homeschooling methods in this chapter. This is to show how WholeHearted Learning is similar and different from leading philosophies and methods. They readily admit that many ideas of the WholeHearted Learning method are drawn from Charlotte Mason. There are 12 pillars of WholeHearted Learning, of which many are very similar to ideas that you'd find in Charlotte Mason's writings. The centrality of the home, parental involvement, children as persons who desire to learn, and living books are keys to WholeHearted Learning.
The educational model can be described like a house. Discipleship Studies form the foundation. Disciplined Studies, Discussion Studies, and Discovery Studies form connected rooms within the house. Discretionary Studies hold the house together as the roof. This model is not a curriculum. You're not going to find a prepackage schedule and set of books to follow. It is more of a lens through which to see your child and his/her education.
How the Clarkson family expresses the WholeHearted Learning model should look different from how you express it in your home. … [It's] about discovering what God wants to do in your family. pg. 122
What does this look like in our home?
For us, we have found that our method of homeschooling to this point has been very similar to Charlotte Mason with some aspects of the Classical method sprinkled in. I think that because our practice has been rooted in Charlotte Mason ideas, the WholeHearted Learning Model really resonates with us. My background in Old Testament Studies and Biblical Hebrew drives my personal view and understanding of the family, so that is the other reason that this method fits well for our family.
I love the picture of the house. Our boys are still very young and we're just starting our formal schooling. Our focus has been on teaching our children the Bible and read books to them. We've done this since Jonathan was born. Now, we've added basic Disciplined Studies – math, reading, etc. We touch on some of Discussion Studies and Discovery Studies through history and science. As they grow, the boys will each show individual strengths and interests. These will help them find their niche in life and hold all of their other learning together.
It's your turn. Share a blog post or jump into the discussion through the comments.
What stood out to you in this chapter? Do you categorize yourself with one of the leading philosophies profiled? How do you put the WholeHearted Learning Model into practice in your home? What do you think of the Old Testament / Jewish view of the family?
