The Committee of Ten

Last week we had a wonderful visit with my in-laws. I, unfortunately, got a cold but they took great care of little man and I actually got a "sick" day!! During my sick day I slept and read - it was WONDERFUL. My mother in law reported that she only read about 18 pages of her book last week, by contrast, I read close to 300 pages! Thank you!

The first book I read was E.M. Standing's Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work. This is a great overview of the basic principles of Montessori and it convinced me even more that it really is a great way to teach kids between 2 1/2 and 6. Some day I will comment more on what I learned from there.

The second book was The Graves of Academe. A witty, insightful and harsh treatment of the status of teacher education and its results in America. Richard Mitchell was the editor of the Underground Grammarian - a newsletter in the 1980's that exposed poor writing and educational methods among our universities. To give you an idea of his approach:

The betterment of fools, Goethe tells us, is the appropriate business of other fools. The Underground Grammarian does not seek to educate anyone. We intend rather to ridicule, humiliate, and infuriate those who abuse our language not so that they will do better but so that they will stop using language entirely or at least go away.

I do have to say, it has offered me a great education. It also made me ashamed that I am so sloppy in my grammar (despite my mom's best efforts). There were many excellent points made in the book about the lack of substance in most "education" today. At one point I was trying to read a portion aloud to my husband but starting laughing so hard I cried (okay, that could be hormones). Mitchell referred back to the "Committee of 10" which was formed in 1892 to help determine what should be taught in schools. I found a summary of the report and here are some highlights I'd like to share - just to show how far we've "come".

Here are the subjects that they explored in committees of ten - composed of high school teachers and college professors:

The Committee of Ten, after a preliminary discussion on November 9th, decided on November 10th to organize conferences on the following subjects:— 1. Latin; 2. Greek; 3. English; 4. Other Modern Languages; 5. Mathematics; 6. Physics, Astronomy, and Chemistry; 7. Natural History (Biology, including Botany, Zoölogy, and Physiology); 8. History, Civil Government, and Political Economy; 9. Geography (Physical Geography, Geology, and Meteorology).

Later the report discusses how most of these subjects (excepting Latin, Greek and Math) are "new subjects" in schools! You would be hard pressed to find a public school that teaches Greek and many don't even require you to learn any other foreign language.

Two questions were posed to all nine groups:

7. Should the subject be treated differently for pupils who are going to college, for those who are going to a scientific school, and for those who, presumably, are going to neither?
8. At what age should this differentiation begin, if any be recommended?

The 7th question is answered unanimously in the negative by the Conferences, and the 8th therefore needs no answer. The Committee of Ten unanimously agree with the Conferences. Ninety-eight teachers, intimately concerned either with the actual work of American secondary schools, or with the results of that work as they appear in students who come to college, unanimously declare that every subject which is taught at all in a secondary school should be taught in the same way and to the same extent to every pupil so long as he pursues it, no matter what the probable destination of the pupil may be, or at what point his education is to cease.

They, of course, were expecting that students would be challenged to the highest level in each area of academic pursuit - instead of the dumbing down which we frequently get today in the name of "equality". They desired each pupil to be challenged to the limit of their academic ability.

Even in that day and age the response was:

The experienced principal or superintendent in reading the reports will be apt to say to himself,— “This recommendation is sound, but cannot be carried out without teachers who have received a training superior to that of the teachers now at my command.”

So, this is why the Committee of Twenty-Seven was convened in the 1910's to help "fix" the high standard set by the Committee of Ten. Mitchell's diatribe is against the lack of "education" that occurs under the Committee of Twenty Seven and that we are still living in its shadow. I'll just let you know that the first and most important principle of education established by the Committee of Twenty Seven was health. Only one of the seven areas even discussed the traditional disciplines of education - and those they just discussed having a minimum standard.

Thus, we are entering into almost a century of dumbing down educational standards and making sure that public education does little to actual "educate" in the way the term was pursued and understood for centuries. I am now reading The Closing of the American Mind which has a similar theme and was written a few years after Mitchell's work.

As Mitchell points out, kids are being educated everyday in our schools - just not in things most of us would deem helpful to their growth and intellect. Mitchell doesn't hold out much hope for the educational establishment and I can't say that I blame him.

No Child Left Inside

Even though the heat index is 105 around here - we have spent a lot of time outside this summer. As a result I have been thinking about how to improve our backyard - to make it more comfortable for adults and more interesting for little man. At first I checked out a bunch of books on building decks, patios and playground equipment. Then I started thinking about how nature study is a cornerstone of Charlotte Mason's approach. So I've been thinking about how I could make that more possible here.

Little did I know that there is a movement (or here) and almost a syndrome named for children's lack of interaction with the natural world! They really advocate for natural spaces (ponds, tree stumps, grasses, etc. ) where kids can be kids. So today I tried to give little guy some time among the plastic playground equipment (he LOVES those swings) and take him to an area that was just rocks and leaves and trees. He really liked crumpling the leaves and throwing them.

If this is something you've thought about but don't know where to start you might try these two sites:

Kids Gardening - lots of neat ideas about planting, gardening and getting in touch with the natural world

Play spaces - this is a collection of photos and comments about what makes play spaces work (and fail)

Natural Playgrounds - This is a company that specializes in creating these types of landscapes and they have lots of pictures of their work - which is fun to look at.

I am not a fanatic but I do think that we are all refreshed by nature and our children should have an opportunity to explore and wonder about the world God created.

Where have all the teachers gone? . . .

Home!

In all my reading about education and the lack of teachers no one seems to address this cruical issue. Since teaching is mostly a female profession and typically those females really enjoy children - it makes sense that they stay home (if they can) when they have their own children. If you enjoy children and know how crucial the early years are for them, like most teachers do, then why wouldn't many elect to stay home.

I have many excellent teacher friends and most of them are at home with their children. They taught for a 4 or 5 years and then started a family. They are trying to find ways to continue in education without being in a classroom full time. Everyone always talks about a teacher schedule working out so well with kids - well not when they are 5 and under!

Some of the options they have found:
1. Consulting
2. Finding summer programs to work with
3. One taught with a University Model School - so she taught twice a week for about 3 hours
4. Teaching On-line courses
5. Tutoring

Some of them may never return to the classroom full time. Some moms realize, after working in a public school, that maybe a homeschool environment would be better for their children and they never return to a classroom. Other moms know that being a good teacher requires a 60 to 70 hour week - so they aren't going to return to that while their children are still young. Still other moms start a home business or find other interests that never lead them back to the classroom.

I am actually really intrigued by the University Model School idea because I think it could be a good way to help excellent teachers continue to teach and balance with their family well. Especially if they have a supportive community that can help switch off child care.

Basically the University Model is a hybrid of a private school and homeschooling - with the curriculum outlined by the teacher. In elementary school the teacher has a self contained class on Tuesday and Thursday for most of a normal school day (8:30 to 2:30 for example). The other days the family is helping the child with their education (learning spelling words, reading one on one, memorizing math facts, etc.). In middle and high school classes meet like a college class does - 3 hours a week. The certified teacher prepares a curriculum that shares the educational load between the teacher and the parent/ student. This allows group projects, discussion, science labs, etc. while also giving students time to read, study and digest information on their own. Although this part time teaching isn't lucrative - it can help meet many needs that aren't financial.

I want to bless those teachers that have gone home and those who feel they need to return to the classroom. It is difficult to find the right balance - especially when children (yours and others) are involved!

Educational Musings

Well, I decided that I needed to better organize my thoughts about education, homeschooling and the like. So I created a wiki website to bring it all together. After trying blogging, using tags and other methods - this just seemed to make the most sense. I have no idea if anyone will benefit from it - but it is helpful to me to keep links together and in some sort of order. I invite your comments, other programs I should consider, etc. Again, it is pretty much in draft mode right now - but hopefully I will be faithful to this wiki (I think this is probably the third or fourth one I've created) and it will grow.

You can visit it here: www.educationalmusings.pbwiki.com. I don't think you need a password to see it. So from now on I intend to post most of my "educational" theories, curriculum and approaches over there. I have LOTS of theory - hopefully someday I can put it into practice. I will try to post my personal experiences with education here.

For example, we have started listening to the SWR phonogram CD. My hubby was listening to it and his comment was that it was WAY over little guys head. I told him that I was trying to learn it - not little man. It is helpful and I can see how the program is useful. Anyway, the fun part is that little guy is trying to repeat the sounds after me. So, he has NO concept of what he is doing but he is trying to be like mommy and make the sounds. Maybe this will make it easier when we actually start learning about letters and all those things.

I knew it was coming

Last week I commented on moves towards making preschool more academic. I believe that in general 3 year olds do not need these "academic standards" to help them learn what they need to know at this age. Today I received proof positive that my fears might come true in New York city. Apparently, the chancellor is promoting academic preschool for three year olds. AHHHHHH! Don't they know what is good for our littlest ones?

Reading - step by step

In my search for information about teaching phonics I found the NAEYCs statement outlining the literacy goals from preschool to third grade. I think this is a balanced look at what children should be able to do at each stage. I think I could very easily fall into pushing my kiddo to do more than he can or should do at a certain stage. These markers help me remember it's not a race and that learning to read is a process that takes time and trial and error.

On the other hand, this informaiton is useful if you feel that the school is pushing the academic side of reading too much. NAEYC is the most widely recognized accredidation organization for early childhood centers. If the school is drilling and killing too much you might encourage them to consider this statement and how it should impact the way they teach their students.

As far as phonics goes, it appears that there is no standard way to introduce the letters and sounds. There are suggestions that basically start with the easy sounds and work from there. The research does indicate that a systematic approach to teaching phonics is key to becoming a proficient reader. So, if for some reason the school your first grader attends is still insistent on the whole language approach as the only method - you need to step in on your child's behalf. You can teach phonics at home if need be.

In the end, remember that the goal of reading is inform, entertain, communicate, etc. - not decode. So, we need to make sure that we are reading materials to our kids (yes even when they are older) so that they can learn to enjoy the whole process of reading and see a reason for wading through the difficulty of putting together all those sounds.

Great Literacy Info

For all you moms out there (or grandmas) who are wondering how to make the most of your time at home and help your little one to enjoy reading I found a great site. It's probably a little more academic than most sites (it is out of the University of Florida) but it has great information on it. It looks like they have really done their research and condensed it down into a usable format. My two favorite pages are:

1) Inexpensive Literacy Materials and Activities - that says it all and they are easy to do too!
2) Characteristics of Children's Writing - this handout tells you about the developmental stages that children pass through in their writing. It's pretty nifty.

Another interesting piece that I found in my search is about transitioning into kindergarten. I realize it is May, but I want to post it before I lose it. This site has lots of information for parents about the BIG step. I think my favorite page is the 80 items that can help ease your little one (not so little anymore) into kindergarten. It's not a screen or skills test - but it gives you an idea of the types of things they should be able to do. So those are my educational finds for today.