The Well Trained Mind Reviews
The Negative Reviews above from Amazon.com
As Paul Harvey says, and now the rest of the story....
 The Worst Thing to Happen to the Homeschool Movement!!!
First, you should know that the classical approach is not Christian. The classical system that began by the pagan philosophers in Ancient Greece was brought back by the USA public school system when it turned against the Bible and Puritan education methods. Although some classical educators have tried (like the Catholics of ancient times) to merge Bible and pagan ways but this book doesn't even do that. Bauer and Wise esteem intellectualism to the point of idolatry.
Secondly, this approach is demanding, difficult, strenuous, and relentless. I agree with the review saying this approach is for the "perfection-obsessed parent," I would add it is for the wrong focused, dysfuctional, perfection-obsessed parent.
"The Well-Trained Mind" will take away any love of learning from your child. And take away any love of teaching from you!
Homeschooling used to be about bringing your child home to teach them about God and His Word - this book has changed the homeschool focus on the greek philosophers and Shakespeare.
I pray God will open the bind eyes of those lusting after intelectualism and lead them to TRUE WISDOM of God! What good is Homer and Shakespeare to the soul?
Not for Christian Homeschoolers
The author of this book hails the Greek philosophers (Homer, Thales, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle) as sources of wisdom and knowledge. These Greek thinkers, shunning God, came up with man-centered and mystical notions to define the world around them.
This Greek classical approach tends to compartmentalize the student concentrating on his academic ability but the Bible depicts man as a unified whole.
In this book Susan recommends a 6 week study on Homer for her elementary ages. What's wrong with this picture? The Bible gets one page while the pagan Greek philosophers, and Greek gods are idolized over and over. Hello, Greek and Rome fell as a direct result of moral decay--and now you want to copy their education methods? Try looking at Hebrews- they sought the true God and true wisdom not gods and legends. "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." (Col 2:8).
I understand many Christian homeschoolers are seeking structure and better ways but why are you looking to the Greek philosophers don't have the answers. Try the Bible and books by Christian authors instead. The majority of the books on the "Great Books" classical list won't be seen by my children. Yes we should read classics such as "Little Women," "Pilgrims Progress," "Little House on the Prairie," etc. but stay away from the Greek gods and pagans.
In her newer book written for the secular audience, "The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had," Susan Wise Bauer says, "The year I turned thirty, I decided to go back to graduate school Then What? The housework suffered and I missed Mulder's departure [from the XFiles] but I found myself creating a whole new structure of meaning in my mind." Should a Christian take book recommendations from someone that puts this much emphases on the Xfiles (science fiction/horror with a cult following)?????????
The classical method that was developed in ancient Greece and Rome and established in Europe in the middle ages, was used almost exclusively in the Western world until the 19th century. The main focus was reading the Greek and Roman classics; to be in touch with the literary arts marked one as accomplished. There can be no doubt that literary education is more whole, more human, and more satisfying than today's modern scientific technological education. But is even literary education is enough? Good literature-Scott, Milton, Virgil- promotes courage insight, high morality, and imagination, but it can never do with the Bible does.
Under the Greek system learning begets goodness. Under the biblical system goodness begets learning. All non-Biblical education assumes man can become learned without God. Biblical education makes knowledge the foundation of learning. Pursuing knowledge without God is a recipe for disaster. We simply cannot and will not survive without clear moral direction.
DON'T TORTURE YOUR CHILD!!
At the start of the book, the authors of "The Well-Trained Mind" complain that a "classical" education is out of style- in the ensuing 700 pages, they manage to illustrate exactly why. I can't imagine the type of perfection-obsessed parent who would put their child through the sort of torture that Ms. Wise and Ms. Bauer deem to be the best education for a child. Their plan is demanding, unflinching, and doesn't allow any breathing room for a child to discover her own individual talents or ideas. Instead, she is forced through a strict regiment of timed classes (60 minutes for history, 45 minutes for Latin- a language that the authors INSIST a child must take, even if they hate it, for at least two years, otherwise they will end up as total, absolute failures flipping burgers in McDonald's-, an hour per week of fine music and art, etc). They insist that a child must listen to a piece of classical music three times and then crtiticize it, and they also heavily recommend beginning an advanced Algebra I in the 8th grade, something that many education specialists agree is too difficult and stressful for 13-14 year old students.
As a homeschooling parent to two children (a son aged 13 and a daughter age 6), I found myself cringing as I read this book, and my heart goes out to the poor children who are forced to adhere to the curriculum these authors put forth, without room for their own minds to flourish. "The Well-Trained Mind" is truly about shaping not only your child's education, but the very root of your child's mind, leaving them without any indepent thinking, any creativity, or any love of learning.
Please don't have your child suffer through a classical education like the one Ms. Wise & Ms. Bauer have created.
Worst Homeschooling Book
The Well-Trained Mind is the worst home schooling book I have read. I am very thankful that it was not one of the first homeschooling books I read because most of it is impractical, irrelevant and sometimes ridiculous. This book is very narrow and appears to be unaware that children learn by doing, that learning is meaningful, and that there are many ways to learn. The only type of person that might benefit from this book is an exceptionally mature, gifted, daughter who loves to read and whose parents have an unlimited budget for homeschooling. If this is your situation, then ask yourself if you would want to limit her with this teaching style. To avoid disappointment, consider borrowing this book from the library before purchasing it. There are many wonderful homeschooling books; it is worth the effort to find the one that is right for your family.
Lacking in a Christian World View
I appreciated the way this book was put together-easy to gather basic facts, reading suggestions, etc. My beef would not be with the way the book is laid out. Anyone could pick the book up, follow the author's advice and have some success in home schooling, at least according to an acievement test. :|
My concern with this book would be the same concernn for much of what I see in the classical movement that follows a greek model for education. As a Christian home educator, my goal is not to begin with the knowledge of man (the Greek mind-set) but with the knowledge of God (the Hebrew mind-set). I am interested in more than transference of knowledge, I want my children to understand the holiness of God. I am not interested in educating only to my child's aptitudes & talents, I am responsible for educating their whole person. In the end, I am accountable before God not for how well they "know thyself" but for how well they know God & submit to the authority of His Word.
I do think that the classical model is superior if it follows a Hebrew model. This would be achieved if you sifted the ideas of this book through Scripture and taught children how to reason and relate from the Word of God. Of course, this book is not designed to do that & will not.
If you are interested in the classical method, I would suggest in place of this book the following:
1. Teaching the Trivium by Harvey & Laurie Bluedorn
2. The Noah Plan Self Directed Study in the Principle Approach from Foundation for American Christian Education.
Either of those works will help you gain the mind of Christ in your educationphilosophy and help you develop a methodology that is in line with both the 1.classical "timing" of subjects and 2. the Scripture's commands to take every thought captive.
Finally, while the book is put together in an easy to use manner, I would not necessarily desire any of their suggestions or follow their model. I would rather spend my money on one of the books I listed above.
Content: **
Design: ***
Ease of Use: ****
Overall score: ** 1/2
Once an Educrat, Always an Educrat....
This book makes such a fuss over homeschooling, yet from the beginning when it brags about the daughter's many degrees, it goes on to continually quote from people who have....degrees, as if having a degree makes everything you say automatically worth listening to! And, get this, the daughter is....a teacher (granted, a college professor, but still!). It is as if all that matters to these people is the slip of paper. The slip of paper is not the same as an education, people.
They went to so much effort to avoid being part of the system, only for the daughter to become part of it. And yes, it is strange to mention the other two children at the beginning, but not anywhere else in the book. I also got the impression that there wasn't much time for any extracurricular activities that took a lot of time, or required much time away from home...
I Expected More
I found the authors' tone as being rather smug (to the point of throwing this book down!) and beliefs rather Eurocentric. There are many gaps left for the reader to figure out concerning grade levels. Many of their curriculum recommendations are religious and being a non Christian I wish they gave other curriculum options. I don't agree with many of their views and I would advise anyone to ck this book out of the library first before purchasing. They don't value computer science/the use of computers as part of their curriculum (ofcouse being a 'Classical Education' guide!) It's an obnoxious book but maybe useful for some. Good luck
Before Training Your Child's Mind, Consider This
1. If the authors have such well-trained minds, why do they take so long to make their points? After reading their tome, I felt like writing -The Well-Trained Mind for Dummies- or -WTM Cliff Notes- just to make the book's useful aspects (e.g., resource lists, approach to history study) more accessible.
2. The "homeschooling Bible"?--please! The only thing biblical about this book is its length. No one book could possibly tell all homeschoolers how to teach all their children. And a book's wild popularity doesn't make it a classic; it merely makes it a fad.
And finally . . .
3. If this is what it takes to have a well-trained mind, I don't want one. Implementing just a few of the book's suggested methods created a joyless learning experience for my children and me. Training (instructing /drilling) and educating (developing/enlightening) are clearly not the same thing. I'll take an educated mind over a well-trained one any day.
A Great Disappointment
I ordered this book after having heard and read many glowing reviews. Unless you are starting homeschooling (or supplementing) with a pre-schooler, you are too late to get much use out of this (very expensive) tome. You will most likely lapse into deep depression upon learning that you are at least three years behind in covering the essential materials if you begin at kindergarden age or later. Moreover, it is the type of learning plan which will be most appealing to those who feel that schools are deficient in testing and drilling, and that memorization is learning in its most perfect form. The references are outdated in many places, many of the materials and books reccomended are now out of print. All and all, an expensive disappointment in a slick and appealing dust jacket.
Good resource list, inflexible teaching style
This book I'm sure works well for a narrowly defined type of child. It didn't work at all for my very active math/science oriented boys. They hated nearly every reading book listed and pretty soon I found them hardly reading at all whereas previously they were avid readers. Even though I gave them a wide choice of books (recommended by the authors) my boys had no interest in any of them.
The length of the school day was too long and too structured for them. They need movement and they need it often. Physical fitness (critical for a well-developed child in my opinion) is hardly mentioned and one gets the opinion from the book that joining soccer or baseball is a waste of a child's time.
One of my boys is a speedy worker while the other is a "muller." He mulls over a problem, wants to discuss a problem, thinks about different ways to solve a problem until finally he gets around to actually solving a problem. The schedule doesn't accommodate this type of child and that is one of the reasons I chose to home school.
I admire the authors' efforts in education their children. Like another reviewer I wanted to know about the other two children educated along with Susan Bauer Wise. What were their results? How did they adapt to this rigorous schedule?
If your compelling desire is to produce a child who will go to Harvard and have a dizzyingly successful career in liberal arts, this may be the book for you. If, on the other hand, you want a child who has a lifelong desire for learning in an environment designed to meet his specific needs while allowing him the chance to be a kid, don't buy this book. For many kids, this book will lead to quick burnout.
Disappointed--Be aware of the point of view before buying
I first heard about this book when the authors were interviewed on National Public Radio's Diane Rehm Show. I am preparing to homeschool my 5 year old and the book sounded interesting and potentially useful.
I was disappointed. I found myself thinking "why homeschool?" if you are going to replicate the rigidity of school at home? The example schedules are enough to scare anyone off. What happens on those days where you have to get the car registered at the DMV? What about the fabulous exhibit at the Smithsonian that doesn't fit neatly into the year's historic period to be covered? What if your child happens to be passionate about art or dinosaurs? Very little if anything addressed how to work with children for whom the "classic" style of learning--very seat work, drill oriented--doesn't work. Nothing is said about the emerging research on multiple intelligences. And there is very little about the sheer joy of learning, about following a passion, about creativity.
I am all for rigor. And my husband is a product of a Great Books college. But there has to be a more middle ground approach. The attitude the authors smacks of "my way or the highway." Potential readers should be aware that the authors have a very particular viewpoint on what it means to be an educated person. If you agree with this point of view the book could be quite useful, but for those who don't, it's not. This should be taken more as what worked in a particular family, with a particular type of child, not as a prescription for any child, any family.
Reviews above from Amazon.com
Articles About the Classical Approach
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