In my last blog I mentioned that several questions must be answered before we can decide what curriculum is best.  The first question is "What is my vision for my child?"  The second question is "What is my Philosophy of Education?" 

Some may be asking "Do I even have a Philosophy of Education?"  I think everyone has one, but not everyone realizes they have one.  A Philosophy of Education is nothing more that what *I* believe is the *best* way to educate a child.  Do I believe that workbooks and textbooks are the way to go?  Or should education be child directed, meaning that the child learns whatever he is interested in, with very little direction from the parent (lots of support, but little direction)?  Or something in between? 

Traditional schooling is textbook and wokbook based.  Some familiar companies that publish this type of curriculum are Abeka, Bob Jones, Alpha Omega, etc.  This type of curriculum is great for people who are concerned about their children learning the same stuff at the same time as the children in public or private schools.  Or for someone who has just pulled their child out of a traditional school setting and wants something familiar for the child, or is not sure if they are going to homeschool for the long haul.  Terri Maxwell at www.titus2.com has written a great article on the joys of using textbooks in her homeschool.  Click on the "Dad's and Mom's Corners" and scroll down to May 2005. 

There is also Classical Education.  Veritas Press, www.veritaspress.com is a good example of Classical Education.  The Bluedorns have written several books on Classical Education, www.triviumpursuit.com.  This approach utilizes some workbooks, but is based on classical literature, greek/latin (at an early age), logic, etc. This is a great approach for someone who wants a systematic way of homeschooling their child but does not want to use textbooks. 

The Charlotte Mason approach is a "living" approach to education.  Learning is something that is done all the time not just on *school* days.  "Living" books, ie. biographies, complete fiction works (not just a chapter of this book and a chapter of that book),  are used instead of textbooks.  Narration is used instead of worksheets.  Many homeschool books are written using some of Ms. Mason's philosophy.  There's even a free website dedicated to helping those who want to use this approach, www.amblesideonline.com .  This approach works well for those who want to have less distinction between "school" and "life". 

"Unschooling" was coined by John Holt.  With this approach, the parent acts as a supporter and mentor but not a teacher.  When the child is interested in something he is free to explore that area and learn all he can while the parent supplies a rich enviroment for that exploration.  This approach works well for those who provide a rich environment for their child and are okay with the child directing a good portion of their education.  For a great article on unschooling go to http://www.naturalchild.com/guest/earl_stevens.html .

As with all things in life, people don't fit usually fit in nice, neat little catagories for homeschooling.  So there's aslo the Eclectic Approach.  Which means a parent takes what works from these other approaches and throws out what doesn't work.  I think most people are in this catagory.  Maybe we use a workbook or textbook for math, but a CM approach toward history, a classical approach with literature and study Greek and Latin roots and an unschooling approach for art and music.  But next year we might change it all up, maybe we'll take a year off of phonics for that struggling reader even when it doesn't make sense to anyone else but we know that's what we're supposed to do. 

So, what is your Philosophy of Education?  I'd love to hear your thoughts, leave them in the comments.

Next, I'll be blogging about some of my favorite curricula, both past and present.