Classical education depends on a three-part process of training the mind. The early years of school are spent in absorbing facts, systematically laying the foundations for advanced study. In the middle grades, students learn to think through arguments. In the high school years, they learn to express themselves. This classical pattern is called the trivium.
Susan Wise Bauer's book, The Well Trained Mind, is one of the best homeschooling books I've read, but it's a lot to implement on your own. The concept is very systematic, and well organized.
Classical Conversations is a program based on the trivium. We went to a meeting last night for a group that wants to start a local chapter. It was a fabulous, informative meeting, and it sounds like a great program, but I do have some reservations.
High on that list is cost. For both girls it could easily run over $1,000 for the year. That doesn't include Math, either. I could offset some of that cost by working as a tutor for the program, though I don't know how much. Also, I'd certainly prefer to be able to spend all my time with them in their classes so I can see more closely what the lessons are for that week when we work on them at home. It would be more work/stress for me, obviously, but that's what having a job and making money is, at least to some extent. Would I enjoy it? Probably, but it would also be nice to be able to take that time "off." I'm strongly considering doing no co-op of any kind next year.
Another reservation is the nature of classical education itself. I know, I really like that whole "building a solid foundation" model. But the parrot stage, with its rote memorization, bugs me. Memorizing terms that have no meaning (yet) irks me. I know that the classical answer to this is that the current education model is to expect kids to learn stuff before they're ready and to make judgments about stuff the don't fully understand. I also know that this style of learning flies in the face of the Whole Language reading method I strongly prefer. (I do not dispute the importance of Phonics--I think Phonics is important and useful, but without Whole Language, it lacks meaning.)
Whenever you use a "canned" curriculum, you relinquish some freedom for that convenience. In the past, I've loved developing my own curriculum. It's been one of my favorite things, in fact. Sadly, this past year I've done precious little of that and less follow up. A program like this has some accountability built in, which can be really helpful.
The last reservation is the strong literal Christian aspect. We're Christians, go to church pretty much every week. However, I'm not so interested in defending Creationism, which I know is a part of this. But it's also likely to be a part of any co-op we join.
So--I have a lot of reservations. So why am I even considering this group? Because it would give me quite a bit of structure and framework, which I like. I do see the value in the way it is set up. It does give me flexibility within that framework.
There is a lot to consider with this. And I'm considering it.
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