Why we didn't choose Classical Conversations

I said in my last post that we'd been hugely impressed with the Classical Conversation (CC) co-op that we'd visited while in America and my first steps into the homeschool journey were through Classical Conversations literature.

So, you may be asking, why didn't we choose it? We did actually find it very helpful. My first books on homeschooling were published by CC and they were helpful. (For example, The Core). Well, good question. I'm not here to berate CC, but rather to take you through our thinking and realisations about Classical education.

So, here goes.

This is why we didn't choose CC:

1. It's more neo-Classical than Classical

Classical Conversations. Surely it's the blueprint for a Classical education? Well, I thought so too. But as I began reading, I realised that it's actually a neo-classical curriculum. 

You see, some wise people, far wiser than me, have written about true, authentic Classical Education. They helpfully state:

Classical education is the inculcation of wisdom and virtue 

through a facility with the liberal arts 

and a familiarity with the Great Books. 

(Cothran, 2018)

When I came across this quote, I realised that CC wasn't all that Classical after all. It does have some elements of a Classical education, namely the Trivium, but a Classical education is far more than this which I outline below. Therefore, it is difficult to argue that CC is really a true Classical Education. The spine of the programme is history, and not literature and Latin, the fundamentals of a Classical Education. It uses term Classical Education in a methodical manner rather than getting to the heart of what a Classical Education really is. More on this below.

2. Context, context, context... 

Something that we realised very early on when looking at the CC Foundations curriculum  was that the kids were being asked to memorise many, many facts. This was something that impressed and concerned us in equal measure: memorising facts is clearly a good thing and a foundation that we were keen to offer to our daughter. However, we were also aware that facts without substance or context can be problematic. Not only were kids encouraged to read lots (the benefits of reading can be seen here), but also any facts that they learned were presented within the context of the subject.

If a child was learning a history fact, they'd learn something of the context of this. They'd learn some biographical information about the main characters and key elements of the period, for example. This was much more desirable for us than making a memory master with no contextual foundation to build on. 

3. Living books

As we were beginning to see that CC probably wasn't going to be for us, we became interested in a curriculum where literature was very much at the heart of the learning experience. This attracted us hugely to the programme as Classic books like Charlotte's Web, Farmer Boy, Treasure Island, The Hobbit were to be enjoyed throughout. We didn't see this focus in CC. We realised that it could be if the parents wished, (as a homeschool education can be anything you make it, right?) but we wanted an option where this was woven into the fabric of the curriculum. I'll share more of this in my next post when I detail which curriculum we have chosen!

4. Beauty, Virtue and Truth (a focus on character)

The more we've read, the more convinced we've become that education is more than the subjects studied and the method employed. It's an education that shapes the character.

We didn't feel that these core elements were at the heart of CC. Instead, it was a great curriculum exposing kids to a wide variety of facts to memorise. But we wanted something different.

And, I'm happy to report: We've found it!

More on this in my next post.

Thanks for reading!

Recommended reading about Classical Education/homeschooling (that I've quoted in this post):

Martin Cothran's article, 'Classical Education is More Than a Method.' 

Sarah Mackenzie's book, 'The Read-Aloud Family.'