A Well-Trained Mind

In the Book A Well Trained Mind, Jesse Wise talks about these younger grades being information sponges. From first grade to I think fifth grade, she suggests just filling your kids heads with fact after fact while they are able to soak in so much. (This by the way is contrary to EVERYTHING I was taught at BYU as an El Ed Major).

Today we were reading a book about maps called There's a Map in my Lap. It's in the style of Dr Suess and gives a basic, yet extensive introduction to maps and their uses. It mentioned puzzle maps and I told Ethan that we had a puzzle map of the U.S. downstairs. (I hadn't gotten it out because I figured he wasn't ready for it.) He begged me to get it out and spent the following hour using his basic phonics skills to figure out the names of all the states. He now can place and name 18 states all by himself. We wrote that number on the whiteboard so he can work on it later and improve.

It amazes me how well both the boys soak up the information I give them, especially Ethan. It doesn't matter how advanced the information, they truly have a gift for language at this age which translates into vocabulary as well. The premise of dA Well-Trained Mind is to fill their heads with facts and then in sixth grade start to sort out, apply and make sense of those facts. If they have all that knowledge already at their disposal, they can more easily understand and make use of it at a later age.

So basically, all those worksheets and rote memorization that was part of a classical education actually has some merit, contrary to popular education today. Our Elementary schools emphasize creativity and tactile learning. Wise argues that has a place, but in the later grades, when they have a basic vocabulary and a general understanding of the subjects. It's a must read for any homeschooler and public school parent alike.

I'm inclined to believe that both tactile and rote learning are valuable at this age, unfortunately our current learning trends vastly under emphasize rote learning, which is probably why our children test so poorly against other countries.