Styles of Home Education: Traditional Method

I am dong a series of posts on different styles of home education.  In this series I will use notes written by my sister-in-law Rhonda who is a home school veteran!  You can check out her blog here.http://www.walkingwithsarah.com/

Traditional Method of Education


This style of teaching resembles the classroom setting.  There is a set time for schooling to take place with a set curriculum.  A Beka and Bob Jones are some of the main textbook companies that encourage this methodology.  The course will involve teaching rote facts and a large amount of seat work.  Learning is built systematically over a period of years and includes repetition to enforce ideas learned.  Extracurricular activities and few with the main emphasis on mastering the basics.

Advantages:

• No gaps in learning as education is "line upon Line" and enforced by repetition.  
• Does not require teacher to be overly creative.
• Security in teaching the curriculum as it is laid out for the teacher.

Disadvantages:

• Multi-grade teaching is more difficult.
• May stifle creativity and kill the joy of learning.
• Contributes to burnout.

Lori's 2 cents:  While we have only been home educating for 6 years now, I have to say that we have found bits and pieces of these programs to be wonderfully complete and useful.  We love Bob Jones English and science.  We are "eclectic schoolers" with our hands in many of the methods, but not fully devoted to one single method.  

The traditional method is a method that we try to stay away from.  I prefer my home to not resemble a classroom in any way, but I have friends who do it and do it very well.