The Core: Teaching Your Child the Foundations of Classical Education »

Leigh A. Bortins is the founder and CEO of Classical Conversations, Inc., whose enrollment is 20,000. She hosts a weekly radio show, Leigh! for Lunch and lectures widely about the importance of home education at nationwide conferences and seminars. She lives in West End, NC.

In the past, correct spelling, the multiplication tables, the names of the state capitals and the American presidents were basics that all children were taught in school. Today, many children graduate without this essential knowledge. Most curricula today follow a haphazard sampling of topics with a focus on  political correctness instead of teaching students how to study. Leigh Bortins, a leading figure in the homeschooling community, is having none of it. She believes that there are core areas of knowledge that are essential to master. Without knowing the multiplication tables, children can’t advance to algebra. Without mastery of grammar, students will have difficulty expressing themselves. Without these essential building blocks of knowledge, students may remember information but they will never possess a broad and deep understanding of how the world works. In this book, Bortins gives parents the tools and methodology to implement a rigorous, thorough, and broad curriculum based on the classical model, including:

• Rote memorization to cement knowledge

• Systematic learning of geography, historical facts, and timelines

• Reading the great books and seminal historical documents

   instead of adaptations and abridged editions

• Rigorous training in math and the natural sciences

http://www.classicalconversations.com/

Acknowledgments

Preface

Foreword Becky Norton Dunlop Dunlop, Becky Norton

Introduction 1

PART ONE The Classical Model

Chapter One What's Wrong with Education Today? 13

Chapter Two Why We Need Classical Education 39

Chapter Three How Classical Education Can Help You 63

PART TWO The Core of a Classical Education

Chapter Four Reading 89

Chapter Five Writing 107

Chapter Six Math 129

Chapter Seven Geography 149

Chapter Eight History 165

Chapter Nine Science 179

Chapter Ten Fine Arts 199

Chapter Eleven Schedules and Resources for Classical Education 207

Epilogue How a Classical Education Gives Us Skills We Need as Adults 213

Resources 217

Index 231