Fri 9 Feb 2007
The last 2 days I have ended up sitting in Doctors’ offices reading Climbing Parnassus
I can’t begin to tell you the irony of the situation. As I am sitting there today waiting for Billy Ray (honest injun…) and Bobby Joe to have their turn, I am forced to sit right next to the television. So I am reading Climbing Parnassus
I am reading the last 40 pages of Parnassus where the author makes the case, against his own will, for the cultural reasons we should study Greek and Latin. In spite of the fact that throughout the entire book I have felt ashamed and embarrassed, as I sit watching The View, I at least get to feel the smug satisfaction of knowing there is a Parnassus to climb. If we had a culture raised on classical ideas we would not have The View.
And all the while I am reading I am thinking of the question: Why do I think homeschooling has the advantage over Christian classical school? And I am thinking that I am in way over my head. That I review books I know nothing about. That I try to philosophize when I should perhaps be baking cookies. That I am 45 years old and 3 of my children have already graduated. That C S Lewis was talking about me when he said, “to be intellectual without intellect.” It is just too painful. But then there is The View and I know that
I may be on the plain, miles away from the foot of the hill but at least I am moving towards the mountain. I probably won’t get there but I can point the way.
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Oh Cindy, I feel the same way…I’m just an intellectual wanna-be.
As for the Christian school thing, it’s my 2 graduated scholars, both godly and intelligent young men whom I respect and enjoy, that keep me going…wouldn’t trade my relationship with them for anything…and I find it hard to believe it could have been built any other way…
And…how would I ever find the time to read aloud for 2 hours a day to my younger crew if they were in school?
Nope…not worth it. Too much I’m not willing to sacrifice for the “potential” academic benefits…which I’m not even sure exist.
This is on my heart b/c I’ve had several conversations about this from younger moms fearing their lack of ability to do high school with their boys.
Kathy
Comment by Kathy In VA (February 9, 2007 @ 12:49 pm )
I think we all feel this way. I’ve certainly had my share of thoughts along these lines of late. I think we need to be careful to not grow weary in doing good. It’s too easy to fall into that trap.
Please, do keep pointing the way!!!
Comment by Copper's Wife (February 9, 2007 @ 1:36 pm )
“the preacher said that God is our father and mother. It made me wonder if the poor couple’s vows took.”
I am so glad I wasn’t drinking anything when I read that.
But, Cindy, you are intellectual with intellect. I’ve learned a lot from you and appecitate your thoughts and ideas.
Comment by Janet (February 9, 2007 @ 2:07 pm )
Parnassus is indeed very steep, and with the world rolling boulders such as “The View”, “Oprah”, godless and just plain BAD music/movies, and such at us and our children as we try to climb, it can get pretty intimidating. We are all weary, but the climb is worth it. And if God is for us, who can be against us?
Comment by Linda (February 9, 2007 @ 2:50 pm )
Ugh, I sat in a doctors office as well yesterday and am still recoving from the emotional blitz of the waiting room. I was so disgusted with the music blasting from the speakers (a rock station, mind you)and about 10 people carrying on conversations on cell phones (yes, I felt intimately acquainted with some of these yahoos by the time I left)and then having a discussion with the nurse about why she should marry her new boyfriend, after all, she tried that for 16yrs and doesnt see the need. All the while I am attempting to read Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France. I was so HAPPY to come home,,,,to my kids….we sat around the kitchen table drinking tea, ah, sweet relief. Thanks for the venue to vent, I needed that! Cindy, if you only knew how much smarter you are than I, you would feel really adequate {you and your conspiritor smartie pants Carmon). By the way I do not have a problem with cell phones it is the lack of manners I have a problem with. Ok, much better now, ahhhh.
Comment by Faith Proctor (February 9, 2007 @ 2:53 pm )
Don’t worry, Faith, I forgot to take my cell phone to the office so at least I wasn’t doing that.
Comment by Cindy (February 9, 2007 @ 2:55 pm )
I, too, have been thinking about whether homeschooling is better than a classical school. I don’t know that one is actually “better” than the other. I have been reading A Thomas Jefferson Education on and off over the last few months, and the one issue that keeps surfacing again and again is that it is a myth that one person can educate another. Education will only happen to the extent that the individual student determines to educate himself and then follows it through. He must be excited about learning and apply himself. A great teacher’s job is to inspire a student to that end. Without these components (states Oliver van DeMille, the author) the student will lean toward mediocrity, regardless of the superiority of the curriculum or school setting. Both classical schools and homeschools can offer excellent, mediocre, or poor educational experiences.
Comment by Linda (February 9, 2007 @ 3:10 pm )
Linda,
I have not given up on answering that question and I think I have several good reasons why I believe homeschooling is the better option at this time. I won’t divulge anything in this comment but it has very much to do with what you are saying.
Comment by Cindy (February 9, 2007 @ 3:22 pm )
Looking forward to your answer the “Why?” question I posted. I didn’t mean to cause you frustration, but I honestly want to know what you think.
I do consider you an intellectual, but more than that — wise.
~Jody
Comment by Jody (February 9, 2007 @ 4:16 pm )
I don’t know if I should confess this, but I was actually going to watch The View this morning because Akiane was going to be on.
I forgot though.
And no, I don’t watch the show.
Comment by Joanna (February 9, 2007 @ 5:17 pm )
Don’t give up on discussing the “intellectual” things, Cindy. It give us all hope that we can continue to learn all our lives, that the learning never ends. And that is one of my primary reasons for homeschooling (after acknowledging that God tasks parents with the job of teaching His law to their own children, the fundamental purpose of all we do): I want them to love learning, not think that the pursuit of wisdom and knowledge is something that occurs just in a classroom, ending with “graduation.”
The best lessons we have are the spontaneous ones that come from our intimate fellowship all day long with our children. Perhaps one reason some homeschoolers are frustrated is because the parents don’t remember to continue modeling learning for their children, they think they have to impart an “education” from their finite resources of a long-ago experience that is a distant memory. Their well is dry.
Looking forward to your answer :-).
Faith, you under-rate yourself and put way too much confidence in me! Still hope we can do that cooking date sometime with all the girls!
Comment by Carmon (February 9, 2007 @ 6:12 pm )
::That I try to philosophize when I should perhaps be baking cookies. That I am 45 years old and 3 of my children have already graduated. That C S Lewis was talking about me when he said, “to be intellectual without intellect.” It is just too painful.::
This made me chuckle. I’m glad you philosophize. The more we know the more we know we don’t know. You are intellectual enough and wise enough to know that, and that’s why you’re worth reading!
And I loved this (by Linda):
::I have been reading A Thomas Jefferson Education on and off over the last few months, and the one issue that keeps surfacing again and again is that it is a myth that one person can educate another. Education will only happen to the extent that the individual student determines to educate himself and then follows it through. He must be excited about learning and apply himself. A great teacher’s job is to inspire a student to that end. Without these components (states Oliver van DeMille, the author) the student will lean toward mediocrity, regardless of the superiority of the curriculum or school setting.::
Very nice! And I wholeheartedly agree.
Susan
Comment by Susan L (February 9, 2007 @ 7:19 pm )
Well, imagine how I feel! If you’re miles away, I’m light years away! But I am waving to your back as I follow…
Comment by Denise (February 10, 2007 @ 2:36 am )
Susan and Carmon, you beat me quite nicely to the punch. I’m thinking, Cindy, that you are a good example precisely because you know that you don’t know, and you’re still curious.
And your ironic description of reading *Climbing Parnassus* while trying not to watch The View is hilarious! I have to admit that I’ve never seen The View; I just like the name of the show in conjunction with your book. But I do know that I’ve had these moments too, and the more removed I get from pop culture, the more surreal they become. At least I am somewhat comforted when I read the comments here and realize that other people have them too.
Comment by Laura A (February 10, 2007 @ 10:04 am )
Denise, It is nice to know I am not out on the plain all by myself
Comment by Cindy (February 10, 2007 @ 10:09 am )
Cindy, I’d like to hear more of your thoughts on Climbing Parnassus, the book. I was able to follow the author right up to a point, but I have a real struggle with the idea that Latin or Greek is really all that significant. I speak an inflected language–and so do all the people around me–and I can tell from personal experience that it doesn’t especially lend itself to clear, rational thinking.
I’ve never heard of the View, but don’t feel obligated to enlighten me. Sometimes ignorance is better.
Comment by Karen Gass (February 11, 2007 @ 8:34 am )
Karen,
What I like about Parnassus is that it simplifies what classical education really is. I personally spend lots of time on the liberal arts but a “school” wouldn’t have to have all those subjects in order to be classical. In the home setting we can study the liberal arts as they were meant to be studied, as a part of life. We can draw and take nature walks and read aloud, study history not as a subject but as a means of getting wisdom.
It seems to me in touched on the idea that Latin was not as valuable to the Romans unless they studied the grammar extensively. Do the people in Polish schools study grammar? I am such a sloppy thinker and I rather missed the boat on this with my older boys but I do believe that math can fill the bill instead of Latin, in the time we live in. I am very proud of the poetic knowledge my boys have stored in their hard heads but I wish I had understood the value of mathematics earlier.
Personally, Parnassus was all about what I didn’t do with my first batch of cookies…I am still happy about what I did do and that is more in the realm of the liberal arts.
Comment by Cindy (February 11, 2007 @ 8:06 pm )