Homeschool Approaches

Homeschool Approaches:

We are now in the Education Philosophy chamber. Looking around you will see the faces, names, pictures and/or busts of a multitude of philosophers who have influenced education theory and practice through the ages.

Famous names like Moses (from Old Testament times), Jesus (New Testament), Plato, Aristotle, Buddha, Mohammad, Confucius, Luther, Calvin, Dewey, and a host of others all find a place of honor in this room. Some lived and taught millenniums ago, others are from more recent times. Each one, however, made some impact on the education thinking and practice of his time.

Many of their ideas are still alive and form the basis of educational practice in our modern society.

The one problem, however, that each one of us must address, is

how to reconcile the often conflicting ideas of these famous scholars.

We need to remember that the ideas of each philosopher are grounded in a particular and specific world view and philosophy of life. In many cases when one chooses the ideas of one person, one must, of necessity, reject the ideas of another! This particular dilemma will become more pronounced and clear when we move into the Approaches Section of Homeschool Castle, where we will focus more specifically on the ideas of a few scholars that underpin the homeschooling practices of today.

The Approaches Section of Homeschool Castle is a very important part of the Castle. Each of the rooms in this section is dedicated to promotion and preservation of a specific approach to modern homeschooling. The Approaches Section of the castle is, in a sense, the place where 'the knight mounts the horse' (Modern idiom: 'where the rubber meets the road').

What I am trying to say is that in each of these approaches rooms theory and practice meet and out of the resulting turbulence rise the homeschooling practices of thousands of homeschooling families.

The following are the most significant of homeschooling approaches that are in vogue today:

The Unschooling Approach - John Holt

Hop, skip and jump to "John Holt"

Dr Raymond Moore - The Moore Formula - Moore Foundation

Hop, skip and jump to "Dr Raymond Moore"
Hop, skip and jump to the "Moore Formula"
Hop, skip and jump to "The Moore Foundation"

Classical Homeschooling

Hop, skip and jump to "Classical Homeschooling"

The 'Unit Studies' Approach

Hop, skip and jump to "Unit Studies"

The Eclectic Approach

Hop, skip and jump to "Eclectic Approach"

The Charlotte Mason Approach

Hop, skip and jump to "Charlotte Mason"

The School-at-Home Approach

Hop, skip and jump to "School at Home"

Slide from "Homeschool Approaches" to "Homepage"