Classical Value

All those who read and post a reply to the Principally Sandy blog entries for December will have their email name entered into a monthly contest for a free item, usually a gift card to a national establishment, such as Starbucks, McDonald's, Barnes & Nobles, Amazon, etc. You get one entry per blog that I write that month. If your name is drawn by one of my compadres in the office, we will email you to find out how to send you the card. One post per person per month per blog entry written by me. If you have questions, email me at SANDYHOME@aol.com, subject line "blog question." Emails do not count as blog entry replies. Let the December contest begin! If you want to know when a new entry has been posted, become a follower. {see directions in the right hand column.} Responses without names will not be entered in the contest, though they will be published.

If it's been a while since you've read early American literature, and you suddenly pick up a Hawthorne short story or a JF Cooper chapter, you might be surprised how difficult the language seems. Therefore, one should avoid trying to do so, right?

If that is correct, then let's just move the idea down just a bit. Perhaps it's not early American literature, but you're now in middle school, and you've gotten a bit of high school literature in your hands to read. It's difficult. So let's avoid it.

If that seems okay, let's move it down a ways further. You're a Kindergartner, and the reading in your reader is difficult. So the best thing to do is avoid it, correct? Give it up!

Well, now, Sandy, you're being unreasonable. Every child must learn to read! You can't avoid the early reading, now can you?

In essence, this is all the same scenario. When the Kindergartner finds it difficult, you encourage them. You even read aloud to them to bring excitement to the text. You may even use different voices for different roles. You ask questions as you read to make sure Little One is actually paying attention. You have him or her read a few lines or words, and the success makes him or her want to read even more. Eventually, he takes the book from your hands, and he accomplishes his first read of what he considered impossible material just a few weeks ago.

The same thing can be done with the classics. There is so much of value in reading the classics. The vocabulary is rich. The characters have depth. The story line may move slow, but that allows your mind to put all the thoughts in order, indeed for your own mind to begin to anticipate (think forward) where the author is beginning to take you or even for your mind to develop its own original thoughts. You may even find yourself in a time period of which you are unacquainted, and you are provoked to grab an encyclopedia and read about that age. You are required to trace multiple ideas through the story.

And your mind grows. You learn, unintentionally perhaps on your own part - yet intentionally on your teacher's part, to sift and cull information on the events, to think forward and anticipate consequences, to evaluate the moral reasoning of the characters and the author, to research needed information rather than waiting for it to be spoon-fed into a numb mind. You learn to wait, wait, wait, yes, there it is: the resolution for which you had patiently hoped over the 300 pages, rather than simply grabbing the quick ending of 100 pages.
Was it hard? Maybe the first 2-3 books were. Maybe mom or dad had to read it as well to encourage the student. Maybe conversation had to be forced to cover the points. Yet, by book 4 or 5, student is more comfortable and is even bringing up points and ideas distilled from the longer, deeper, more thoughtful experience of reading a classic book, whether a novel, a biography, or non-fiction work.

Referring to muscles, the first few times you use a set, it is hard and hurts. Yet, daily practice (called exercises) in doing so brings facility with those muscles. It is no different with classic book. Reading things that are difficult SHOULD be done daily. If everything your child reads is easy for him or her to read, they are reading the wrong books. It should be difficult and require time to reach that level of reading we call proficiency, which doesn't mean just getting the words but also getting the thoughts.

However, as a wise woman once revealed to me, reading should be like a meal: short, sweet appetizer pieces, veggies that are good for you, tougher to chew meats, and sweetly anticipated desserts. There are also the popcorn books you read just for fun, but you cannot make them your only source of nutrition.

One thing many homeschoolers do is read books to their children. However, if they have multiple children, they will often read books at a level that the youngest can handle, meaning it is less than want the oldest can handle. This holds back the oldest child, getting that one accustomed to doing less to be part of the crowd. Not a good lesson. Group reading should be done, but it should be aimed at the oldest child, allowing the oldest children to explain it to the younger ones as needed. That way, everyone's need is met.

This Christmas, I challenge every family of New Covenant School to buy a classic book for the family or, if possible, for each child. Buy the best binding you can afford so that, some day, your child's grandchildren can read from granddad's childhood copy of the classics. Then read those books as individuals or as families, comparing ideas with one who read it in the past, whether mom or dad or a sibling.

If you do not require your children to read the classics, you will be locking a door to the extensive collection of literature of hundreds of fine authors, many of whom were deep Christians with fine thoughts of God. You will be separating them from the collected wisdom of many quality writers. You will keep them from our foundation of learning, and telling them, in essence, that they are limited in their abilities to press forward. You would be reducing them to the pablum and drivvle promoted by our get-it-quick culture. Sure, eventually, on their own they might, when they are 35 decide to go back and redo this aspect of their education, when they have a full time family, full time career, and church life, leaving oh, so much energy to do hard things.

Read hard books this year. No one ever says, "I wish I had done less reading or less math when I was young." Accept the challenge. Excelsior!