Who knew how a trip to Colonial Williamsburg would change our lives?
Pithy Textbook Woes
The textbooks we were using as homeschoolers were lack luster due to their inherent nature.
Pithy paragraphs only led to more questions, causing us endless research backwards in time trying to figure out why this and why that…which would take years to get to what I knew the ultimate answer would be…Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.
Topics little covered in textbooks include the mysterious Middle Ages, Renaissance, and beginning of the Enlightenment.
My learning from Colonial Williamsburg not in textbooks
While seeking a different approach, we packed our bags so my kids could take their first (my second) time travel journey to 18th century Colonial Williamsburg.
On my first visit to Colonial Williamsburg in 1989 I was astonished at all I learned that was never mentioned in obligatory textbooks.
Everywhere I turned, even while sightseeing throughout other parts of Virginia and Washington DC on the same trip, I learned amazing connections of Virginia history that drove our American history…with origins dating back to European history.
In vain I tried to hold all those amazing details in my head to write them down to teach to my future students.
Meanwhile I wanted my kids to experience their first trip to the charm of the 4mph society aka Colonial Williamsburg.
Further I wanted my kids to be exposed to the knowledge of history from the many interpreters.
I wanted them to see with their eyes what we had read in short textbook paragraphs. Where better than a living history museum…the largest one in the world, at that?
Even though this was my expectation, I was surprised at where this time travel would take us in homeschooling.
Beginning our time travel in Colonial Williamsburg
Our first stop at the Governor’s Palace introduced my kids to the beginning of Britain’s authority in the colony of Virginia.
Eventually this authority became an abuse of power that we would see played out as we explored the rest of the historic area set in 1774, the turning point before revolution.
As we left the palace tour from the back doors into the lovely palace garden, the drenching rain had somewhat slowed. Encouraging my kids to explore the nearby maze, I followed close behind.
Meeting Patrick Henry, fire-brand of the American Revolution
En route an 18th century gentleman powerfully orating to a rapt audience of CW guests in the rain caught my attention.
Beguiled I listened to the intensity of his message. Purposeful. Firm. Emboldened.
He was speaking of his homeschool experience. That definitely caught my ear.
Homeschooled in the Classics
Although his education began in a local common school to learn the 3Rs, at the age of 10 he began his classical studies with his father in their home.
His father was well qualified to teach classical studies, since he had been classically trained in England before immigrating to Virginia.
In fact his father classically taught other boys in the local area. When the son came of age, he joined these classical classes.
As more of the story unfolded, I realized that the man thundering away in the rain was none other than the firebrand of the American Revolution, Patrick Henry.
Called the Greatest Orator that Ever Lived
On this day of 1774, Patrick Henry insisted that the king of England was a tyrant to the American colonies. Classically taught about past tyrannical regimes, Henry easily recognized the current abuse of King George III.
“Caesar had his Brutus — Charles the First, His Cromwell — And George the Third” — (“Treason!” cried the Speaker — “Treason, treason!” echoed from every part of the house). Henry faultered not for an instant, but rising to a loftier attitude, concluded thus – “may profit by their example. If this be treason, make the most of it.” -Patrick Henry to the House of Burgesses in 1765 Williamsburg
Why was this important to Patrick Henry?
Richard Schumann, the Patrick Henry interpreter pictured above, explains: There are certain rights that we have here in America that have been assured us by our ancient charter, by the British Constitution – and he’s only wanting to preserve that!
18th Century Classical Education
Several of our Founding Fathers from Virginia served as burgesses in the capital of Williamsburg…George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, James Madison, George Mason, James Monroe, and more.
In fact, is was typical for the burgesses to have a classical education of some degree.
The hallmark of classical education is that students learn to teach themselves for a lifetime. In fact, the classical training is so on-point, that the lifelong student can be self-taught in nearly anything.
Another hallmark of classical education is the quality and quantity of books read.
Classical education focuses on a smaller reading list than one might expect.
Time is spent on a few high quality works that have powerfully affected humankind for hundreds of years, primarily from Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.
Of these works high quantity of time is devoted to deep study and saturation.
It is that deep quality of training that allows one to enlarge the quantity of classical works read in adulthood, enabling self-education.
We will examine this a lot more in later blog posts!
Three Tiers of Classical Education
The three basic tiers to a Classical Education are (and this discussion, too, will be further explored in future blog posts):
*Grammar-gleaning of facts (learning the 3Rs)
*Logic-connecting ideas
*Rhetoric-articulating ideas
Grammar School Differences: Then and Now
Today the term grammar school equates to our modern elementary school system which is so much less than the classical grammar school of olden times.
In fact, grammar school of the olden times was so much more than even a college education today.
Ever since the Middle Ages the classical model of grammar school actually encompassed the study of Greek and Latin grammar.
The admissions test to an 18th century college entailed proving one’s ability to comprehensibly read and understand Greek and Latin.
Classical Study Benefits
Importantly the study of Greek and Latin have various benefits. The complexity of the ancient language builds skill sets in the process of learning the language.
Ultimately the goal is to read classical works in their original language of Latin to glean original context and meaning.
One thing we have learned is that studying anything by the original author opens volumes of detail without bias of others skewing the message.
Choosing a Classical Education
In brief, that is what our homeschool would look like. No more textbooks. Focusing on whole books will be the goal.
We were also going to read as many original source texts as we could, instead of merely taking a textbook writer’s often slanted opinion of history.
Our pithy textbook days came to an end. As a result, life became exciting!
Epilogue 2014
And now that my kids have graduated from high school, they persevered with classical studies, albeit a bit more of a modern version since we are a product of this current age.
We can now testify as to classical education’s value.
Amazingly in time we got to know Patrick Henry personally…as the header picture testifies!
On that day when my kids gleefully walked up to him after one of his orations in a garden, he happily greeted them, “Welcome, friends!”
Stay tuned for all those adventures, as well!
