Simply Classical - Book 7

Simply Classical; A Beautiful Education for Any Child by Cheryl Swope is an argument for and a handbook on how to give children who struggle because of disabilities a truly classical education.  It is very clearly written and tackles the many issues in a forthright and thorough manner.

Swope begins by telling her story.  She and her husband adopted twins, Michael and Michelle, at 13 months old.  These children were born with all sorts of issues and as they grew more became apparent.  Not only were they delayed physically, but it became apparent they were delayed in other ways as well.  Over the years, between the two, they were diagnosed with schizophrenia, autism and all sorts of other disorders like Attention Deficit, mild cerebral palsy, mild mental retardation, etc.

Because of the physical delays, Swope got right into a vigorous schedule of therapies.  This led into therapies dealing with speech as well.  Almost right away Swope was confronted with the choice to 'wait and see' as one doctor put it to her, or to be aggressive.  She sensed the need to be aggressive and she was right.  Raising these children was a long term and love-filled project.  Right from the get-go  Swope chose to really work on all these deficits so that the children could reach as much potential as possible.

Swope was a long time teacher (with a degree in special education) and had already become convinced of the worth of classical education.  But now she had to defy the conventional operating mode of special ed goals.  She didn't want her children's education to be just about training, she wanted it to be about their souls.  So she went about adapting classical methods of education to fit her children.  And it turned out to be the best thing for them.

Classical education is about learning the good, the true and the beautiful.  It's goal is to form a virtuous adult, one with a depth of knowledge and insight, discernment and nobility.  It's methods are often seen as very rigorous, so how would this apply to such 'limited' minds as Michelle and Michael?

Swope lays it all out here.  This book is very practical.  Here are some of the topics Swope addresses:

What Classical Education is,

How to informally assess your child's needs (complete with developmental charts),

What it takes to get a child formally assessed,

Strategies for behavioral and social development,

How to accommodate learning to your child's mental age,

Daily plans on how to structure days at various ages and stages of education,

Testimonials from other homeschooling parents of LD children,

Lots and lots of resources, tips and encouragement

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I went through a period where I was really angry at the classical education folks.  My own kids had LDs and I resented the accelerated academics that I saw being pushed everywhere in the homeschool and schooling worlds of classical ed.  It took all my kids so long to read and I remember how painful that was and then to read, for example, in the book The Well Trained Mind that teaching reading was 'easy' or looking through the Veritas Press catalog and seeing kids being expected to read books like Ivanhoe in 4th grade was so discouraging.  My kids weren't good enough for classical education.  The same thing happened with schools.  At a couple of points during the course of the years we considered attending schools and twice the kids were rejected by seemingly 'Christian' classical schools.  I grew resentful because it seemed to me that the schools were more concerned with their reputation than they were with providing each and every unique child with a godly education.    Through Circe I came to learn about Paula Flint and Debbie Harris who work with struggling kids, deeply believing that every child deserves this kind of education.

Now I have a daydream of my own - that I could start a school.  This school would accept any child and their education would be a loving, classically oriented one that saw him or her as a soul made in the image of God.  Classical education, by emphasizing the good, the true and the beautiful, brings out the good, true and beautiful in the student, in whatever capacity that student may have.  I have no idea if I have the wherewithal to launch such a project, but it is an abiding dream I have.

This book is a keeper.  For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.