Preparations
So. I really wasn't expecting all the prep work in going to this school. Okay, maybe I was, but I was hoping it wouldn't be quite so much. The movie part won't be so bad :) but the reading was. . .well good and bad. Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning by Doug Wilson was good. I enjoyed it because it spoke from his personal experience founding a classical Christian school. Not beign Presbyterian, I didn't agree with all of his philosophy, but I found the book very helpful in getting my teeth around the general philosphy of classical Christian education. The Seven Laws of Teaching, on the other hand, was not so easy to get through. The book, by John Milton Gregory, was excellent as far as thesis and core information was concerned. It was inceredibly wordy, however. Of course, that could be because it was written in the 1880's and the style then was rather. . .overly word-filled. However, as repetition is the key to learning, I guess I can't get too irritated about it. Actually, he really explains the keys to being a good teacher--keys that are often forgotten in a day of curriculum methodology and psychology classes. I really felt that he had a handle on what to keep in mind as one is teaching. Right now, I feel well prepared to tackle both classical Christian philosophy (from Wilson) and the application of it (from Gregory). I say this knowing full well that after my first day my feelings of well-preparedness will very likely shatter and I will return to both books to regain myself. But that, I suppose, is the lot of everyone who embarks on a new endeavor!