Classical Composition

While I enjoyed this curriculum, it was slightly time involved. I had students that were struggling with english composition and this was a bit of a stuggle for them, which means me as well.

For those wishing to embark of a Classical model of education, this is a complete departure from what most of us were used to as the methods for learning to write. Perhaps it is superior -that is up for debate- but if you are at all interested in training your student for the standards, methods, and ideas of mainstream national American standards and standardized tests, this won't do it: instead of teaching that sentences are Declarative, Interrogatory, etc. this teaches a child to listen better, to summarize and narrate, to recognize classic literary devices, to use outline form and learn to plan their writing logically, and then to reduce their writing, to condense it while preserving meaning, and not to waste words or engage in "fluff" writing.

I recognize that those goals will likely produce far superior writing than any current mainstream American "Language Arts" or "Creative Writing" models of education, but learning to teach this way, requires learning a new way of thinking about writing, that is unfamiliar.

So, if you are committed to a major departure from the standard methods in use in schools today, and are willing to learn this method, and also able to teach intensively instead of relying on any self-teaching or self-paced materials, this is a very sound and solid curriculum.

I would love this course for any student to learn.
Marilyn