Raising Saints & Martyrs

Why? Why should we be asking children to copy other people's work in the classroom? Weren't we all taught plagiarism is bad? Well, yeah, if we planned to turn it in and pass it off as our own work. Plato, Socrates, Homer, Livy, recognize any of these names? If you do, it is because you either had a classical education, or are ensuring your children have one. These are all ancient writers whose words are still read to this very day. Aesop, Anderson, and various mythology stories all offer something so important to our children. These authors and these tales all teach our children how to tell their own stories. It only makes sense then, that our children would copy these works in an attempt to better learn how to not only tell, but to write, these same types of stories.

We don't just read books to say "I read Shakespeare in high school once;" we read to gain an understanding of how to write our own stories. Yes, we want our children to soak in the entire story and understand the plots and themes within them, but we also want our children to copy these so they can learn to write like the same masters we have them reading. You won't ever see the works of Stephanie Meyer in a classroom (I hope) because the writing is generic...like any other young adult novel in the area. The hope is, that by reading and copying Aesop, our children may grow up to be amazing story tellers like Tolkien or Rowling. 

How do we achieve this level of mastery in writing? Progymnasmata. A what now? That is exactly what I said when I saw that word the first time. The Progymnasmata is how the Ancient Greeks taught. It is based on the idea that copying and summarizing at increasing levels will create well educated adults. When you want to show your child how to write letters, you demonstrate it visually for them; this runs along the same thought process...demonstrations and mimicking. There are 14 levels in all, but have no fear, most writing curriculum manages to handle these steps well.

The students basically begin by retelling fables, then retelling short stories, and moving on to paraphrasing in writing, from there they move to the art of refuting an opposing point and making supporting arguments as well. From there students learn to write basic essays, and move on to writing more complex essays with better introductions and conclusions. By the end of all this work, a child should have no problem writing a college entrance essay, or maybe even begin drafting letters to their representatives for help on issues that matter to them (okay, this may be a personal wish, but it is definitely an option).

Does anyone actually offer a curriculum like this? Of course! Besides the multitude of Classical Education Centers throughout the US, there are also some homeschool options as well (and let's be real, that is what you wanted to know about). My first recommendation (as always) would be Memoria Press. I don't know a more well planned, and easy to use classical curriculum...plus, MP it totally Catholic friendly. There are a few others that offer this approach as well: Classical Writing and Writing & Rhetoric (I won't link to either as I have not used these and have no idea how Catholic safe they really are).

Next time your little one says copywork is too boring and she can't deal, remember that it is the gentle introduction to something so much bigger and so important...as an added bonus, she will hone her handwriting skills, and maybe even memorize a few amazing passages.