Why We Left Classical Conversations

First, I have to say how much my family has truly loved CC (Classical Conversations). We love the classical model of education and we love the community.

I was 100% sold for CC. I loved it! I loved the curriculum, CC’s mission and vision, the people behind CC, the classical model, etc. I encouraged other CC moms. I brought other homeschool moms to join our CC community. And I have even helped convince other moms to pull their kids from school and homeschool. As a passionate home educator, I found CC to be a perfect fit (or so I thought). I have even created many resources that go along with the CC curriculum, and have been helping other CC families by sharing these resources (either personally or through my website). 

 I will never be one to talk poorly of CC. It was a blessing and it helped to grow me and my children. However, after nearly 3 years with CC, it became clear that God was leading us in a new direction. Community days became stressful. And I have realized that I was just trusting this program instead of keeping my eyes centered on Jesus.

My younger children in foundations loved it, so I can’t say they felt stressed. However, over the past year and a half, I watched my teens become more isolated and it seemed like some of the life was sucked out of them.

My teens truly loved their CC community and most of the curriculum. It was tough, and pushed them. One of the major issues that we had was the workload. We are 100% for a rigorous and challenging curriculum. However, this was a bit over the top. My teens are very hard working. On average, they would work from 8am to midnight most days. And often even later. Then they would continue to work into the weekend. There was no free time. No time for friends. No time for a job. No time for hobbies. Yet, they very rarely ever complained. But I felt their burden. I could see it. And as a home educator, the last thing I want is for my kids to look back on their high school years and all they see is work.

The literature strand had them read 18 novels in one school year. And many of them are very large, difficult reads. In this strand alone I saw them drowning. To keep on schedule with their class, I saw them fly through material with hardly a grasp on what they had read.

I believe less is more. I’d rather see them read 6 hard novels in the year. To dig deep. To strive for great understanding and meaningful conversations and essays based on these 6 books. Mastery. 

The fact that one director has to teach all subjects (science, Latin, literature and writing, logic, history, debate, and math) seemed almost unfair to both the students and the director. The director can’t possibly have mastery of all subjects (and novels). So, the students end up with gaps in their understanding. 

I realized that multiple teachers could provide a deeper and better understanding. The beauty of homeschooling and having a homeschool community is being able to share the burden. One person who has great understanding of science can lead the science strand. Another mom who has deeply studied Latin can teach the Latin strand. And then yet another mom who is a passionate artist can teach art and art history. And so on. This lightens the burden, and makes for a wonderful homeschool community. We can all come together as a team to build a wonderful learning environment. The children have the opportunity to work with a variety of parents and glean from their wisdom and expertise in each particular area.

Foundations:

In the foundations class it often felt too rushed and chaotic. Community day was a bit tiring. My vision for community day is more slow-paced. Peaceful. Calm. With Deeper learning. And fun!

Half an hour for art (which is more like 20-25 minutes with bathroom break, set up and clean up) is not enough time at all. The children gain little knowledge about the artist or technique. And most of these 20-minute art projects end up in the trash. 

A minimum of an hour should be allotted for art. This allows enough time to introduce the lesson, art style/technique, give a demonstration, and allow students to create their own artwork. Some art projects might continue into the following week to allow more time to create a little masterpiece. This will create a more solid foundation for their understanding about art, art history, various art mediums and techniques, and also the ability to discuss art.

The memory work/introduction of new grammar was a whirlwind. There was too much information and not enough time… and also no explanation or context given behind the Latin, history, science, etc. It was rushed and overwhelming. 

The CC stamp/trademark:

Everything ended up being CC this and CC that. There seemed to be a stamp or trademark on everything. There was too much emphasis placed on Classical Conversations© and not enough emphasis on Jesus and learning. 

Strict rules were placed on what could be done on community day. Everything had to come from or be okayed by CC corporate. And for me, I realized that this isn’t why I homeschool. Education should be free and fluid, and without restrictions and limitations. I realize that I needed to focus more on each individual child.

The idea of working through cycles of material makes perfect sense with classical education. However, I felt like CC overdid it with the grammar phase. Having the children parroting large amounts of information is not engaging their minds or intellect. It was dry. There were no stories to trigger their imaginations. Just long, and sometimes complex, memory sentences that they often did not understand. (And, of course I understand the idea of digging in deeper and reading more on the memory work for each week.) But I was wanting to see everything flow and be pieced together. Context was missing.

Children are individual souls with unique personalities. Their minds need to be stimulated and nourished. Nothing does this better than stories that come to life for the child!  Charlotte Mason understood that knowing parrot type lists of facts isn’t education. She satisfied the minds of the children with substantial, interesting, well-written material they can think about.

A new vision going forward:

Rather than stressing so much memory work, I have a different vision for my homeschool. We can have deeper history lessons, with rich and exciting stories. The stories and maps with each lesson will give context. Rather than one random history sentence to memorize, they hear a story. We will go chronologically through history and connect the dots. Then, we can revisit historical periods every few years, keeping with the cyclical nature of classical learning. Maps and geography will be tied into each history lesson as well. Additional books and resources will be brought in to bring each history lesson to life. Even the art lessons can be tied into the history lesson for that week.

One thing I love about homeschooling is the freedom that we have. Choose your own curriculum, pace, schedule, etc. No corporate rules. We can slow down, speed up, use outside resources, change curriculum, take a trip, etc. Sadly, with CC you are confined to their schedule, resources, and curriculum. No outside videos or books can be used. No outside “unlicensed” people can come to teach or enhance a lesson. As a homeschooler, I want to take advantage of my community and resources to enhance our learning.

If we have a professor of music who can come and introduce the students to some instruments, then what a wonderful experience and opportunity for them! The burden is lifted from the parents. And someone with more knowledge and experience can open their eyes to the world of music. If there is a cool video to help explain a concept in science, or show a historical event, then let’s use it!

It seemed that we were too focused on everything “CC.” The focus was on the name of CC, the memory work, etc. Instead, I want our focus to be on God, knowing Him, shining Him, and growing in Him. Deep, fun, and meaningful learning. I want all of my children’s learning to truly be centered on God. Skimming through material and rushing over tons of memory work didn’t give context, deep understanding, or reflect God Almighty. To truly know God, we can’t just skim the surface with little to no understanding about the topic. 

It is also important to me that my homeschool nurtures my children’s soul and spirit. I want to develop virtue and character in my children. It’s more than knowing English, math, history, geography, etc.

The most important memory work to me is that my children know Scripture, books of the Bible, and the character of God. And by hiding the truths of God in their hearts, we can help nurture them into loving image-bearers who can go out into this world to serve God, making a difference no matter what path they take.

We are excited to see where God takes us with our new homeschool journey. It is my prayer that by trying to follow God’s leading, that He will draw us closer to Himself and to each other; and that my children will grow in their knowledge of God and shine Him to others, bringing glory to Him in the things they do.

We will definitely still encourage our friends who continue with CC. I know that there are many great things about Classical Conversations. And it might be exactly what other families need. We enjoyed our time with CC, and I have mixed emotions about leaving. But I know that we will be blessed by following God’s calling in a new direction.