HLAP and The Development of An Academic Curriculum

One of the primary goals of the HLA project aims to produce a thoroughly biblical and systematic, academic curriculum, based upon the classical educational model, and modified according to the philosophy of education found in the Word of God. This specifically seeks to help home-school groups, and private Christian educational institutions, and would be made downloadable from the internet at zero price.

The curriculum shall be fairly comprehensive, covering the educational needs from the earliest years of childhood development, through the collegiate level. This will cover as well every area of study warranted by the holy Scripture – from economics, skilled writing and critical reading, logic and the various sciences, to ancient, medieval and modern history. In every case, the diachronic approach forms as much as is practical the preferred approach to the study of the particular subject at hand.

All children should learn to work around the home, and education should supplement, not replace, this work -- as is customary in the public school system. So the educational model this project follows will center upon work (very "hands-on") and offer a discipleship-based, and biblical approach to education.

The basic, early structure for academic development will focus on:

1. Greek and Latin Basic word studies – vocabulary development – is all you need for the youngest. Have them learn Greek and Latin, words, stems, prefixes and suffixes. This will greatly expand their working knowledge of the English language. Have younger students work on memorizing these, using 3 x 5 index cards. Have them write the English on one side, and the Latin (or Greek) on the other. Then play the "who can guess it game" for a prize. Make up a Latin bee. Older students can -- by the same method -- begin memorizing the conjugations, declensions and other grammatical parts of speech. The students should have to make -- pen clearly with their own fingers -- their own card sets by hand, with the advice of the teacher as needed.

2. Catechism and Logic. Always teach this pair together, as the one provides the propositions for the other; one must learn to reason in biblical context at all times, and this will help children (and adults) learn to do this. Basic guides (primers) to logic are available, and the project will likely create one uniquely for the homeschool curriculum, which primer shall use Biblical examples only, for the logical principles taught in it.

3. Skilled writing. This will center on the practice and application of ten principles of good writing, already well-known from writers like George Orwell and others. These represent, the principles of nature’s light applied to the art of writing (i.e. re-writing) most able to produce a skilled and clear work of literary art, a resume, a clear and concise memo, or any other clear and distinct writing piece.

The three elements sought for good writing in each case are:

A. Express yourself clearly
B. Communicate efficiently (say only what you mean precisely, and nothing more)
C. Elegance in style

4. Critical reading. This course will teach a particular method of reading, skimming, and examining, to grasp clearly the main points of any work, and reap the greater benefit from it – for cross-disciplinary purposes. The literary-critical analysis consists of elements of study (i.e. reading the end chapters first, then the first ones), how to identify and apply themes to their surrounding contexts, and in using some elements of speed reading.

It also highlights aspects of reading-for-research adaptable to the reading of any book, such as finding the topic of the book, and then skimming an online library to see similar titles. This yields a fast overview of the entire subject area, introduces the student quickly to the special vocabulary used in that field, and accelerates reading comprehension by providing an overall context for reading the book.

The teacher should require them to read in front of the others, to read naturally and after the tone of the piece being read, and to project confidence. Over time they will develop oratory skills from the practice of it, and then the study of rhetoric and its attending practices can accompany this unit of study later.

5. Practical experiments in the sciences. These consist of fun and didactic experiments one can make from ordinary household materials or other easily obtainable items. They each teach important fundamental principles, laws, or other aspects of physics, astronomy, chemistry, optics and the like. This will be the part of the day the younger ones most look forward to viewing and creating. For good ideas on these, you can either search the internet or read the backs of cereal boxes next time you go to the store.

6. Art and Aesthetics. This is the study of all things bright and beautiful. It finds its justification in the glory of God and the apostolic command to consider and dwell upon whatsoever is noble, lovely, and the like. It aims to show the children the goodness and glory of the Creator and Redeemer from the light of nature. This includes all manner of outdoor activities (field trips) to study rocks and gemstones, precious metals, animals and insects (bugs rule), the mountains and oceans, the starry skies above, classical music, fine goods of all sorts, and all other things whatsoever the teacher deems useful and profitable for children to learn that God loves them, and that he has created a beautiful world, which the Bible calls "good." Some aspects of it are downright delicious. Try the blueberries and pineapple.

7. Money and Management of Resources. This introduces the students at the most basic levels to the study of economics. Here the students learn what money is, why things have value, how to make change for a given amount of money handed to them, the value of work, the nature of work and compensated reward, scarcity and the effect of the fall on limiting resources, and other like principles from the Word of God. This is essentially applied math, using money, to teach the study of numbers and quantities, while providing the biblical context for understanding what money is and does, and what God requires (or else forbids) us to do with it. This is how young children are supposed to learn math. The formal study of math as a separate discipline need not be introduced until 4th or 5th grade.

8. Physical education. This need not be formal - only the children should be shown how to play sports, introducing them to three or four, and then simply have the play fun games. The teacher should play whatever the children play, and laugh when the children laugh. This is an opportunity for the children to see that adults still play, and that they are not really made of wood (as most children secretly suppose). Sometimes, you simply let out a yell (AHA! works well enough) and chase them all. When they squeal run after them.

A few guidelines for teachers. When you talk to a child (individually), bend down so that your face is directly across from theirs. Lower your voice to what is almost a whisper. They will smile and listen intently to whatever you say (because – shhh - it’s a secret; and secrets – as we all know, are VERY important, or they wouldn’t BE top secret). When they do well, hug them or pat them on the head and compliment them. Ask them a gazillion questions, and actually listen to their answers, no matter their quality.

Do these three things and you will have excellent students. Thats it. You would be AMAZED how far this will get you, if you try it consistently.

Most students will only need about three years of formal math – to algebra or pre-alegebra – depending on the aspirations of the student and in consultation with the parents expectations for their children. This requires in a private school context, curriculum adaption to the particular child. Unlike the false assumptions of the public schools – cookie cutter education, one size fits all – the biblical model requires the study of the unique gifts and talents God has given each child, and a formulation of their academic program that matches the results of this study.

Younger students learn math much more slowly than older ones, since they cannot think abstractly until about age 12 or 13. This means if taught logic, catechism and money-math as suggested herein, by the time the child reach this age, he will learn quickly, easily making up for "lost time" by this calculated delay, and far surpass his publicly-schooled counterparts.

Logic and math are directly related, and logic is the more important by far. Children will be learning logic by relating the parts of their catechisms to each other, self-consciously learning the mutual consent of the parts of the biblical worldview, and from each one of the other studies (mentioned above), which will be taught systematically in every case.

This purposefully EXCLUDES the falsely so-called "human sciences" – sociology, psychology and other areas not only NOT WARRANTED by the Word of God, but which do much to harm the Church, and encroach upon the lawful authority of its elders. The high school and collegiate parts of the curriculum will also exclude – for obvious practical and legal reasons – areas such as the practice of medicine and law requiring licensing from the state or other accreditation from non-Christian bodies. Instead, a diachronic and historical study will take their place – i.e. the history of the medical sciences, history of law, etc.

9. Ancient and Church History. This study aims to promote a covenantal-historical awareness on the part of students, who as a consequence of it, see themselves as part of a generation serving God alongside the saints of God of old, as well as with those of today.

They learn here Bible backgrounds, and how the Biblical history fits with the records of other nations and events described by them. Highlighted features include the Creation events in the beginning, the Noahic Flood, the Babel event, the Exodus from Egypt, the rule of the Judges, the United Monarchy in Israel (with special attention to the reigns, practices and teachings of David and Solomon – not merely the historical or sociological conditions prevalent then in Israel), the Babylonian Exile and Return, and the Birth and ministry of Jesus Christ the Lord, and that of his apostles, the Fall of Rome, and the Rise of Christian civilization.

Church History continues with a study of Heresy and Orthodoxy, the major events surrounding all ecclesiastical councils, and the major developments influencing Christian culture from the arts and sciences, including technological innovations and economic developments.

10. Cross-Disciplinary Bible Reading. This study aims to have students read from selected books of the canonical Bible, and apply what they have learned from other areas of study to its reading, for maximum benefit to student and teacher alike. The cross-disciplinary approach to asking questions of the biblical text yields surprising results many times. The fruit of these labors, and their great value, will become obvious, and show their own merit. WIsdom is its own reward – and is sweet to the soul. The better part of Bible study is asking the right – or at least many – questions. Ask enough questions of the text, and some will turn a hefty profit for you.

Contrary to coventional "wisdom," some questions are better to ask than others; some are well asked, but poorly stated, and some are just lousy questions. Questions both relevant to the immediate context, but which originate from a study not native to the text at hand, are the best kind. So for instance, a great one might be, "What were the economic effects in Israel of using only silver and gold for money?" or "How would things have changed if they had done what we do in the West today (print paper money with no gold or silver to back it)?"

Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a right answer given timely. But these begin with good (skillful) questions. Ask well and ask often.

You can view my HLA Manager Resume online (site under construction) at http://hlaprojectmanager.blogspot.com/

If you are unable to link to the resume, just copy the address, by highlighting it with your mouse, and the hit the "control key" and the "C" key simultaneously. This copies the link to your computers temporary memory notepad; then hit "control V" to paste it into the window at the top of your screen. This will paste the URL destination address in the window above (at the top of your browser screen). Then just hit "enter," and you will find the resume. Thank you.