Trivium Pursuit: In Pursuit of Excellence

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. (Phil. 4:8)

Though we've never met, talking to Laurie Bluedorn on the phone reminds me of one of my favorite spring pastimes: The first really fine day, we'll invite another homeschool family to join us at the park, spread out a faded quilt on sun-soaked grass, lay out an impromptu picnic and pour out hot tea from the thermos. Moms talk while children play, darting in occasionally for a snack before going off again to explore nature or play out a scenario from the latest read-aloud.

You'd never have known, from her warm tones and thoughtful conversation, that a tornado warning had been issued and the Bluedorns were watching the sky for signs of wild weather of the sort that took out their barn in April 2006. I'm glad to say this storm blew over!

Harvey and Laurie Bluedorn started homeschooling before homeschooling was "cool." When their oldest was one or two years old, they began to read books by John Holt and Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore, about how children learn. They launched into their home education program in 1980 with a formal textbook curriculum from a Christian publisher, one of few that would sell to homeschoolers in those early days, and continued with that approach for the next three years. During that time, their philosophy on education changed; influenced by their reading and their own experience, they found value in delaying formal education. In addition, they were increasingly drawn to the classical model with its stages based on the natural learning abilities of growing children. This is the Trivium, as outlined by Dorothy Sayers in her 1947 essay, "The Lost Tools of Learning."

If you've looked into classical education, you've no doubt heard about these: the Grammar stage (lots of memorization, fact learning), Dialectic (analyzing facts and learning to argue), and Rhetoric (synthesizing previous learning and communicating one's understanding). Today there are many variations on this theme, differing philosophies all falling under the same category title, too much information to include here. However, the Bluedorns' approach to Christian Classical Education includes study of history, great literature, structure and grammar of language, and logic, with formal study in math and grammar beginning in the later elementary years. The Bluedorns divide the stages of learning into Knowledge, Understanding, and Wisdom levels and offer general and specific advice for tackling each, based on their own experience.

By 1989 they'd achieved "expert" status in homeschooling circles: They were asked to speak at the Iowa Homeschool Association convention. At the convention they also presented seminars on Latin, Greek, and logic, subjects that are a part of a classical education. (I have to laugh, writing this, as the homeschool experts I've known over the years invariably wince at the term; what made them experts was being a few years ahead of the rest of us, or gifted communicators, or both.) In addition to teaching at the convention, they sold a few Latin and logic books and published a small catalog as a help for other home educators interested in pursuing the classical model.

Soon the Bluedorns were adding books written by Harvey to their catalog: Greek Alphabetarion, Homeschool Greek, Vocabulary Bridges: From English to Latin and Greek, and The Handy English Encoder Decoder. During this time, the family was traveling to conferences in the summer, writing books in the winter, and educating their five children.

Reflecting on twenty years of home education experience, in 2001 they published Teaching the Trivium, a compendium of articles, correspondence, and seminar notes. Ancient History from Primary Sources and Greek Hupogrammon followed, and then the Bluedorn children began to write and subsequently publish. Johannah, the eldest daughter and a gifted artist, began with a picture book introducing the Greek alphabet; this expanded into a series of picture books. The Bluedorns' sons, Nathaniel and Hans, shared their enthusiasm for logic in The Fallacy Detective and The Thinking Toolbox.

You might say that their products sprang from their own homeschooling efforts. Some of the books they published were books they wished they'd had, at the time they were teaching these subjects. Some were materials developed over the course of teaching their own. Some were the fruit of their students' studies. It was a part of their family vision, that their children should write curriculum, author books reflecting their interests, and submit essays to contests. A part of their aim was to grow productive adults, not just fit their students for the job market.

In a way, we're really going back to basics, talking about an educational method that dates from ancient Greece and Rome! However, the Bluedorns caution against reading ancient pagan authors for the sake of "the Classics." Ancient literature reflects the worldview and morality of the authors, so wisdom dictates careful choices. However, there is profitable ancient literature to be found, especially in the areas of history, geography, and architecture, where we can learn more about the underpinnings of Western culture and civilization. We can even find mention of Christians and Christ in early secular writings. (It's fascinating to discuss history with Laurie Bluedorn, whose favorite book of those the Bluedorns have produced is Ancient History from Primary Sources. Her delight in the subject is contagious!)

Classical education as defined by the Founding Fathers of our country included Latin and ancient Greek, as they translated classical works into English. In those days, the measure of one's education was the number of works translated! Nowadays, the Bluedorns advocate learning Biblical Greek to fulfill the high school foreign language requirement, unless the student plans to serve in foreign missions, in which case it's a good idea to learn a foreign language that corresponds to the student's life goals.

The Bluedorns advocate delaying formal math and grammar studies, emphasizing character training and reading aloud from good books in the early years. It was fascinating to hear that the ancients did not teach formal math, for example, and that mathematics taught at elementary ages is a recent innovation of the twentieth century. (Actually, it was reading about the Bluedorns' approach to math in Teaching the Trivium and putting their ideas into practice, that sold me on their educational approach. It worked!)

While you'll find sample schedules in Teaching the Trivium that reflect the Bluedorns' homeschooling days, Laurie emphasized in our conversation that schedules are made to be broken. A schedule is a general outline of a plan to guide you in wisely using the time you are investing in your children, but if you try to follow a schedule exactly, you're a candidate for burnout. In that book, you'll also find their rationale for choosing literature, for teaching ancient languages, for delaying math study, and more.

Though they are no longer conducting workshops and seminars, the Bluedorns continue to share the wealth of their accumulated knowledge and experience. Their website, www.triviumpursuit.com, hosts a number of helpful articles in English and Spanish (and even a couple in Portuguese). Free downloads of sample pages, audio seminars, and podcasts are also available through the website. Laurie takes time to answer questions about all aspects of homeschool with an emphasis on Classical Christian education, both in her blog and in an email newsletter. New books are in the works, including a second volume of Homeschool Greek.

One way of evaluating the Bluedorns' methods is to look at the fruit they've grown. Their sons Nathaniel and Hans are branching out into filmmaking and encouraging young filmmakers (See Christian Filmmakers for more information.). Johannah is married and continues to write children's picture books. Ava raises German Shepherds and Quarter Horses, and Helena ministers to her family by running the household with Ava. All have bloomed into productive young adults, seeking to glorify God with their talents, and pursuing excellence according to their bent.

Visit Trivium Pursuit to learn more about the resources they offer and to benefit from the expertise they share in the articles they have posted. It's a great place to learn more about classical Christian homeschooling. Below you'll find our reviews of products published by Trivium Pursuit.