The Writing Section
The Robinson Curriculum:
Can it be better?
From Dr. Fred R. Lybrand
Let me say at the outset that I'm a great fan of Art Robinson and what
he
has done for homeschooling. I also think if you are interested in
homeschooling and have discipline in your home; well then, the Robinson
Curriculum (www.robinsoncurriculum.com) is the way to go! If you follow it, I think you'll be pleased with how your children 'learn how to learn'.
But,
can we make a good thing even better? I think we can---especially in
the area of writing. Anything I'm about to say about the Robinson
Curriculum strictly comes from my experience, and with the added
thought that a great program can be made even greater.
Our story with the Robinson Curriculum is pretty simple. We came along
as the second generation of homeschoolers. By “second generation” I
mean many of our friends who were a little ahead of us in the
homeschooling movement attempted to do what anyone would attempt; they
sought to bring ‘school’ into the home. The reality, however, is that
the resources in the home cannot compete with the resources in the
school--- therefore the methods must be different.
By
the way, when I say the resources aren't the same, I don't mean that
the results cannot be even greater than those in a school--- they
certainly can be greater!
In the providence of God, Dr.
Robinson sought to fulfill his deceased wife's wishes in having their
six children homeschooled, while at the same time realizing that he
himself could not do it. This tragedy was worked to good in that it
forced Dr. Robinson to facilitate a self-learning strategy among his children; so, the Robinson Curriculum was born!
The story of the Lybrand family is a good bit different in that we came
along in a time in which we desired to see our children become
self-learners, and yet we flirted with the other extreme of providing
‘no curriculum’ at all. Jody (Mom) has a Master's degree in education
and is still quite fond of curriculums and scope-and-sequence. Fred
(Dad) with his background in the liberal arts (English Literature)
including Latin, Greek, and Hebrew wanted a little more “free spirit”
approach to homeschooling.
The Robinson Curriculum turned out to be an ideal marital solution!
The Robinson Curriculum itself provides enough structure such that it can be followed by those
who like to teach, and enough freedom for those who like to help their
children “learn how to learn.” We love the
Robinson Curriculum and will be forever indebted to Dr. Robinson in
aiding us in our quest to educate our children ourselves. The reality,
however, is that the Robinson Curriculum is largely a way to think,
rather than simple a homeschool curriculum. The sequences of math, then
writing, then reading, along with the other philosophical and practical
insights still needs a math curriculum (Saxon) for it to work. Most of
us don't notice that the ‘true price’ of the Robinson Curriculum is the Robinson material plus the Saxon material. It was this observation that led us to develop The Writing Course.
The truth is that the Robinson Curriculum basically offers little more in writing than
to have your child write on whatever he or she wishes, and then to give
feedback. There's not much to Robinson for a writing curriculum,
however, it's a pretty good strategy. St. John's College in
Albuquerque, New Mexico, for example, has a similar approach (at least
it did several years ago when I received some training there).
The
idea is that with a very enriched and rigorous reading environment,
writing tends to flow well from it. While this is basically true---
that is, that good readers make good writers---we discovered that there
is something more we can offer. We began to ask such questions as
- “What about punctuation?”
- “What about how to come up with ideas on how to write?”
As a result I (Fred) began to work with our children (remember my
background is English Literature, etc., and I've written and published
a number of books). It branched out from there with other Robinson
Curriculum families, so that we began to share with them the exact methodology we
used in giving writing feedback to the children.
- "How do you give feedback?"
- "How do you let them know the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ behind a punctuation change or a word change?"
In wrestling this through we discovered that there is a simpler method that allows children to teach themselves how to write. All of this is contained in The Writing Course. Recently a Robinson mom wrote these words,
Good Morning,
I
just order your program last week and have listened to the first 3
lessons. I want to thank you for the information you are providing.
It is so intuitive but certainly flies in the face of accepted educational "fact".
I
am a homeschooling mother of 5 and have been looking for a way to
overcome the absolute fear 2 of my boys have of writing and I think this is just what we need. Thanks again,
Laura White |
Of course, we're thrilled to see families experiencing what we
experienced; that our children can genuinely learn to write, and write
well.
The greatest victory we've seen recently is with
Holmes, our fourth child (15 years old). Holmes is the kind of person
that everybody loves. He has a great personality, good perspective,
good morals, but he doesn't enjoy focusing during school. There are a
number of things we've learned, and will some day publish concerning
how we use the Robinson Curriculum; however, Holmes was not so great at
spelling. We've endured in the process exactly as we explain in The
Writing Course, and I can say with great confidence today, "Holmes hardly misspells anything."
I mention spelling because it is a great example of the whole philosophy behind the Writing Course (which I believe matches Arthur Robinson's perspective as well) and
that is that a child must teach him or herself. We have a copyrighted
process that you'll learn in the Writing Course to train children
exactly how to become good spellers. I'm sure there is some learning
disability regarding spelling in some of the population, but by and
large, good spellers and bad spellers simply do something different
from each other. The Writing Course trains you in how to train your
child (through feedback) and how to become an excellent speller.
We also noticed that Robinson doesn't give any instruction on how to
write essays, which turns out to be important for the SAT and college.
As a result, we began to think through the basics of what is involved
in an essay, and have developed a course that supplements The Writing Course. In fact, if you buy The Writing Course you get The Essay Course with it (see below). The thing to note about both the Essay Course and the Writing Course is that it is designed with the philosophy of self-learning in mind.
Every curriculum out there in “language arts” is focused on you as the
teacher having to learn and understand in order to pour it in to the
mind of your child. Not so with The Writing Course!
The Writing Course and The Essay Course perfectly match the Robinson
Curriculum philosophy of giving the tools and the structure such that a
child can teach him or herself to be an excellent writer.
The Robinson Curriculum is great, but it doesn't really offer a writing
curriculum that matches the overall approach. The Writing Course is
designed for kids around eleven-years-old through adult to really
understand the nature of writing in terms of making it interesting and
creative, in terms of how to uncover ideas, in terms of punctuation and
grammar---in this sense it is a uniquely comprehensive curriculum.
In our experience about three times through (at least once a year) The
Writing Course is the minimum it takes to get it into the ‘bones’ of
the budding writer. If you think about it, and especially as it regards
college, imagine if your child has completed Saxon through Calculus,
has read most of the books in the Robinson Curriculum, and has gotten
the fundamentals of excellent writing into their habits--- I think you
will find that you have set your child on a course of being and
becoming a lifetime learner. That's the
whole goal behind the Robinson Curriculum, and the whole goal behind
The Writing Course and The Essay Course as supplements.
We are so confident because of what we've seen happen in the lives of
those who've truly worked through The Writing Course material, that we
offer an entire year as a money-back guarantee to give it a try. We
hope the courses bless you as much as they have our family.
God bless,
Fred Lybrand
_________________________________________________________________
*Important*
If you
purchase The
Writing Course by midnight,
,
we will guarantee the
following 3 additional bonuses:
Additional Bonus #1:
- THE ESSAY COURSE
Build
essay writing confidence by learning the principles I wish I had known
before starting college.
This essential guide will give you the tools to understand high school
& college level essay writing, including a practical method for
constructing your own effective essays. These 17 lessons,
like The
Writing Course, may be used by every
member of your family. We
sell
this course separately
for $59.95. The Essay Course makes The
Writing Course a complete package as a curriculum or
supplement for your writing student.
An over $60.00 Value for
free!
Additional Bonus #2
-
ONE
LICENSE FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY (no
additional purchases necessary---EVER)
That's
correct! We authorize you to re-use BOTH COURSES for every
member of your family, and as often as you want (we recommend at least
3x for each student). There are no additional purchases or workbooks
for each
child--- each year--- each grade. Both The Writing Course and The Essay Course can be used again and again
as a fresh curriculum each time you print a new workbook. *Sorry,
this
offer does not
apply to public schools, private schools, or co-ops* - please contact
us about special group discounts
Additional
Bonus #3
- FREE SHIPPING (USA
& Canada Only)
If you purchase The Writing Course right now, you are guaranteed free 5 Business Day shipping. Orders are normally shipped on the next business
day. Please
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have appreciative children who are
Great Writers and understand Correct Punctuation ! Choose either pay option below:
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