Dear Visitor:
We know you are wondering, “What makes your courses any different than other products out there, and why do my children need your stuff?” I appreciate folks asking me why they should spend a goodly sum of money for courses published by Worldview Curriculum.
The truth of the matter is that no one really “needs” our courses. Our company like any other educational company is in business because of governmental interference in the lives of millions of people. We provide educational products and services, because ever since the famous “Old Deluder Satan Act” enacted by the Puritans, all state governments believe parents are incapable of showing responsibility for the education of their own children. Hence, the august sages in the halls of corrupt bureaucracy deem necessary the use of curricula in order for home educators to prove an accountability.
Such is the system that oppresses us to a lesser or greater extent depending upon the amount of socialism the citizens of the various states are willing to put up with. While parents may not have the choice whether to teach English or not, they do nevertheless have choices as to which English course to teach, which brings me to the point of this letter.
Literature should not be treated as an “academic” exercise, where students are to cram meaningless bits of information into their minds for the purpose of spewing this material on a typical objective test. Indeed, if students will just pick up a book and read it for pleasure, they will learn much more than their being pressured to “study” for a test. Many studies conclude that pressure of any sort retards learning. Literature is unique in that it is for the soul, and therefore it is to be experienced, not learned.
Most folks who have had the misfortune of experiencing dull English teachers tend to dislike reading literature. I suspect the reason is probably they were forced to apply some cockeyed theory of interpretation to the text, whether the theory was the latest psychological, sociological, Marxist, or feminist fad. All of these interpretations are subjective, which means the student has to read the mind of the author in order to know what he really meant to say in his work. Not only is all of this utter nonsense, but it is impossible to apply. Our courses insist that the only way to interpret the author’s work is by taking the text at face value. All a student has to work with are the words in the text—nothing more, nothing less.
On the other hand, learning the skills of critical writing is a horse of another color. Students generally hate to write, and this hatred is understandable, because they have never been taught HOW to write. This seems plain enough, but when I first walked into a high school class of seniors who did not even know what a thesis statement was, I knew I had to give these young people a crash course in critical writing, and I only had five months in which to do it. Even though students may be reluctant writers, they do show a remarkable ability to master the skills as soon as they are shown a form with which to place their good ideas. The fact that so many college freshmen must take remedial writing courses BEFORE they can take "real" English classes speak volumes about the lack of instruction in the governmental high school.
Okay, so much for the philosophy. I recommend our products to your students, because first of all, students will be reading whole books, and not just a portion of a work. Years ago, as a student myself, I disliked anthologies. As a teacher, I disliked anthologies. I still dislike anthologies. To me, getting an anthology at the beginning of the year was a daunting and unpleasant experience. The book was huge and depressing, because it looked like an enormous amount of reading awaited me throughout the semester or year. Later as a college student, I really got depressed, because I was forced to buy a sixty-dollar anthology, and the professor may have used only a tenth of the material in the book—if that much.
But the most important issue about anthologies is the lack of closure throughout the school year. Human beings are goal-striving folks who need to attain reasonable goals and to move on to the next goal. The anthology only offers closure once during the semester or year. Thus, by reading whole books, the student gets through the course in bite-sized chunks, attains many goals after finishing each work, and experiences closure several times during the year as each novel or collection of poems is finished. There is a constant completion and commencement of new goals.
Second, students will be reading classical literature, yet will be challenged to apply any lessons learned in the context of a Christian worldview. Unfortunately, most authors of classical literature are not Christians, and their writing may espouse a contrary or flawed view of life. Many of our "Critical Thinking" questions challenge the student to ponder ideas deeper than just the plot. At times, the study guide will direct the student with some analysis by the writer of the guide. If we can direct the student to the Bible for answers to questions that are raised by the authors, then hopefully the student will develop the habit of applying the Bible to all spheres of life, whether social, economic, or political.
The student will be the one who is responsible for doing the lessons, not the teacher.
Third, the student will be the one who is responsible for doing the lessons, not the teacher. The lessons are student-driven. The teacher’s role is merely to ensure the student has done the daily work by looking at the vocabulary studies and the reading comprehension questions. In fact, the reading comprehension questions are fairly easy, but the student must read the work in order to answer the questions correctly. These questions provide the evidence that the student did the readings. In short, the recall questions are the “pop quiz” that keeps students honest and diligent readers. In addition to checking the daily work, the educator may have to evaluate a paper once every three to four weeks. Even the writing lessons are student-driven and guide the student step-by-step through the process called critical writing. The writing lessons in our courses are essentially the same lessons I gave to my college students when I was an instructor in composition. Our courses were designed not to burden the educator, but to be user-friendly as possible, though some students may disagree.
And fourth, please do not expect a lot of bells and whistles with our courses. The study guides are intended to be printed and given to the student. The student is not expected to spend any time online, unless ebooks are being used. We at Worldview Curriculum believe the contemporary student spends far too much time with digital media. Of course, the ideal is having the student sit in a comfortable easy chair reading a "real" book.
Frankly, trying to compare our materials with other companies is difficult, because our courses are unique; i.e, the apples verses oranges situation. I believe that every student should use our courses, because they will never have a better chance to read the great classical works of the past, even in college. I can assure you that your students will be better prepared for college and for life than even 95% of students in college today. We hope that we can serve you and your students soon.