CLASSICAL AND CHRISTIAN: A Case Study of One Mother-Teacher

Record: Melissa Sherfinski, “Contextualizing the Tools of a Classical and Christian Homeschooling Mother-Teacher” in Curriculum Inquiry 4, no. 2 (March 2014): 169-203.

Summary: Sherfinski, a professor in West Virginia University’s College of Education and Human Services, has published widely on school reform issues ranging from class size reduction to universal pre-kindergarten programs.  This is her first published article on homeschooling, though she has been delivering conference papers about homeschooling mothers since 2010.

In this piece Sherfinski profiles a single homeschooling mother pseudonymously named April Greene.  Greene has two boys, ages 11 and 12, whom she has always homeschooled.  Due to the influence of an older sister and another respected friend she has decided to embrace the classical education model currently in fashion among many Christian homeschoolers.  Sherfinski calls her approach “Classical and Christian” throughout, which I’ll abbreviate as CC.

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A Peek Inside of Four Homeschools

This post reviews Kenneth V. Anthony and Susie Burroughs, “Day to Day Operations of Home School Families: Selecting from a Menu of Educational Choices to meet Students’ Individual Instructional Needs.” in International Education Studies, 5, no. 1 (February 2012): 1-17. [Available fulltext here]

Anthony, an instructor at Mississippi University for Women, and Burroughs, a professor of education at Mississippi State, here describe the daily activities of four homeschooling families, all of whom are part of the same classical education co-op in a “southeastern U.S.” state, which I presume to be Mississippi.

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Leithart on Classical Homeschooling

This post reviews Peter J. Leithart, “The New Classical Schooling” in Intercollegiate Review 43, no. 1 (Spring 2008): 3-12. (Available fulltext here)

Leithart, a professor at New Saint Andrews University in Moscow, Idaho, is well-placed to chronicle the emerging classical Christian Education movement.  He has long been associated with The Logos school and Trinity Reformed Church in Moscow (where he now serves as pastor), the seedbed of the movement.  In this article Leithart traces the history of the movement and discusses its underlying philosophical rationale. 

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