We appreciate that you are interested in Classical Cottage Consortium. If you’re new to our community, we hope you’ll find this to be a very supportive and caring environment. Please don’t be shy about asking your mentor family — or anyone — for help at any time. This is a unique place so there is a lot to learn. And that’s why we all need this meeting every year!
We come to C3 from near and far with different goals for our children; yet, we are like-minded in two very important ways: 1) we want our students’ classes to be academically strong and worthwhile so that students can meet their educational and career goals, 2) but we also hope their experience at Classical Cottage Consortium will support strong character development, independent thinking and leadership skills as we prepare to send them out into the world.
The families in our community have seen great success over the years with both of these goals. We repeatedly hear from experienced teachers that students such as ours are a joy to teach because their character tends to be far above society’s current norm. Our students rise to leadership positions in university programs, in the workforce, and within the community. Many have enjoyed far-reaching academic success, having the opportunity to attend highly competitive universities, respected state programs, and esteemed Christian colleges. Some have earned competitive scholarships or even full rides. Others have chosen trade schools, community colleges or the military. Most importantly, our students become independent thinkers and succeed in pursuing worthwhile life endeavors post high school.
To support our students in reaching their goals, we deeply believe that clear expectations need to be established and maintained, for: teachers, students — and parents.
You are choosing home schooling because you wanted something better for your child. Today’s public and private schools approach to education has given, among other deeply destructive notions, the distinct impression that their teachers — the purported experts — can handle it all, thus allowing busy students and their parents to believe they are passive consumers, generally without responsibility for their education. Gratefully, today’s parents are beginning to realize the dangers inherent in that approach.
At C3 we see Education as an essential partnership between student, parents and teacher — if any of those partners does not do his job, it does not work. If you think about it, that was the approach our public schools took before public education lost its cultural footing.
C3 teachers only meet with their students once a week. It is what YOU do at home that provides the most critical component to our program. Your attitudes toward student responsibilities; your expectations about work being completed, and your organization in structuring (or, helping your older students structure for themselves) the remaining 4 days of the school week are KEY. The teachers and students, no matter how capable, truly cannot do it without you.
“High expectations are what makes C3 so special. Kids take their work seriously; it’s what enables us to do what we do.” An example of this is summer assignments. When my classes begin on the first day, all students bring their completed summer assignments. That kind of follow through would not be possible without parental guidance and high expectations.
In contrast, most schools today typically have 30% or fewer students completing assignments. In fact, homework currently is not a part of the grading system in most institutions. Without that out-of-class effort, you can be sure that learning is dramatically curtailed. For example: How can a meaningful class discussion develop on work the students haven’t done? It can’t.
It’s common for teachers today to have students take time to study in class for quizzes, knowing that they’re unlikely to study at home. This approach only employs short term memory, which is woefully ephemeral — therefore, the grades from those quizzes are of minimal value. Furthermore, those students don’t gain an understanding of the hard work it takes to really learn.
Indeed, it’s the high expectations that our teachers, students, and that you as parents must have, that enable our students to reach their goals. And because those high expectations are so common in our school, it makes it much easier for you as parents to guide them to be responsible — it’s what everyone’s doing! We consciously work to maintain a positive peer environment.
The German philosopher and poet, Johannes Goethe, who is considered the German Shakespeare, said that children will live up to our expectations, whether they are high or low.
We urge you now and in the month ahead to set high expectations for your students this school year and make sure that the attitudes and structure necessary to succeed are firmly in place in your home.
←Back to home
We come to C3 from near and far with different goals for our children; yet, we are like-minded in two very important ways: 1) we want our students’ classes to be academically strong and worthwhile so that students can meet their educational and career goals, 2) but we also hope their experience at Classical Cottage Consortium will support strong character development, independent thinking and leadership skills as we prepare to send them out into the world.
The families in our community have seen great success over the years with both of these goals. We repeatedly hear from experienced teachers that students such as ours are a joy to teach because their character tends to be far above society’s current norm. Our students rise to leadership positions in university programs, in the workforce, and within the community. Many have enjoyed far-reaching academic success, having the opportunity to attend highly competitive universities, respected state programs, and esteemed Christian colleges. Some have earned competitive scholarships or even full rides. Others have chosen trade schools, community colleges or the military. Most importantly, our students become independent thinkers and succeed in pursuing worthwhile life endeavors post high school.
To support our students in reaching their goals, we deeply believe that clear expectations need to be established and maintained, for: teachers, students — and parents.
You are choosing home schooling because you wanted something better for your child. Today’s public and private schools approach to education has given, among other deeply destructive notions, the distinct impression that their teachers — the purported experts — can handle it all, thus allowing busy students and their parents to believe they are passive consumers, generally without responsibility for their education. Gratefully, today’s parents are beginning to realize the dangers inherent in that approach.
At C3 we see Education as an essential partnership between student, parents and teacher — if any of those partners does not do his job, it does not work. If you think about it, that was the approach our public schools took before public education lost its cultural footing.
C3 teachers only meet with their students once a week. It is what YOU do at home that provides the most critical component to our program. Your attitudes toward student responsibilities; your expectations about work being completed, and your organization in structuring (or, helping your older students structure for themselves) the remaining 4 days of the school week are KEY. The teachers and students, no matter how capable, truly cannot do it without you.
“High expectations are what makes C3 so special. Kids take their work seriously; it’s what enables us to do what we do.” An example of this is summer assignments. When my classes begin on the first day, all students bring their completed summer assignments. That kind of follow through would not be possible without parental guidance and high expectations.
In contrast, most schools today typically have 30% or fewer students completing assignments. In fact, homework currently is not a part of the grading system in most institutions. Without that out-of-class effort, you can be sure that learning is dramatically curtailed. For example: How can a meaningful class discussion develop on work the students haven’t done? It can’t.
It’s common for teachers today to have students take time to study in class for quizzes, knowing that they’re unlikely to study at home. This approach only employs short term memory, which is woefully ephemeral — therefore, the grades from those quizzes are of minimal value. Furthermore, those students don’t gain an understanding of the hard work it takes to really learn.
Indeed, it’s the high expectations that our teachers, students, and that you as parents must have, that enable our students to reach their goals. And because those high expectations are so common in our school, it makes it much easier for you as parents to guide them to be responsible — it’s what everyone’s doing! We consciously work to maintain a positive peer environment.
The German philosopher and poet, Johannes Goethe, who is considered the German Shakespeare, said that children will live up to our expectations, whether they are high or low.
We urge you now and in the month ahead to set high expectations for your students this school year and make sure that the attitudes and structure necessary to succeed are firmly in place in your home.
←Back to home