Reading maketh a full man; speaking a ready man; and writing an exact man!

—Sir Francis Bacon, English Essayist

LESSON 3 — ASSIGNMENTS

Readings

Lesson 3
Read pp. 88-102 in Teaching and Learning America’s Christian History.
Reflect upon the notebook standard and the Notebook Grading Sheet on p. 32. Consider how you can adapt the Grading Sheet for the various grade levels of learning.

Reflections

Study the chart on p. 30 entitled “Comparison of Two Educational Approaches.” Highlight and note the many suggestions for methods and curriculum writing on your “Educational Philosophy Chart.”

Writing

Apply definitions and principles gleaned from this lesson to your “Educational Philosophy Chart”; found on pages 103-104.

George Washington left us a record of his early learning. His childhood copybooks, beginning at age thirteen, are stored in the Library of Congress. JAred Sparks, author of The Life of George Washington, 1855, wrote this account of Washington’s notebooks:

“... His manuscript and schoolbooks, from the time he was thirteen years old, have been preserved. He had already mastered the difficult parts of arithmetic and these books begin with geometry … The manuscripts fill several quires of paper and are remarkable for the care with which they were kept, the neatness and uniformity of the handwriting, the beauty of the diagrams, and a precise method and arrangement in copying out tables and columns of figures.”

The Notebook Approach

The Notebook Approach is both the tool and the primary method used in the Principle Approach® for establishing Christian scholarship in both teaching and learning. It embraces the four steps of learning—RESEARCH—REASON—RELATE—RECORD—commonly called”the Four R’s.” Centuries old, it is the excellent method found in the educational background of the greatest thinkers and leaders in history. In the Bible alone, hundreds of references to writing, making records, books, and chronicles are found. Mastery of learning requires that the student make a written record of his study, and the more detailed and exacting the record, the greater the mastery attained. It can easily be concluded that as the adherence to historical standards and methods, including notebook writing, declined in American education, quality and excellence diminished.

The Notebook Approach is more than an efficient way of filing the learner’s work in a three-ring binder, which is how it appears to the new educator and student. If that were all it embraced, teachers would not spend the immense labor and time that the Notebook Approach requires in teaching and learning, particularly at the primary level of learning. However, the Notebook Approach is a valuable tool of reasoning and academic discipline that produces Christian scholarship and a Biblical world and life view in both the teacher and student.

As each learner applies the Notebook Approach to his personal research and study, the real value of the notebook becomes apparent. As he takes possession of the subject, it liberates both teacher and student to become active producers rather than passive consumers in the educational process. The burden and accountability for learning is placed upon each individual. The teacher or student who learns to reason from principles and leading ideas gleaned from personal research and reasoning eventually becomes a master of subjects. He is equipped for life with a self-governing character, and Independent mentality, and the Christian work ethic. Please read and study the chart “Comparison of Two Educational Approaches” on page 33, or below.

Comparison of Two Educational Approaches

The Workbook Approach

The Notebook Approach

Conditioned Learning

Consumer-Oriented

Result: Dependent Character

Reflective Learning

Producer-Oriented

Result: Independent Character

Curriculum is structured by the pursuit of information and its regurgitation. Glorifies man and his knowledge!
Discourages original thinking through true-false, fill-in-the-blank, one-word responses.
Produces no record of learning- papers discarded, workbooks destroyed. Student has no sense of “value” for the effort. Parents not certain what is being taught.
Subject is not the internal property of the student. Information quickly forgotten! Language must be “dumbed down” for understanding. Communication is vague. Student often unable to give meaningful answers.
Produces the ability to take short answer tests with a “recognition” mentality. Students parrot back the “right” answers for the “A” on the test.
Has no standard of Christian Scholarship or work ethic- no accountability for learning!
Discourages a lifetime enjoyment of learning.
The burden of learning rests on the teachers!
Teachers are tied to teacher manuals and canned curriculum content- someone else’s ideas and lesson plans.
Foster opportunities of irresponsibility, ignorance, illiteracy, inertia- a slavish, dependent mentality and character- a liberal, socialistic, secular world and life view!

Curriculum is structured by Biblical principles and leading ideas. Glorifies God as the author of the subject!
Encourages mastery of subjects. Students research. Required to write complete thoughts, sentences, paragraphs, essays.
Produce a permanent record of learning. Student values his labor and is able to refer back to his study. Parents see exactly what is being taught and required daily, as well as the child’s progress.
Student takes command of the subject and it becomes his personal property. Must be able to reason and think critically; acquires the ability to articulate with perspicuity- speak and write with the mastery and authority of God’s Word.
Produces reflective understanding. Essay tests require an understanding of principles and concepts. Students reason for themselves, solve problems.
Holds student to the standard of excellence in Christ. He practices Christian scholarship.
Produces “philomaths”- those who love learning and pursue a lifetime of study.
The burden of learning rests on the student!
Teacher becomes the lively textbook, the living epistle in the classroom, by researching and developing his own curriculum and lesson plans.
Fosters opportunities for individuality, industry, productivity, accountability, reasoning, mastery of knowledge- a self-governing, independent mentality and character- a conservative, Biblical, Christian world and life view!

The Notebook Approach is both spirit (internal or cause) and letter (external or effect). As in most other learning experiences, the teacher’s understanding of the Notebook Approach begins with the concrete and slowly moves to the abstract. The concrete aspect of this method of teaching and learning consists of three-ring binders, dividers, title pages, the giving of notes on the chalkboard to be laboriously copied into the designated section of the notebook, the grading, correcting, and filing of papers. If the concrete aspect was all—both end and goal—the Notebook Approach would be just a form unworthy of the labor it requires, and a well organized, discriminating textbook would serve as well. It is easy to become entrapped in serving the letter and miss the spirit of this valuable tool.

The Value of the Notebook Approach

It aids in the Biblical purposes of education by “enlightening the understanding, correcting the temper, and forming the habits of youth that fit him for usefulness in his future station.” (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary)
It is the product of the student's creativity and illustration.
It is a permanent record of his productivity.
It aids his parents and teacher in his progress, showing exactly what is being taught. It shows graphically his character development, his industry, diligence, and responsibility.

What makes the Notebook Approach a useful and extremely valuable instrument of education is when each teacher applies the method to his personal research and study. As he takes possession of the subject, it sets him free to become the “living textbook”—the talking, acting, responding textbook, able to call forth true learning from individual students. As a “master” of his subject, he is able to be more flexible, spontaneous, and inspirational in teacher manual, his fresh lessons and instructions touch the heart of every child in the classroom.

Combined with the structure of discipline and habits of work skill that the Notebook Approach requires, the student becomes involved with the subject as he “Four R’s,” thinking and reasoning, writing his thoughts, making a record of his study. He grows in his responsibility for his own learning, building strong qualities of character. The Notebook Approach is the tool of reasoning and academic discipline that restores academic excellence to education and forms individuals whose characters enable them to achieve their God-given potential and accomplish great moral feats!

The Notebook Method

The notebook standard of form is taught at the beginning of each year and reinforce by the teacher daily.

Binders

Purchase good quality binders and group several subjects in the same two and two-and-a-half-inch binder. For example:

Notebook 1: Bible, History, and Geography

Notebook 2: English, Reading, and Latin

Notebook 3: Science, Arithmetic, and P.E.

Notebook 4: Literature, Art, Music, and French

Label each binder with the Child’s name and the subjects. Students should be taught to steward their notebooks with care.

Set-Up:

Dividers: Have students provide notebook dividers and label them in class. Each subject is unique and will require and individual setup form. Suggested format:

History dividers: History Research, History Reason, and History Relate
English dividers: Orthography, Grammar, Composition, Speech, and Syntax
Literature dividers: Introduction, Bible as Literature, Poetry, Shakespeare, plus the title of individual classics being taught.
Title Page: Just as every book has a title and a copyright page, a title page should be made for each subject with the following information and perhaps a suitable quote and illustration.
Classroom Constitution: Place the classroom constitution behind the title page. See page 33.
Notebook Grading Sheet: The four-fold standard of neatness, accuracy, completeness, and order is periodically graded through the year and average into the quarterly grade given on the student’s report cards. The notebook grade, therefore, is a grade for work skills and character more than for academic ability. This provides for a measurement of the whole purpose of education: “correcting the temper, forming manners and habits, fitting for usefulness,” as well as “enlightening the mind.” In elementary school, the notebook grade is generally weighted one-third of the subject grade. The notebook grading sheet is placed after the classroom constitution. See sample on page 32.
The Subject Overview: The subject overview is written by the teacher and is a tool of communication for parents, as well as students, relating the course objectives, content, resources, routines, and projects, (See the Noah Plan® Lessons books for each grade. See pages 95-96 herein for “How to Use The Noah Plan®.”)

Storage:

Build adequate shelving in the classroom to house each student’s notebooks, dictionary, atlas, and Bible. Plastic crates screwed to shelves provide durable individual storage units.