C.S. Lewis once quipped, "Books on a shelf are only potential literature" (An Experiment in Criticism). In other words, unless they are actually read, books really don't do much to stimulate the intellect or the emotions. Sonlight's literature-rich focus means children are always engaged in reading great books, instead of leaving them on the shelf or struggling to get through tedious textbooks.
In addition to my work developing curriculum at Sonlight, I recently taught a grad course on the philosophy of C.S. Lewis. As we made our way through the semester it occurred to me that Sonlight's literature-rich approach is a great help in preparing children for college.
We didn't use any textbooks, opting instead to read several books by C.S. Lewis. Granted, not all college or grad school courses follow this model, but when they do Sonlight students will excel (even when they don't, Sonlight users can still apply the Sonlight model of education to any area of study). After all, Sonlighters are already quite familiar with reading and understanding books, as well as following a set schedule. Sonlight also prepares children to interact with lots of different ideas, encourages critical thinking, and helps children to fairly and charitably understand and engage competing perspectives.
In short, Sonlight's approach to education not only prepares children for college studies, but it prepares them for life. None of us live in isolation from the world. Ideas and differing viewpoints permeate cultures and subcultures whether we agree with the perspectives or not. Being able to intelligently and courteously engage those ideas is a wonderful benefit of Sonlight's approach to education.
How do you see Sonlight helping your children prepare for college or life in general?
Robert Velarde
Author/Educator/Philosopher
Julie, thanks for the comment. What a great report! I'm glad to hear Sonlight has helped your children with their college prep and beyond.
We use Sonlight for all of our 5 children. Our oldest daughter graduated last year and is currently a Freshman at Wheaton College. Some of her classmates can't believe that a "homeschooler" got into Wheaton and is actually thriving there. She was very well prepared for college and hopes to continue through grad school.
Our second oldest daughter is completing her Junior and Senior year in one year. She wants to graduate a year early so she can move on to whatever God has for her. Sonlight has opened her eyes to the great need in the world around us. God has given her a passion to work with young girls enslaved in the sex trafficking world.
We've found Sonlight to be a great choice for our family!
Thanks for sharing, Shelly. What a great testimony!
We used Sonlight Curriculum for all three of our children. Talk about preparing them for college. Our son is now a freshman at Dartmouth College. It was a life long dream for him. We really believe that this literature rich curriculum prepared him for this endeavor. He would run to the mail box to anticipate books from Sonlight. Thanks be to God for directing us to Sonlight.