What is an Eclectic Education?

What on earth does “eclectic” mean? Eclectic homeschooling can be defined as “enjoying the freedom to individually choose and utilize the best elements of various educational resources for your individual children, rather than strictly following a particular style.” Instead of being tyrannized by a textbook, scolded by a schedule, or controlled by a curriculum, eclectic home-schoolers have the liberty to say, “We will do this and not that today.” It is emancipation from the impersonal demands of an educational approach that does not know (or care about) our unique child or particular situation.

Where did it come from? This contemporary term is actually the strategy originally used by homeschooling pioneers to teach their children—when that was so far outside the norm that it was illegal in many states. Since these pioneers had already stepped outside the boundaries of traditional schooling, they found it natural to look for new and innovative ways of teaching that would meet the needs of their unique children, inspiring them to love learning in the process. They discovered that this approach produced far better results than traditional forms of education!

Learning is relational: it should be warm and responsive, kind and thoughtful, full of God’s grace and mercy, taking into account the real, human students who are learning, and the real, human teacher who is helping them in this process. Because learning is a dynamic operation involving children who are constantly growing and changing, it needs to be able to flex and develop with them.

What does this look like? Essentially, the freedom to choose your family’s educational provisions from a wide variety of resources so that they love learning.

Where do I start? Become a “birdwatcher” of your kids: go to their natural habitat and quietly observe. What makes them tick? What delights their hearts? What bores them? Do they like to tinker with toasters? Do they want to play group games? Do they love to read books? Do they run and leap? Do they spend hours creating LEGO® masterpieces or practicing music or painting pictures? All of these are clues to what will give them joy in the journey of homeschooling. 

Our vision, as we look down the road, is to prepare their hearts for the future. We recognize that our approach—though gloriously liberating, giving our children a love of learning—is going to be an ongoing process of tweaking and adjusting. It may mean occasionally tossing out things that didn’t work and trying something new, like Thomas Edison did with his light bulbs. As eclectic home-schoolers, we have to walk in humility—always ready to say, “Hmm, that didn’t go like I planned”—but we also walk in confidence because these students will be equipped to engage in every imaginable endeavor.

Looking for more about eclectic homeschooling? 

Read the rest of this article by Diana Warring in our 2016 Annual. Or find more information here: 

• A Day in the Life of Eclectic Homeschoolers
• Taking an Eclectic Approach to History
• Home Education: Choices, Challenges, and Faith
• Eclectic Homeschooling
• Highlights on Eclectic Homeschooling