Robinson Curriculum FAQs:
The Self-Teaching Method

Maybe you are wondering about Robinson Curriculum's method of self-teaching or the study habits and learning environment recommended for using Robinson Curriculum. While I can't answer every question you may have, I can pass on answers to many of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the method from real people who use this home school curriculum.

The following opinions do not reflect the official position of Robinson Curriculum. You can look over the Robinson Curriculum official website FAQs and common questions and concerns .The answers here represent my own personal experience, as well as those of others I have had the privilege to interact with on the Robinson Curriculum email group, RC4JC Yahoo group.

For opinions relating to the materials in Robinson Curriculum, see our page
Robinson Curriculum FAQs: About the Materials

Questions about Study Habits

• There's no way my child could or would ever teach himself without my help! Could Robinson Curriculum really work for us?
• What are the down sides of self-teaching?
• On the official Robinson Curriculum website Dr. Robinson recommends a school day of 5-6 hours a day, six days a week, year-round. I think I'd go crazy, and my kids would for sure! I'm just can't see this as being good for our family!
  • Study for five to six hours a day?
  • School six-days a week?
  • Year-round schooling?
• Dr. Robinson seems to recommend having my child learn at his desk by himself for all his studies. That doesn't sound like a good way to learn, and certainly not like much fun. Where is the joy of learning? The creativity? The learning to work in a team?

Questions about the Learning Environment

• Dr. Robinson recommends having a diet without sugar. We could never do that! How crucial is that to the Robinson Curriculum?
• Dr. Robinson recommends not watching television at all. We could never do that, and I'm not sure I'd want to! Must we give up all television to use the Robinson Curriculum?
• Dr. Robinson recommends no computer usage for children under 16 years old or so. That doesn't seem to make much sense in this day and age. Is that really important in using Robinson Curriculum?
• To sum up, what are the hallmarks of Robinson Curriculum?

There's no way my child could or would ever teach himself without my help! Could Robinson Curriculum really work for us?

What happened when we tried the self-teaching method of Robinson Curriculum? My sometimes defiant daughter, who hated having me hover over her while she was working yet couldn't solve a math problem without me sitting right next to her? She is now - get this! - consistently doing her math homework without my help or prodding.

My daughter who would only get exasperated at my explanations, and insist that I was doing something wrong? She is now finding out that she sometimes really is wrong, not just that Mom says so. She is finding out how to find the answer for herself and, as a result, is now growing more willing to accept criticism.

My seven-year old son who could take all day to do a page of math problems while telling himself jokes or making his pencil into an airplane? He still is often slow and easily distracted by anything, but even he is learning to sit down and find what motivates him to do his lessons. For him, he likes to make his work a game and then he is more able to be focused. I am happy that he is learning how to motivate himself.

So, we have seen some definite changes for the better in our children. I have seen my children willingly do their math on Saturday morning, get to work first thing Monday morning on schoolwork without being reminded, and be engrossed in teaching themselves French during “free time,” or reading one of the Robinson Curriculum books because they just couldn't put it down. This isn't true all the time, but I have seen it often enough that I find myself amazed.

I don't understand all the psychology behind the changes in attitudes we've seen, but I can testify that many people who have used Robinson Curriculum have also found that their children's attitudes have turned around simply by following the self-study guidelines (and they are “guidelines,” mind you) set forth in the Robinson Curriculum Course of Study.

Now, of course, it must be admitted that, at least in our home, giving children responsibility for their own learning not only brings out the best in our kids, it also, unfortunately, brings out the worst.

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What are the down sides of self-teaching?

Since this kind of attitude can -- and does -- rear its head with any curriculum, I don't think complaints always mean a change of curriculum is in order. A change of attitude and heart, yes! I think it means that there are character issues that are coming out that need to be addressed and worked on, which we choose to do.

Self-teaching will naturally bring out our children's sinful tendencies, their laziness and lack of self-discipline. There will be times when our children make poor choices in how they use their time. They will not always do their best work. But let's face it, don't we all struggle with these issues to some degree? Coaching our children to recognize their poor attitudes, affirming their successes, and allowing them to learn from their mistakes while still young will help them immensely on the road to becoming capable, responsible, self-motivated and mature leaders when they are older.

If you are looking for an easy fix for your child's education, you may want to look elsewhere. If, however, you want to dig deep into their hearts and minds, and help them be what God wants them to be both spiritually and intellectually, you may find just what you are looking for with Robinson Curriculum.

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On the official Robinson Curriculum website Dr. Robinson recommends a school day of 5-6 hours a day, six days a week, year-round. I think I'd go crazy, and my kids would for sure! I'm just can't see this as being good for our family!

As with virtually any aspect of any home school curriculum, you are ultimately the best judge of your child and your family's needs. You don't have to follow Robinson Curriculum's Course of Study exactly. However, there are some good reasons why Dr. Robinson recommends an academic day of five to six hours, a six-day school week, and year round school. There are also some creative ways to do it without it being a burden. Before you dismiss these ideas out of hand, at least consider the following comments.

• Study for five to six hours a day? It is important to remember that this is a goal, not a starting point. This figure also needs to be adjusted for age and maturity level. So, don't think that your first grader has to study at her desk for 5 hours a day! Start with what she can do now, and keep increasing the time bit by bit, perhaps 5 minutes a week more of reading each week, or a few more math problems every week. Perhaps your older child could break up his reading into two half-hour blocks, and then increase the time in each of these blocks until you and he are satisfied with the amount of work he is doing.

  Start with small steps. A few minutes. A few problems. Give them a chance to feel successful! Then, bit by bit, have them work a few more minutes or a few more problems, and be their biggest fan and and cheerleader along the way!

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• School six-days a week? Having the extra day for school, even if it is only an hour of math, can increase math skills and comprehension significantly. The Course of Study has more information that is worth considering.

  When your children are self-taught, having them do an hour of math or so really is not a big effort for mom or dad. They just pick up where they left off the day before.

  When I first heard of doing school for six days I week, I thought that seemed a bit heavy on the academics (and my children thought it sounded like cruel and unusual punishment!). Then I realized that many public school students do homework on the weekends, too. Since we didn't want our children to do homework on Sunday, we realized that requiring them to do some homework on Saturday is not unreasonable at all. Of course we adjust for special circumstances and their ages. At this point we just do a lesson of math.

  All this about schooling on Saturday aside, however, not all people who do Robinson Curriculum homeschool six days a week. Some do the traditional five days a week. Others homeschool for five days a week, but save Saturday for catch-up and work missed due to errands or other reasons. Others only do an hour of math just to keep making forward progress.

  You need to do what will work best with your family, plain and simple.

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• Year-round schooling? When the mom is in charge of planning, teaching, grading, reminding, and recording of all of the children's many school subjects, it's no wonder that so many home school moms can't wait for summer vacation! Many moms or dads need a break to catch up on all they couldn't do while they were so involved in their children's school.

  With Robinson Curriculum, however, the children learn to be responsible for their own studies, and because there are fewer subjects, there is more free time available (often leaving the afternoon free). The children have time to pursue projects and other activities during the day that they might not have time to do until summer vacation if they were using a curriculum that required lots more time. There is less of a need to have an extended break from school when there is time to do fun, creative things on a more daily basis. Also, the parent isn't exhausted from having to buy, plan, teach, review, grade and record each child's various subjects.

  You may still find that long or frequent holidays makes sense for your family at this season of your lives, and you can modify Robinson Curriculum to fit your needs. You may not find the same kind of academic results as the Robinson family had, and your children may spend a significant amount of time reviewing math facts or vocabulary they forgot. But if you are motivated, you can make it work.

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Dr. Robinson seems to recommend having my child learn at his desk by himself for all his studies. That doesn't sound like a good way to learn, and certainly not like much fun. Where is the joy of learning? The creativity? The learning to work in a team?

Now, as for the idea of how fun and learning go together.

A principle idea of Robinson Curriculum is that learning to sit still and focus on one's work is a skill that children can and need to learn. There is a value in knowing how to wrap your mind around a problem and come up with an answer. This is good preparation for life in college and in the workplace, where you need to learn to do a good job on even the less-interesting parts of your job. There is no need to apologize for helping our children learn to be disciplined in this way.

Does this mean there is no room for fun? Can we still do crafts and hands-on projects? Certainly! If this is something that is of great value to you or your children, by all means do such activities. Many people do these sorts of projects in the afternoons, after the main academic work is finished. My kids have more time in the afternoons now for such creative activities than we did with another homeschool program that specifically incorporated hands-on projects into the curriculum. The caution is, however, not to trade the best hours of the day (typically the earlier hours of the day that should be best spent on the core academic subjects) for such supplemental activities. Keep the main thing the main thing.

As for joy of learning, we have found that much of the joy of learning comes from a feeling of accomplishment, from a feeling of well-being about one's own abilities. Self-teaching at your child's own pace is an excellent means to such positive feelings towards learning. We have seen it with our own children. One of our children was really resisting doing her studies. She was doing the bare minimum she could get away with. Her handwriting showed no care. She had temper tantrums over math concepts she didn't understand. Now, I can honestly say, her attitude has changed so much. After a year or two of daily battles and poor attitudes that extended beyond her schoolwork, I feel like we have our happy, excitable child back again. And she is the one teaching herself French and choosing Shakespeare for her copywork (and doing it carefully!).

There really is plenty of opportunity for kids to do creative projects without those projects having to take center stage (and without having Mom to be the one to have to plan them!). My kids come up with much more creative ideas than I could have suggested, anyway.

As for teamwork in learning, just because children are teaching themselves doesn't mean they are isolated. You can still make time for read-alouds in the afternoons or evenings. In our family, we seem to have more time for that now that I'm not so exhausted trying to keep up with them all! You, or an older sibling, will still need to help teach the younger children how to read and perhaps help them learn their math facts. In addition, there are lots of projects kids can work together on after the main academic work is done. Finally, teamwork can be learned in a variety of settings in addition to academics, such as doing chores or service projects together.

If you wonder if you'll still get to learn together with your children, you can certainly still have read-alouds and fun projects. The key differences are who is responsible for those projects, and what priority are they in the academic day.

You can still enjoy read-alouds and you can learn together, but these activities won't replace the learning that they will be doing on their own. We have found a great deal of joy in learning together, and a great plus for me with Robinson Curriculum is that I love having more time and energy for read-alouds in the afternoons or finding math puzzles to help them in their critical thinking skills. When we were using other teacher-intensive homeschool curriculum, I was exhausted by the mid-afternoon. Now, I know my children have spent their peak hours on their most important subjects, and we can all enjoy a variety of read-alouds. I also love having time to set an example in reading my own books and working on my own projects, which I rarely had time for before. We have found that the joy of learning happens as the children feel more competent and have more ownership over their learning, and I have more time to pursue the learning I want to do, too.

You want to make learning enjoyable for your kids? Don't feel like you have to put on a show for them. Let them enjoy the feeling of accomplishment that comes with learning and discovering on their own.

On the other hand, you don't have to make them study in a closet-like closed room, either. Independent learning does not mean isolated learning. Enjoy learning yourself, model good work habits, and enjoy the process of learning and being a family together.

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Questions about the Learning Environment

While Dr. Robinson is not primarily a nutritionist, he is far from alone in advocating a diet with minimal or no added sugar. CarbohydrateAddicts.com is one of many well-known diets that seek to help us and our children eat less sugar for optimal health.

Is cutting down on sugar a good thing? Yes. Would it help your children to stay on task and teach themselves better? Probably. Is it mandatory for the curriculum to work? Well, not really. You can still gain much by using the Robinson Curriculum, although you may not see the same results as the Robinson family did (and that may not matter to you).

Remember, as with any recommendation for creating a good learning environment, you need to keep in mind what your goals are for your family, and bear in mind that getting may there may be a gradual process.

You can read more at New Sugar Busters! and Carbohydrate Addicted Kids .

Our family went sugar free a couple of years ago, after reading the book Sugar Busters. The book was recommended to my Dh by his Doctor. It is believed that there is a connection between blood glucose and cholesterol. I did not notice any change in my children's behavior. I did notice a change in Dh and myself. He lost 30 pounds and I lost 28. Oh yeah, my daughter went from having cavities at every check up to having no cavities every time. Today we are about 98% sugar free. Diane

The differences in my children from when they had sugar in their diet and my children now where they don't are like night and day. My son had a hard time focusing on his work, sitting in his seat or accomplishing anything. He was hyper and bouncing all the time. My daughter was whiny and irritable and required a ton of patience to endure. Since removing sugar, my kids actually get a long (mostly, they are still brother and sister). My son has done more schoolwork cheerfully this year than probably the last two years combined. He is much more settled and less accidentally destructive. My daughter is a blessing, cheerful and pleasant to be around these days. Jen

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Dr. Robinson recommends not watching television at all. We could never do that, and I'm not sure I'd want to! Must we give up all television to use the Robinson Curriculum?

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Dr. Robinson recommends no computer usage for children under 16 years old or so. That doesn't seem to make much sense in this day and age. Is that really important in using Robinson Curriculum?

The answer to this question is similar to that of watching no television: above all, know your goals for your family and know your own children. Remember that there are probably as many ways to implement Robinson Curriculum as there are families who use it, and there are many families whose younger children use the computer. That being said, however, be open as to why Dr. Robinson recommends this as a good thing for your children's learning environment. You may not agree with all of it, but it is worth considering.

Before explaining Dr. Robinson's reasons for not recommending computers for younger children, however, we must understand that there are different types of computer usage. The computer can be used for playing games (educational or just for fun), communicating (by email or writing stories), and researching information (on the Internet). A fourth usage would be using the computer as a calculator. Let's take each one of these four categories and try and understand its merits and detractions.

Computer games: Why does Robinson Curriculum recommend no educational software before high school? Keep in mind that one of the goals of the Robinson Curriculum is to create an environment conducive to learning - specifically, a self-teaching style of learning as opposed to an “entertainment as learning” style. Most educational software naturally uses games as a way to teach. Activities are fun, immediately rewarding and exciting. While some of this may be a refreshing change of pace, too much of it and children can grow to expect to be entertained all the time. Robinson Curriculum seeks what to promote learning for the joy of discovery rather than the thrill of scoring points or completing an adventure.

Now, don't get me wrong - I think there is a place for computer games and fun educational software. However, I also know that there are ways to “win” at a computer game without actually learning what you were supposed to learn. I know that, at least in our home, computer time can quickly become a black hole if we let it. And finally, I have seen that too much of even educational games can distract from other more basic learning goals such as handwriting and reading.

In a nutshell, Robinson Curriculum seeks to promote the ability to learn as a skill distinct from learning as entertainment.

Computer for communication: This second type of computer usage is more project-based, like word-processing for writing stories or setting up a webpage. And of course there is email and blogging and all that techo-stuff that I don't understand!

In my opinion, if your child wants to create a Power Point presentation on something he learned about whales when he went to the aquarium, if your daughter wants to input her a short story to send it via email to her grandparents, or if your son wants to create his own webpage, that's great! These are all activities that encourage self-teaching and taking responsibility for his or her own learning. These would be great ways to use the computer, in my humble opinion.

If, however, these types of computer activities consistently take away time and energy that one of my children should be devoting to the foundational skills of math, writing or reading, then I would certainly talk with my child about priorities and making sure that the main thing is the main thing.

Computer for research: The third type of computer usage is using the computer for research via the Internet. Of course, having a good family-friendly filter is a must if your kids are going to do anything on the Internet. Knowing how to get information from the Internet will be an increasingly important skill to have, both for college and for the workplace. Again, you need to pray about your goals for your children, but from my perspective, it seems that learning to find information from the Internet for certain projects is a very worthwhile skill to learn. As long as the computer usage is supervised, it can be very beneficial to teaching yourself. Computer usage may not yet be as basic a skill as reading, writing and arithmetic, and it should not consistently take center stage of daily learning. It is, nonetheless, a skill that you may want to devote some time to before your children leave home. At least as I understand the Robinson Curriculum Course of Study, there is flexibility to pursue this kind of learning, too.

Computer as calculator: Lastly, in terms of using the computer as a calculator, Dr. Robinson is not in favor of using calculators or computers to solve problems before studying calculus. Why? Because the use of calculators or computers to do such calculations short-circuits the intellectual ability to solve equations, to think mathematically. He speaks as a scientist, so I think he has some basis for his assessment. He writes on the RC website, “It is important to realize that one cannot insert a calculator or computer into one's brain. Quantitative thought requires mental mathematics. Introduction of machines before the brain has learned to do this work by itself weakens the development of the ability to think.”

For those of us who are less mathematically inclined, we might compare it to learning a new language and the use of a dictionary. Even the electronic dictionaries, useful as they are, are not as good as having the ability to call up a word or phrase from your own memory. If you want to speak a new language well, at some point you just need to internalize the vocabulary and grammar structure. Dictionaries are tools, but just tools. Your brain must be capable of knowing how and when to use those tools and how to communicate when you don't have one. In the same way, a computer or calculator can be very beneficial at some point with mathematics, but your brain still needs to know how to think and how to use the calculator.

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To sum up, what are the hallmarks of Robinson Curriculum?

• focuses on the basic subjects of reading, writing, and arithmetic as the foundation for all other life-long learning. After all, being confident and able to use the tools of learning enables you to learn anything you want to for the rest of your life.
• uses the most direct method available to learn. It follows the idea that if you want to learn how to read, read. If you want to learn how to write, write. Fancy curriculums can sometimes just get in the way. Thus with Robinson Curriculum there is math every day, a writing assignment every day, and reading every day.
• teaches the children to teach themselves. Teaching yourself is a very natural and effective way to learn, not to mention a great way to teach responsibility and self-confidence. It can sure ease the load for the home school parent, too.
teaches character by example, using literature which in general promotes high moral standards. Sure, you can teach morals through separate workbooks and activities, but separating out “character development” and adding it as one more additional subject during the day may be far less effective than simply reading on a daily basis about characters who make moral choices and how they respond to difficulties.

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