The congregation quiets and all eyes are on the pulpit. The pastor looks down at his notes and begins his sermon. "Our text for today is uh just a minute (fumble,fumble) oh, that's right John Chapter 15." He seems to be reading the passage silently. Church members shift awkwardly in their seats. "Well, it seems to be saying something about vines and fruit. I don't really know a lot about farming. I'll try to look this up for next week, or wait just a minute while I check my encyclopedia here " The congregation is probably not going to gain much spiritual insight today. The pastor is unprepared. He lacks a deep well of understanding from which to draw and satisfy his flock. 

Thankfully, pastors are far more conscientious than the one described here. A pastor has years of seminary and possibly years of ministry filling his well. He has spent hours prayerfully examining, considering, researching and finally writing his sermon. What he will tell his flock in a given sermon is just a fraction of what he actually knows about the topic. A well-prepared pastor delivering a fine sermon is teaching from a full mind. 

Our little flocks at home need above all else to have a teacher teaching from a full mind. At this time of year we look on our shelves with optimism as we see books, teacher's manuals, notebooks full of fresh paper and pens full of ink. Surely these will make this a successful school year. Too often, though, we resemble the fictional fumbling pastor above attempting to teach without first understanding. Then we wonder why our students are less than inspired. 

We all have subject areas in which our minds are full to overflowing and we naturally enthusiastically teach. This article is to address the areas of weakness. Twice now I've heard Fritz Hinrichs asked the question, "How can I teach these Great Books to my child if I haven't read them myself?" Truthfully, we can't. To strengthen ourselves, we must reduce our educational clutter, commit to filling our own wells, and when necessary send our students to another well that is already full.

"A little, but well." In his book Climbing Parnassus, Tracy Lee Simmons repeatedly states that classical education is simple but deep. A mastery of language is preeminent. But so much clutter creeps in. We worry that we'll have "gaps" in our students' education and so we begin to thinly cover miles of territory. The teacher cannot be an expert over miles of subjects. We do not teach well what we do not know. Reducing the number of subjects taught makes room for becoming well-versed in a few subjects.

The most important step in preparing a full mind is to be actively engaged in learning. Read, figure, think, discuss, write. My students will be more interested in learning if they see that I am interested in learning. Some practical suggestions for improving the life of the mind in a busy world:

1)Get less busy.
2)Read more books. Join one of the Great Books discussion groups or start one of your own. Small is beautiful - just you and one friend can hold each other accountable to read a book.
3)Read thoughtful periodicals such as Touchstone or First Things.
4)For the number side of your brain, memorize phone numbers rather than inputting them into the phone's memory. Correct your children's math drills without the answer key. Do your child's math tests from time to time.

Be encouraged that any effort you are making in this direction will be worthwhile. I'm not suggesting that you need to know more than your students in every area, but that you place value on your own education and allot time accordingly. 

Most of us are not expert in everything we'd like to teach our students, especially as they approach the logic and rhetoric stages. We can't stay ahead. Now's the time to call in reinforcements. Use a curriculum or a video course and learn alongside your student from a teacher who already knows (and loves!) the subject. Another approach is to have your student attend a class, in person or online, or find a private tutor. When Susan Wise Bauer was here speaking last March, she called this outsourcing. 

Over the course of our children's educations at home, they will probably have many hours of independent study. They may take some outside classes, they may take a video class or learn from a tutor, but in those moments when they look to us as teacher, let us resolve to teach from a full mind.

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Anne Weiland and her husband, Marcel, homeschool their seven children in Sacramento, CA. She is the leader of the CCHE Sacramento affiliate group.