Episode #20 | The One Room Schoolhouse and Family-Style Learning with Donna Goff

One-room schoolhouses are extinct, but it’s not because they were ineffective. On the contrary, one-room schoolhouses were actually more effective than grade-based at teaching multiple-age children and helping individual children advance intellectually than grade-based schools today.

So, why were one-room schoolhouses more effective and why are they extinct from the U.S. Education System? What did this model look like in practice?

In this episode Donna Goff shares the history behind the iconic one-room schoolhouse, why they were so effective at educating children, and how teachers were able to teach multiple age children different subjects every day. Most importantly, she shares how she adapted this model of teaching to work for families so you can begin implementing this method in your own home.

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Donna Goff is the owner and Director at MentoringOurOwn.Com. She is known as the Homeschool Mommy Mentor, helping moms succeed in homeschooling, family, home, and life. 

Donna and her husband, Roger, are parents of seven children and fifteen grandchildren. She began homeschooling in 1983 and is still in the trenches. She earned a Bachelor’s of Art Degree in Fine Art & Design, and Master’s of Arts Degree in Education.

Donna was first introduced to Charlotte Mason in 1988. She joined Penny Gardner’s Charlotte Mason Study Group, in 1994. From 1995-2015, Donna hosted her own Charlotte Mason study group. From 2002-2015, Donna founded and led a private Charlotte Mason a cyber-cottage school. She is also the creator of the Power of an Hour: Gateway to a Classical Education curriculum and other Charlotte Mason inspired homeschooling resources. 

Donna loves to be a wife, mother, grandmother, and aunt. She also loves blogging, presenting, learning, organizing mom schools, mentoring homeschool moms, gardening, engaging in the lost arts, singing, creating stained glass murals, micro sand-carving in glass, frugality, provident living, writing poetry, nature studies, family history, and sharing. 

Since 1995, Donna has been presenting and keynoting at Charlotte Mason and Homeschooling conferences in California, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Washington, Nebraska, Virginia, and online. She created the Mentoring Our Own Yahoo Group in 2002. Donna has authored Charlotte Mason articles, a chapter in The Charlotte Mason Study Guide, by Penny Gardner, and also is a co-author of the Homeschooling Basics Series, with her daughter Julia Groves. In 2009, Donna and her daughters Julia Groves and Jennifer Walton co-founded Princess Academies/ Royal Academe and finally Mentoring Our Own.