Testimonials

Authors

We developed TRISMS for our children because we felt it would provide them with a well rounded education as well as stimulate interest and a desire to learn. It not only provides directed study, but allows them to branch off into their own area of personal interest."

TRISMS authors, Linda Thornhill and Sally Barnard

TRISMS Works

Dear Linda,

This e-mail is way overdue, but I am happy to be writing it tonight. I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for creating such a wonderful course as TRISMS. Allow me to share with you how it has impacted my education, and my life.

I grew up the oldest of four in Japan in a missionary home. We were all sent to Japanese school from K-6 and then were home schooled in English at home in preparation for college in the United States. Being the oldest, I was always the guinea pig, the lucky one who went through many different curriculums before we found one that suited us. When my mom started me with TRISMS, I was in the eighth grade, and loved it the moment I started. I worked through all three books through my high school years, and learned not only about world history, which has become one of my favorite topics to study, but also about how to do research, how to write, and most important, in my mind, to see history as a whole, and not in segregated topics. I learned that when something happened in history, it brought about a reaction and other things would follow. I learned to love studying and finding out, and my mind has hungered for more knowledge because of this curriculum.

I am now a senior at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon preparing to graduate this year with second highest honors as a Piano Performance Major (BM). I would like to credit my success in college to your curriculum because you taught me how to study independently and how to connect information. My thorough historical background has helped me to understand my field in ways that I do not think would have been possible with other curriculums.

I am considering pursuing my love for learning through a graduate program, and to continue to feed my hunger for more knowledge; something that I have enjoyed ever since I began TRISMS.

Words cannot tell you how much I appreciate all of the hard work that you put into making this wonderful curriculum. I recommend it to anyone who asks me! Thank you!!!

Elina Hamilton

History's Masterminds isn't just a history study. It is designed to build upon a foundation of research, discovery, and language. One of the primary goals is to teach students to ask questions, find answers, transfer information from reading, to thinking, to writing, to speaking and to begin mastering the skills necessary for doing high school level work."

Karen Caroe, Mother of nine

" TRISMS is a great approach to teaching.  The focus on the timeline is quite effective.  It was refreshing to cut out a lot of unimportant facts and really focus on the basic information (the kind you remember).
The development of research skills through guided assignments (ie. Specific questions to answer concerning individuals, etc.) make writing a report an easy task to accomplish.  The questions concerning abstract reasoning cause the children to have to put together their thoughts and to express them.
I loved having the option of creating my own hands-on projects for the different topics studied.

Mrs. Teresa Bell, mother of five, Louisville, KY

TRISMS works for us because it forces and encourages the student to dig for the information, to learn and learn more. The research skills my teens have gained come directly from the TRISMS approach. They are thinkers, because they have been conditioned to reason and to form their own opinions of people and events. In their research, one of the first things they each learned is that there are many differences of opinion. They must weigh things out, and choose what they believe. This has made them strong and confident in their studies. Sarah has the most amazing conversations with adults, not only about history, but about politics, ethics, music, literature and culture. She has strong valid opinions about many things, and can support her views very convincingly. I believe this came from the TRISMS way of learning.

Tauna Scroggins, Broken Arrow, OK

"The success of our high school academic co-op is attributed to TRISMS. Giving us a living breathing alternative to the dry bones of textbooks, TRISMS provides the skeleton to which we apply the muscles, sinews, and flesh. This skeleton allows students K-12 to study the same topic while completing age appropriate assignments. We just completed the four-year cycle using all four of the volumes. After home schooling for 16 years, I'm convinced that TRISMS is the best curriculum I've ever used to study HIS story. With my children four years older and at a different stage in the TRIVIUM, I'm actually excited about embarking on this journey once again."

Pam Rosethal, Academic Director of CCI

Hello! I don't usually chip in with comments as I never feel like I have anything useful to add.... BUT here I can say something! :o) My son went from HATING school (in public school through 5th grade) to really being interested and enjoying doing schoolwork through TRISMS. He was not really interested in writing either.... In fact, he looked
on it like I look at going to the dentists office! However, something about TRISMS and IEW worked for him as he has his desire to learn back and actually ENJOYS doing the work. Let me clarify: He's a boy and would rather be outside playing or doing video games or reading a book and such, but for schoolwork.... he gives this an A++++++.

He is proud of the "schoolbooks" he has created. We are on our third 3 inch binder and still going.... and that is just for History's Masterminds!!! He enjoys researching and finding out odd facts and he actually does much more than I'd require of him. I'd say his "schoolbooks" are almost scrapbooks of a sort....with drawings, famous quotes he enjoyed, photos of him on relevent field trips, etc. just filling up the binders!

So as for writing, TRISMS, and the reluctant student? I say give TRISMS a try and see how it goes. It sure worked for our family!!! Oh, and something else that worked... I let him type the IEW and any stories, papers, etc. that are assigned in TRISMS. He is much happier with that....... and still gets the handwriting practice done on the forms and questionaires!

~Michelle

We have been using TRISMS for about three weeks now.  We are really enjoying it!  It is not overwhelming at all; I really like the research the children are doing with it.  I would not skip the science but I would add the Apologia to get more of a hands-on science.  We are doing Botany with it.

I consider it to be a complete program (other than math and a science lab).  You can start it with no experience with IEW since IEW is included in the daily schedule (it starts with the very basics of IEW).

I am using it with my 7th grade son and 5th grade daughter.

Nan

 

College

I just thought I would post to encourage others that it can be done! I just graduated my oldest daughter from High School with four years of TRISMS! She scored very highly on her ACT and SAT, and enrolled last week at the Community College. So our first home high school experience is a complete success. I have two more who are currently starting their second year of TRISMS high school, and I am now confident that things will come off without a hitch thanks to this wonderful curriculum!

Tauna Scroggins, Broken Arrow, OK