The T.C.E. Curriculum is a progressive, developing system.

The Curriculum is meant as a guide to the parent. It is not meant to drive the parent, or to hedge him/her in. It is a framework within which to work, with enough room for flexibility and creativity, yet enough structure to ensure that a reasonable amount of work gets done at a reasonable rate. It is the key to the whole system, creating an orderly method of work.

The T.C.E. system is totally integrated, not modular. In other words, the themes (character qualities of God) run through each subject to achieve a well-rounded education centred on God Himself. However, extra-curricular material (such as computer programmes, maths games, additional reading matter and even extra subjects like an extra language or skill) can be incorporated without much difficulty. Obviously the parent needs to consider the needs of the child and the family in such cases.

There is a tendency in education today to leave out the basics in order to get on with the "real thing". We at T.C.E. believe that there is great merit in learning the basics first - "precept upon precept, line upon line". For example, mathematics has developed in Europe over a period of about 2500 years (maybe longer). It is foolish to throw away or ignore the discoveries of Euclid, Pythagoras, Fibonacci and many others in order to "discover" all of these things for ourselves (as the proponents of the "New Maths" recommend). Furthermore, a child’s self confidence is built up when he is confident that he knows things like his/her tables, Scripture verses, poetry, theorems and so on. This is not the be-all and end-all of learning by any means, but it is a very necessary part of it.

The structure of every language is perfect, unique and God-created. When we study grammar, we study that structure – part of God’s handiwork. Grammar is an excellent basis for future literary skills. Like memorising the times tables, it is sometimes tedious to study the finer points of grammar and many feel that it is unnecessary. However, the discipline pays off later in the child’s mastery, not only of his own language, but of the structure of languages in general. Comprehension skills grow from this basic understanding of the structure of the language - they cannot be learned in isolation. (Proof of this is found in the results of the "New English", where children and young people simply cannot understand English properly, a fact attested to by both employers in the market place and lecturers in tertiary institutions). Naturally, the grammar programme should be supplemented by a rich variety of good reading matter. We provide a suggested list of good children’s books to assist you in this, and also prescribe books to be read for each grade level.

The T.C.E. exams are meant as a guide to a national standard by which the parents can measure their teaching and the child’s progress. They also help the child to get used to external exams, which they will all have to write sooner or later. The T.C.E. exams are there to help and not intimidate or frighten the parent or child. Although the exams are issued in June and November, they may be written when the child is ready for them.

Please remember also that T.C.E. is there as a service to aid the home-schooler. It is not our intention to control as the state educational system does.

T.C.E. wants parents to use their own initiative and not be driven by the curriculum. The parent needs to select from what is set out enough work to ensure that the child grasps the concept, without becoming bored because of too much repetition. However, hard work – and enough of it! – is required in all subjects. All prescribed memory work (Scripture and poetry), as well as all prescribed reading books, must be covered.

T.C.E. aims to give a God-centred system that will build the family relationships by enabling the parent to be directly involved in the teaching process. The parent will also benefit as his/her education will continue - remember that the worst teacher is one who cannot learn anything new! This will result in quality education with great benefit to all involved.

We want the parent and child who stick rigidly to the T.C.E. curriculum to benefit as well as those who are more creative with it. Thus we will continually be striving to improve the system in order to honour our Lord and to give as much satisfaction as we possibly can.

T.C.E., by God’s grace, is growing and wishes each user to feel part of a family of concerned parents who have similar (but not necessarily identical) aspirations and goals for their families. Thus we welcome your suggestions for improvements to the system. Due to the pressure of work and so on, your suggestions may not be incorporated for a while, but they will be considered in future development and are greatly appreciated. Let us work together to form a body to improve this nation’s spiritual, moral and academic standard to the glory of God!