Curriculum Review: Tom Woods Homeschool

If you are not familiar with Tom Woods, you should be. Dr. Woods is a historian who also has a mastery of economics. Woods holds a PhD in American history from Columbia and a bachelor’s from Harvard. He has scholarly credentials, but Dr. Woods is not your typical scholar. For one, he is self-employed. Rather than teaching at a college, Woods has his own podcast at TomWoods.com, offers homeschool courses at TomWoodsHomeschool.com, and offers adult education courses in history, economics, and government at LibertyClassroom.com ($90 per year), . 

Tom Woods is also different in that he teaches the whole story of history and economics. Rather than feed you more of the mainstream lies taught in public high schools and universities, Woods gives you the “politically incorrect” version. This can be demonstrated by his books, The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History and Meltdown: A Free-Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and Government Bailouts Will Make Things Worse.

Yes, Woods has his ideologies. (But who doesn’t?) He is an Austrian economist and a libertarian. But before you dismiss these “heterodox” schools of thought, you need to give Woods a hearing. It is not possible that the media, the mainstream economists, and the government schools slant things just a little bit?

Three Great Homeschool Courses

Not only does Tom Woods teach you many things you have likely never heard before, but he also makes history and economics come alive. He is an outstanding teacher. And for that reason alone, Tom Woods Homeschool should be of interest to you. Woods has produced three homeschool courses—Western Civilization to 1492, Western Civilization from 1493, and Introduction to Government. These courses are designed for high school age (the Ron Paul curriculum lists them for 10th and 11th grade).

These courses are also a part of the Ron Paul Homeschool curriculum, which costs $250 per year per family and $50 for each additional course. But if you are only interested in Woods’ courses, he has a great deal. You can purchase his courses individually to own. The Western civilization courses (180 lessons each) are $100 each and the government course (90 lessons) is $50.  

While Liberty Classroom courses (which are designed for adults) can be used for advanced homeschoolers, Tom Woods Homeschool courses are particularly suitable for homeschoolers. They have five 50-minute video lectures per week, with the fifth video being review for the week. This is the ideal way to learn new information. Additionally, these courses have assigned online readings and weekly writing assignments.

A Rare Find

It is hard to find good Western civilization courses out there for high school, as our culture seems to be abandoning the very concept of “Western.” Sure, there are textbooks like Spielvogel’s college textbook. But who is going to read that straight through? The best way to learn history is through lectures (with readings as a supplement), and Woods’ videos lessons are the best resource I know of. His Western civilization courses cover ancient Israel, Greece, Rome, the early church, and medieval Christendom—all the way up to the modern day.

His government course is also a gem. The majority of Americans have very little knowledge of the different types of government and very little understanding of our own system. Woods can help your kids understand government (and parents too!). He covers everything from Marxism to classical liberalism to healthcare to natural rights.

Though he is Roman Catholic, Woods is fairly objective in his treatment of religion and history, and this should not be an issue for Protestants. Woods is certainly favorable towards Western civilization, Christianity, and freedom. His courses will therefore be appreciated by all lovers of liberty and our Western heritage. To get this level of quality on such important topics, and each course $100 or less—I cannot recommend them enough.