Curriculum Review: Ron Paul Homeschool

Ron Paul is known by many as the libertarian congressman who ran for president twice in recent years. However, Ron Paul is also an avid homeschooling advocate, and he offers a K–12 homeschool curriculum at his site RonPaulCurriculum.com.

Cost and Content

The Ron Paul Curriculum is from a pro-Western civilization and free-market perspective. The curriculum provides top-notch education from great teachers, such as Dr. Tom Woods. It does not use textbooks but focuses more on reading primary sources.

Each course includes five videos per week (for a total of 36 weeks), with lots of review each week to aid memory. There is also a weekly writing assignment for each humanities/social science course. A subscription is only $250 per year per family—whether you have one child or ten! (This gets you access to the forums.) You then pay $50 for each course you want to take. You can sample the first 40 lessons for children's math and reading for free. 

The Ron Paul Curriculum provides the basics of reading, writing, arithmetic, science, and history for K-8th grade students. For high school, there are courses in humanities (Western civilization, American history, American literature), social sciences (government, economics, business), natural sciences (biology, chemistry, physics), mathematics (algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus), and public speaking. There are even courses on how to pass CLEP and AP exams, which can earn students cheap college credit and save them money in the long run.

Western Civilization and Government Courses

This curriculum is worth it for access to Tom Woods’ courses alone. Woods has a PhD in history and is an advocate of libertarianism and free-market economics. Woods has three great courses for the Ron Paul Curriculum, but these courses can also be purchased individually from TomWoodsHomeschool.com (here is my review of his site): 

  • Western Civilization to 1492 ($100; for 10th graders)
  • Western Civilization from 1493 ($100; for 11th graders)
  • Introduction to Government ($50; for 9th graders)

            A sample lesson from the Ron Paul Homeschool Curriculum

These courses are great even for adults. Woods makes history and economics enjoyable, and he provides the kind of information that you just do not get from mainstream textbooks. This is evident from the title of Woods’ bestselling book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History. You can get a feel for Woods' teaching through his website and podcast at TomWoods.com.

Or better yet, you can check out Woods' site Liberty Classroom, a great resource for adults and advanced homeschoolers. A subscription is only $89 per year.

However, there are other strong courses within the Ron Paul Curriculum. For parents who want to homeschool, I recommend using the Ron Paul Curriculum as their primary resource for education. It teaches the basics from kindergarten through 12th grade. Parents can then supplement the curriculum as they see fit. 

Conclusion

The Ron Paul Curriculum is unique in that it is strong in history, government, and economics—subjects that are too often neglected by mainstream education. Even better, these subjects are taught from a free-market perspective and are favorable towards Christianity. Ron Paul is a devout Christian (Baptist), and Reformed author Gary North has helped Paul develop the curriculum. Tom Woods is Catholic, but this should not be a problem for Protestants.

This is a resource that can be appreciated by all Christians and lovers of freedom. If you believe in capitalism, limited government, and the significance of our Christian and Western heritage, then the Ron Paul Curriculum is for you. 

BONUS—If you purchase the Ron Paul Curriculum with this link, I will send you a free copy of The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History by Tom Woods.