TEWC stands for total environment, whole child. The ideas behind it are largely inspired by Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education, but updated just enough to make her ideas more approachable for 21st century families.
The first component – total environment – means that everything in a person’s environment is teaching him or her something. It may be teaching something good, or it may be teaching something that isn’t so good, but everything around us is contributing to our education. As a home educating parent, you can use this knowledge to create an environment that helps your child learn good and useful things all the time – even when you aren’t sitting down for formal lessons. Things like instrumental music playing in the background, and even our attitudes as parents, contribute to the environment our kids are living and learning in each day.
The second component – whole child – means you recognize the importance of viewing your child as a whole person – mind, body, and spirit. A true education helps a child develop and grow in all three of these areas (mentally, physically, and spiritually).