The book is divided into two main parts: theory and practicum. Part One makes up the bulk of the book spanning pages 19-205, and it is divided up into five major areas:
- The Value of Charlotte Mason's Work for Today- Susan Schaeffer Macaulay
- The Child Is a Person - Jack Beckman
- Four Pillars of Education - Various contributors
- Distinctives of a Charlotte Mason Education (16 distinctives) - Various Contributors
- Broader Application of Charlotte Mason's Teaching Principles - Susan Schaeffer Macaulay
The preface and first chapter basically served as a history and overview of the Charlotte Mason Method along with painting a clear picture of what a peaceful, enjoyable homeschool education could be even today in the 21st century. As I was reading it, I felt as if I were sitting outside in a peaceful, quiet place—under a tree with just enough sunshine to keep me warm and just enough breeze to keep me from being hot. It was a serene time of taking in truth, and this made me want to sit down and reflect before diving into chapter two.
This concept of taking in truth is something extrapolated upon in the first chapter. Macaulay quotes Elsie Kitching (private secretary to Miss Mason and critical to building up the PNEU schools which used the Charlotte Mason Method):
When we meet the truth, we notice I think, three things. First, that like a jigsaw, the pieces fit into place unexpectedly. Lesser truths dawn, and are seen to be connected; it all ties up. Then, we shrink in size as we see ourselves and our problems from a different and strange angle and like those algebraical numbers with recurring indices, more and more dawns on us. This might be a depressing process but it is not so because truth is always bigger than man and independent of self. Yet—and this is what strikes me most—although alien in this sense, strange and surprising, truth is always a friend; the stranger is recognized, the surprise is joyful. An old acquaintance! (p. 21)Learning about the Charlotte Mason Method (CMM) had exactly this effect on me: It was like meeting an old friend.
The truths contained in this chapter resonated with my soul, and I'm actually looking forward to homeschool this year.
I needed the reminder that "all children enter into relationships with people" and that children are sensitive to our attitudes as their parents/teachers. Macaulay says, "Children recoil from cold, judgmental legalism that is only interested in crushing out their vitality with rules and regulations. Pride and arrogance will send them running out of the room or retreating into an inner remoteness, as does sarcasm that humiliates or ridicules them. These attitudes are terribly wrong and do much harm to children" (p. 31). I needed this reminder, because I was raised in an extremely sarcastic environment, and when left unchecked, I often revert into teasing and jibing and forgetting that my son has not been raised this way. When I make sarcastic comments, they actually hurt his feelings—which is a sign for me that (1) I've done an okay job parenting, because he's not used to the sarcasm; and (2) I need to check what's making me revert into pain-causing behavior. 90% of the time, my sarcastic attitude is coming from a place inside of myself that feels ill-equipped, insecure, and ashamed—and, more than likely, sleep-deprived. NOT the place from which I should be correcting my child.
One of the keys to understanding the CMM is to understand that "together the teacher and child are under a higher authority. The child should not be asked to be good to please a parent or teacher. Children and the adults both must choose to obey God. Both are learning how to be better people, and both children and adults are interested and learning from books, nature, art, music" (p. 34). The CMM is founded on the principle that children are people, and while they are not our equals, they are under the same authority we are; they are created in the image of God, same as us. Success in the CMM can only be found through healthy relationships.
Charlotte Mason's educational ideal was not to remove us from the ordinary, but to enrich us, each one, with the best possible relationships—relationships with God, with people in our family and community, with others through their books, art, or music, and with God's creation. (p. 35)We recognize that each child is different, and every child is different from us. Each child has his/her own interests, learning styles, senses of humor, needs. The CMM allows us to tailor our educational program to the child, focusing on what they're interested in learning through living books, narrations, outdoor experiences with nature, and creating products through handicrafts. And while we're walking with them through this process, we are also learning; and in joint learning, our vital relationships with our own children are deepened exponentially.
Teaching children to remember things has more to do with their experience with the subject than it does words spoken by me, the teacher. In fact, the more I talk, the less they remember. (Okay, that was not in the book, but I'm pretty sure it should have been.) Macaulay observed, "If you read this interesting story and leave it as finished, the child continues thinking about it. We all do children a massive disservice when we 'chew' over the material and 'spit the pulp' out for them...Charlotte Mason discovered, let the children remember because they took it in themselves. Let them think their own thoughts about it. Let them respond (in narration, with questions, ideas)" (p. 41). I'm guilty of over-analyzing text with my son, and that stops today. I will let him chew on it himself. I will let him think about it and come up with his own ideas and questions about it. I'm still here if he needs me, but I'm done trying to help train him to think through it.
The main goal of a Charlotte Mason education is to instill within the child a love for learning, a freedom to express oneself, and an understanding of who he/she is as a child of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment