Literature and Charlotte Mason’s Educational Philosophy (Part 2)

Literature, Liturgy, Language and Leisure

By Rea Berg

Literature

“Looking at literature first, let’s examine how it works to this end. The primary work of literature to which we owe the greatest attention is the Scriptures. No other book has the power to transform our minds, renew our spirits, comfort our emotional pains, or correct our flawed ways. When we give it primacy, no matter what life throws at us we will be firmly established on the Rock.

But how does a young mother carve out time for the Scriptures when nursing babies and nocturnal feedings have left her too sleep deprived to even consider early morning devotions? Or care for an elderly parent has left us fatigued and spent? As a young mother with four little ones under the age of 6, I struggled painfully to try to set aside those morning times, with little success. I wish someone had given me the wise advice that Susan Schaeffer Macaulay incorporated into her life! It would have saved me years of guilt.

Rather than lamenting the loss of an early morning quiet time, Susan profited from following in the footsteps of her mentor, Charlotte Mason, who planned her days so that the best time of each day was set aside to spend in leisure with God—right after her afternoon walk outside. For her, teatime was the time for personal leisure, a time when she felt “quite fresh.” Having worked hard all day and soon to start again, she’d look forward to this hour when she could give full attention to God and “feed on His promises with thanksgiving.”³ How wonderfully liberating this pursuit then becomes! We are not constrained to a forced duty but are refreshed by a special time set aside to bask and enjoy our Lord in prayer and in his Word.

Other literature choices then round out our day as we study history through biography, historical novels, and Shakespeare, and for little ones, historical picture books, poetry, limericks, folk tales, and fairy tales. These choices then build upon and enhance our knowledge of life and human nature while giving wisdom and building character. Even on a day when the children are all sick and sleep has been lost due to coughs and upset tummies, joy and dignity can be found through curling up together before a fire, getting out a much-loved family read-aloud, brewing a comforting cup of tea, and momentarily escaping the present through the wonder of words.”

Copyright 2009, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com

Literature, Liturgy, Language & Leisure: Charlotte Mason’s Philosophy of Life: Part 1

I posted this great quote a few days ago by itself, but it prefaced an incredible article by Rea Bert, (“Literature, Liturgy, Language and Leisure”) reflecting on some of the philosophies of Charlotte Mason and I just had to share it.  We would do well to visit and visit again these principles of life that create an ebb and flow of education in our homes rivaling any other educational model on the planet.

I plan to post most of the article here in three or four parts.

“It is wholly impossible to live according to Divine order, and to make a proper application of heavenly principles, as long as the necessary duties which each day brings seem only like a burden grievous to be borne. Not till we are ready to throw our very life’s love into the troublesome little things can we be really faithful in that which is least and faithful also in much. Every day that dawns brings something to do, which can never be done as well again. We should, therefore, try to do it ungrudgingly and cheerfully. It is the Lord’s own work, which He has given us as surely as He gives us daily bread. We should thank Him for it with all our hearts, as much as for any other gift. It was designed to be our life, our happiness. Instead of shirking it or hurrying over it, we should put our whole heart and soul into it.” —James Reed

“Mr. Reed’s advice captures the essence of what is the Christian’s greatest struggle and triumph. I think it also echoes Charlotte Mason’s philosophy in her appeal to women to make our homes and the education of our children a labor of joy, cheer, kindness, and love. In the everyday humdrum of life and its oft-tedious monotonous toils, it is only a divine joy that can sustain us and enable us to continue faithful to the end. Does this mean a sort of head-into-the-wind mindless determination to be joyful when we feel no joy whatsoever springing up in our hearts? Does this mean a stern will to be happy? I don’t think so, and I don’t think either Charlotte Mason or James Reed would have said so. It is our perspective that needs continual refreshing.

“…but we must sustain a child’s inner life with ideas as we sustain his body with food.”

It is an inescapable truth that dirty diapers, full trash cans, and piles of soiled laundry are not likely to inspire any of us with a sense of divine joy. But fellow pilgrim, as we shoulder on together we ought not to despair, as we are given some wonderful tools to bring dignity, light, and interest to the most mundane of days.

In the quotidian round of duties and schedules, we often miss the riches we’ve been given as Christians that allow us to live life with meaning, purpose, and vision. Charlotte Mason understood the importance of ideas and what powerful tools they are for nurturing life. She noted:

“Education is a life. That life is sustained on ideas. Ideas are of spiritual origin, and God has made us so that we get them chiefly as we convey them to one another, whether by word of mouth, written page, Scripture word, musical symphony; but we must sustain a child’s inner life with ideas as we sustain his body with food.”

Charlotte Mason understood that even the mediocrity of everyday routines can be shot through with meaning and import when we are mindful of encouraging ourselves and our children with ideas that transport us out of the every day. Looking at literature, liturgy, language, and leisure as keys in this pursuit may be helpful. If we consider natural ways to incorporate these four gifts into our everyday worlds, we can tap into what countless others have discovered as rich treasuries of inspiration, wisdom, vision, and hope.”

Copyright 2009, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com

I’m Not Afraid to Say “Dominion”

It doesn’t take much to get me revved up about something, so suffice it to say that after our American Vision conference and a Doug Phillip’s video (highly recommended) last night about the importance of crying out to God for our progeny, I’m pretty pumped.  As in, “breathe deeply, you-can’t-change-the-world-in-a-day” pumped.

The problem always comes when I try to share my “running over” on the blog without, well, running over.  I’m renewed, re-charged, and I want to use this little platform God has given me to share that recharging with you as well.

Bullet points?  Maybe.  Here goes…(random nuggets I gleaned this weekend):

• Encouragement for homeschoolers: Homeschooling is NOT in danger of being outlawed.  Why?  Because we are actually on the cutting edge of technology and are already beginning to witness the vanishing teacher/classroom model.  Already schools are realizing that with the wealth of information available at our fingertips, it doesn’t make sense to spend the money and man power on the classic model anymore.  Virtual classrooms are replacing traditional ones, and the age of the Internet makes it impossible for homeschool families to be told “you’re not qualified”.

• Homeschooling focus:  It’s not hard (given the aforementioned tools at our disposal) to teach children academics.  A child who can read, think and is numerate is equipped to learn and pursue just about anything he wishes.  We spend way too much time fretting over academics and way too little time pouring into our children a biblical worldview. Dr. North puts it this way:  a super sharp saw blade does no good (and can even be very dangerous) if it is set at the wrong angle (i.e. “worldview”).

• Our worldview determines our life. The problem with culture is that people have no meaning, no purpose.  Most live for today, tomorrow at best.  At the root of it all is our worldview.  (Which should cause Christian parents to think VERY seriously about whether it makes sense, or whether it is even right, to let the government educate their children.)
  God created the universe with a design and purpose, and we are an integral part of it.  Someone imputes meaning.  If our meaning doesn’t come from Him, through His Word, man must impute it.   And because we all disagree on our purpose here, we become consumed with gaining power because he with the most power gets to impute meaning.  Ultimately, it’s anarchy and suicide, on any number of levels.   Therefore, what we teach our children, HOW we teach our children, by what means we teach our children is critical!

• I’m not afraid to say “Take Dominion”. God said it–no, commanded it, and so we must say it.  Taking dominion and subduing the earth  is our primary job here.  That’s what the Great Commission is all about and it has been our command since the beginning.  We take dominion by a.  raising up children for the glory of God–lots of them, if He so determines it (be fruitful and multiply).  b.  Living for the glory of God in our realm, where He places us, doing all in the name of the Father (subdue the earth).  If God is our sovereign authority, it will be lived out our fingertips–the transforming power of Christ changing us, our homes, our churches and our communities–that’s how we accomplish “Thy Kingdom come…on earth, as it is in heaven”.

Just a friendly reminder that we are bigger than ourselves…inhale…exhale.

Is the Classroom Harming Boys and Society?

Need another reason to homeschool?

“…we’re not as concerned as we ought to be about the millions of young men who are floundering or lost.

But they’re there: The young men who are working in the lowest-level (and most dangerous) jobs instead of going to college. Who are sitting in prison instead of going to college. [My note: I would also add "instead of becoming entrepreneurs", understanding the great opportunities that await and are not limited to those with college degrees.] Who are staying out of the long-term marriage pool because they have little to offer to young women. Who are remaining adolescents, wasting years of their lives playing video games for hours a day, until they’re in their thirties, by which time the world has passed many of them by.

Root Problem

Whether in the prison system, in my university classes or in the schools where I help train teachers, I have noticed a systemic problem with how we teach and mentor boys that I call “industrial schooling,” and that I believe is a primary root of our sons’ falling behind in school, and quite often in life.

Two hundred years ago, realizing the necessity of schooling millions of kids, we took them off the farms and out of the marketplace and put them in large industrial-size classrooms (one teacher, 25 to 30 kids). For many kids, this system worked — and still works. But from the beginning, there were some for whom it wasn’t working very well. Initially, it was girls. It took more than 150 years to get parity for them.

Problem With Industrialized Schooling

Now we’re seeing what’s wrong with the system for millions of boys… Read more »

As the Family Goes, So Goes Civilization

Teach it to your children…

Family and marriage are institutions designed by God–they are not man-made.  Perhaps then, we shouldn’t be surprised that the family is becoming an enemy. Who would have ever believed there would come a time when society would be hostile to what has always been considered the basic unit of its existence?  It is why I think feminism has had the most damaging impact on our culture…because at the core, it seeks to separate family…with destruction as a result.

We have slid down a slippery slope and arrived at the belief that the basic unit of society is the INDIVIDUAL.  (Think about it for a minute…look at all the ways families are divided and the expectations that is should be so…even within the church.)  And when that is believed, the individual is very quickly lost in the state.

“Dr. Carle C. Zimmerman, Harvard University spent his life studying the history of the family.  He has pointed out the family’s significance:  that whenever the atomistic (separate, unrelated members) family develops, in which the authority of the father is no longer paramount, then there is a very quick disintegration of society, the total state takes over, and there is a radical collapse of civilization…..

With the development of the atomistic family–which is really no family at all–the home is simply a place to room and board while the state takes over the role as father–to take care of the family in its every need, providing for the children and the parents; the family no longer cares for itself; civilization collapses. ” -R.J. Rushdoony

(By the way, this paradigm does not exclude the rare single men and women not called to marriage;  all still belong to a family and have a major importance in that role.)

Listen to  Zimmerman’s conclusions:

He believed…

“..that a fundamental purpose of civilization is the empowerment and enabling of the family — and is absolutely key to the health of any civilization. … Nobody undertakes to have a large family because it’s fun, or, in advanced societies, because it’s economically beneficial. They do it because they believe that’s what people do. In other words, they believe that children are a blessing from God, and that we humans are participating in the divine will by begetting children and raising them up to carry on our civilization….

Mankind has consumed not only the crop, but the seed for the next planting as well. Whatever may be our Pollyanna inclination, this fact cannot be avoided. Under any assumptions, the implications will be far-reaching for the future not only of the family but of our civilization as well. The question is no longer a moral one; it is social.”

Building the family is the only option for surviving–slice it any way you like, our ideals and personal opinions won’t erase factual reality.

Relaxed Homeschooling: Our Vocabulary Curriculum

Yep, this is pretty much the extent of our vocabulary curriculum. Actually, I would consider this “extra”. Good conversation is all that’s really necessary for a substantial vocabulary. As someone mentioned in the last comment thread, if parents simply speak deliberately–enunciating clearly and being liberal with the words they use, even with the youngest children, there’s no need, as far as I can see, for a formal vocabulary curriculum.

Remember, your children began learning an entire language at birth, and you were their primary teacher.  Their vocabulary continues to grow and I submit it can continue to be taught in the same way you’ve been teaching it since birth.  (If your vocabulary is limited, you can learn alongside them with this small idea.)

Words used throughout the normal flow of the day are much more likely to “stick” than 15 random words on a sheet of paper that the student is supposed to memorize. It goes the same with any piece of information: experience creates context in which information is best retained.

So back to our board: this contains our WOD (word of the day). Sometimes I leave it for a couple of days. The challenge is to use the word as often as possible in the correct way. Sometimes we have a contest to see who can find the most uses for it.

Fun, simple, quick.

A good place from which to glean WODs  is your read-alouds as you come across words that may not be understood. Context is best.