Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival: Knowledge of Man - Languages

During the last weeks I am pretty sure I was living near the edge of the face of the earth. Some people may even have feared I'd fallen off, especially my mother, if perhaps they had forgotten that the earth is still round. Presumably far from danger, I actually wouldn't have minded risking a more lengthy stay, yet I have found my way back for the moment and here we are!

Still, that IS why the carnival is up late... :)
Due to the fact and relation of my recent hermitage, apparently I forgot about deadlines. I am so very sorry because I do understand that the convention of timeliness is very important in some cultures; of course, not so much in South America! ;) ... though, better late than never I hope.

Now, at the edges of the earth, if it were still flat, I'm sure there'd be people who speak different languages. Don't you think? And, wouldn't it be handy if you happened to find yourself there and you were able to talk to whoever lived at those extremities in order to ask him or her pressing and pertinent questions about the edge of the world and how to avoid falling off of it? I think that'd be mighty convenient, if not downright valuable.

Of course you'd have to speak their language to ask questions like: How steep is it? Precisely how far from here to the edge? What happens to people who fall off? etc. AND you'd have to understand their language in order to find out the answers... all of which brings us to the topic of this carnival. Languages. It's good to know the language(s) with which you must ask important questions or give important answers.

See. it was all for a purpose. ;)

And maybe you'll be glad that as I was writing this, I decided to break it into two posts, rather than compel you to wade through a REALLY, really long-winded version. Short lessons. Full attention. I'm doing this for your own good. You can find the other part here.


This picture is either symbolic of me trying to ignore the rest of the world by choosing hermitage,
OR how the rest of the world sees those of us that only speak our own language... you choose. :)
You've been SO polite to read this far.
OR maybe you just scrolled down directly.
Don't worry... no one will ever know. ;)

Oh and lest you think worry that fashionably late carnivals may be coming into style... don't worry. I won't host again 'til around the end of the year, and most of the other hostesses are North American. ;)

This edition of the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival's topic is...
The Curriculum: Knowledge of Man - Languages


And now for the lovely, lovely contributions for this edition of the carnival...

Christine shares: Lessons for the New Homeschool Year

Lanaya shares: Finding a Balance for High Expectations

Cindy shares: Charlotte Mason Narration How-To with Video

Nancy shares: Our Schedule, Our Atmosphere

Bobby Jo shares: Starting with the Simple Things

Megan shares: The Mysterious and Wonderful World of Solfege

Camille shares: Learning and Teaching - Language

Carol shares: Intellectual Courage and Courage of Confession

Tammy shares: Teaching a Second Language if You Don't Already Have One Yourself

Mama Squirrel shares: On the teaching of languages, especially French

Amy in Peru shares: Thoughts on Languages

Find out more HERE about upcoming carnival topics & how to get yourself on the e-mail list to receive reminders and announcements so that you never miss another edition.

Submit any Charlotte Mason Education posts on any topic at any time to charlottemasonblogs (at) gmail (dot) com!

Thoughts on Languages.

In this chapter Charlotte discusses some basics related to teaching English, French & Latin. She states that it is better that a child should begin with a sentence and not with the parts of speech, that is, he should learn a little of what is called analysis before he learns to parse. Or said even more simply, he should learn to get the gist of things before being bogged down with the nitty gritty.

The basic method she mentions is listening with narration, other activities being added along the way. When it does come to parsing, much of the grammar of each language seems to be picked up through narration and/or pointed out naturally at first, advancing in detail with further learning. The teaching of these multiple languages seems to correlate and so contribute to the mastery of comprehension and grammar of all.

Which seems absolutely brilliant to me as I have seen the beauty of that correlation and contribution in teaching my own kids. Teaching Latin and a foreign language at the same time as going over the basics of English grammar, around year 5 or 6 I about shouted out loud as I saw all the lights come on. VERY fun.

Also not surprisingly, we once again find attention a major power in education, especially in acquiring a new language:

"This hitherto unused power of concentrated attention in the study of languages whether ancient or modern appears to hold promise of making us at last a nation of linguists." Vol. 6, pg. 213

I was encouraged by the simplicity of lessons described in the chapter. While I think she left a lot unsaid, I do think the simplicity shouldn't be compromised. Based on what I've learned from past attempts and in the mean time, I'm looking forward to improving the aspect of language development around here. ;) To read more of CM's own words, click here.

This has been another 'thinking out loud' post, along the lines of chapter 10, section II:II of CM's Homeschooling Series, Volume 6, Towards a Philosophy of Education. Did you know that the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival is going through this volume systematically? Interested? Check out recent posts and the schedule for future posts here.

things not seen...

the way of the will.

This subject is, I believe, the single most wanting characteristic in our culture today.

We want, want, WANT everything now, now, NOW. 

In. every. area. of. life.

We want to tell everybody what we're thinking RIGHT NOW (and we can via twitter or facebook; whether it's worth the telling or not).

We want to share the beautiful moments with the entire universe RIGHT NOW (and we can via instagram or other modes of photo sharing).

We want to eat a hamburger or a taco or a salad RIGHT NOW (and we can via numerous fast food outlets or myriad quick fix options available on every shelf of the local grocery store).

We want to know a good story RIGHT NOW (and we can by watching a two-hour summary via the theater or DVD or by gobbling down an abridged version or even worse, reverting to the clif notes).

We want to feel good RIGHT NOW so we... well, fill in the blanks of what the impatient, undisciplined and/or worldly would do.

But the real question is not what we WANT, but what we ought as applies to both action and thought. And in order to do or think what we ought, we must WILL ourselves to it. Obviously, some decisions require more power of will than others.

Tarapoto's best, no wait, only FAST FOOD... a very real and constant temptation for me to skip out strengthening my will when it comes to our family's eating enjoyment. I am not saying that fast food is bad.  Or that taking advantage of quick foods is wrong. It's just that, not so long ago, I shared that cooking was one of the areas I needed to work on... "For me lately it is cooking. I've never really liked to cook. And for some reason, in recent weeks, it's become more of a chore. But someone must cook, or there'd be certain mutiny among my crew. And we'd be very, very hungry. So, even though I don't want to cook, and wish someone else would do it, I know that I ought to. So I do. Many days I can think of a thousand things I'd rather, and so have to will myself to do it; twist my own arm, so to speak."

Like my friend Tammy wrote in her post, this is not just a consideration for children. I think that's why this post was so long in coming. There is just so much that could be said. AND, it hit so close to home for me!! This is a lesson we as parents must take time to consider for ourselves if we are ever going to really teach our children a single blessed thing. Especially those of us raised in the generation of Instant Satisfaction. We must will ourselves to live a disciplined lifestyle in order for some of these things to rub off on our children. Of course we must keep in mind what my friend Megan mentioned, "Once again, though a disciplined will is not a necessary condition of the Christian life, it is necessary to the development of the heroic Christian character." And this is of course, what I'm so intensely longing after, praying for and thinking of as I'm writing this post. In order to do that:

We must be willing to go the distance, to will ourselves to make right choices even though they may be difficult or even postpone gratification for a very long time.

This chapter is absolutely chock full of food for thought, as relates to personal life, education and the life of a nation. You should read it! :) And maybe someday, I'll write up full posts for all the thoughts I had... you never can tell. :)

Two guides to MORAL and INTELLECTUAL self-government.

The way of the will: Children should be taught,(a) to distinguish between 'I want' and 'I will.' (b) That the way to will effectively is to turn our thoughts from that which we desire but do not will. (c) That the best way to turn our thoughts is to think of or do some quite different thing, entertaining or interesting. (d) That after a little rest in this way, the will returns to its work with new vigour. (This adjunct of the will is familiar to us as diversion,whose office it is to ease us for a time from will effort, that we may 'will' again with added power. The use of suggestion as an aid to the will is to be deprecated, as tending to stultify and stereotype character, It would seem that spontaneity is a condition of development, and that human nature needs the discipline of failure as well as of success.)

Read more about how we Pursue the Way of the Will here.

This has been another 'thinking out loud' post, along the lines of chapter 8 of CM's Homeschooling Series, Volume 6, Towards a Philosophy of Education. Did you know that the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival is going through this volume systematically? Interested? Check out recent posts and the schedule for future posts here.

thoughts and quotes on the use of mind.

“...the child's mind is no mere sac to hold ideas but is rather, if the figure may be allowed, a 'spiritual organism' with an appetite for all knowledge. ”

p111, CM's principle #9 AND the theme of this chapter.

The psychology [think mind is an empty sac/blank slate theory] touted by Herbart [the guy whose philosophy Charlotte primarily refers to in this chapter], is extraordinarily gratifying and attractive to teachers who are, like other people, eager to magnify their office...” because teachers are tempted to show off “how every child is a new creation as he comes forth” out of his or her hands, and may begin to pin the student's success as a result of the teacher's own prowess in teaching.

This may describe many a classroom...even a homeschool? The unit-study approach is particularly in danger of falling into this category. Note the similarities:

• First we have nine lessons in literature and language, the subjects being such as 'Robinson climbs a hill and finds he is on an island.'
• Then, ten object lessons of which the first is,––The Sea, the second, A Ship from Foreign Parts, the sixth, A Life-Boat, the seventh, Shell-Fish, the tenth, A Cave. How these 'objects' are to be produced one does not see.
• The third series are drawing lessons, probably as many, a boat, a ship, an oar, an anchor and so on.
• Then follows a series on manual training, still built upon 'Robinson'; the first, a model of the seashore; then models of Robinson's island, of Robinson's house, and Robinson's pottery.
• The next course consists of reading, an infinite number of lessons,––'passages from The Child's Robinson Crusoe and from a general reader on the matters discussed in object lessons.'
• Then follows a series of writing lessons, "simple compositions on the subject of the lessons. ... the children framed the sentences which the teacher wrote on the blackboard and the class copied afterwards..."
• Arithmetic follows with, no doubt, as many lessons, many mental examples and simple problems dealt with Robinson"; the eighth and last course was in singing and recitation,––'I am monarch of all I survey,' etc. "The lessons lasted about forty-five minutes each.

“The teacher was probably at her best in getting by sheer force much out of little: she was, in fact, acting a part and the children were entertained as at a show, cinema or other; but of one thing we may be sure, an utter distaste, a loathing, on the part of the children ever after, not only for 'Robinson Crusoe' but for every one of the subjects lugged in to illustrate his adventures. We read elsewhere of an apple affording a text for a hundred lessons, including the making of a ladder, (in paper), to gather the apples; but, alas, the eating of the worn out apple is not suggested." p116, CM 

I'm not trying to single out the unit study approach, however, this bears thinking about. This is why this is such an important issue...

The children who are capable of and eager for a wide range of knowledge and literary expression are reduced to inanities; a lifelong ennui is set up; every approach to knowledge suggests avenues for boredom, and the children's minds sicken and perish long before their school-days come to an end. p116

As I have said elsewhere, the ideas required for the sustenance of children are to be found mainly in books of literary quality; given these the mind does for itself the sorting, arranging, selecting, rejecting, classifying, which Herbart leaves to the struggle of the promiscuous ideas which manage to cross the threshold. p117

Charlotte then moves on to point out how this erroneous [empty sac/blank slate] philosophy works out in the education of the time. Things we see happening again in our time. She quotes from several authors to support her thinking.

"There is too much learning and too little work. The teacher ready to use the powers that his training and experience have given him works too hard while the boy's share in the struggle is too light. It is possible to make education too easy for children and to rob learning of the mental discipline which often wearies but in the end produces concentration and the capacity to work alone...”

p119 CM quoting Alexander Paterson in Across the Bridges.

Charlotte quotes Paterson as he talks about the fact that in Elementary schools time is WASTED on such like as tiresome unit studies or spending too many years teaching the basic R's of education, instead of providing that feast of knowledge on which a mind must inevitably grow. The teacher acts as the prime figure while the student's minds go to waste because, “...the powers of voluntary thought and reason, of spontaneous enquiry and imagination; have not been stirred...”. p120

She goes on to speak about Continuation Schools which seem to refer to high schools, as reference is made to the fact that at one time it was the norm that, “the seventh standard boy about to leave school and take up his life work.” and again, “the average boy whose school-days are to end at fourteen”.

Remember, we're near the Industrial Age when the outcry was growing against children forming part of the work force and their need for schooling... so the subject of Continuation Classes [Poly-technic, which from the context we can deduce that these are high schools that teach a trade].

The problem with education extends and displays itself in life after school in the following ways:

"...we seem to aim at producing a nation of clerks for it is only to a clerk that this perfection of writing and spelling is a necessary training."

As a result of a faulty education, while a boy may boast of perfect execution in the kinds of work that would make a successful clerk (3R's), he may not care to boast additionally of the accompanying short attention span, low comprehension, incapability of working alone, feeble memory – which attributes will show themselves quickly in a general laborer or even a professional who at times is obliged to work at a dull job.


What we should aim for then, is that “boys are not trained to be lawyers, or parsons, or doctors, but to be men. If they have learned to work systematically and think independently they are then fit to be trained for such life and profession as taste or necessity may dictate.”

And we are happy with Paterson, who happily remarks that Universities on the other hand, “do not undertake to prepare barristers, parsons, stockbrokers, bankers, or even soldiers and sailors, with a specialised knowledge proper for each profession. Their implicit contention is, given a well educated man with cultivated imagination, trained judgment, wide interests, and he is prepared to master the intricacies of any profession; while he knows at the same time how to make use of himself, of the powers with which nature and education have endowed him for his own happiness; the delightful employment of his leisure; for the increased happiness of his neighbours and the well-being of the community; that is, such a man is able, not only to earn his living, but to live.” p121

In conclusion, I thought this quote particularly inspiring, as we think about how to educate the little persons in our charge:

"What the poor, as well as the rich, require is not to be taught other people's opinions, but to be induced and enabled to think for themselves. It is not physical science that will do this, even if they could learn it much more thoroughly than they are able to do.'

"The young people of this country are not to be regenerated by economic doctrine or economic history or physical science; they can only be elevated by ideas which act upon the imagination and act upon the character and influence the soul, and it is the function of all good teachers to bring those ideas before them.'

John Stuart Mill, quoted by CM on p127

interesting ideas from the chapter:
knowledge/idea as mind food.
Herbart.
apperception mass.
unit studies.
educating the whole person for life.


helpful links:
A Pot of Green Feathers.
CM Blog Carnival on Principle #9
Robinson Crusoe in Education by T.G. Rooper, a PR article (expands on related information presented in this post)
This article, and this one also, seem to be somewhat favorable to at least parts of Herbart's philosophy.
CM volume 6, ch7
Thoughts on the mind of the child and our resulting obligations, from Sally Clarkson



This has been another 'thinking out loud' post, along the lines of chapter 6 of CM's Homeschooling Series, Volume 6, Towards a Philosophy of Education. Did you know that the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival is going through this volume systematically? Interested? Check out recent posts and the schedule for future posts here.

thoughts on authority and docility

As for authority, people nowadays don't really like the terms authority and discipline. Equality and freedom are generally more to their liking. How 'bout you? I admit, I felt a subtle twinge of revolt upon utterance of the former two terms and an immediate corresponding sense of relief at mention of the latter. As progeny of Eden, it comes naturally I guess. I wonder though, if we can't come to terms with both and perhaps even work out some synergy between the two apparently opposite values?
Here's the beginning of wisdom...

(I am assuming that everyone entrusted with the bringing up of children recognizes the supreme Authority to Whom we are subject; without this recognition I do not see how it is possible to establish the nice relation which should exist between teacher and taught.) [*]

~ She is Charlotte Mason, who in this parenthesis, pretty much says

all that needs be said.

Need I say more? Seriously.
Alas, it is my intention to post my thoughts, so I guess I will try to say something else.
Even if it's all going to sound somewhat similar; about the parts I understand, that is. heheh. ;)
Oh. there is that one little thing I don't agree about...
The bit about the American physiologist who says it might be possible to live for 1,000 years.

[ahem. right. moving on...]

:: Spoiler Alert ::
If you don't like to know how the story ends, skip the paragraph immediately following.

Important words from the chapter:
docility = teachableness; acceptance of authority
hortatory = tending or aiming to exhort, ie, lecturing (which I don't use in this post for reasons that should be obvious)
deputed = appointed to perform a task for which another is responsible
arbitrary = random or based on whim
Important correlations:
teacher :: authority (… & docility)
taught :: docility (… & authority)
Important points:
Those in authority must govern as those also under authority... this fact should be discernible. [*]
A child does in fact have authority... over himself; to make himself attend, to make himself to know.

Oh and if you find that you forget what docility means, refer to your dictionary or resort back to the spoiler right above here.

Thoughts on Docility & Obedience:
It is heroism, that makes our hearts swell, produces a lump in the throat, even prompts tears, that we read about in a man who obeys orders (authority), at peril of his own life, to save friend, family or sovereign. 'Proud subjection and dignified obedience' is that which distinguishes great men and noble citizens. The higher the authority, the greater distinction in obedience.

EveryONE must practice docility in life:
All under God...
parent/child
owner/employer/employee
government/elected official/citizen
etc.

We are all constituents under one authority structure or another (postmodernism doesn't like the sound of that). Even so, there are learning grounds when it comes to any given system... in the case of the education these are:

Home & School.

Once we acknowledge that we are subject to a system (and we would be fools to think otherwise), we must admit that obedience or subjection to authority is a crucial lesson for members such as we are of the Establishment. [*] Therefore students learn a critical life lesson – obedience – by learning subjection to authority (docility) in the classroom. [*]

Children must be subject to authority, but they also exercise authority. They exercise authority over themselves. They are the only ones that can make themselves learn. They exercise authority by choosing if and when they learn and subsequently what they will do with their knowledge.

Thoughts on Authority:
It will almost never be the case of ONE teacher; knowing all, teaching all, and the lot of learners subservient. Though these do exist, having earned a right to lecture through a lifetime of learning...

When it comes to us normal people though...
Authority is proper to office, without it society would cease to cohere [*]. Parents and teachers have inherent authority and therefore should be careful with it. All proper docility & obedience may be secured under two conditions:

1. Authority must operate as also under authority, as deputy (representative of a Supreme Authority – he too must do the things he ought). It must not be arbitrary (ie, regulations subject to convenience).
2. Docility requires a sense of freedom (there is a choice, to know or not to know), [*] which necessitates self-government. Each individual must choose to learn, [*] will choose how they respond to what they've learned.

Authority is not as needful for activities such handicraft, drama, poetry, dance, etc., unless to limit these (though having a place, they shouldn't receive undue attention). In other words, a student does not need to be told to do the things he is naturally inclined to learn, but must by means of authority, be brought to discover relations he might not ordinarily seek out, which though requiring effort, may prove to be sources of real satisfaction and delight.

Authority in education comes into play not in pointing one toward where one already has a tendency to go, but in helping to see where freedom is to be had, in fields one might not otherwise choose to look.

Teachers depreciate children, therefore discrediting their own authority in education by:

• regarding children as inferior, themselves as superior beings, by not recognizing the potency of the children's minds [*]
• taking for granted the children's quickness of apprehension, over-explaining and paraphrasing [*], convinced that they cannot understand a literary vocabulary.
• disregarding the nature and power of attention – that it is not to be cultivated, wooed by persuasion, or pictures and illustrative objects – that it IS a very Niagra of force, [*] an appetite fed with books and knowledge.
• depreciating knowledge. Failing to realize, children revel in knowledge. A child will educate him/herself [*].

: : 

“To return to our method of employing attention; it is not a casual matter, a convenient, almost miraculous way of covering the ground, of getting children to know certainly and lastingly a surprising amount; all this is to the good, but it is something more, a root principle vital to education. In this way of learning the child comes into his own, he makes use of the authority which is in him in its highest function as a self-commanding, self-compelling power. It is delightful to use any power that is in us... but to make yourself attend, make yourself know, this indeed is to come into a king – all the more satisfying to children because they are so made that they revel in knowledge.” v6 p77-78

: : 

In summary, if you've followed this line of thinking, both authority and docility play a significant role in education. We may all exercise authority, if only in discipline of ourselves AND we are all subject to authority, if only under God. On the other hand, docility is necessary to all. In this, adults and children are all equal, and there is MUCH freedom in the acquisition of knowledge; here we find ourselves in a wide room full of life and interest, where each is at liberty to engage one's self unreservedly.

Quotes referred to above or otherwise especially interesting:
[*] The teacher, or other head may not be arbitrary but must act so evidently as one under authority that the children, quick to discern, see that he too must do the things he ought; and therefore that regulations are not made for his convenience. (I am assuming that everyone entrusted with the bringing up of children recognizes the supreme Authority to Whom we are subject; without this recognition I do not see how it is possible to establish the nice relation which should exist between teacher and taught.) p74

[*] Every king and commander, every mother, elder sister, school prefect, every foreman of works and captain of games, finds that within himself which secures faithful obedience, not for the sake of his merits but because authority is proper to his office. Without this principle society would cease to cohere. p70

[*] Order is the outcome of authority. p70

[*] That subservience should take the place of docility is the last calamity for nation, family or school. Docility implies equality; there is no great gulf fixed between teacher and taught; both are pursuing the same ends, engaged on, the same theme, enriched by mutual interests; and probably the quite delightful pursuit of knowledge affords the only intrinsic liberty for both teacher and taught. “He is the freeman whom the truth makes free,” and this freedom the steady pursuit and delighful aquirement of knowledge afford to us day by day. p72

[*]...once children are allowed a due share in their own education, not a benefit for us to confer but rather a provision for them to take.

[*] The sense of must should be present with children; our mistake is to act in such a way that they, only, seem to be law-compelled while their elders do as they please. p74

[*] But the principle of authority, as well as that of docility, is inherent in children and it is only as the tact and judgment of the teacher make opportunity for its free play that they are prepared for the duties of life as citizens and members of a family. p75

[*] They do choose and are happy in their work, so there is little opportunity for coercion or for deadening, hortatory talk. p75

[*] To allow repetition of a lesson is to shift the responsibility for it from the shoulders of the pupil to those of the teacher who says, in effect, – “I'll see that you know it,” so his pupils make no effort of attention. Thus the same stale stuff is repeated again and again and the children get bored and restive, ready for pranks by way of a change. p76

[*] But if they recognized that the potency of children's minds is as great or greater than that of their own, they would not conceive that spoon-feeeding was their mission... p76

[*] We depreciate children in another way. We are convinced that they cannot understand a literary vocabulary so we explain and paraphrase to our own heart's content but not to theirs. p76

[*] Another misapprehension which makes for disorder is our way of regarding attention. We believe that it is to be cultivated, nursed, coddled, wooed by persuasion, by dramatic presentation, by pictures and illustrative objects... Attention, we know, is not a 'faculty' nor a definable power of mind but is the ability to turn on every such power, to concentrate, as we say... There it is in every child in full measure, a very Niagara of force, ready to be turned on in obedience to the child's own authority and capable of infinite resistance to authority imposed from without. p76

[*] Our part is to regard attention, too, as an appetite and to feed it with the best we have in books and in all knowledge. p77

There are few who do not know the mischievous and baffling effects of inattention and forgetfulness on the part of subordinates... p78

We may not pose before children, nor pride ourselves on dutiful getting up of knowledge in order to deliver it as emanating from ourselves. p78

We are filled with compassion when we detect the lifeless hand or leg, the artificial nose or jaw, that many a man has brought home as a consequence of the War. But many of our young men and women go about more seriously maimed than these. They are devoid of intellectual interests, history and poetry are without charm for them, the scientific work of the day is only slightly interesting, their 'job' and the social amenities they can secure are all that their life has for them.
The maimed existence in which a man goes on from day to day without either nourishing or using his intellect, is causing anxiety to those interested in education, who know that after religion it is our chief concern, is, indeed, the necessary handmaid of religion. p80


This has been an especially LONG post containing my thoughts out loud over chapter 4 of volume six of Charlotte Mason's Homeschooling Series, you can read the chapter in its entirety for yourself right here.

thoughts on mind...

Imagination, Reason, Conscience, etc., are all present in even the very young child.
How do you measure those? How do you measure the mind?

One of the scariest things when I first started teaching my own kids was, the realization that I can't see what they've learned. I can't measure it. Have you ever noticed that and felt a little nervous? I'm pretty sure that's why tests were ever invented in the first place; because some well meaning teacher got a little nervous, started wondering if the kids had been listening, and just for good measure started asking questions. Enter big schools, and tests came to serve as, not the measure of, as that is impossible, but an indicator of learning. Administrators (government?) want to know whether large numbers of children have memorized what the teachers said, and whether or not teachers have covered the material intended for consumption by the masses. Of course, as would be the case, teachers couldn't help trying to secure their students' success (and theirs) by skipping right to the point and teaching them just what would be on the test. Yes, we've come a long way, baby! If this is even a little like what has happened, one might begin to question whether or not tests really are all that necessary. Has all that come as a result of feeling a little bit nervous because we can't see or measure a mind? Hmmmm...

We can't see the mind, either. We can't see what's happening inside the mind; which obviously includes the interior of the minds of children we are hoping to see educated. And last time I checked, neither can we see ideas. And though we can't see which ideas are causing a spark, which are making connections, which fall flat or those which are basically running wild causing unchecked mind development in our kids, there may be certain clues. We might head in several directions to try and find evidence of the education by idea.

We could test for it. And we might fail the test - both we and our students.
Or, we could believe it's inevitably taking place, and foster it further by providing the things necessary: atmosphere, good books, short lessons, variety of material, good books, healthy habits, opportunity to tell back, interesting ideas, good books, discussion, encouragement, did I mention, good books?

Some learners provide more evidence to the interior work of idea than others. Possible clues of an idea at work might be: a wrinkled brow, staring out the window, irritability, incessant talking around a given subject, hand cramps, towering piles of notes, etc. ;)

“Brain is the instrument of mind, as piano is an instrument of music." "Education, like faith, is the evidence of things not seen.”

The invisible yet recognizable by those who've experienced the process of mind feeding on idea is thus:

“we hear of... a new thought of some poet... we take in, accept, the idea and for days after every book we read, every person we talk with brings food to the newly entertained notion.” v6p40

I cannot even tell how many times I have been inspired, carried away or even tortured by idea. It happens ALL the time. I love it. The feeling of making connection upon connection to flesh out a concept, is an intellectual thrill almost unequaled. It seems like it could be almost as addictive to the mind as some drugs are to the body, though I wouldn't know from personal experience. At any rate, it certainly gives the mind an exhilerating charge. Conversely, there are no negative effects, only stimulation and growth. Unfortunately, the process cannot be forced. I can't will my mind to connect things, it just happens by giving time and letting it happen. By feeding on lots of different idea sources, some stick, some propagate, some lie fallow for a time. But inevitably, the work of mind is done.

I figure, that it's disrespectful of the mind of a person to bore them with over explanation, or to force a person to listen to something they are completely not interested in. But presenting interesting ideas especially clothed in story, sparing stacks of facts, giving just enough to properly inform, leaving them hungry for more (or not, as the case may be); this is education that respects the person. {That is not to say that children (or adults) will always consciously WANT to hear the book, look at the pictures, that is in essence; to learn. But when treated respectfully, I'm pretty sure they'll come around. eventually.}

In any given subject, with language well expressed, give the child some details, and he will fill in the outline with his own imagination in perfect color. Mind speaks to mind by means of idea, NOT through play, environment, much talk, models, graphs or charts, as good as though those things may be at times.

“History must afford its pageants, science its wonders, literature its intimacies, philosophy its speculations, religion its assurances to every man, and his education must have prepared him for wanderings in these realms of gold.” v6P????

On the reverse side, a child should not be misled out of the joy of learning to know, by encouragement toward greed (wanting to be the best) or emulation (to be the best talked about or thought of), since delight comes naturally when he finds through carefully subtle guidance and wisely chosen books, that he is already in a large and richly decorated room, with many other rooms only waiting to be discovered.

We ought to be awed by the minds of children... and in so doing, we might be at once 'better prepared to consider how and upon what children should be educated'.

Children, students or not, are engaged in Self-Education; ideally, alongside of wise teachers and parent guides. We must respect the minds of children if we want to secure their well placed interest.

"It is the ideas we must give, clothed upon with facts as they occur, and must leave the child to deal with these as he chooses." v6p40

My kids do amaze me. While I can't measure their minds. Often, I am blown away at how well they listen to stories, catch the important underlying concepts, as well as many ancillary details, and can accurately tell back what they've heard. But quite apart from school, their minds always seem to be working, as evidenced by their incessant questions and persistent returns to the same subject matter, among other clues. It is truly shocking... unless of course you are constantly aware of how amazing their Creator really is, and that He made them like that on purpose. In that case, they are just doing what they are made to do, as a matter of course.


This has been a reflection on Charlotte Mason's Homeschooling Series, Volume 6, Towards a Philosophy of Education, Chapter 2.
You can read it here.

thoughts on self-education.

a self-education is an education that is…
not interest based; not 'self-ish' education, for example, caring to learn only that which is appealing.
not all-inclusive of self, to the exclusion of others. not 'self-y' education, learning only that which is useful to self.
not education of another's self, i.e., one self educating another self. not parents *educating* those little selves born unto them.*

"...external application is not capable of nourishing life or promoting growth.
life is sustained on that which is taken in by the organism, not by that which is applied from without."
v6p24

the self & the process...
a child is a person. in the same indisputable way that every adult is a distinct person.
a person is made up of body (tangible) and mind (intangible... 'mind' is the term CM used, for the sake of working with the idea, she includes a person's spirit in this 'intangible' part)
the mind + the body makes up each person's very own self. this is the self we're concerned with in 'self-education.' each person responsible for his own self's education.
the mind needs food just like the body, and in the same way that we cannot make another body eat, even with violence, we cannot force feed another mind. either a body will eat, or it will not. either a mind will eat, or it will not.
mind food = ideas.
nourishment {idea} is gotten through many means. mainly, by many good books. still, ideas of invention & discovery may also be obtained through: studies in science, natural beauty, nature study, dance, art, etc. but those ideas necessary for 'life' (character & conduct) are obtained primarily through, literature, both written and 'oral literature'.
a body will eat something. it will eat what is available and it will eat what is good. which is why parents (teachers) must make the best food available in quantity and with variety, and limit the junk. and the same goes for mind food.
once food is taken in, we don't have to remind a body what to do with it. we don't have to tell the stomach to digest. and we don't have to tell a mind what to do with an interesting idea. it is taken in, appropriated and assimilated. on the other hand, we DO have to tell a mind what to do with tasteless or random material or lists of facts in bulk for memorization. it must take it in, and spit it out (tests!), hopefully never to have to be repeated. that's called forced feeding. and i don't know about you, but that has never gone over very well with my kids. that goes for food AND learning.

...when they have the idea {nourishment} to hang their facts {the less palatable stuff when given in isolation} on, many times the kids can't get enough. they want to know everything they can. they don't waste time memorizing lists, they skip straight on to the imagination, act it out, tell about it, ask questions, and they are perfectly delighted with what they know.
{twaddle would be like frosting... it tastes good and usually looks good, w/o an ounce of nutritional value.}




is the light beginning to dawn?
there is no education but self-education.

we know very little when we start, but we know where to find out more… "we must open books to children, the best books; our own concern is abundant provision and orderly serving."

children should not be dependent on teachers - because, in fact, a teacher can't make anyone learn - but on books. many good books. teachers are meant to be table setters. facilitators. guides. philosophers. mentors. friends.

children (and adults) will learn what they will learn themselves.

tools for self-education.
a person. (at any age who has taken to ideas. education 'officially' beginning around the age of six. though, usually long before that little self is partaking of the feast the world 'unofficially' sets before him.)
curiosity. (this is inborn and ever-present, unless previously put to death by boredom or some other social evil. can be resurrected with much patience on the part of the thoughtful educator.).
ideas. (not workbooks. not lists. not bare facts presented encyclopedia britannica style. ideas are presented in literary form through  
good books. (this is to education what good food is to nutrition.)
things. (birds, blocks, tools, wood, clay, flowers, etc., because a due relation with these is also fitting for him. and will also evoke new ideas.)
attention. (this happens automatically when learning something of interest, but as a practiced habit, it serves us well when the material isn't the very MOST fun thing available on the planet. encouraged by using the best books, allowing only one reading and by maintaining brevity of lessons.)
narration. (this is what pegs all those interesting ideas to the bulletin-board of the mind, and develops orderly, sequential thinking which later transfers, at least in part, to communication skills.)

the key to self-education. 
learning to know.
not for good grades. not to check off a list. not to please mom. or dad. or grandma.
but reading and doing and knowing because 'studies serve for delight'.

benefits of self-education.
delighted students.
delighted parents.

"Parents become interested in the schoolroom work, and find their children 'delightful companions.' Children show delight in books (other than storybooks) and manifest a genuine love of knowledge.." v6p29

"I should like to dwell on the enormous relief to teachers, a self-sacrificing and greatly over-burdened class; the difference is just that between driving a horse that is light and a horse that is heavy in hand; the former covers the ground of his own gay will and the driver goes merrily. The teacher who allows his scholars the freedom of the city of books is at liberty to be their guide, philosopher and friend; and is no longer the mere instrument of forcible intellectual feeding." v6p33

*as we know, self-education *can* potentially happen without a teacher. truly however, that doesn't make our position irrelevant or even less important. even though educators we are, and educate we must, here we're talking about the more important aspect that must be present for learning to take place, and that is: self-education. which of course, you have already realized if you have read this far... :)

helpful reminders:
don't forget that the CM blog carnival is coming up.
as it just so happens, the topic of the carnival is: self-education.
yeah, i know. good timing, huh? ;)

helpful links:
read the portion of CM's Series (volume 6, chapter one) that this post is based on here.
for this weekend only get a free audio (mp3) download of this section of Charlotte Mason's volume 6 of the Original Homeschooling Series (read by me!) right here.