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My first dvd seminar!
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Sonya, I just wanted to share that the last of the moms just left my house. I had 17 moms (and 1 dad) come over for your dvd seminar! Awesome response. Many left here inspired to start taking steps to incorporate CM ideas into their schools! A few holdouts who are addicted to their rigid curriculum. LOL I have one that is really having a hard time letting go of…control?… like “how do you let them narrate without putting your $.02 in” kind of thinking. What about spelling lists, how ever are they going to learn to spell? You can’t let them skip anything in their math book, you’re just teaching them to skip stuff… almost kind of funny in a sad, sick way…
But all in all, it was a GREAT seminar!! They’re already asking me for more! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
Oh, I so glad it went well! Yes, there will always be some who find it difficult to switch from the way they were taught, but it certainly gives them something to think about, doesn’t it? It will be interesting to see if any of them come back with more questions after they’ve had time to mull over the ideas.
We are working on a DVD version of our Books & Things seminar, so “more” is coming!
The staunchest holdout was asking me questions that I would love to hear your response to. She questioned whether a method that worked SO many years ago in a world so different would really be relevant/useful/sucessful in this day and age with so many advances in the sciences and technology. (God gave us textbooks/workbooks, etc…shouldn’t we be using them was her basic argument.) She also said that she didn’t see the good in doing the “extras” (art, poetry…) when the math concept was more important. I was sort of caught off guard. I talked about how when I think of great scholars and learned people, I think of the oldies–Jefferson, Washington, etc… I also briefly talked about how when I considered why modern schools were created and the goal of them, was that all I wanted for my children. I wanted them to have a love of learning and how by depriving them of the arts, I was ignoring the awesomeness of God’s creation. All of these things of beauty–art, music…–are in some form expressions of and pointed to God’s love and pleasure.
Any additional advice or articles/books to send her to so that she can begin her exploration? She did say she may try something CM over the summer…so it was a start!!
Clearly, I’m not Sonya. 🙂 But what I’ve been beginning to understand is that the arts aren’t “extras”. In fact, those things are really the stuff that give children sustenance to feed their growing minds and spirits. I grew up thinking that art and music were extra, but I wonder how different an education I would have had if I’d had those things to feed on. Because now–as an adult–once I’ve dipped my feet into some of these beautiful things, they ignite a desire to “know more” about such and such. I imagine the way I feel now, is how I should have felt as a child. And it’s the same “awakening” I want to give my children.
We’re made in the image of God, and He is a God of art and music and wonder and beauty. I think we’re closer to what he intended us to be when that part of us is awakened. I think that’s where the fire of learning gets sparked. I really think that the arts is such a key to the difference between “filling a bucket and lighting a spark”. No matter how much technology comes into our world, it won’t change our God-given design. I think those beautiful things will always be the catalyst for more true learning.
I’ll be interested to read Sonya’s response.
What an interesting question! I would agree with your reply that just because something is newer or more modern doesn’t necessarily make it better. And I would be very hesitant to say that God gave us textbooks, or any book other than the Bible, for that matter.
In fact, when you think about the Bible, it is full of narratives, poetry, letters, and essay-type writings (the prophets). God gave His Word as the living Book. Imagine, for example, if God had given us the textbook version of the life of Christ or Acts. No, He gave us the narrative accounts, and Jesus shared so much of His teaching in parables and stories. But I’m off on a tangent . . .
I also agree with easybrizy about the arts. I’m reading a book that a friend recommended, The Element, that discusses how conventional schooling doesn’t recognize the different types of intelligence that God has placed within such a variety of people. Conventional schooling and testing has focused only on intelligence with math and words. But the Charlotte Mason approach gives value and appreciation for all those other types of intelligence that are expressed in creativity with different media. The book is not written by a Christian, but as I read I cannot help marveling at how God with His infinite creativity has put a glimmer of that creativity within each person.
So all that to say, I don’t have a great book or article suggestion for your friend, but I would caution her not to assume that newer equals better.
tandc93,
I realize I’m jumping in here, but I had one more thing to add to the discussion of “newer=better”. We’ve all heard the old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” (Pardon my poor grammar; that’s how it’s said in Texas!) If you think about it, CM was a trailblazer in her day, and what she started was so successful. Before CM, education was only for the upper class and people who could afford governesses and such. The educational system wasn’t working, and in a sense, she “fixed” it. Then you have people coming along and trying to fix what she already repaired. Sure, CM’s ways may be old in the sense that they were developed a hundred years ago, but they still work. Everyone on this site is proof of that! I would gently explain to my friend that CM’s system isn’t broke; we don’t need to fix it by adding newer stuff. Sometimes, it’s the newer stuff that gets us in trouble. Ok, I’ll stop now.
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