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Was Charlotte Mason in fact a classical educator?
- This topic has 46 replies, 22 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 5 months ago by
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Whew! It occured to me later that my comment about websites and blogs might offend someone. I’m not at all trying to be snooty, but just wanted to point out the benefits of reading Charlotte herself. Sonya’s post encouraged me that it came across as I meant it to. Thanks for a great discussion!
This is wonderful….I’m gleaning and getting enlightened
Thanks for the links Bookworm. I have read the Wise Bauer post in the past, but I re-read the again this morning. I hope to continue the rest over the next couple of days. It sounds like the major difference between CM and Classical is composition and grammar.
I too would say I had a more classical education in 1st – 8th, while attending a private parochial school. We were heads and shoulders ahead of our counterparts upon entering the public high school. I LOVE to learn and desire more education. When we started homeschooling, we started with textbooks and tended more toward classical. However, my kids got burnt out with all the workbooks and memorization. They much prefer CM methods.
I’m really aiming to read CM Original writings this summer. I’m expecting a baby in a couple of weeks and hopefully will be able to settle in with some good books.
Great discussion….anyone else?
Blessings,
melissa
http://reflectionsfromdrywoodcreek.blogspot.com/
There are big differences between CM and Classical (SWB method anyway) in the grammar years. Rote memorization vs a love for learning from living material.
Thanks, Bookworm, and everyone else. I want to be sure that I’m on the right path for my family. Sometimes I get a little nervous and need to refresh my memory of why I’ve chosen CM. All the articles and input from everyone has helped me a lot today!
Sometimes I wonder if Charlotte Mason is a current craze…
We’ve certainly seen the popularity of CM increase over the years. It makes sense as more understanding is gained and people learn about how gentle, flexible, and effective it is.
But I think I discovered another reason I hadn’t fully considered before. This realization came recently from talking to quite a few second-generation homeschoolers at conventions this Spring.
In the early years of homeschooling there were not many choices so people naturally emulated what they knew from public schooling. Seasoned homeschoolers and newer generations have now realized that they can flex to fit the specific needs of their family and have been seeking better alternatives that work with the idea of education being a lifestyle. At the same time, publishers have worked to meet the needs and there are now a wealth of choices available.
It’s a good time to be homeschooling!
FYI….Lindafay from Higher Up and Further In recently did a blog post regarding this subject with a variety of links for further reading.
http://higherupandfurtherin.blogspot.com/2012/06/is-charlotte-mason-classical.html
Thanks again everyone for your insight 🙂
Blessings,
Melissa
What a great thread…wonderful comments and links. I wish I would have understood more of this years ago. It would have saved me a lot of stress in trying to add to our school to make it more rigorous because of my misunderstanding that CM was light. It’s taken me so long to grasp so much of what a CM education is really like and it’s a bit frustrating that my local homeschool world seems much more classically bent (in the Dorothy Sayers way). Classical Conversations, etc. co-ops are blossoming, but no CM co-ops! I’m thankful to have this like-minded forum:) Gina
I have been reading and thinking more and more on CM vs classical ed for a blog series I am doing on homeschool styles. I think whoever said the differences in the early years are big is right. But I think the overall philosophy and goals are pretty different too. Frankly, the more I look at it, the more I can’t see why Christians would follow the Well-Trained mind model of clasical schooling.
It is important also to distinguish between the classical classical model of education (which it seems CM resonates with to some degree) and modern classical education which I think has gone in some different directions.
The blog post, btw, will come out in a week or so.
Nebby
My blog post on classical education is up now:
http://lettersfromnebby.wordpress.com/2012/06/23/approaches-to-homeschooling-classical/
Nebby
Gina, I lead a CM co-op in Floirda. Come on over!
I would love for some of you guys to join us.Christie
This thread has been most helpful! It confirms my own personal researching over the past 5 years or so. We started out reading books on the Classical method and through different avenues God seemed to lead us to the CM method. It seems so much more natural and the way that learning was meant to be.
I have been totally encouraged to read the CM Original series for myself. It is on my reading list for the upcoming terms. I think that it would be a wise investment. I have heard that you can download it for free from the internet as well.
Does anyone know if this is accurate?
Nebby,
I read your blog post on classical education and was very interested in the fact that you quoted from the vandamme article. I stumbled upon this same article months ago and was very disturbed by it. While I don’t really know what to think about the methods of modern classical education, as she calls it, I do agree with the troubles that come from the public school angles hence my desire to home educate. But as I read her article and found that her mentor/ philosophy came from Ayn Rand a staunch supporter of objectivism I decided to look up what objectivism actually was by definition and research Rand’s philosophy. Rand states that “he(man) must exist for his own sake and that “The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life.” this is not in line with my understanding of what God calls us to be as Christians and was bothered by the fact that the she implies that the main purpose of Christian classical educators was to indoctrinate children in a dogma of Christianity based on beliefs that were not based on reality.her definition of reality(objectivism) being “Reality exists as an objective absolute—facts are facts, independent of man’s feelings, wishes, hopes or fears. Part of vandammes article state “The purpose of Christian classical education is neither to teach a student to think nor to teach him facts. To teach a student to think is to teach him to think independently—but independent thinking is incompatible with the acceptance of dogma and the tenets of Christianity.
As I stated, I am not sure that the methods imposed by the classical educators today is right and I myself lean more towards a CM style education but I do want for my children, as you stated in your blog very beautifully, that my children know Christ intimately as their Creator and to educate them so that they may become the person that he has purposed them to be.
My purpose for this post is not to be argumentative but to be corrected if my thinking is wrong or to become more educated on the idea of objectivism. I was just bothered by her comments and what seemed to me a disdain for the teaching of Christianity. If the classical style of education in its method is wrong Is she the one to base that opinion on? I am only asking and would love to hear others comments.
I would love for some of you guys to join us.
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