Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival

Welcome to the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival for February 2014

Some Unconsidered Aspects of Intellectual Training

To read Charlotte Mason's ideas about this topic see here. The previous CM carnival, On Mindfulness, was dedicated to this topic also. The 'Some Unconsidered Aspects' sections of Volume 3 (School Education) contains some wonderful gems and surprises - ideas and facets I know I hadn't previously associated with Physical, Intellectual, Moral and Religious training.
I've appreciated working through CM's books and seeing how other minds grapple with the ideas presented within them. Certainly two (or more) heads are better than one.

Pythagoras by Raphael 1509-1510

Amy, our CM blog carnival hostess, writes about Intellectual Habits, the Fallibility of Reasoning and Being Transparent.
When I first started reading the Charlotte Mason series I started with A Philosophy of Education and was startled by her thoughts on the fallibility of Reason. It made me think back (and cringe) to times when I'd  justified my actions by putting a good face on them. I had thoroughly convinced myself I was right:

'For ourselves and our children it is enough to know that reason will put a good face on any matter we propose; and, that we can prove ourselves to be in the right is no justification for there is absolutely no theory we may receive, no action we may contemplate, which our reason will not affirm.' (Volume 6)

Amy suggests that fallible reasoning may be overcome and offers some wise suggestions to resist this tendency:

By testing with truth.
By thought turning.
By taking in big gulps of grace.

Aut-2B-Home  shares The Tale of the Sleeping Fish A Parable of Mental Habits to illustrate the mental habits of Attention, Concentration and Intellectual Volition and then gives us the moral of the story. Lovely!

Attention - Children are born with natural curiosity unless something hinders it. Sometimes, physical or brain issues get in the way. Sometimes, the education system encourages them to pay attention to earn cheap rewards (grades, test scores, awards, candy). When offered nourishing food (ideas found in living books and real things) and allowed to explore them with an active mind, they eventually learn to pay attention. Some take longer than others to join the feast.  

Nebby explores Charlotte Mason's observations on the study of mathematics in her post More on Intellectual Training and draws our attention to the fact that Charlotte Mason refuted the idea that studying Mathematics alone will make a person more logical in the rest of life.

“ Remove the mathematician from his own field and he is not more exact or more on the spot than other men; indeed he is rather given to make a big hole for the cat and a little hole for the kitten! The humanities do not always make a man humane, that is, liberal, tolerant, gentle, and candid, as regards the opinions and status of other men.”

Speaking of mathematicians she has known Nebby observes:

Clearly, these people’s personal lives do not always reflect logical well-thought out decisions. They as much as any other people act on emotions and desires without due consideration of the logical consequences of their actions. 

Celeste at Joyous Lessons shares her thoughts on The Living Page, focusing on Copybooks. Celeste shares some of her gleanings from the second chapter of Laurie Bestvater's book, The Living Page.

"As an idea is spiritual, it needs a place to intersect with the student's own spirit, in this case, in the slowly emerging text of the meditative copy work ... taking time to write by hand slows us down and allows the truth to seep in" (30).

And that's the stickler. :)  She definitely sees the writing process itself as essential to the Keeping of a Commonplace, which comes as no surprise since she hinted as much in the first chapter.  I'll be thinking more about this as we move through the rest of the book, and as a model to my children, I plan to start a physical Commonplace soon.  I'm wondering whether that experience will convince me of writing's meditative effects. Right now, writing doesn't feel all that meditative to me, perhaps because I often have little hands grabbing at the page. ;)  But I'll be the first to admit that I could use a little "slowing down"!

 
Mama Squirrel also writes about Notebooks and Copybooks at Dewey's Treehouse.
I appreciated the honesty behind these words. A couple of my boys really struggled putting pen to paper and when they did it wasn't beautiful. My temptation was to take over and want them to come up to the standard of their precise and embellishment prone sisters.

Can we just put it that I felt like we were doing our best at the time, though we never did achieve such beautiful written work as some other homeschoolers I knew did? And that I sincerely did attempt to keep the writing practice personalized and meaningful, even if often it was my choice of text rather than the children's?

 

But here, I think, is Charlotte's point: other than demonstrating particular points of spelling or grammar, most of those benefits can be had even if the student chooses his or her own texts to transcribe. And possibly there are some side benefits that we haven't fully realized.

In her post the Ragged Schools of Scotland, Megan links Charlotte Mason's beliefs and educational thoughts with the work of Thomas Guthrie and Andrew Walker who ministered to the poor of Scotland.

Gentle whispers throughout the pages of each of Miss Mason's volumes woo us toward magnanimous thinking, toward proffering ideas to children instead of speed drills, toward seeing the infinite value of a human being instead of his utility to the state.

Miss Mason believed every living soul deserved to access the great minds of the past -- the great art, music, literature, inventions, poetry, and all the glorious ideas that came before them.  But just prior to the time she began saying such things, Thomas Guthrie and Andrew Walker were heading into Edinburgh's slums to offer the Gospel to those who thought themselves beyond reach, who others didn't even bother with -- the nameless, faceless poor.

Tammy's aim in her blog, Rarified   '...is to explore captain ideas and share them with kindred spirits.'
Her post One Does Not Simply Sit in Maths Class is one of many that does this and helps to encourage a love of Mathematics.
 

Math should make sense if one starts with the most basic understandable thought and then adds to it in a beautiful chain of reason.

 

Nancy at Sage Parnassus writes about 'sun dogs' and sheds light on this phenomena by quoting from A Prairie Dog's Winter and Shakespeare's Henry VI. Visit her blog to see the sun dog photo and learn what it is. I hadn't heard of it before but then we don't have blizzards in Australia. It's very interesting to have a glimpse of what all you folk in the Northern Hemisphere experience at this time of year.

The sun had two little snippets of rainbow some distance away from it, just above the horizon.  His father referred to this in Ukrainian: "the sun has ears," he said.  But the other children in school with William knew they were called sundogs.

I thought for my contribution that I'd link to a couple of CM bloggers that didn't actually send in posts but I think have helpful ideas and resources to offer:

A Generous Education shares some lovely art cards which are just ideal for picture study.

A Sabbath Mood has some great ideas for living science. Scroll down to see a number of posts on this topic.

The schedule for the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival is at the Fisher Academy International and any CM related posts may be submitted there. The topic for the next carnival is Some Unconsidered Aspects of Moral Training but any CM related posts are welcome.

 

The Song of Wandering Aengus: W.B. Yeats

I went out to the hazel wood,  

Because a fire was in my head,  

And cut and peeled a hazel wand,  

And hooked a berry to a thread;  

And when white moths were on the wing,

And moth-like stars were flickering out,  

I dropped the berry in a stream  

And caught a little silver trout.  

  

When I had laid it on the floor  

I went to blow the fire a-flame,

But something rustled on the floor,  

And someone called me by my name:  

It had become a glimmering girl  

With apple blossom in her hair  

Who called me by my name and ran

And faded through the brightening air.  

  

Though I am old with wandering  

Through hollow lands and hilly lands,  

I will find out where she has gone,  

And kiss her lips and take her hands;

And walk among long dappled grass,  

And pluck till time and times are done,  

The silver apples of the moon,  

The golden apples of the sun.

W. B. Yeats (1865-1939)

Wednesday with Words - Plutarch

We've been reading through Plutarch's life of Quintus Fabius Maximus, learning some things about his character and drawing lessons from his life.

Fabius was slow and steady, a plodder, a characteristic that was not appreciated by his next in command, the impulsive and arrogant Lucius Minucius (love that name!).

So, basically, Fabius was called to Rome and in his absence Minucius took matters into his own hands and attacked Hannibal. Instead of being punished, Minucius was elevated by those opposed to the rule of Fabius to a position of equal authority with Fabius and continued in his rash behaviour, despising the advice of the older man. Hannibal took advantage of the rift and cunningly lured Minucius into a battle:

When, therefore, (Fabius) saw the army of Minucius encompassed by the enemy, and that by their countenance and shifting their ground, they appeared more disposed to flight than to resistance, with a great sigh, striking his hand upon his thigh, he said to those about him, "O Hercules! how much sooner than I expected, though later than he seemed to desire, hath Minucius destroyed himself!"

Fabius's response to the younger man's rashness and flouting of authority was:

"We must make haste to rescue Minucius, who is a valiant man, and a lover of his country; and if he hath been too forward to engage the enemy, at another time we will tell him of it."

Magnanimous, I'd call that.

Hannibal, seeing so sudden a change of affairs, and Fabius, beyond the force of his age, opening his way through the ranks up the hill-side, that he might join Minucius, warily forbore, sounded a retreat, and drew off his men into their camp...

Fabius, after his men had picked up the spoils of the field, retired to his own camp, without saying any harsh or reproachful thing to his colleague...

The man who has understanding holds his tongue.
Proverbs 11:12

Minucius learnt a valuable lesson that day. He came to an understanding of authority and submission and that the race isn't always to the swift. Gathering his army around him he said these words to his men:

"To conduct great matters and never commit a fault is above the force of human nature; but to learn and improve by the faults we have committed, is that which becomes a good and sensible man. Some reasons I may have to accuse fortune, but I have many more to thank her; for in a few hours she hath cured a long mistake, and taught me that I am not the man who should command others, but have need of another to command me; and that we are not to contend for victory over those to whom it is our advantage to yield."

When pride comes then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. 

Proverbs 11:2

Minucius's words got me thinking about churches and the problems that result when we get this authority and yielding wrong. I've seen lots of people just drift away or go off and do their own thing because they couldn't have others 'command' them - I'm not talking about bad or abusive leadership, but a general unwillingness to yield to anyone but themselves.

Just as Minucius disregarded and despised the leadership of a man he thought was too slow, mistaking circumspection for cowardice, we can chafe under the leadership of someone who isn't doing things the way we think they should be done or in the time frame we'd prefer.

For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Matthew 23:12

 Until we learn how to be under authority, we're not going to be able to handle being in authority.

Some Unconsidered Aspects of Intellectual Training

Jessie Willcox Smith (1863-1935)

The more I read of Charlotte Mason's ideas, the more I appreciate the legacy of wisdom she's left behind. I also appreciate the work others have done to clothe her educational ideas in ways that make those ideas presentable and do-able a hundred years or so after they were written.

Susan Schaeffer Macaulay was the first person to introduce me to Charlotte Mason's educational ideas. Ambleside Online helped to make her ideas do-able whilst making it clear that to implement a true CM education, I needed to understand the principles behind her philosophy.

I had years of second hand opinions and interpretations of what a Charlotte Mason education meant, some of it helpful, but there's nothing like going to the source. A part of my intellectual training has been reading for myself what CM wrote in her Original Homeschooling Series. The quotes here are from Chapter XI of School Education.

Our thinking is not a separate thing from our conduct and our prayers, or even from our bodily well-being. Man is not several entities... He can work and love and pray and live righteously, but all these are the outcome of the manner of thoughts he thinks.

John Stott demonstrated a direct link between our thoughts and our actions when he said:

Sow a thought, reap an action

Sow an action, reap a habit

Sow a habit, reap a character

Sow a character, reap a destiny.

Education is no more than applied philosophy - our effort to train children according to the wisdom that is in us; and not according to the last novelty in educational ideas.

We didn't really think about our educational philosophy, as such, at the outset. It sort of came together as we went along; but we did pray for wisdom (and still do) and then we tried (and still try) to apply that wisdom and not allow ourselves to get caught up in the ever changing novelties that come and go in educational circles.

Idea

Literally, that which is seen; hence, form, image, model of any thing in the mind; that which is held or comprehended by the understanding or intellectual faculties.

...nothing is so practical as a great idea, because nothing produces such an abundant outcome of practical effort...

Ideas are not generally associated with practicality. They are the content of the mind, mental representations, and are sometimes connected with a sense of unreality and impracticality, but here we see the power of an idea in initiating actions.

Genius itself, we have been told, is an infinite capacity for taking pains; we would rather say, is the habit of taking infinite pains, for every child is born with the capacity.

The word genius brings to mind people the likes of Thomas Alva Edison, Albert Einstein, William Shakespeare and Leonardo da Vinci - each of whom had great strength of mind which translated into abundant practical effort. Thomas Edison was labelled addled by his teacher but he was born with a capacity i.e. with the power of receiving ideas or knowledge, and if he hadn't developed the habit of taking infinite pains with his work his life would have passed unnoticed. It's sobering to think how much might have been lost to mankind by the neglect of this habit.

There is nothing sadder than the way we allow intellectual impressions to pass over the surface of our minds, without any effort to retain or assimilate.

How many times have I done this?!!

I underline passages, scripture or quotes that stand out to me as I read.  It's telling that often when I go back through books I've read and see what I've underlined, I think, 'Why on earth did that strike me at the time?' and I am clueless because I allowed it to pass over the surface of my mind.

Taking the time to write some notes in the margins or in a notebook makes all the difference for me.

One of the reasons I'm writing here about what I've read in CM's homeschooling series is for my own discipline because I know that thoughts disentangle themselves as they flow through my lips and fingertips. I want these ideas to have a practical outcome which will only happen if I let them make an impression on my mind.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 
Matthew 22:37

Robbery Under Arms by Rolf Boldrewood - an Australian Classic

Robbery Under Arms is a ripping good yarn set in the mid 1850's in the colony of New South Wales and is narrated in the first person by a young man, Dick Marston, who tells his tale using the vernacular of the time.

Dick's father was a cattle duffer and he drew Dick and his younger brother Jim into his schemes, ignoring the objections and pleadings of his wife and daughter. After being involved in numerous escapades and criminal activities, Dick and his brother became fugitives, and Dick was eventually caught and imprisoned. He begins his story in a prison cell awaiting the day determined for his hanging.

...it's all up now; there's no get away this time; and I, Dick Marston, as strong as a bullock, as active as a rock wallaby, chock-full of life and spirits and health, have been tried for bush ranging - robbery under arms they call it - and though the blood runs through my veins like the water in the mountain creeks, and every bit of bone and sinew is as sound as the day I was born, I must die on the gallows this day month.

As he looks back on his life, Dick reminisces about his home life and family and the events leading up to his capture. From cattle stealing with his father, adventures with the swashbuckling Captain Starlight, the gold rush of the 1850's and bush ranging escapades, to humorous encounters and colourful characters, the story creates an authentic and vivid picture of colonial New South Wales and Western Victoria.

Everything seemed dead, silent, and solitary, and a rummier start than all, here we're we - three desperate men, driven to make ourselves a home in this lonesome, God-forsaken place! I wasn't very fanciful by that time, but if the devil had risen up to make a fourth amongst us I shouldn't have been surprised. The place, the time, and the men seemed regularly cut out for him and his mob.

I'd had this book for quite a few years but I'd put off reading it because I expected it to be a depressing colonial story. Sometimes Australian books set in this time period are a bit that way but I really enjoyed this one.

The background setting of the gold rush in a part of the story was very interesting and overall the book painted a wonderful picture of Australian life seen from the point of view of a working class lad, the son of a former convict. It fits in well to a study of Australian History during the colonial time period and Ambleside Online Year 10. Suitable for around ages 14 years and up.

The book is available for free at Project Gutenberg and this website has information on the goldfields of New South Wales:

http://www.goldtrails.com.au/html_files/explore/sofala-link-history.html