A few Charlotte Mason Resources

So, I guess I missed most of November.  Time is seriously flying by here at our house.   Our littlest one is teething and our oldest broke his arm.  The middle still refuses to sleep.  He is still in his bed telling himself stories.  Today I administered our first official end of the quarter "test".  I was actually really pleased (after he stopped whining) by how much he remembered.  I am really glad that I convinced him to let me record it.

Here are a few resources you might be interested in:

Language Lessons through Literature by Kathy DeVore is the language program we have been using.  It has really helped keep us on track - she has poetry, Aesop's fables, many of the literature selections from Year 1 and 2 on the Ambleside list scheduled out.  The copywork passages are linked to the literature and there are short poems for copywork as well.  There are short lessons to introduce grammar terms that are supported by the copywork selections.  She has really done a LOT of work which makes my job MUCH easier!

This past week a local town hosted the start of a "study group" on Charlotte Mason.  It was interesting and there were about 30 people there!  I think the speaker was surprised by how many attended.  She pointed us in the direction of a series of video clips about implementing Charlotte Mason (and here scroll down to get the ones that show chapter 1 etc.).   I haven't watched them yet - but I will.  The study group should also be interesting - the next meeting isn't until the end of January though.

I also found another mom who put in a lot of work to create a list of AO books and where to find them for your kindle.  I did break down earlier this year when Yesterday's Classics had a great deal and bought the bundle (apparently it is on again $49.95 for 225 books!).

Anyway, I am actually implementing curriculum around here and learning a lot as I go.  It seems that there are also people that might be coming alongside me as we figure out how to grow our kids in the Lord.  I am excited.

Reading Scheme

I broke down and bought the 2nd edition of Latin Centered Curriculum (LCC).  I am glad I did.  I appreciate the simple (yet deep) outline that he includes in the last section of the book.  It makes homeschooling seem do-able.  As you read through his curriculum you need to remember that he expects good music to be listened to in the home, art to be appreciated and books to be read aloud as a part of life (not curricula).   Parents should model and include their children in these aspects of their life.  If you are like me and have neglected these things (except for reading) for quite a while I might suggest using Amblesides' rotation of art and music to help make sure you cover the basics.

I am still a little torn between Charlotte Masons' laying a banquet with many varied readings and the LCC idea of "multum non multa"- a few deep readings.  So I am trying to strike a balance - as usual.

After thinking about all the different types of reading to be accomplished I decided that maybe I should create categories. Simply Convivial's idea about having a listening hour (and my son's addiction to legos and listening to stories) has been part of my inspiration.  I also want to figure out how I should "rate" books as I come across them.  Are they a "must have" because they will be used as a core book later or a "nice to have" because one kid might read it at some point.  Remembering that my oldest just turned 6 - so this is all theory - I think we will try this arrangement for history and literature (and maybe some science).

Study books - these are the key books that will be core texts - we will spend a lot of time with them.  Most of the suggestions for these will be taken from LCC and Memoria Press

Read Aloud Books - these are the kinds that Andrew Campbell just expects to happen - but will require more planning than that on my part.  So, this is where we will probably bring in Ambleside's literature suggestions, books of honor from Ordo-Amoris (or here) and others that I want to really discuss with the boys.

Audio Books - There are some books that I think are just better if someone else reads them aloud (Shakespeare, Pilgrim's Progress, etc.)  Other books are also worth listening to but I don't think they need to be a focal point of our study.  Right now, Our Island Story and Susan Wise Bauer's Story of the World or M.B. Synge's world history will probably fit in here.   Fortunately, librivox can help cover a lot of these needs.  As I consider it, there will be some "required" listening (aka Simply Convivial style) and some "free" listening selections. Some stories that we have read aloud once might be made available for free time listening as well.  

Free Reading - Obviously, it will not be totally free since I will be suggesting books worth reading.  I know that popular opinion says that you should just be glad kids are reading.  However, I wasted many a summer reading Babysitter's club books and their ilk.  Now I wish I had read something with a little more substance.

So, I think that cover most of the reading that goes on in our house.  I think that this might give us a good balance and give me some guidance in what is worth purchasing and when we might need it.  I have not gotten to the point of actually going year by year to outline what might fall into these different categories.  That is still floating around in my head.  However, I now have a better idea of how we might tackle all that I'd like to read.  I am a little concerned that we will have to force the free reading around here because the oldest can read but prefers not to do so.  He is 6 so I am trying to be patient.

Anyway, if you have any additional thoughts I am open to them!

Something to write about

I was a little shocked to realize that I haven't posted since August.  Time flies!  I spent a good portion of these past few months focusing on getting school going and working on our eating habits.  We are tending towards paleo now (but we haven't given up dairy - yet) and have been trying to figure out how to further reduce our bread based carbohydrates (not the technical term).  I think it has been going well - but veggies take a while to prepare.  Fortunately, one of my kids LOVES his veggies so that makes it easy.  The other one has decided it is better to eat what I serve than starve (although I think he counts down to when he can visit grandma's house).

Last weekend I was privileged to attend CIRCE's conference in Austin.  It was GREAT!  So many things to think about.  I am so glad that I am early on in the homeschooling game and getting such great input.  Actually, what stunned me as I walked away was how much Mr. Kern's description of Mimetic teaching helped me to better understand how Montessori works (or could easily be adapted to work).  Montessori is all about naming the environment - very specifically.  You don't just learn "triangle" you learn "obtuse isoceles triangle".  This naming is crucial in helping kids understand their world - and they can deal with big names. She also constantly uses what Kern would call "types of the logos".  Her whole program is basically helping kids build from one truth to the next in incremental steps.  However, she doesn't clearly point to the Logos in her teaching (which is one reason I struggle with her appraoch).  Understanding that she is basically using types to teach math and grammar has given me new inspiration for using them in our coop class (which uses Montessori materials).

This conference also helped me name my difficulties with Montessori (we discussed the power of naming a lot at the conference).  Mr. Kern talked about the three types of learning - facts, skills and ideas.  Montessori stays in the level of facts and skills which is what makes it so universal.  However, I believe that education is about equipping kids to deal with ideas, relationships and ultimately cultivating virtue.  Although you can (and will) bring these into Montessori - she seems to intentionally try to exclude them from the learning process.  Montessori was against telling young children fairy tales and fantasy stories - which is the exact opposite of what Classical educators advocate.  They believe that these stories help cultivate a child's moral imagination (the author of this article was actually doing a conference in Dallas the same weekend).   As we discussed last weekend, she is preparing students to think analytically - but we are created first and ultimately to think analogically (through analogy/ story).    Montessori does bring story into the early elementary classroom - but the teacher can weave her own story - it is not necessarily tied to a specific faith tradition.   And honestly, most kids attend Montessori for preschool and then head off to a "normal" school so they miss the story.

So those are some of my initial thoughts.  I have started studying Latin - using the Memoria Press study guide for Henle (I am on lesson 2).  I still look at Visual Latin about once a week - maybe I will get it eventually.  I have also found this Latin tutorial site to be very helpful so that I can hear what it should sound like.

Additionally, I am tackling English grammar.  I realize that learning Latin will improve my English grammar - but I need a direct infusion.  I am using Jensen's Grammar.  I learned something new in lesson 2 - this is how sad my grammar education is.  So maybe I will figure out how to apply some of this new knowledge.

Finally, I am intending to blog through Mind of the Maker with Cindy Rollins at Ordo Amoris.  I picked the book up for a buck at a local thrift store - SCORE.

Ideas Have Consequences - Chap. 8

It took me a while to get started with this chapter but when everyone else said it was their favorite so far I decided to give it a try.  I was not disappointed. 

As the others have mentioned, the first part is about a philosophic discussion about the role of words and language in our society.  While a defense is necessary, I personally decided this was not my battlefield when I read a little of Wittgenstein and was totally lost.  I am glad to see it might be, in part, because he was trying to accomplish something that really can't be done.  Maybe. 

Definition 

I think the key idea I got from this chapter was the importance of definition.  As a debater (short lived) we learned to define our terms but we had no idea what we were really doing as middle schoolers.  But I did love Lincoln- Douglas debate because of the way it played with ideas.  Although I take good definition for granted, I am learning that I shouldn't.  There are a few educational points that came to mind with this idea of definition: 

1.  In the Montessori classroom one of the first things you do is name EVERYTHING.  You tour the room and name it (not with labels - but aloud).  This is to give students ownership and "power" over their space.  You also always use the proper name - not a babyish name.  This chapter gave reason why this is so important in developing young minds and helping kids to grow.  To teach items not in the classroom you use three part cards - with pictures and names - to help students name the world around them. 

2.  If you have ever read anything about the Principle Approach they talk a LOT about using Websters' 1828 dictionary to define terms and they spend a LOT of time doing it.  Basically, Noah Webster was a linguist extraordinaire (I think he knew about 20) and had a very Biblical worldview.  Current day definitions tend to have some of the drift that Weaver warns against, but the 1828 is quite a standard.  I think it is telling and helpful to use these definitions, with older children especially, so that they can see the way words have changed.  Webster felt called to write a dictionary because he knew the power of language.  

3.  I really enjoyed Andrew Kern's lecture about the 5 topics.  The quick overview tells us that definition - what is it? - is the first topic and comparison the second.  This is basically what Weaver is saying as well.  This is how we make sense of our world and if we can help our students grasp this and internalize it they will be the better for it.  

So, definition or naming may seem trivial but it is essential.  I think this is especially important because our culture and Christian morality once had similar definitions for things.  But we all know that isn't the case any longer.  It is essential that our children understand that there are ideals (even if they can't be met) and that some things are permanent - regardless of current fad.   As he explains "the student will get a training in definition which will compel him to see limitation and contradiction . . . training in thinking, whereas the best that he gets now is a vague admonition to think for himself."   

Language 

Another point that he drives home is that "command of language will prognosticate aptitude" - basically that being able to speak well and understanding language will help you go further.  One of my favorite studies is about preschool students and their language aptitude.  Let's just say that your language facility at 3 can predict your long term aptitude.  This is why I am so passionate about reading aloud to children. 

This is one reason why I like Core Knowledge and its thoughts about cultural literacy.  Basically, they argue that we can teach our kids technically how to read (if we decide to use phonics) but they lack the "background" to understand many of the stories and information once it gets above a 3rd grade level.  This is because they haven't been given the vocabulary, experience and stories to do well.   Although some may naysay against cultural literacy as "elitist" in nature - whose to say what culture we should be teaching - it is just the opposite.  There is a western tradition that has helped form who we are as a nation and all kids should learn about this heritage so they have a chance of understanding where our culture comes from.  This is NOT to belittle other cultures - but to provide them access to a great tradition of language and ideas.  As they say, teaching content is teaching reading. 

I see Core Knowledge as a modern adaptation of Classical Studies in some ways - especially when it comes to literature selections.  There is a need to provide students with access to the best poetry, literature, historical figures and ideas we can give them.   We should "lay the banquet" as Charlotte Mason encourages us with the expectation that children can and will make their own connections when given the chance.  However, if their "cultural literacy" is limited to what you can read about on the check out stand we are all in serious trouble.  

Weaver's chapter also encourages me to keep reading poetry - just like Cindy keeps encouraging us to do.  So although I don't really get poetry all the time - it is my lack of experience - not the poet's problem.  I just need to read more.  Weaver argues

He (the poet) is the greatest teacher of cause and effect in human affairs.  

Finally, this is the quote I will be thinking about the most, by Sir Richard Livingstone, who notes

that the people of the Western world 'do not know the meaning of certain words, which had been assumed to belong to the permanent vocabulary of mankind, certain ideals which, if ignored in practice under pressure, were accepted in theory.  The least important of these words is Freedom.  The most important are Justice, Mercy, and Truth." 

OUCH!!

Ideas Have Consequences: Chap. 7 (Part 2)

In the last post we talked about truth and virtue and Weaver is on the brink of revealing how we can turn back the clock.  His solution: private property.

I was VERY surprised by his choice but he explains it clearly and the gist of it is "that it does not depend on any test of social usefulness" - it can't be turned into something that is utilitarian.   He also clearly explains that he is discussing real property and small businesses not large corporations, stocks or even intellectual property.  He is really advocating small farms and local businesses.  How does this fit in with virtue?

Providence 

Weaver believes that private property develops what he terms providence or foresight.  He is talking about how it

takes into account the nonpresent that it calls for the exercise of reason and imagination.  That I reap now the reward of my past industry or sloth, that what I do today will be felt in that future now potential - these require play of mind.

At the end of the last chapter his final question was "Where can it find a source of discipline?"  His answer is that private property has an ability to help discipline us.  He gives two helpful examples of how private property or industry used to develop virtue.

First he discusses that "it was the practice of a maker to give his name to the product, and pride of family was linked up with maintenance of quality."   Companies are rarely family enterprises anymore and with name branding - there is little honor any longer.  

He then talks about the difference between a man building a house for his family and a man buying a house for his family.  Those who built their own homes took pride in their work and intended it to shelter their family for generations - and they do.  In our current world we buy houses that are not built to last and there is no thought that our children will live there - we might not even live there for more than a few years.  Saving for a future, planning ahead for those who come after us, are an important part of how private property can develop virtue.

Private Gone Public 

Weaver does realize that private property is under attack and he has some strong words about what may happen as a result.

for, when properties are vast and integrated, on a scale now frequently seen, it requires but a slight step to transfer them to state control.   

Indeed, it is a commonplace that the trend toward monopoly is a trend toward state ownership; and, if we continued the analysis further, we should discover that business develops a bureaucracy which can be quite easily merged with that of government.  

no society is healthful which tells its members to take no thought of the morrow because the state underwrites their future.

Where popular majorities may, on a plea of present need, override these rights earned by past effort, the tendency is for all persons to become politicians.  In other words, they come to feel that manipulation is a greater source of reward than is production.  This is the essence of corruption.  

Just one quick comment.  Once again, Weaver draws together two things that we normally put on opposite ends: big business and government.

I now have a much better appreciation for the role private property can play in developing virtue, discipline and encouraging us to exercise our freedom - who knew?

Ideas Have Consequences: Chapter 7 (Part 1)

As I read the first two pages of this chapter it connected with so many other things I have been reading recently.  In this chapter Weaver turns a corner.  He has been documenting the decline of culture and in these last few chapters will talk about a way to help stop the drift.

First, an aside.  Last fall I read Letters to a Young Calvinist.  Tucked in this little book was a short chapter about how the author viewed reading and it rang true with me.  Smith explained that he feels like God puts books in his path to help him in his growth.  He discusses used bookstores having just the right book for the moment.  I have never heard anyone talk about this before but it is exactly how I feel about my reading and why I am constantly in used book stores and goodwill.   That's one reason I feel I am in a good place because I am hearing similar thoughts from many sources.  Now, that alone does not make it true - but we will talk about that next.

Okay, now to the actual text.  Weaver begins by asserting "that man both can know and can will".  He recognizes that this is a bold assertion in this day and age, but if you don't believe these two things he believes that there is no hope for change. When Andrew Kern compares our modern educational system with the more classical tradition it is here that he starts.

Conventional education is based on three principles and one application.
1. There is no truth
2. If there is Truth, you can’ t know it
3. If you could know Truth, you couldn’t communicate it.
4. Therefore, there is no point teaching children how to seek truth and wisdom, only power.

On the other hand, Christian classical education is based on three different principles and one application.
1. Truth is
2. Truth is knowable
3. Truth can be communicated.
4. Therefore, the arts of truth seeking define our curriculum and pedagogy. 

Is this really the key to turning around our current situation?   Is truth really so important?  Does it make THAT much of a difference?  So I started thinking a little more about truth and realized that if you are a Christian truth isn't just a set of propositions or beliefs - it is a person.  Jesus says in red letters "I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life."  No wonder our modern situation claims there is no truth - how could you if you won't believe in the one who is Truth.

As to training the will or developing virtue - shouldn't we just start preaching it?  Weaver warns us that "we must avoid, however, the temptation of trying to teach virtue directly".  This is in keeping with what Cindy is constantly counseling us at Ordo Amoris.  Weaver says that we must drive "the wedge between the material and the transcendental".  I am not sure exactly what this means - but I think it means that we need to acknowledge that there is good/bad and justice/injustice that is beyond our own personal definition.  There is a standard that is steady and unchanging.

I really like Charlotte Mason's saying

I am a child of God, I ought to do his will, I can do what He says and by His grace, I will. 

This points both to will and truth.  If we believe what He says is the truth then we ought to be doing it.  I have a friend who used to say "don't 'should' on me" - meaning don't make judgments or tell me what I should and should not be doing.  I understand the sentiment, but at the same time there are things we "ought" or "should" be doing - if we claim to live in light of the truth. I also appreciate it because it acknowledges that doing what we ought is NOT easy and requires His grace to do it.  It requires an act of our will but just "trying harder" and "doing better" isn't enough.  We must trust we are his children and lean into His grace as we learn from His word.

So, this covers my thoughts from the first two pages!  He takes a very interesting turn as we shall see in the next post.

This is part of the book club being sponsored at Simply Convivial.  Check out what others are saying about this chapter.

Training: This is tough

I have been negligent about this topic.  Originally this idea was part of a 5 am brainstorm - so I hadn't totally thought it through.  Plus, my mom was cooking all my meals and letting me take naps which gave me more time to think.  Then I returned home and just realized I am introducing solids, starting potty training and beginning school with my oldest - all at the same time.  Real life has put training on hold - which is sort of the general paradox I face.  I want things to be just right to begin something - and they never will be.  I also want to make everything into a big to-do instead of focusing on the little habits of everyday.  So, I guess I am training - it just doesn't seem as exciting as I had hoped.

So, I wrote one post about lofty goals and realized that I am too much of a utilitarian and believe in formulas.  Fortunately, I read the post at Ordo Amoris and at Circe to help renew my mind.  I am trying to undo this thinking - repent - so I will have to wait on that post for a while.  For now, I think I can safely discuss the strains of thought that I tend to fall victim to - more easily than I expected apparently.

Comfort 

One of the strongest themes I am trying to combat is what Weaver rails against - this idea that comfort brings happiness.  It sounds so nice and pleasant.  It just isn't true.  The sad thing is that, at times, the church even promotes its own version of this lie.  Reading the Bible will show you that the life of ease is not what we are called to.  Not that we seek difficulty intentionally, but that following God's order will not bring us into harmony with the world around us.  When orders clash issues arise but we need to remember

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.   John 16:33

Jane of all trades 

I have also been thinking about the idea of mastery.  In general, our schools promote a wide and shallow curriculum.  There are so many things to know and they come at students in a very disjointed way.  You come out with a smattering of information but no real organization or habits of mind to help you process and use what you have learned.  I am drawn by the Latin Centered Curriculum because it believes in learning a few things to mastery.   I am trying to figure out how to pare down and trust that this is "enough".  It seemed to work for generations before this century - can I trust it though?

The End

Finally, I am thinking about the whole idea of success.  I am constantly struggling with the American ideal of the good life and what a "successful" Christian looks like.  I listened to Steve Breedlove's conference talk "Exhaustion through Rigor" and I identified with it (it is the 4th from the bottom of the list).  He basically wondered why our schools are running after the same goals as every other school - SAT scores, "good" colleges, etc.  Is that what success looks like to God?   Are we all climbing a ladder leaning against the wrong building? How would we re-orient our lives if we were to look like "successful" Christians?  Paul admonishes and says confidently in 2 Timothy

⁵ But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.⁶ For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.⁷ I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:⁸ Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

To train well you do have to begin with the end in mind -right?  I am brought back to N.T. Wright's book After you Believe.  He speaks extensively of how our "forever" occupations will be as priests and kings.  We will worship and we will rule with Christ.  He encourages us to consider how we can begin these vocations now.  Are we training in righteousness?  Are we exploring what it means to worship the King?  Are we willing to be offered?

So, I guess I came back to the big ideas after all - but originally I sounded like I had the answers and I REALLY don't.  I feel like I am asking the right questions but not sure how to make some of the answers play out in my everyday life.  In one of Christopher Perrin's talk he mentioned that very few of us had a real "classical" upbringing and education so we all feel a little at a loss.  That is encouraging. I need to stop moping about what I didn't have (in part because I was given SOO much), buck up and do my best to make that education available to my children.

A Classical Quote

From Weaver I learned of man named Peguy.  I wanted to understand more about "socialist poverty".   I learned that Peguy is an interesting man - very conflicted.  Caught between socialism, the Catholic church and Patriotism (France) he had quite the ideological life.  I still don't know what Weaver was referring to by "socialist poverty" and I am pretty sure that I wouldn't agree with most of his views but as a budding Classical person I liked this quote:

Homer is new this morning, and perhaps nothing is as old as today's newspaper.

 I think Weaver would agree with Peguy here.

Ideas Have Consequences: Chap. 6

Mystie provides a great overview of what Weaver means by the "Spoiled Child" in this chapter.  It is truly frightening how well he traces the paths to our cultural undoing.

I will just highlight a few parts that rang true with me.

Weaver rails against the "softness" in our society and explains that with this softening,

the masculine virtue of heroism becomes, like the sentiments of which Burke spoke, " absurd and antiquated"   

This is because,

hardness is a condition of heroism. Exertion, self-denial, endurance, these make the hero, but to the spoiled child they connote the evil of nature and the malice of man.

Honestly, I don't think we are supposed to have "masculine virtues" at all anymore - because that would mean that there is a difference between men and women and the roles they play.  I guess that is one reason why I am pursuing a more classical curriculum because I want my sons to hear stories about heroes and to be challenged to be bold, daring and protective of those around them.  To have a purpose spurred on by duty and love.  This article from Memoria Press explains why modern literature doesn't appeal to boys; because, it doesn't call them to action or provide them with people worth modeling.   Unfortunately, instead of providing appealing heroes and ideals for our boys, most authors (and teachers) seem to think that we need to play to their baseness with books like "Captain Underpants".

If you are looking for good books for boys - I recommend checking out the lists for younger and older boys at Ordo Amoris.   I am going to trust her 25 years of homeschooling 8 boys and follow her lead in reading to nurture my boys vision of what a man should be - in the best sense possible. .

Okay, back to Weaver.  He begins by talking about the development of the "soft" individual and then shows how this mentality can undermine society - especially in the face of a strong counter ideology (like Communism - at the time).

Even if we could assume pacific intentions on both sides (Soviet Union and United States at this writing), the future would not be safe for Western Liberalism.  Its fundamental incapacity to think, arising from an inability to see contradictions, deprives it of the power to propagate.  

From the Youngbloods popular song

Come on people now   

Smile on your brother

Everybody get together

Try to love one another

Right now

Aren't we all just the same?  Well, NO.  It is not a matter of education or just understanding each other better.  We don't all believe the same things, want the same ends and agree on a similar vision of life.  As I learned from Schall, peace requires order (that's not the only requirement, but there isn't peace in disorder); but, if your "orders" are not the same there will not be peace. However, if we can't hold on to the things that makes us distinct as a nation and culture then we will not propogate and will fall apart from the inside out - just as Weaver predicts.

I am not a huge fan of extended quotes but he describes our present situation so well (remember written in 1948) that I just have to include it (bold is mine).

. . . it seems likely that the Western people are destined not for the happiness which they have promised themselves, but for something like Peguy's "socialist poverty".  In an effort to secure themselves against the challenge of dynamism they will divert more of their substance and strength into armies and bureaucracies, the former to afford them protection from attack, the latter to effect internal order.  In this event, personality will hardly survive.  The individual will be told that the state is moving to guarantee his freedom, as in a sense it will be; but, to do so, it must inhibit the individual indulgence and even responsibility.  To give strength to its will, the state restricts the wills of its citizens.  This is a general formula of political organization. 

As one of my favorite talk show hosts says "The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen."   For me, this quote highlights how both strengthening the military and social programming, in some ways, are different responses to the same problem.  Interesting.  So maybe, one of the key differences is whether you are more afraid of the military or the bureaucracy taking away your freedoms.

One more - I just can't say it nearly as well as he does:

speaking of the "modern man" (italics mine)

he marks inequalities of condition and, forbidden by his dogmas to admit inequalities of merit, moves to obliterate them.  The outcry comes masked as an assertion that property rights should not be allowed to stand in the way of human rights, which would be well enough if human rights had not been divorced from duties.  But as it is, the mass simply decides that it can get something without submitting to the discipline of work and proceeds to dispossess. 

So, I will end as Weaver does

Society eventually pauses before a fateful question: Where can it find a source of discipline?  

Let me know if you have any thoughts about this.

Ideas Have Consequences: Chapter 5

This is part of the book discussion sponsored at Simply Convivial.  Check out all of the good thoughts there.

Growing up one of my best friend's father held the title of "futurist".  It was his job to help a high end technology company figure out what the future might hold.  In some ways, I feel like Weaver was a moral "futurist".  I have to keep reminding myself that he wrote in 1948- before my parents were born - because his comments are still so timely.  Although the type of media he discussed may be outmoded his comments are still insightful.  I won't delve into his thoughts because honestly they are now commonplace concerns about media and its influence over us.  I do want to note what he sees as a few antidotes to this enculturation.

I do think it is crucial to note that Weaver sees the primary message of media being that of "comfort leading to happiness".  He discusses how media ignores or belittles any person or group that might counter this overriding philosophy.  In part it is because "not only is the philosopher a notoriously poor consumer, he is also an unsettling influence on societies careless of justice."   Does our comfort make us careless of justice?  Does our consuming mean we extend less mercy?   These are some questions I am pondering.

Now on to his way to counter the flood.

The first is literature.  He talks about a new type of literature that I honestly don't have enough background to grasp exactly what he is referring to.  He does mention Hemingway and I have read some of him once upon a time.  His primary point is that literature can lift up the veil and deals with the blood, guts, glory and pain in a way that these new media don't or won't.  Weaver expects that these novelists of reality won't be highlighted in the media - but their presence is a way to combat their influence.

Secondly he encourages us to have an historical memory.  The constant influx of information and new news makes the current seem so urgent.  It gives us a short memory.  He pities the person who uses the phrase that's "ancient history" because "the man of culture finds the whole past relevant".   He also mentions the accompanying statement "creeds must go".  This is one reason I so appreciate the classical tradition because it intentionally cultivates this memory and grounds students in the past - not just the here today/ gone tomorrow world of the media.

I appreciate that he points to these two areas - literature and history - as ways to overcome the media because I feel like these are two things that are crucial in my own schooling efforts.  It just bolsters my resolve to introduce my sons to the saints and sinners of history and literature.

I look forward to reading the next chapter - the spoiled child.  It is SURE to be interesting - if people coming out of the depression and WWII could be spoiled we are in TROUBLE!

Training: First Thoughts

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. 

Proverbs 22:5-7 

On my vacation I am enjoying two things (besides family time) - the Olympics and listening to educational lectures.  These things have pointed to one thing for me - training.  This summer our women's group studied Second Timothy and I was impacted by our conversation about the first part of Chapter 2 where Paul compares Christians to soldiers, athletes and farmers.  The athletes train themselves and we as Christians are to do the same.  As I watch the Olympics I am overwhelmed by the amount of dedication, hard work, focus, time and training that went into developing these athletes.  

As I listened to the conversation about Michael Phelps' first swim it was all abuzz with the fact that he hadn't trained for that stroke and distance.  He himself said that he had not practiced finishing strong in that stroke and it showed in his performance.  If one of the best swimmers in the world needs to practice and train for a particular end - how much more should we be doing so in light of the passage above?  

Watching all of these athletes made me realize just how sloppy and untrained I am- and not just physically.  Am I pointing myself, my family, my kids toward some goal or are we just passing time?  It helped me realize that having a clear goal would probably make decisions easier and bring more order to our lives?  It would probably also help motivate my sons to have a sense that they are preparing for something worthwhile - that there is purpose in it all.  The hard thing is that our culture is changing so swiftly that it is hard to predict what will happen next. 

I do however know one who does know the future and is unchanging.  So, if I start by helping my boys know Him it might be good training for the long term.  

I originally thought that I would write just one quick post about this - but as I started thinking more about it many of the things I have been reading and listening to are coming together.  So, I think this will be a series of posts. This is not going to be so much of a "how to" - more of a "why to" and what to consider along the way.  

My parents have a sign in their house "If you aim at nothing. You will hit it."   I don't want to be one that misses the mark.  

Toward a Philosophy of Education - CM

I have been following along as Cindy at Ordo Amoris has read through Toward a Philosophy of Education by CM.  I started the summer strong but haven't read the actual text for the past few chapters - but this one caught my attention.  It is entitled A Liberal Education in Secondary Schools and outlines some of the key points of her philosophy as it pertains to older students.  I agree with Cindy that this is a very rich chapter.

This is the key point that I need to remember at this point:

Here we get the mind forces which must act continuously in education,––attention, assimilation, narration, retention, reproduction. But what of reason, judgment, imagination, discrimination, all the corps of 'faculties' in whose behoof the teacher has hitherto laboured? These take care of themselves and play as naturally and involuntarily upon the knowledge we receive with attention and fix by narration as do the digestive organs upon duly masticated food-stuff for the body. 

She also says that the key question to ask students is - What happened next?  I used this today with my almost 6 year old and he did a great job remembering (yes, I realize that is early for narration - but he often just tells me what happened last chapter before we read).  I also think that reading once is essential. We develop a habit of inattention when students expect to listen or do things over and over again.  Listening once with attention and then narrating truly does allow them to internalize the material and teaches them to pay attention the first time.  A skill that will serve them well all of their days.  


CM had a very high estimation of a child's ability and set up her schools to call that out of them.  I hope that I can hold out a similar vision of ability to my kids.  


PS - To learn more about how to secure a child's Attention (which is the first chain in the link of learning) check out this informative post.   

Ideas Have Consequences - Chapter 4

An ancient axiom of politics teaches that a spoiled people invite despotic control. 

 It thus appears that the spirit of self, which has made the worker lose sight of the calling of his task and to think only of aggrandizement, is the plainest invitation yet offered y the Western world to the tyranny of force. 

I think, as a culture, are working on rolling out the red carpet in the ways that he explains above.  The scary part is that we believe that we are inviting more freedom into our lives.  We no longer encourage self discipline so we look to outside sources to provide it - often the government.  

After reading Kuyper's discussion of the role of the Protestant Reformers and re-instating the value, dignity and calling of work - the worship of it - I never looked back.  I do wonder how to best instill this in our sons when the culture calls work otherwise - "the worker is taught that work is use and not worship".  Adam was given work to do BEFORE the fall - it was part of what he was created to do in perfection - WORK.  How do we help create "pride in craftsmanship"  the kind that "is well explained by saying that to labor is to pray, for conscientious effort to realize an ideal is a kind of fidelity"? 

Another part of Weaver's discussion of work speaks directly to what I am trying to wrap my modern/ post modern mind around - the pre-modern idea of types and essences.  The idea that there is an ideal/ perfect that we should be working towards.  I have always felt this, but my education did not pursue this ideal. This passage is helpful

a forbidden knowledge which brings nothing into the world but woe. . . It is knowledge of the useful rather than of the true and the good, of techniques rather than of ends. . . we cannot expect a return to selflessness without an epistemological revision which will elevate the study of essences above that of particulars and so put in their proper modest place those skills needed to manipulate the world.  

As Brandy encourages us - be bold and educate for essence this year.  I still am not sure how to do that?!?  It's still new to me (I did finish Kreeft's lectures and they were very helpful).  The only thing I have gathered is to hold up types through literature to our young ones and I am trying to do that.  I am open to other suggestions.  

So that is only the first half of the chapter.  Honestly, the information in the second half is so new to me, in my uneducated arts way, that it is hard to even comment.  I just recently learned that classical music had structure like architecture does - thus its naming.  Wow - how uneducated am I?  However, my friend pointed out that it is only in the 20th century that you begin to give names, like Claire de Lune, as opposed to naming the form of music.  So, I think that speaks directly to what Weaver is pointing out - that we are escaping all sense of form and order in our art.

When he equated Impressionism with a pagan outlook I was in shock!  It makes me question if I should focus on Monet and Renoir this semester or go through art more chronologically so that my boys can see progression - not just learn artist works.  His definition of paganism is insightful:  

the acceptance of life as good and satisfying in itself, with a consequent resolution to revel in the here and now.  The world of pure sensation thus became the world of art. 

OUCH - is that paganism??  This is a definition I'll be wrestling with for a while.  In the end I also want to remember this admonition

They have rejected the only guaranty against external control, which is self discipline, taught and practiced.  

Double Minded

I am so excited that Andrew Kern is coming to Austin.  We are trying to work out a way for me to be there.  Here is one of his recent blog posts.  My favorite part:

Neither of us, neither the slave nor the free man, are to fear our masters. Both of us have the opportunity to please Christ. But you can’t please Christ if you fear men. You simply can’t. You will lose your mind, becoming double-minded, confused, anxious.

I think this is why it is SO important to be in the Word and be open to the transformation by the Word.  This is also why I need to de-junk.  I am collecting treasures from the wrong place.

The first part of this post is about the word pleasing - another reason to learn ancient languages - it gives you more insight into what is really being said in His word.   This is a word that has always been close to my heart and I am glad to better understand the original intention.

De Junking

This week we ran out of Cokes and Dr. Pepper's.  It was planned, but I was not prepared for it.  I do have to say that as a birthday present to myself I went to Sonic.  Then, as an act of sheer desperation after two nights of little sleep, I went to Sonic again.  So, I spent way more than I should have on something that we decided to give up.  I am trying to reform - but the headaches are real.

I am currently in the middle of 7 by Jen Hatmaker.  It is not as deep as Kreeft's Ethics (I am on lecture 10) or Ideas Have Consequences - but it is a convicting read.  It is also fun, in part, because she lives right up the street (read I-35) so I know the territory she calls home.  I have been trying to de-junk our lives and simplify for quite a while now.  I think I am finally getting to the point where I can really let go of some of this stuff.  There are a few things that I have begun to identify that have stopped me from de-junking:

1.  The thought that it might be useful someday.  Although I haven't really used it in 10 years of marriage - someday that formal china might need to come out.  (Wow, I forgot I technically have 3 sets of china - at my parents house - and we didn't register for china!)

2.  Not wanting to get rid of things that are in good shape.  Well, if you aren't using them isn't that the time to get rid of them - when they would actually be useful to someone else?  Really, I don't want to admit that I made a bad purchase or got something that we didn't really need in the first place.

   One thing that helps me is a clearer sense of purpose.  It helps you to know what to keep and what to pass along (or throw out).  Kreeft actually gives a useful way to organize your life (from Aristotle I think - I was driving, not taking notes):

Is it moral?     Is it necessary?    Does it bring joy?

If it isn't doing these things, why is it in your life?

    We are not the trendiest folks. I still wear shirts from college (yes that was 15+ years ago) and my husband wears Hawaiian shirts that were hand-me-downs from a friend's dad who got them at goodwill (I still love you - friend!).  Most people we know wonder when we are going to move out of our "starter" home.  We have added our third child and our oldest is about to start school - these are the signs to move up - right?   However, I don't think this is our "starter" house or "starter" community.  I think this is where we are supposed to bloom and grow.  People in the 60's somehow raised a family in our house with no problem.  Honestly, the main problem is our stuff.

   As I was watching the intro sessions for Visual Latin he says that one reason for studying Latin is because it can give you a new perspective on life.  For example, in Latin, "stuff" is impedimente.  Appropriate - I think so.

   I am trying to detach from all the things that I thought were really important and fix my eyes on what truly matters.  It's a little tough sometimes.  Hopefully, paring down our impedimente will open up room for new things.

Rethinking Assessment

I appreciate conferences that put lectures online.  I can't fly all over the country and I realize that it is NOT the same as being there - but at least I can get some direction, insight and support.  Recently, I listened to Andrew Kern's talk "Assessment that Blesses".  I will admit I was also cleaning dishes and doing other things so I know I missed some key points of his talk.

First, an aside. In our educational system, assessment rules the roost.  You teach to the test - whatever the test is.  In a sense what gets measured, gets done (or taught).  How else will you know if a student has learned something if you are not assessing it?  I will not go into the flaws of this type of input/output thinking when applied to humans - but it is prevalent.  Thus, our assessment informs and shapes what and how we teach.  This is why assessment is worth discussing - it is not an after thought but a guiding light.

Back to Kern's comments.

These are the two primary points that I heard this time:


First, one of the key issues with our current method of assessment is that we compare ourselves with ourselves to figure out our standards.  We want to know what percentile score our child has in each subject.  In light of this, Kern shares the following verse from Corinthians:

We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. 2 Corinthians 10:12


I am still unpacking the consequences of that statement applied to education.

He argues that our primary method of assessment is foolish.  For centuries education was intended to teach you to live the good life.  But in our relativistic era how do you know what is "good" - it can't be a standard any longer?   We now aim at college entrance and maybe job preparation. There is no ultimate standard any longer and our assessment reflects that relativism.

So that leads to the second point and the logical question - What should your standard be?  Kern suggests that the curriculum for a Christian could be Philipians 4:8-9

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Much of his talk is about why this is a good standard and how to "use" it.  I am now trying to better understand what educating for the "good" would look like.  To that I end I am listening to a history of ethics lecture series by Peter Kreeft.  I am really enjoying it - because I am nerdy like that.  I will listen to Kern's lecture again and I am sure I will gain some new insights.
  

Chapter 3 - Ideas Have Consequences

Mystie did a great job outlining the path of mans' descent into specialization in her overview of chapter 3.  I was surprised by Weaver's use of terms associated with mental illness and our obsession with specialization.  He truly sees it is transforming - deforming - our character.

His explanation of specialization highlighted some concerns I have about some interpretations of classical education.  In Sayer's famous essay she talks about the poll-parrot stage as a time when children love to memorize.  Some of her followers have taken this "love of memorization" to new heights (or depths) and insist on encouraging young students to memorize many teacher-selected and disembodied facts.  The theory is that they enjoy it and later they will have "pegs" for learning when they reach the next stage.  Although this may work, it seems to start on the road to specialization - memorizing discrete information as learning or education - early.  I am not against helping students to see details and distinctions (as in nature study when you ask them to further describe something that they are observing).  Also, I think that kids will naturally memorize things that they enjoy.  I prefer the CM approach of laying a feast and exposing students to things worth  learning by heart and remembering (as opposed to Pokemon characters or baseball player stats).  One blogger I respect, warns against using our kids for "parlor tricks" by which she means showing off how much they have memorized.   Weaver's description of our obsession with facts just helped clarify why I struggle with this approach to classical education.  It seems that this would be almost exactly counter to the aims of a "traditional" classical education.   Am I missing something here?

Weaver warns that being a specialist has dire consequences when political order is upset.  "But when it breaks down and he is thrown back upon his own resources, it becomes apparent that these resources have been allowed to diminish."   He then continues,

"for a burden of responsibility is, after all, the best means of getting anyone to think straight.  If he is made to feel that he is accountable for results, he looks steadily at the situation and endeavors to discover what is really true in it.  This is a discipline."  

Weaver praises an 1850's Vermont farmer as a man of many resources, despite his poverty.  He is able to provide for himself, engage with his community and has a full orbed life.  This is a stark contrast to our modern era when people purposely decide not to work because the government benefits are better than what an actual job can provide.  We as a culture are impoverishing ourselves, especially as we abandon the land.  Weaver asserts that "people close to the soil appear to have longer memories than have the urban masses.  Traditions there live for generations; what their grandfathers did is real to them."  After spending a week in Wyoming and listening to my family talk about crops, chickens and goats and how their Dad did it - I have to agree.  This also makes me think of many of Wendell Berry's concerns.  We are losing our memories of these things as we all go to the grocery store to get our food.  I think the homesteading movement and simple living are modern reactions to this sense of loss and desire to reconnect and reintegrate our lives. 


Although Weaver might be extreme in his fear of psychosis as a result of our fragmentation he might not be that far off.

Thoughts on Unseriousness

A few weeks ago I read the book On the Unseriousness of Human Affairs by James Schall, an academic and Catholic priest.  It was a great read and I appreciated his relationship with books, authors and stories.  I need to start reading fiction so that I can have a similar relationship - non fiction just can't do that the same way.  He also had some extensive Latin quotes which encouraged me to study it.

My favorite quote came from G.K. Chesterton (someone else I should read) "I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder."

Schall suggested that peace is not something that you can pursue.  Instead, peace is a result of right ordering.  Recently, all things seem to come back to order.  I have always seen order as something boring or uncreative.  However, I am beginning to see the value of order and pattern and how creativity can bloom from that.  A disordered life is not peaceful - why have I been trying to avoid this??

He also argues that if something is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.  In other words, some things are worth doing just because they bring joy, beauty, grace and love to your life.  He uses the example of dancing.  Most people will never be great dancers but does that mean we shouldn't dance?  This makes me think of Robert Fulghum talking with kindergartners - where everyone is an artist or a dancer, but by the time they reach high school only the "good" ones do it.  I want to start doing some things badly - drawing, dancing, singing, etc.

One of his favorite quotes is becoming one of mine, "It is only the time we 'waste' with our friends that counts" from The Little Prince.  I am trying to de-junk my life and become less busy so that I can make my time count by wasting it on friends and others.  This is tough to do because there seem to be so many "things" to do.  I want to choose relationship over activity.

He also discusses self discipline and ruling over oneself.  It used to be understood that the person who was most "free" was the one with the most control over himself and the "unfree" are those ruled by their pleasure, money or power.  Oh, how far we have fallen.  This reminds me of Charlotte Mason explaining that the strong willed child is not the child who insists on their own way, but the one who is able to exert their will and choose the good over what they want.  

Schall covers many topics, these are just a few that struck me.  I look forward to reading Another Sort of Learning which is an expansive booklist of sorts. I hope to catch more of his spirit of engagement with the authors and thoughts through the ages and find some suggestions about what to read next.  



 

Chapter 2 - Ideas Have Consequences

I do have comments about the introduction and chapter 1 that can be found in the comments on Simply Convivial.  This is part of the continuing book discussion - one of the primary reasons I am blogging again.

This chapter questions much of what we believe about democracy.  It advocates hierarchy, order, aristocracy and merit.  It invites distinction and difference and argues against everyone being equal.  This chapter gives substance to some fleeting thoughts I have had.

Here are some of his arguments.

"Such equalitarianism is harmful because it always presents itself as a redress of injustice, whereas the truth is the very opposite."  It does seem that making everyone "equal" would be the way to reduce injustice, but as he points out later, "if it promises equality of condition, it promises injustice because one law for the ox and the lion is tyranny."  Trying to make everyone the same fails to bring about the desired results because we simply aren't all the same.  Parenting even just two children makes this abundantly clear.  He sees the rise in a call for equality as unfortunate as it replaces a sense of fraternity because "the ancient feeling of brotherhood carries obligations of which equality knows nothing."  It creates a "network of sentiment, not rights."  It is not something you can legislate - it is something that must be in the fabric of community and draws you into relationship.  Ultimately he feels that fraternity is outward focused while equality constantly makes you wonder about your own status and rights.  I think history (his book was written in the late 1940's) has shown this to be true.  Talking about rights does not elevate the conversation.

He also speaks of the middle class and its fondness for "complacency and security".  Later he suggests that education was, at one time, seen as a way to perfect yourself spiritually and prepare yourself for immortality.  In a democracy, he argues that education is essential to help "bring men to see the hierarchy of values".  However, it seems that we are no longer even trying to teach the values to sustain our own order.  In fact, we have devolved into an educational system that focuses on being successful in this world and aims for the individual to "acquire enough wealth to live a bourgeouise" lifestyle.  "The formula of popular education has failed democracy, because democracy has rebelled at the thought of sacrifice, the sacrifice of time and material goods without which there is no training in intellectual discipline."  Some might balk at this because they feel like they are sacrificing to send their children to good schools and their children seem to be up to their ears in homework - but are we aiming at the right definition of education?  Are we equipping our kids in light of the eternal - or even just values that help them live in community?  I think he would argue that if our aim is equality than we will never be successful in this endeavor.   As we continue through the book I think he will further refine what we should be aiming at in our educational system.

Lamentations

Recently I read One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.   Her writing is bittersweet and one of the best examples of "show don't tell" I have ever encountered.  In passing, she mentioned the difference between complaining and lamenting. Lamenting - what's that?  Is there a difference?  Are we supposed to lament?  Why has no one ever talked about this before?  I am an expert complainer - I always thought I should combat it by being content. Is there something different I should be trying??

Fast forward a week and the sermon was about lamenting!  I think someone is trying to get my attention.  There are a few key things I took away from the sermon.  Lamenting is about grieving or mourning before God over the difference between what is and what might/ could be.  David lamented often in his prayers - some say up to 70% of the psalms could be considered laments.  If the psalms show us how to live then we should be a people characterized by lament.  Part of this is because we are caught between the now fallen world and the world to be re-created.  Of course there is discord, bitterness and strife - we reached out to do life on our own terms and fell out of relationship with the one who made us as His image bearers.  We are those who are in between - glimpsing the beauty and goodness God intended in snippets but also witnessing the pain and havoc of "real life".

So, I think Christians should be excellent lamenters - but I don't know anyone who is.  Do you?  Lamenters mourn (isn't that in the beattitudes) before the face of God instead of blowing things off or sinking into depression.  Lamenting brings dignity to life because it gives the important things the weight and recognition they deserve. It requires an active faith and an honesty about life that is a hard tension to live with.  It recognizes His sovereignty and the reality of pain at the same time.  It opens up the door for His comfort to enter into a situation.  David consistently found comfort - ending his laments with God's promises and reflecting on His character.  Do I do the same?

So I think that the best response is not trying harder to be content or complaining (my son said this is what his Sunday School lesson was on last week) - instead it is this thing I never knew we should do - lament.  I intend to learn more about this.  This frees me to live in between and let go of perfectionism and hard heartedness.  The people of Israel were taught how to lament their losses - may I do the same.  This pilgrim, longing for home, now knows what to do when things fall short - lament and enter into His comfort.

Returning to the Journey

It has been a long while (two children, a part time job, a new church and more since the last post).  I am ready to pick this pilgrim journey back up in a semi-public format.  Blogging has changed significantly and I have enjoyed the fellowship of other blogging moms recently.  To participate more fully in conversations and book clubs I will start writing again.  I intend to continue to reflect on education, faith, relationships and parenting.  Basically the stuff of my life.  They say it is best to write about what you know!  Plus I think the discipline of writing will help focus, record and help me be accountable to some of what I am learning.  Thanks for joining me in the journey again!