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Becky Parker
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| Posted: April 10 2010 at 6:55am | IP Logged
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In this thread, Maria explained so beautifully the compatibility of Charlotte Mason's methods and the Classical method. A few things she said, jumped out for me:
Maria Rioux wrote:
but I did come away with a lifelong love of learning....
Had I been exposed to Charlotte's Mason's ideas and methods before college, I might have enjoyed all my studies more and studied each of them harder. Charlotte understood wonder and respected reason, but in the context of the whole person and, more pointedly, with a focus on good habits.
"The only true educator is one who can kindle in the heart of his pupil the vision of beauty, illumine it with the light of truth and infuse virtue."
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I'm probably not making assumptions when I say that most of us want our children to come away from all this with a love of learning, and I truly believe the Charlotte Mason Method is a means that we can use to achieve this. But, can we talk about some tangible ways we can do this? I spent alot of time over spring break re-reading the Charlotte Mason books I have been re-thinking where we are at in our homeschool journey. We use the MODG curriculum and, as I read, I realized more and more that it is compatible with Charlotte Mason's ideas. But, I'm not sure I can say my children are loving to learn! Groans about Latin. Groans about narration. Double groans about dictation and copywork. These are all things I love about CM, but my children don't! How can I get them to love this learning process?
I would love to know your thoughts!
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Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
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guitarnan
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| Posted: April 10 2010 at 7:26am | IP Logged
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Sometimes you can't - they have to grow and mature enough to realize how valuable it is on their own.
I went to Catholic school and copywork and dictation were part of our classroom experience. I loved learning (still do!) but I didn't like either exercise...until I started studying French, and we had dictations. I was very good at them from the beginning, because I already knew how to listen and write down what I heard.
Copywork, too, I didn't appreciate until 1) I taught myself calligraphy and 2) I discovered genealogy and realized that reading and writing in cursive are important skills for the genealogist to have.
I didn't study Latin, but dh did and when we moved to Italy he taught himself to speak Italian by watching Italian TV!
For my children, math is the most-disliked subject. I don't try to make them like it. I found a curriculum that they can use independently or with my assistance (Teaching Textbooks) and I just make them do it. They both know that they will need college math to pursue the careers they find appealing. The learning process isn't exciting, but it's necessary.
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Erin
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| Posted: April 10 2010 at 11:52pm | IP Logged
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Becky Parker wrote:
I'm probably not making assumptions when I say that most of us want our children to come away from all this with a love of learning, and I truly believe the Charlotte Mason Method is a means that we can use to achieve this. But, can we talk about some tangible ways we can do this? I spent alot of time over spring break re-reading the Charlotte Mason books I have been re-thinking where we are at in our homeschool journey. We use the MODG curriculum and, as I read, I realized more and more that it is compatible with Charlotte Mason's ideas. But, I'm not sure I can say my children are loving to learn! Groans about Latin. Groans about narration. Double groans about dictation and copywork. These are all things I love about CM, but my children don't! How can I get them to love this learning process?
I would love to know your thoughts! |
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Becky
What a great question  Like yourself a love of learning is a major motivation in this whole home education journey. But that love isn't always apparent  I started out trying to make it all fun, fascinating etc. During the process I lost heart and also discovered that we spent alot of time playing at learning (I humbly share our experience) I was under the impression that CM fundamentals would inspire a love in the children just by themselves, not so. Now a little older and wiser I have learnt that the steady plod is imperative. and that the love will come once the basics are mastered. Their sense of achievement is wonderful  So we keep up with the dictation and copywork (narration is a little more neglected  ) despite the groans. And there is a point where the groans subside.
Those love of learning moments do occur, such exciting moments that rejuvenate us all. I guess I have learnt that they just won't occur all the time, which is what I used to believe.
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Erin
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time4tea
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Yes, I agree we can't always make the process of learning an enjoyable one, no matter how hard we try. Actually, as I think about the quote you listed Becky, my initial impression is that she was meaning here that the overall CM method will be a formation process for the child, predisposing him to a lifetime love of learning even if he groans about a particular aspect of the process from time to time. Also, CM's methods are really flexible enough to be able to incorporate a variety of learning styles and challenges, so that the process, while not always "fun", becomes workable.
My oldest ds comes to mind as a good example of this. I first discovered CM when he was 10 years old, and just coming home after a very discouraging public school experience. He has always been a "just the facts, ma'am" kind of guy, so doing copywork and dictation and most especially narration were really not his favorites things to do. Keeping CM's methods as my guide, I adjusted how we did things to match more of his personality, such getting lots of fresh air during nature walks, and then sketching his narrations, was just what seemed to make his love of learning take off. So I think there is definitely room for a lot of customization with the CM methodology.
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Angie Mc
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Becky, I wish I had time to read all of the responses here, but I'll just give my quick thoughts after reading your OP.
Somewhere along the line I realized that my children didn't need to love everything about learning (or home care or baseball or food, for that matter.) They just needed to love *most* of what was going on in their day, most days, under ordinary circumstances. They also needed time to mature into seeing that sometimes you can struggle with/hate the process but *love* the results. The stuff we love is easy to get done, yea! Then there is the "good enough" group which I don't expend a lot of time on because - you guessed it - its good enough...as in "Oatmeal is good enough for breakfast." Period. But there is the "I really can't stand it" group. I do try hard to work with this group, which explains why I'll spend a good penny on a math program, one that in anyway eases the frustration of my disinterested math students.
If my children love God, and their family, friends, home, meals, reading, movies, discussions, baseball, and more...well that adds up to a lot of love! So, if they don't dig math or cleaning the kitchen or waking up early...as long as it is for good reason and is good enough, that's OK with me...now .
Love,
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Angie Mc
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4Real Forums : Philosophy of Education
Topic: A love for learning
