Tag: Charlotte Mason
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A Coherent and Holistic Education: Book Review of Elaine Cooper’s The Powerful and Neglected Voice of Charlotte Mason
In this series, I want to review and highlight the Charlotte Mason Centenary Series of monographs released in 2023. The 18 books in this series are brief and readable volumes that encapsulate a diverse range of topics related to the life, writings and philosophy of Charlotte Mason. My intention is to select a few of…
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Charlotte Mason on Thanksgiving
The tradition of a Thanksgiving holiday has a rich history in Christianity that predates the holiday as it has developed in America. In fact, numerous countries across the world celebrate some form of thanksgiving as a national holiday. The idea of thanksgiving or gratitude stems from a prominent biblical theme, one which calls the Christian…
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The Narration-based Science Lesson
The method of narration articulated by Charlotte Mason is a powerful tool that involves children retelling what they have learned in their own words. Students tell back the content of what they have read, seen or heard. This actively engages their minds in the process of assimilating knowledge, making connections and cultivating language skills. Narration…
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The Role of Imagination in Education
Imagination. The word brings so much to mind for us today. If there’s one thing that everybody can agree on for children, it’s the need to help them develop a vivid imagination through school, play, and well… everything they do. Or perhaps, ‘develop a vivid imagination’ is the wrong way of putting it. “Every child…
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Learning to Appreciate Beauty: A Deep Dive into Picture Study
Amongst the subjects that epitomize Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education, picture study – otherwise known as artist study or art study – offers so much scope for us to consider how classical education can benefit from a deeper understanding of Mason’s methods. When we think about the classical tradition, we often focus on the great…
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The Soul of Education, Part 1: What Is a Human Being?
Every educational philosophy necessarily relies on a pre-existing view of the human person. Anthropology informs pedagogy. Many of the problems that classical Christian educators have identified in conventional education have their roots in a false or insufficient view of human beings. The factory model of education, for instance, underrates certain aspects of human development and…
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Goal Setting and Habits: Starting the New Year SMARTer
It is the start of 2024 and I return once more to the topic of habits. (And now at the start of 2026, these concepts remain as relevant as ever!) There is an ancient tradition associating habits with virtues. It was Aristotle, for instance, who wrote that “moral virtue comes about as a result of…
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Miss Stacy and Miss Shirley: Three Characteristics of an Effective Teacher
Set amidst the idyllic scenes of Prince Edward Island, one of Canada’s eastern most provinces, the story of Anne Shirley serves up excellent reading for Middle Schoolers. The first in a series of short novels written by Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables tells the story of an orphan girl, Anne Shirley, who is…
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Towards a Philosophy of Nature Study
And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed,…
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The Education of the Count of Monte Cristo
What are the proper sources for an educational philosophy? Should educators read only sociological journals and experiment in their classroom for the best results? Or is there something more humane and artistic in the nature of teaching? We have decried the technicism and scientism characteristic of modern education before. One consequence of these trends is…