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 is born blessed with a vivid imagination,” said Walt Disney. “But just as a muscle grows flabby with disuse, so the bright imagination of a child pales in later years if he ceases to exercise it.” So maybe it’s not children who need to develop

Continue reading

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 books, from the classics of the ancient world to the literary and philosophical masterpieces down through the ages. Yet, the tradition of the visual arts has generated masterpieces of a different sort, and in some cases of greater esteem that the written tradition. The Visual

Continue reading