Sunday, March 8, 2015

How Do You Define CM in 100 Words?

A few months ago, while I was waiting for my daughter's piano lesson, I thought it would be fun to challenge myself to get a definitional synopsis of CM squeezed into 100 words.



I was quite pleased with myself -- I got as close as 101 words:

"In a Charlotte Mason education, the child's dignity as an individual made in God's image is respected. His education connects him to the world around him, building relationships with God and people from various places and times. Outdoor life is emphasized. Focused attention at short lessons keep the mind fresh and leave free time for personal interests. Living books put the child in touch with vital ideas, and narration teaches him to process those ideas. Copywork and dictation are the bulk of language arts instruction. The educational course of study is teacher-directed, but learning is the responsibility of the student."

It's admittedly a bit choppy. One of the other AO AA (Ambleside Advisory/Auxiliary members) made an improvement that was not only smoother, but weighed in at only 97 words -- less than 100. Maybe I can convince her to share hers in the comments!

Not totally happy with my failure to get under 100 words, I wondered if I could do any better, squeeze it any further. And I did! This one is 63 words:

"The child's dignity as an individual made in God's image is respected. Education means connection between the child and the world around him. Outdoor life is emphasized. Focused attention at short lessons provide free time for personal pursuits. Living books and narration allow the child to process ideas. Copywork teaches handwriting. Course of study is teacher-directed, but learning is the student's job."

Still not satisfied, I pared it down to 27 words that would fit on a Post-It note:

"The child's personhood is respected. His education connects him to the world and ideas. The method includes outdoor life, focused attention, short lessons, living books, narration, copywork."

Nine months later, I'm revisiting this. Now that I had boiled down Charlotte Mason to its most crucial aspects, could I put it all back together without using any CM lingo? Could I explain CM thoroughly, yet in a way that even someone outside of the Charlotte Mason world could understand? I'll post what I came up with in a separate post. It's 599 words. :-)

I think this is a good exercise for anyone. What better way is there to prepare to answer questions about your homeschool method than by getting to its bare bones and then re-assembling those bones in your own words?

How would YOU define a Charlotte Mason education? If you take up the challenge, I would love to see what you come up with!

11 comments:

  1. Charlotte Mason said it in 86 words: “The object of education is to put a child in living touch with as much as may be of the life of Nature and of thought…. a child has natural relations with a vast number of things and thoughts: so we must train him upon physical exercises, nature, handicrafts, science and art, and upon many living books….Add to this one or two keys to self knowledge, and the educated youth goes forth with some idea of self management, with some pursuits, and many vital interests.”

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    1. Better late than never I guess! It's three separate quotes from the Preface, page 4, 7, and then 4 again. Best way to find them is Ctrl F in the AO copy of the Volumes: http://www.amblesideonline.org/CM/vol1complete.html#1_0pr

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  2. A Charlotte Mason education respects the child's dignity as an individual made in God's image. His education connects him to the world around him, building relationships with God and people from various places and times, and emphasizing outdoor life. Focused attention at short, varied lessons keeps the mind fresh and leaves free time for personal interests. Living books put the child in touch with vital ideas, and narration teaches him to process those ideas. Copywork, dictation, and free-form notebooks replace worksheets. The teacher directs the course of study, but the student has the responsibility to learn.

    Is that less choppy?

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  3. Kathy, thank you for copying and pasting that -- yours is the one I mentioned above. And, yes, it's less choppy than mine!

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  4. How about "The Supreme Delightfulness of Knowledge?"

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    1. I like this, makes me picture Anne Shirley in my mind :)

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  5. In a Charlotte Mason education, the teacher brings the child into contact with truth and beauty in all areas, but does not interfere or mediate. The child takes away that which is important to him. The tools of learning are interesting books and ideas, narration and copy work.

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    1. No interference or mediation is critical. Good point.

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