Charlotte Mason on Teaching With Literature

In the chapter, “Liberal Education in Secondary Schools” in A Philosophy of Education, Charlotte Mason suggests that “the mind refuses to know anything except what reaches it in more or less literary form.” From my observation and experience, this is largely true. Truths and principles conveyed through stories, especially in the context of a learning lifestyle, stay in the mind as useful and usable ideas that can be incorporated in a student’s writing, conversation, and life.

In support of this idea, Miss Mason discusses how vaguely we remember the daily newspaper we read or how little children remember of worksheets and exercises. “The mind appears to have an outer court into which matter can be taken and again expelled without ever having entered the inner place where personality dwells. Here we have the secret of learning by rote, a purely mechanical exercise of which no satisfactory account has been given, but which leaves the patient, or pupil, unaffected… Now there is a natural provision against this mere skimming of the ground by the educational plough. Give the sort of knowledge that they are fitten to assimilate, served in a literary medium, and they will pay great attention.”

Miss Mason observed that most people remember ideas that reach them in the form of story, and they are able to apply and use these ideas in other areas of study, as well as in their writing. The only way to easily achieve the retention of knowledge is through “a great deal of consecutive reading from various books, all of some literary value; …one reading is sufficient; nor should there be any revision for the distant examination.”

As an example of the cultural literacy that comes through exposure to literature, she provides an impressive “list of 200 names, used with ease and fitness in an examination on one term’s work by a child of eleven in Form II.”

Abinadab, Athenian, Anne Boleyn, Act of Uniformity, Act of Supremacy, America, Austria, Alcibiades, Athens, Auckland, Australia, Alexandria, Alhambra.

Bible, Bishop of Rochester, Baron, Bean-shoots, Bluff, Bowen Falls, Bishoprics, Blind Bay, Burano.

Currants, Cupid, Catholic, Court of High Commission, Cranmer, Charles V, Colonies, Convent, Claude, Calais, Cook Strait, Canterbury Plain, Christchurch, Cathedral, Canals, Caliph of Egypt, Court of the Myrtles, Columbus, Cordova.

David, Defender of the Faith, Duke of Guise, Dunedin, Doge’s Palace.

England, Emperor, Empire, Egmont (Count), English Settlement

Flour, Fruits, French, Francis I, Francis of Guise, Ferdinand, Foveau Strait, Fuchsias, Fiords, Ferns.

Greek, Germany, Gondolas, “Gates of the Damsels,” Gondoliers, Granada, Gate of Justice, Gypsies.

Henry VIII, History, Hooper, Henry II, Hungary, Haeckel.

Israel, Italian (language), Italy, Infusoria.

Jesse, Jonathan, Joseph, John, Jerusalem, James, Jane Seymour.

King of Denmark, King of Scotland, Kiwi.

“Love-in-Idleness,” Lord Chancellor, Lord Burleigh, Lord Robert Dudley, Lime, Lyttleton, N.Z., Lake Tango.

Mary (The Virgin), More (Sir Thomas), Music, Martyr’s Memorial, Milan, Metz, Monastery, Mary, Queen of Scots, Mediterranean, Microscope, Messina, Middle Island, Mount Egmont, Mount Cook, Milford Sound, Museum, Moa, Maoris, Mussulman, Moorish King.

Naomi, Netherlands, Nice, New Zealand, North Island, Napier, Nelson.

Oberon, Oxford, Orion.

Pharisees, Plants, Parliament, Puck, Pope, Protestant, Poetry,

Philosophy, “Paix des Dames ,” Philip II, Paris, Planets, “Pink Terraces,” Piazetta, Philip of Burgundy.

Queen Catherine, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary, Queen Isabella, Queen Juana.

Ruth, Robin Goodfellow, Ridley, Reformation, Radiolaria, Rotomaliana (Lake), Rea.

Saul, Samuel, Simeon, Simon Peter, Sunshine, Sugar-cane, Spices, Sultan, Spain, St. Quentin, Socrates, Stars, Sycamore, Seed-ball, Stewart Island, Seaports, Southern Alps, Scotch Settlement, St. Mark, St. Theodore, St. Maria Formosa (Church), Sierra Navada.

Temple, Titania, Testament, Treaty, Turks, Toul, Thread Slime, Tree Ferns, Timber Trees, Trieste, Toledo.

Verdure, Venus (Planet), Volcano, Volcanic Action, Venice.

Whieat, Wiltshire, William Cecil, Walsingham, Winged Seed, Wellington, Waikato.

Zaccharias, Zebedee.”

I won’t suggest that an American student in the twenty-first century should have the same list, but they should have a similar wealth of knowledge ready to use “with ease and fitness.” There is a story at the bottom of every subject, and when it is told (once, as she states, is usually sufficient), it can help children understand and remember the essence of an idea.

Application

To apply this concept to your daily teaching, I suggest copious amounts of reading (or listening, in the case of auditory learners). In addition to literary fiction, bring in biographies of artists, explorers, architects, writers, scientists, musicians, and mathematicians; stories of expeditions, inventions, discoveries, compositions; travelogues; magazines such as National Geographic or Smithsonian; and whatever fits your family’s interests.

You’ll find that your students will deeply understand the concept of justice after suffering with Jean Valjean in Les Miserables, and they’ll remember the bitter cold and peril of the Arctic circle, as they try to survive with Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd’s expedition. Contrast this with what they would understand or remember after filling out a worksheet with the definitions of justice, love, and faith, or a scientific report on the weather in the Arctic or Antarctic.

Stories bring knowledge alive and engage emotional memory in a way that makes abstract principles and arcane facts easy to understand and remember. When learning can be joyous and simple, why make it boring and difficult (and pointless because they are unlikely to remember anything) by using tedious worksheets and canned curriculum? It’s never too late to start teaching well. Resolve now to make literature and stories a major part of your educational adventure!

*****Don’t forget the Convention Season SALE!

Also, I’ll be speaking at Cindy Rushton’s Ultimate Homeschool Expo 2009. This online homeschool convention includes:

I think you’ll enjoy this, especially if you can’t make it to a live conference this year.

Convention Coupons, Excellence in Literature, and other Good News

There are several interesting things happening this coming weekend. The CHAP convention will take place Friday and Saturday, May 8-9, in Harrisburg, PA. While I won’t be there personally, due to a very unfortunate conflict, I sent my able assistant Matt Wade to manage the Everyday Education booth (#1006, right by Tobin’s Lab).

Be sure to stop by and say hello and use the Convention Coupons I’ve made for you. There are three special offers you can use while you’re at the convention, but if you can’t make it to the convention, you will be able to use them on the website as well. Just visit the Coupon page between Friday and Sunday, and you’ll be able to enjoy the specials.

You’ll be able to see hot-off-the-press copies of Introduction to Literature, the first volume in the Excellence in Literature series at CHAP. Other than at the website (www.ExcellenceInLiterature.com), the four conventions listed below will be the only place you can get Intro to Lit for awhile. I’m trying to get the second and fifth levels (Literature and Composition; World Literature) out by summer, so that you can have them before school starts in the fall.

There’s another interesting sale happening this weekend. Lynda Coats, the author of Far Above Rubies and Blessed is the Man unit studies, is working to raise money to return in the fall as a missionary teacher to Native American children.

She’s offering 13 valuable bonuses with the purchase of the long-awaited FAR or BITM unit studies. These curricula have been very hard to find recently, so this is a wonderful opportunity! If you love unit studies and are looking for one for high school, be sure to check out this sale. It will run until May 15 only.

Finally, George Wythe College is running a beta version of online classes this summer. Tuition is heavily discounted: “For this summer only, undergraduates will be able to take up to 7 credits for only $550 in the part-time option, and up to 14 credits for $750 in the full-time option.”

This is a remarkable savings, and a good opportunity to take a few classes. According to the website, “Summer Semester will run on an accelerated schedule from May 18 to July 17. Full-time students will attend class online twice weekly, while part-time students will meet once a week.” Registration closes May 11.

2009 Convention Schedule

5/8-9/09- Booth #1006 CHAP- Harrisburg, PA: chaponline.com

5/23/09- Booth #R12 (NOTE CHANGE!) Virginia Homeschoolers Conference (VHS): vahomeschoolers.org

6/11-13/09- Booth #600- Home Educators Association of Virginia (HEAV): heav.org

7/10-11/09- Booth #203 Northern Virginia Home Education Conference (NoVA): novaconference.net

Don’t forget your Convention Coupons! Feel free to share them with your friends as well. If you make it to one of these conventions, please be sure to stop at our booth and say hello. I always enjoy meeting blog and e-zine readers.