I have been reading through this excellent book (When Children Love to Learn: A practical application of Charlotte Mason’s philosophy for today, edited by Elaine Cooper) and found a few points I’d like to remember (and share).
First, a bit from a section entitled “The Limitations of Classical Education”
I have several homeschooling friends who think that classical education (i.e. the Trivium) and Classical Conversations are totally compatible with Charlotte Mason methods. I disagree! Basically, Charlotte Mason said we should treat a child as a “person” and not “an empty vessel to be filled” (which is exactly what the Grammar Stage of the Trivium does). From page 81:
“Charlotte Mason commented that the children of these classicists are seen to have ‘little understanding and are only suited for methods that involve memorizing facts, dates, numbers, rules, catechisms of knowledge, and information in small parcels.’ This reductionism (referred to as the Grammar Stage of the classicist’s Trivium) denies the creation of the person of a child in the image of God where all the personality of the Creator is inherent. Though marred by sin, the redemptive and common grace of God allows a child to think, reason, reflect, analyze, and discern truth at all so-called stages of life. Jesus marveled and commended the faith of little children, not their ability to memorize. Classroom atmospheres that reduce learning to only facts to memorize produce boredom and the need to employ tangible incentives such as candy, stickers, and grades.”
I also really appreciated the comparison between Charlotte Mason methods and the predominant method in education and parenting today: behaviorism. Here is a table made from a bunch of notes that I scribbled on the first page of my book (with no page references – sorry!).