Tony Funderburk

Teaching methods matter. Because spongy little minds soak up what they’re taught depending how it’s taught. At least that’s how Charlotte described it.

I never heard of Charlotte, or her teaching methods, before today.

And that’s probably because we didn’t raise any kids here in the FunderHaus. My wife and I missed out on that blessing. But we’ve certainly seen our fair share of kids with somewhere around 30 nieces and nephews between us.

Anyway…

Back to Charlotte. I read some very interesting stuff about her teaching methods, this morning, and I like what I discovered. Evidently she “using living books as schoolbooks.” She wrote about how “ living books help children gain knowledge through their own effort. They dig out the facts and information clothed in literary language, expressing what they’ve learned by narrating it in their own words (composing orally or in writing). And their thinking is personal, follows a train of thought, and isn’t stunted by a page of multiple-choice.”

By the way, Miss Charlotte Mason died a little over 100 years ago. But homeschoolers still use her teaching methods. Because apparently they still work. And, remember the old saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

And she believed teachers didn’t need to be trained to give lectures. Because she also believed kids could educate themselves, to a degree, by “narrating from the well-chosen words of authors.” And she also said that “too much explaining by a teacher elicits boredom” and “true education is self-education.”

When you think about it, especially if you’re a life-long learner, you understand how that’s true. Because your mind should stay spongy. And ready to soak up information at your own pace. That’s why Miss Mason’s method provided:

No bells to announce the end of hour-long class periods.

I like this description of a typical day in one of Charlotte’s schools.

“Children are free to move promptly onto the next lesson. When drills and skills are kept short children develop the power of attention. Dawdling is discouraged. Students are encouraged to give their best effort. Education is a discipline. So, this means establishing good and helpful habits, built one action at a time, one day at a time.

Education is an atmosphere. With living books children are motivated by a love of knowledge rather than artificial stimulants such as prizes (stickers, candy, money), competition, and grades. They retained their inborn curiosity. Cramming for tests is avoided. Examinations require the child to narrate what was read during the semester.”

Maybe you’ve read or heard some version of this before: small minds focus on people, mediocre minds focus on things, and great minds focus on ideas. Yes? Miss Mason wanted to inspire a love for knowledge in her students. Because, as she said, “Ideas are what the mind feeds on.”

Another thing I really like about Charlotte’s teaching methods is how she included outdoor activities and exercise. She encouraged kids to get out and observe nature and to keep a Nature Notebook. These days it’s called a journal. But the point is, it’s a record of your observations.

And Charlotte encouraged adding drawings and poems.

(Hmm. Side note: just so happens I published a couple of songbook journals for your consideration. Links below.)

From a Nature Notebook (or journal), it’s just a small step to art and music appreciation. And Miss Mason believed those subjects were crucial to a young kid’s culture and heritage. And I believe those subjects, especially music, help develop a kid’s analytical thinking, not just the emotional gunk taught in government indoctrination camps these days.

Just in case you think your kid (or anybody’s kid, for that matter) wouldn’t like Charlotte’s “old-fashioned” teaching methods, here’s the clincher: no homework.

Well, no typical homework as you might remember it. The Charlotte Mason homeschooling method goes like this:

Children apply their minds during morning lessons. Afternoons are for running, climbing,  and yelling outdoors. And crafts, chores, life skills, music practice, and more playing, all at home, are their homework.

I don’t know about you, but I would have LOVED that kind of school. And it’s the kind of school I attend, on a daily basis, as a life-long learner.