Preretreat

How to Learn the Charlotte Mason Method

Plenary Presented by Art Middlekauff

H.W. Household wrote, “If you regard the Charlotte Mason method as a bag of tricks of which you can select one or two for adoption, leaving the rest, you will have nothing but disappointment.” How do we avoid reducing Charlotte Mason’s method to a “bag of tricks”? How do we obtain an understanding of the principles and the philosophy that can transform a book list into a living education? We are all busy, and we have limited time in which to both teach and learn. In this session we will explore the various avenues available to us to learn Mason’s method.

I

Charlotte Mason’s Twenty Principles

Plenary Presented by Art Middlekauff

Charlotte Mason first introduced her theory of education in a series of lectures in 1885 which were published in 1886. In the years which followed, she wrote many additional articles and books. However, over time she increasingly felt the need to distill her theory of education into a concise summary or synopsis. She completed this in 1904, and it is now commonly referred to as her “Twenty Principles.” In this plenary, we will consider the meaning and significance of each of these twenty principles, thereby surveying Mason’s theory of education according to the structure she herself formalized in her synopsis.

II

Habits for Life

Plenary Presented by Art Middlekauff

In 1890, Charlotte Mason wrote, “Is not physiology hurrying up with the announcement that to every man it is permitted to mould and modify his own brain?” By 1894, Mason clearly saw the implications: “Within our own time the science of Education has been absolutely revolutionised, not by educationalists, but by Physiologists, who have made the brain their specialty.” Why was physiology so impactful to education? Because, Mason explains, “this business of laying down lines towards the unexplored country of the child’s future is a very serious and responsible one for the parent. It rests with him to consider well the tracks over which the child should travel with profit and pleasure.” Are the discoveries of 19th-century physiologists still relevant today? Can the parent really lay down lines of travel for the child’s future? In this session we will explore these questions as we consider the promise of “Habits for Life.”

III

Panel Discussion

More information coming soon.

IV

Mason’s Program for Bible Lessons

Plenary Presented by Art Middlekauff

Charlotte Mason wrote, “Now our objective in this most important part of education is to give the children the knowledge of God.” Mason did not approach this “most important part of education” in a haphazard fashion; rather, she developed a progressive program of study for children from ages 6 to 18 that is breathtaking in its simplicity, elegance, and efficacy. In this session, we will review the content, sequence, and structure that Mason developed for Bible lessons for Forms I through VI. With the understanding that education is the science of relations, we will explore her approach to facilitate the most important relationship of all.