SS #20: Mothers, Don’t Let Your Methods Grow up to Be Systems (with Karen Glass)
We are thrilled to have our friend Karen Glass on the show today. Karen is the author of Consider This: Charlotte Mason and the Classical Tradition, and also the brain behind Mind to Mind, an abridgment of Charlotte Mason’s sixth volume. Karen Glass is part of the Advisory of AmblesideOnline. She has four children, ages 12 to 26, who have been homeschooled using Charlotte Mason’s methods from beginning to end. She has been studying and writing about Charlotte Mason and Classical Education for over twenty years.
In today’s episode, Karen, Mystie, and Brandy discuss the difference between methods and systems as well as the relationship between principles and practices.
Thank you to our sponsor:
This episode is sponsored by Start Here. When Charlotte Mason was trying to distill her educational philosophy into its simplest form, she ended up with 20 core principles, the distinctives of her philosophy. Offering a variety of reading assignments on these subjects, and discussion questions meant to help you dig deeply, Start Here is a comprehensive guide to the big ideas governing Charlotte Mason’s philosophy. Just head on over to the Afterthoughts Shop and use the discount code sisters to get 15% off at checkout.
Listen to the podcast:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Show Notes:
- Scholé RDA
- Mystie:
City of God by Augustine (audio book)
The History of the Ancient World by Susan Wise Bauer
- Karen:
City of God by Augustine
- Essays on Educational Reformers by Robert Hebert Quick
- Brandy
Vittorino da Feltre and Other Humanist Educators by William Woodward
Set Your Voice Free by Roger Love
- Mystie:
- Topical Discussion: Mothers, Don’t Let Your Methods Grow up to Be Systems
- Karen’s new blog post on this topic
Home Education by Charlotte Mason
- Narration Cube
- 20 Principles
Parents and Children by Charlotte Mason
- SS 010: Which Comes First? The Principles or the Practical?
- Mere Motherhood by Cindy Rollins
Mind to Mind
- Nitty Gritty Homeschool Question
Poetic Knowledge by James Taylor
The Living Page by Laurie Bestvater
- Example PR Article: Some Radical Questions by Mrs. Dawson
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Yet another wonderful podcast.
Is there any chance you ladies could speak just a little slower so we can catch everything you say?
Ha! Yes … we can definitely try! 🙂
Love your idea of finding unity in the principles in order to find community and commonality. I’ve seen some folks get so hung up on the practices that they alienate and reject anyone who may be implementing their practices differently, even though they are both guided by the same principle. Thank you for sharing these thoughts today.
I only recently figured out how podcasts work and how handy it can be to listen to these (and other) discussions about Charlotte Mason method while I’m washing dishes, etc. I love reading, but this informal discussion format is easier to absorb and follow than, say, a chapter from Home Education. But I have a suggestion . . . Would it be possible to somehow index the podcasts? It took three tries for me to get through this episode . . . not because I wasn’t engaged, but because moms so rarely have a block of uninterrupted time more than 10-15 minutes long, right? Each time I re-started, I had to guess where to drag the bar to so I didn’t miss anything but didn’t spend my few spare moments listening to what I’d already heard. I am pretty hopeless when it comes to tech stuff, and I am sure that I wouldn’t have the patience to do what I’m asking. But maybe you all have a tech-savvy friend for whom such a task would be “cake”? There are already natural divisions between RDA, main topic, and nitty-gritty. Marking each question and subsequent mini-discussion would be really terrific. Or maybe there are just tricks to listening to podcasts that I haven’t figured out yet?
Hi Rondalyn! Perhaps it would be easier for you to listen using a podcast player? I’m not sure what type of device you are using to listen, but podcast players are FANTASTIC for exactly this reason — they remember where you left off and you don’t have to find your place. 🙂
Thanks, Colleen! We have seen that, too, and it is so sad that there isn’t community where there really *should* be!
Love this podcast. It’s a living and breathing relationship – not a set of dead-bones rules.
Thank you for sharing this. I’m diving deeper into understanding more of the principles and this podcast was really helpful. I enjoy how CM can meet each family.