Charlotte Mason vs. Neo-Classical vs. Classical (Part One)

For the past few months, I’ve been doing research on different educational methods. Samuel will begin first grade this fall, so I feel like this is the first year that will really “count.” We must send an “intent to homeschool” letter to the school district, and start keeping track of some of his schoolwork. I also feel like this is the year to find out what works for him and what doesn’t as far as curriculum styles go. For the last two years, we participated in a Classical Conversations community. We love the families who are part of our group, and thank God for all the friendships we’ve made and grown in the last couple years. What a sweet gift our community has been to us!

That being said, the educational approach Classical Conversations takes doesn’t always work well for Samuel. Classical Conversations (CC) relies heavily on memory work (grammar) and Samuel tends to get bothered by the fact that we repeat the same things over and over again. He doesn’t seem to make the connections CC boasts their participants will make between subject matter. While I absolutely value the Christian background of CC, I do feel disappointed at certain times that CC doesn’t include more Bible knowledge in their grammar. All subjects deserve a place in education, but why not memorize some Bible verses and catechism questions as you memorize history sentences about different religions and science questions about creation? I realize any CC community can incorporate Bible verses into their meeting days, but I would like to see this as more of an integral part of the curriculum itself.

When I first started considering different methods of homeschooling, before Samuel could even talk and I had never heard of CC, the first method that stood out to me was the Charlotte Mason method. I especially liked how she put a strong emphasis on nature study and outdoor time for children. These ideals fit with my own ideals about children and education (I majored in education and biology in college). One reason we opted for homeschool over public or private school is that we want our children to love the outdoors just as much as we do, which includes both outdoor physical activity and knowledge of the natural world. I also found myself attracted to Charlotte Mason because of her belief in living books over dry textbooks. Stories stick with me more than bare facts. If I can remember what someone did and why, the other details easily follow.

As I’ve done more research, some new things stand out to me about the Charlotte Mason method. Charlotte Mason believed in educating the whole person, not just their intellect. She believed the cultivation of good, lifelong habits is just as important (or more important) as acquiring knowledge. She gave her students “a feast of ideas” instead of groups of facts relating to different fields of study. She believed that a lesson should only last as long as the attention span of the child. As your child’s focus improves, lessons become longer if necessary. She saw teachers as facilitators of lessons rather than vessels of knowledge imparting what they know to someone less knowledgeable. She encouraged mothers to learn along with their children and to pursue their own interests in addition to their duties as teachers. Again in this case, she sees learning as an all-encompassing lifestyle instead of one part of a whole.

She also believed in educating children by starting with what is closest to them and working outward. For us, that means history begins with North America, geography with our neighborhood, nature study with our backyard, and math with counting objects at home. Children understand something better when they can relate that something to something they already know. After all, according to Charlotte Mason, education is all about the “science of relations.”

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Please check back next Tuesday for part two, in which I discuss the differences between these three educational methods. You can find part three here.