Reforming the reality of Education

Education, you know it, it lives and breathes in your home on a daily basis. Education is something that we can not escape no matter how hard we run and the darkess corner can not hide the light of it's reality, of it being a life. Education is not limited to a desk, to the moving of a pencil, in the pages of a book it happens in the mind as we experience life and when I say book what I mean is a textbook not a "living book". It is such a common misunderstanding or ignorance to understand education in this way, that is that if the child or adult is not knee deep in a dry textbook and busy work then knowledge is not being obtained, that it can only come through at a desk, table or floor with a book and a worksheet in an atmosphere of serious rigidness. Basically the idea that knowledge can only be found in the formal way of learning, this is a disillusionment passed down from many generations through the govermental public school system. Children"are in danger of recieving much teaching with little knowledge"* in the hands of this type of education. Now I have to be honest, I have been guilty of this idea of education! This has been our habit of learning over the past couple of years and it was the path we were continueing to tred until CM stopped us dead in our tracks and pointed out to us, me, that education is much more than that, simply "Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life."* What a profound thought, no what a profound reality!

Life being a continual never ceasing experience of learning is the mother of all lessons! Life is full of lessons that God has put in our path to challenge us to grow in a life of transformation to the image of His Son. I challenge you to view education as a life experience of growing in the knowledge of Him.... challenge the norm, challenge the traditional way of education, experience education in the way God meant it to be... a daily experience through not only our lessons but also through His creation and with grace, with hope, with love, with joy, with liberation and with a lens of it being an amazing way for us to come closer to Him uniting us closer as a unit, a family.

I am in the process of transforming Growing Minds of Wisdom to this reality of education. I must express my thoughts as to the struggles going on within me. I know that CM's philosophy of education is dead on but my "old" mind is having a hard time agreeing with my "new" mind. The fact that education for my child does not have to be a tormenting experience constantly interrupting life is almost unreal to me, that I can actually lead my children's minds down a delighted path of learning!

My thoughts this morning were dug up after reading this quote:

“The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.”
~Tom Bodett

I wasn't posting this to enter but if the shoe fits....find more dug up thoughts at the Heart of the Matter.

* Charlotte Mason's words found in her Original Homeschooling Series.

The Beginning of my CM Evolution

I have become engrossed in the philosophy of Charlotte Mason and I have only barely begun to reach in and unwind. I can hardly put down For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay it keeps drawing me in with the intent for more, more, more. I have a feeling that my ideas or direction of my teaching in some subjects and the way of each day are going to change slightly as I continue to be drawn in more and more into her passion and life. I have very naively adapted some of our education to follow her ideas but not with out a full understanding, now I will not stop until I understand her ideas more clearly for myself and that of my children.

I think it would very benificial for every school teacher to read her thoughts on education, on teaching, on life and on the personhood of each child. I think that one of the huge downfalls in the school system is the fact that most authorities in the walls of education lack the vital importance of understanding all of these factors, those of CM, and implementing them in their methods of teaching. They only see a class of children, desks filled, rather than a class of individual "persons" and I realize the enormous incapability to achieve this at its full capacity but even if the idea, the passion the understanding were there... then the heart of education would be, or possible could be.. found.