It’s tempting to want to know what happens at the end of a book or movie. However, without some background knowledge, the ending might not make sense. That’s why the specifics of the curriculum were left till the end of the book. We have learned that books are a medium for ideas and not a funnel for facts. We have also known that we should tailor and use our environment and train our children in good habits. We have touched on the importance of ‘Masterly Inactivity’ or stepping back. We have noted that we owe our children the opportunity to make as many relations(connections) as possible.
Our job is to remove impediments, to give stimulus and guidance to the child. We know that children have a natural appetite for knowledge, and we can ruin that appetite by over-explaining. We know that children naturally desire to create, run, and play. This is the reason why we don’t select some subjects and exclude others. We don’t believe that Science and Art are mutually exclusive.
How can we tell when a child ‘knows’ something? Do we assume that a child knows because the child has crammed it? I would hope not because knowledge is not the regurgitation of facts. Knowledge is the voluntary action of the mind on the information. We can tell that a child knows when he can narrate with such vividness as if he has lived it. When the words that come out of his mouth are his, the arrangement of the words are his and the connections are his.
We place our children directly under the tutelage of great thinkers through books. Oral lessons are kept at a minimum, usually in response to a child’s questions. As children work through a great book, they develop intellectual curiosity and educate themselves.
Yes, that’s the summary. We are guides and stimulators, but our children are educating themselves. Shouldn’t that be the goal of every educator - to help children own their education?
What books are living books?
A book may be long or short, old or new, easy or hard, written by a great man or a lesser man, and yet be the living book which finds its way to the mind of a young reader.
When we have found the right books, we let our children do the work of digging for knowledge, and we allow the natural connections to happen. We don’t force connections by making our children calculate how much food was needed to sustain the Spanish fleet. However, we set our children in a large room by giving them vital interests in as many directions as possible.
The next couple of newsletters will tackle one subject at a time, combining the wisdom shared in CM Volume 6 and Volume 3.
Best Regards,
Olufunmike