All posts by Karen Glass

September’s Hot New Release?

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During the first week that Consider This was released, it had a brief moment in the sun (figuratively speaking) at Amazon. It was featured, to my amusement, as a “hot new release” in the sub-sub-sub-sub category of “Education Theory.”

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So, just for fun, I thought we might make an attempt to put Charlotte Mason into the limelight and give Mind to Mind the same “hot new release” status in its sub-sub-sub (I really don’t know how far down it goes) category. Amazon updates its status hourly, so things move fast. I’ll announce the winners of the free books at noon on Friday, Eastern Time, and if you are planning to buy a copy soon, why not make your purchase on Friday afternoon? If enough people decide to do that, Charlotte Mason will rise to the top of the charts, and maybe a few teachers doing some back-to-school shopping on Amazon will notice and be introduced to her for the first time.

Well, we can hope. Wouldn’t it be a breath of life for children in public schools to have a teacher influenced by Charlotte Mason?

In any case, if we achieve this fleeting status by purchasing enough books to feature Mind to Mind as a “hot new release,” (originally published in 1925!) I’ll give away an additional two books. Why not?

This is release week for Mind to Mind and we have winners!

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I used a random number generator to pick our two winners:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

22
40

Timestamp: 2015-09-04 16:10:21 UTC

And I thought the comments were numbered, but they are not, so I had to manually count down (the first comment you see is #1, the last comment is #50) to find the winners, but I triple checked it, and the winners are:

Krista and ChristineH!

Congratulations to you, and thank you everyone for participating. I’ll keep an eye on Amazon, and if Charlotte Mason achieves “Hot New Release” status, I’ll generate numbers for a couple more winners!

And I’m going to be giving away two free copies. (Sadly, not signed, because that involves shipping them to Poland first. But still. Free.)

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post letting me know why you’d be interested, or why you think someone else might be interested, in reading an abridged copy of Charlotte Mason’s final book. Any reason will do, including “I can it finish more quickly.” Each comment is one entry, and I’ll use a random-number generator to select the two winners on Friday, September 4th–the official day of release, although Amazon might be ready before then.

A goodly portion of Mind to Mind is my work, but the bulk of it is still Charlotte Mason’s. For that reason, the Kindle version is priced a little lower, and if you purchase a physical copy, the Kindle Matchbook will always be free.

In honor of launching Mind to Mind, the Kindle Matchbook for Consider This will be free all week as well. If you’ve ever purchased this physical book through Amazon, you can take advantage of the free Kindle version this week.

And don’t forget: if you plan a book study and want to do a bulk order (at least 5 copies), I can offer a discount. Just use the contact form to let me know.

If you’d like additional chances to win a free copy of Mind to Mind, share this post on Facebook, on your blog, via Twitter, or anywhere, and leave a separate comment for each one, telling me where you shared it: “I shared on Facebook!” Each comment is an additional entry for you, so don’t combine them. (And don’t worry if they don’t show up immediately–I have to approve comments, and only if you’ve commented before will they show up without approval.)

Entries close at 12:00pm (that’s noon!) Eastern Time, on Friday, September 4th. I’ll announce the winners shortly after.

 

Education and Humility

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Another lovely bit from Mark Van Doren’s Liberal Education:

The educated person, says Pascal, is one who has substituted learned ignorance for natural ignorance. That is valuable because it keeps ignorance in the picture, which otherwise would be false.

Narration: What’s the Point? or, Where Are We Going with This?

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By Karen Glass

This article originally appeared in an online “ezine” in 2003

signpostAs we continue our series on narration, this month’s focus will be the actual process of narrating. We will peer at narration through a magnifying glass, as it were, and examine some of the nuances of this educational method.

The simplest explanation is that a child “tells back,” in his own words, something that he has read, or that has been read aloud to him. It is, on the surface, such a very simple idea that it is not immediately apparent how much mental activity is involved. It is certainly not apparent how the continual use of narration will build language skills and lay the foundation for higher-level thinking and writing. Nevertheless, this simple technique contains the seeds that will make use of the wonderful abilities of the human mind, disciplining and sharpening them, so that the young adult who has years and years of narrations behind him will be exceptionally well-equipped for mental effort, challenge, and communication. Continue reading Narration: What’s the Point? or, Where Are We Going with This? →

A little news…

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It’s been a busy summer. Is there any other kind? One of the highlights for me was the privilege of speaking at AmblesideOnline‘s “At Home” retreat in Indiana, during July. Recordings of all the excellent speakers will be made available.

I’m so pleased, also, to be able to announce that Anne White’s new book, Minds More Awake, is now available. You can read my review here, and I think you’ll want this one on your “to be read” list.

And if you’ve been wondering whether Mind to Mind was ever going to become a reality, I am happy to announce that the official release date will be September 4th. I did offer some Advanced Reader Copies at the “At Home” retreat, and I did not have any left over. I’ll be giving away a couple of copies of Mind to Mind during the release week. If you aren’t already subscribed to my (very infrequent) updates, sign up so you don’t miss out.

Thank you for your continued interest,

 

Karen Glass

A Book Worth Reading

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I’m so pleased to announce that Anne White’s new book, Minds More Awake: The Vision of Charlotte Mason is now available. Anne is a dear friend and long-time colleague, but that is not the reason I recommend reading her book. If you are homeschooler interested in Charlotte Mason’s ideas, you will want to read this book. If you are teacher who works with children, you will want to read this book. If you are a parent, you need to read this book, and the sooner the better.

The book is deceptively simple. One minute you are reading about making chili in the crock pot, and the next moment you realize that the discussion has turned to integrating principles of education with a sharp focus on the key elements that will make those principles most effective. How did that happen? It is Anne’s gift—the gift of chatting comfortably and relating even hard-to-grasp principles to real-life situations that you will recognize.

She has a knack for spotting principles in unlikely places, and when she points them out, you may blink hard and wonder how it is that you didn’t spot that for yourself. This is a book that will encourage, not discourage you. These are important principles, but they are achievable. Anne doesn’t even leave you wondering what  they will look like in practice—she brings the principles to the table and shows you what a math or reading lesson might look like when the principles are put into action.

Minds More Awake is a book to read once, and then again and again. It’s a little bit like fertilizer.  There are Charlotte Mason’s own books to read, of course, and a few secondary sources that illuminate or illustrate how to make her ideas work. There is enough soil, air, water, and sunshine in them to grow an education. But adding a little Minds More Awake is going to be like a judicious sprinkling of fertilizer. There’s something here that will support and strengthen what we already know about Charlotte Mason’s ideas, and make the whole process a little more vivid, a little more vibrant. Anne White encourages us to make Charlotte Mason’s principles real in our own lives.

…there is a need in the world for the wisdom-made-practical that we have benefited from ourselves, even if it’s not labelled “C.M.” or packaged in the way we expect. Susan Schaeffer Macaulay includes a description in For the Children’s Sake of an arrangement where young girls (probably those who would be labelled at-risk) came to someone’s house together, learned homemaking skills, and had discussion times over cups of coffee. They might not have been interested in nature walks, but they did have ideas and questions. We need more people who can create safe, friendly spaces.

I highly recommend carving out a little space of time to read this book. As we get ready to begin a new school year, it will be rejuvenating.

Make room on the bookshelf…

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Even before I published Consider This, and more so since I’ve seen the response to it, I have sensed that the Charlotte Mason community is “growing up”—wanting to move beyond “how do I do this?” to explore the deeper ideas in Charlotte Mason’s writings. We are in for a marvelous treat.

My long-time friend and colleague (fellow AmblesideOnline Advisory member) Anne White has written a book—Minds More Awake— that is going to delight, edify, and nourish those hungry for “more.” Hence, my suggestion to make a little room on your bookshelf, because you are going to want to read this. More than once.

I have been privileged to read an early manuscript, and it felt like sitting down with a wise, experienced homeschool mom who has kept her own mind awake but never lost touch with the nitty-gritty day to day details of life. So, while she delves deeply into ideas that will refresh and encourage, she can grab the nearest kitchen appliance as an illustration, or remark, “that reminds me of seventh-grade shop class,” and add a layer of meaning to every children’s book you can remember.

Go read all about it, and do make a little space on the shelf. It will be so worth it.

A New Project!

News/Updates

I’m very excited to share about the project I’ve been working on for a year. I know many of my subscribers will already have read Charlotte Mason’s sixth volume, A Philosophy of Education. However, many readers stumble at the language, the poetry, and the casual references to long-forgotten people, events, and even books.

In order to make  Charlotte Mason’s own words clearer and sharper, I have ventured to abridge the volume, and added subheadings and chapter introductions to illuminate the text. I’ve titled the new work Mind to Mind–you can read all about it here.

Thank you for your continuing interest!

Karen Glass

Announcing an announcement

News/Updates

It’s been a while since my last update.

If you haven’t visited my website since the last one, you’ll find a few new blog posts there, including a look at the way Consider This dovetails nicely with The Living Page by Laurie Bestvater.

I’ve also added a new article: Wholes and Parts—Which is Which?

But mostly this update is to let you know that very soon—within a week or so—I’ll be sharing my latest writing project. I’m looking forward to telling all about this project. I’ll also be able to share the title, the cover, and a sneak preview as well. Which makes this the announcement of an announcement…coming soon.

Thank you for you interest!

Karen Glass

 

Wholes and Parts—Which is Which?

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applegraphicIn chapter two of Poetic Knowledge: The Recovery of Education, entitled “The Philosophical Foundations,” Dr. James Taylor traces the historical “Great Conversation” of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, and others on the validity of poetic knowledge from its known roots to the present. The topic crystallizes in a few key ways. To begin with, poetic knowledge is closely allied with love. Education is concerned with “ordering the affections”—teaching us to know and love that which is beautiful and good.

 

Augustine wrote:

Because love is a movement [of the soul] and every movement is always toward something, when we ask what ought to be loved, we are therefore asking what it is that we ought to be moving toward….It is the thing in regard to which possession and knowing are one and the same.

Poetic, or synthetic, knowledge is not a thing that can be accomplished by systems, lesson plans, or direct command. Continue reading Wholes and Parts—Which is Which? →