All posts by Karen Glass

This is launch week!

Blog, News/Updates

Every once in a while, something you’ve been waiting for arrives a little earlier than anticipated. So it is with Consider This: Charlotte Mason and the Classical Tradition! Thanks to the miracle of modern digital publishing, a finished manuscript can be transformed into a real book with amazing speed. And so it’s ready!

I’m so excited to finally be able to share the book with you all, and I’m looking forward to hearing your feedback.

Just because I’m so excited and you’ve all been patient these extra weeks, I’ve prepared several bonuses for launch week.

First of all, I’m giving away a few signed copies of Consider This. Check out this page for information about how you can enter multiple ways for a chance to win. One of the ways to enter is by liking my new Facebook page for Consider This, which I hope will be a place to share news and feedback about the book.

Besides the chance to win a signed copy, I’ve also prepared a study guide with thoughtful questions and suggested extra reading. It will be a free PDF download through the end of October. I originally thought of making it free with purchase, but why would you download it if you weren’t planning to purchase the book sooner or later? So, even if you aren’t buying the book just yet, feel free to snag the study guide while it’s free!

But there is another bonus for those who do purchase the book by the end of October. If you order a physical copy, you can purchase the Kindle version for free through Amazon’s Matchbook program. Two for the price of one! However, this program is only available to buyers using Amazon.com. It doesn’t work in Canada, Europe, or the UK.

I have been overwhelmed by how eagerly this book has been welcomed already. My goal in writing it was to produce a very readable, understandable book that would make some of the fundamentals of classical education plain—things that sometimes aren’t mentioned when classical education is discussed—and to show how Charlotte Mason’s philosophy and methods are faithful to those fundamentals. This isn’t a “how to” book, it’s a “why to” book, and my wish for those who read it is that you will come away with firmer convictions about what education is meant to be, and more confidence than ever in the methods Charlotte Mason developed to make that education possible. We’ll soon see if I’ve succeeded. I look forward to hearing what you think.

Not long now!

News/Updates

It was hard for me to ask everyone to wait until the end of October, but the time is drawing near, and I am confident that the tentative release date of October 25th will be a reality.  That means it’s almost launch week!

I’ll be giving away two signed copies of Consider This, and if you have subscribed to these updates, you’ll automatically be entered in the drawing with a chance to receive one.

Someone asked me a few weeks ago if there were study questions at the end of each chapter.  There are not, but the question prompted me to consider writing study-guide questions.  I’m doing that now, and the study guide will be available for free to everyone who purchases a copy of the book during launch week.

I have more to share later, and I hope you are as excited as I am that this book will soon be available.

I haven’t posted any new articles on my site, but Brandy at Afterthoughts has been running a “31 Days” series to bust various myths about Charlotte Mason.  My contribution was to bust the myth that CM’s many subjects conflict with the classical principle of multum non multa.

More to come!

Karen Glass

 

Quick Update

News/Updates

I haven’t written an update for a while, but with less than a month left until the promised release date, it seemed like a good time to let you know what’s been going on.

  1. I recently added a new article, “Why Did She Have to Say That?,” which discusses Charlotte Mason’s first two principles of education in some detail, giving the historical background that influenced her principles.  One of the early chapters of Consider This includes some of the information in this article, so it’s a sneak-peak into part of the book as well.
  2. Part of the reason for the delayed publication is a welcome addition to the book, and I’m so pleased to be able to share that David V. Hicks, author of Norms and Nobility, has written an introduction for Consider This. There is no living educator and author I admire more, and I have quoted Norms and Nobility in my book.  This is a great honor for me, and I am delighted to be able to share this news with you now.
  3. With publication drawing near, I plan to offer a few give-aways to reward your patience. I’m excited to share this work with you! It won’t be long now.

Karen Glass

Why Did She Have to Say That?

Articles

This article originally appeared in three parts in an email newsletter during 1999 and 2000.  I share it here as a single, somewhat lengthy article.

In each volume of her six-volume series on education, Charlotte Mason prefaces her book with a list of her educational beliefs or principles. Some of these are practical, but many of them are philosophical.  As we read them, it is easy to attempt to interpret them in light of our own 20th century ideas, but that will not give us a complete understanding.  Miss Mason lived in a philosophical environment and society which were different from our own, and some of her principles can only be understood properly in light of that environment.  From her own writings, we can get a picture of the society in which she lived. Continue reading Why Did She Have to Say That? →

We have a different date…

News/Updates

This is a hard update to write, and I have been putting it off.  I’ve known for several days that my announcement of an August 28th release date was premature, and I am actually going to have to wait longer.  I don’t mind for myself, but I have dreaded telling all of you that rather than a very near release date within this month, I am going to have to change that date to one several weeks in the future.  In fact, I’m going to set a tentative date of October 25th.

I have been humbled and gratified by many of you have written to tell me how much you are looking forward to reading the book.  I hate having to say that we are going to have to wait still longer, but we are, indeed, going to have to wait.  The book is written and will be there to read.  I apologize for having to backtrack now.  The frenzy to finish the editing can now be done at leisure, and I will spare a little time to think about what I can offer to make up for the wait.

In the meantime, we have to wait together, but I am looking forward to the not-too-distant future when I will be able to share this work, the cumulative study of 20 years distilled into twelve readable chapters, with you all.  Thank you for your patience, and I add again that I am more chagrined than I can say that I have to change the date.

Karen Glass

We have a date!

News/Updates

It’s tentative, but we are marking August 28th as the release date for Consider This.  There is still some work to do, but we think we can be ready by then.  I hope you are as excited as we are.

If you haven’t seen the book trailer, you can view it on the website, along with some kind comments from Michelle Miller of TruthQuest History.

I’m so glad the book will be available soon. I’m really looking forward to sharing it.

Karen Glass

A few additions

News/Updates

Each week brings Consider This closer to publication, and I am getting excited about having it finished and available.  If you visit the site now, you’ll find that mundane filler-cover has been replaced with the real cover, and I am very happy with the finished product, the joint effort my husband and daughter.

I’ve also added a review by a dear friend who read the first manuscript for me, Anne White.  She has shared a few tidbits and insights from Consider This that I hope will pique your interest.

I hope that the next update will bring you the news of a definite release date.  I’ll send it out just as soon as I know it myself!

Thank you for your interest–I really can’t wait to share the finished book with you all.

Karen Glass

Review by Anne White

Reviews

Anne is long-time friend and colleague, and it’s been very great privilege to work with her as part of the Advisory at amblesideonline.org .  I’ve visited her home and chatted with her in person on a few wonderful occasions as well.  She was one of my earliest readers, and asked me to share this review here.

Review of Consider This

by Anne White

It has been my privilege to have worked with Karen Glass as a fellow CM homeschooler and friend for many years. During that time, she became our “go-to person” on questions of classical education, and she often shared interesting parallels to Charlotte Mason’s writings that she had found in her own wide reading and research. Many of us hoped that she would someday be able to put her insights together in a book. I was delighted to be able to preview a copy of Consider This, which gets its title from Charlotte Mason’s response to a request for educational advice. Miss Mason responded, “The answer cannot be given in the form of ‘Do’ this and that, but rather as an invitation to ‘Consider’ this and that; action follows when we have thought duly.” It is a good title for a book that asks us to consider the deep foundations and traditions behind Charlotte Mason’s philosophy, and then (as Charlotte Mason and the classic educators would thoroughly approve), challenges us to put those ideas into practice. Karen considers the classical ideal of the unity of knowledge, reflects on what happened to that ideal, and offers (with Mason) suggestions on how we might attempt to reclaim it. Continue reading Review by Anne White →

A brief update and a new article

News/Updates

With the hope of a release date before the end of August, I feel like my eyes are watching the clock and calendar anxiously.  There are so many little details.  I had hoped to share the final cover design by now, but that is still a couple of weeks away.  After the cover is done, I hope to have a short video preview to share.  Meanwhile, I’m working on editing so that the final manuscript will be as error-free as possible.

I’ve uploaded one new article, The Teacher as a Philosopher, and I hope to add a few more in the coming weeks.  I’ve also added some kind commentary from Sonia Shafer of Simply Charlotte Mason to the main page.

Thank you for you interest in Consider This.  I am really looking forward to sharing the finished book with you very soon!

Karen Glass

The Teacher as a Philosopher

Articles

When we consider what is required of us when we take up the task of educating our children, donning the cloak of a philosopher is not generally at the top of the list. More likely, becoming a philosopher is not on the list at all. Nevertheless, Charlotte Mason twice suggests that one of the roles of a teacher is that of a philosopher. Continue reading The Teacher as a Philosopher →