It's Official...

RiverTree is now a member of Ambleside Schools International. As I have mentioned previously, ASI will be a tremendous help to RiverTree in bringing Charlotte Mason's pedagogy to the Twin Cities. Marybeth and I are both thrilled.

Elevator Speech

I have heard it said that if you are trying to sell an idea, you should have a speech ready that can be delivered in the time it takes to ride an elevator. Here is my first attempt at an "elevator speech" for RiverTree:

Most schools view education as a systematic process and, therefore, implicitly view their students as products of that system. (How many times have you heard someone refer to the "educational system"?) The result is a cold, mechanistic, dehumanizing education that stifles children by teaching them to survive rather than thrive.

A RiverTree education is not a system. It is, as the founder of our method Charlotte Mason said, "a life." We constantly keep before us the truth that children are born persons, weak and ignorant to be sure, but fully formed in the image of God. We value them because of who they are, not what they can (or cannot) do.

We recognize that a child's mind is a spiritual organism hungry to be fed with living ideas: the good, the true and the beautiful. The young mind, as any parent will tell you, is astonishingly curious - eager to learn and understand. Too many schools stifle this desire by burdening children with repetitive work, teaching them that getting a smiley face or a star on their paper is the goal, and giving them nothing but dull, predigested texts with lots of facts, but few ideas.

Our goal at RiverTree is to feed a child's natural curiosity; it is our best ally. We want our students to have a steady diet of the best thoughts of the best minds so that they become engaged and their desire for knowledge grows. We do this by presenting them with living, vital books, and by asking them to assimilate and respond to the ideas in the text from the earliest grades. We teach them the habits of learning, especially the habit of attention, so that as they grow learning becomes easier and more a part of their daily life. And especially, we teach them that learning is its own reward. We do it because it is good and right without regard for extrinsic motivators like grades.

At RiverTree we also recognize that life is about relationships. Each person lives life in relation to God, self, others, and ideas. The role of the school and the teacher is to present opportunities for these relationships to form and then stay out of the way. This is nowhere more important than in a child's relationship with Christ. Too often Christian teachers, in their desire to see their students have a rich, vital Christian faith, try to form the relationship for them. They read a Bible story and then quickly follow it up with the proper moral conclusions hoping that if the child hears the right answers, the faith will necessarily come. Of course, that is not the way it works. Each child must form their own relationship. It is not the role of the teacher to serve as an intermediary between the child and Christ, but rather to be a wise guide and friend who introduces the child to Christ and then allows the relationship to grow.

It is the same way with other relationships, even relationships to ideas. A child who has been taught only about a subject doesn't necessarily know it. For example, a child who has learned the dates, locations and outcomes of the major battles of the Civil War only knows something about the war. However, unless these facts are connected to greater ideas, they will be of little value, and less interest. On the other hand, a child who has read and loved Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage has developed a relationship with several important ideas such as the nature of battles in the Civil War, how they were conducted, and what it was like to be in them. He also may have learned important ideas about courage, duty and honor. In other words, he has started to know the Civil War (and several other important things as well). Ironically, it is the student fed on ideas who will almost always have better command of the facts because they are no longer disconnected bits of data, but rather part of a larger, more complete picture.

In a practical sense it means that the children at RiverTree read (or are read to) a lot. They are expected to assimilate what they read or hear through a technique called narration, which is essentially a re-telling of the text they have just encountered. They interact with the ideas in a variety of ways, often very sophisticated ways. The students find delight in the learning because it is done for it's own sake. There are no marks given, the focus remains on the student's relationship to ideas, not on his ability to perform on quizzes or worksheets. It is gentle and humane and yet very rigorous. The children learn much.

Okay, so it would have to be a very slow elevator that stops a lot. What do you think?

How I found a soul mate

No, not that soul mate. I won't turn this blog all personal and tell you about the great romance of mine with Mr. Nelson. No, I'm talking about Charlotte. It's funny, at our house we talk about Miss Mason like she's a beloved aunt. The other day as I was puzzling through how to handle a schooling issue Rodney suggested we think WWCD (what would Charlotte do?). Hope that isn't sacreligious to you. Yes, yes our concerns about discerning what Jesus would do takes significant pre-eminence, but you get the jist of how we think about her. In fact the part that makes our WWCD work is that Charlotte Mason sought to shape her approach to children and her entire world view with following Christ. But I digress....

I'm not sure exactly how it all began. Since I'm a historian who finds great joy in all the background details I'll not try to puzzle out exactly how for fear of a lengthy post, but somehow in my quest to provide enrichment for my children (who at the time were 4 and 2 years old) I turned to Amazon.com for inspiration. I enjoy recommended lists others publish there and have also had great success with Amazon's recommendations for me. One of those lists suggested For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay. I recognized the name because of her father and another book she had written (How to be your Own Selfish Pig) which I had seen often on my mom's bookshelf. For the Children's Sake had rave reviews, so I added it to my cart and forgot about it. Eventually my order got placed, arrived and I read it. I remember sitting up late at night devouring it. I kept interrupting Rod's doctoral studies to read paragraphs to him. I just couldn't get over it. It spoke to me in a way that few books have, and I'm a reader. I read and read all the time. One of the many things that struck me about this book is that Susan Schaeffer Macaulay put into words what I had felt and thought. It was a rolling relief and recognition of an old friend or someone who get's what I'm talking about when others don't. It was fantastic!

Since that time I've read many other Charlotte related books and some of her own works as well. At first I read many of the books written by others about the CM method. Some I enjoyed more than others, but found value in all I read. Then I decided to "tackle" some of the original works. If you read enough of her admirers, you do get a sense of being warned off from the original works by Miss Mason. I figured if I could read and enjoy Victorian essayists like Mathew Arnold and Cardinal Newman, I certainly could read Miss Mason. I'll admit, her writing is rich and deep, and really I could read just a few paragraphs at a time. They haven't been a quick read for me, but I think that is because they are so good and complex that I need to ponder and savor the thoughts. So if you're really eager to better understand the method, by all means read her works. If you want to work your way up to that point, I've got a few books to point you to. All of them may be found at Amazon and sometimes at your local bookstore.

Marybeth's List of Charlotte Related Reading:

• Real Learning: Education in the Heart of the Home by Elizabeth Foss -- I'm reading this right now and am finding it to be so helpful and encouraging. It is one of the better CM books I've read. It is written more for homeschooling (as are most of the following). The lists of recommended books for children is a great resource.
• A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola -- this book gives a good overview of the method and breaks it down by subject area giving examples of how to accomplish instruction using the method. It is a great resource and a delight to read.
• Books Children Love: a guide to the best children's literature by Elizabeth Wilson. I love this book. Every family should have it. It organizes recommended reading by subject area and reading level. So say you really want a good, living book to read to your child about physics, you could use this book to track down a good read about Dr. Rontgen the discoverer of the x-ray. I enjoy just sitting and reading through this book which is why this post is taking me so long to finish!
• A Literary Education by Catherine Levison -- this book is similar to the one above, only not nearly so comprehensive. This is a catalog of books the author has used in homeschooling her children using the CM Method.

There are more books I could send your way, but these are enough for now! Soon I'll point you to a few of my favorite websites and blogs that have to do with our dear Miss Mason.

Charlotte Mason's Thoughts on Montessori

I found a paraphrase of a letter Charlotte Mason wrote critiquing Maria Montessori's method. Be sure to read the comments for some rebuttals on Montessori's behalf. It is pretty interesting, especially for the insights into CM's thoughts.

I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the paraphrase because I can't find the original text. If anyone can find the original, please post a link in the comments.

Pray for RiverTree

First off, hello! I've been listed as a co-blogger, but this is my first post. I often dream of the topics I will post on as I cook, keep house, etc., but when it comes down to it, I haven't gotten them typed down until now! Drum roll please...no, honestly this isn't one of the Charlotte Mason/RiverTree topics I've longed to write, but really one of infinitely greater importance. RiverTree is a plan and a dream that we have, but it won't happen without you! Since Rodney last posted we've begun a new series at church on prayer, and it has been motivating (and convicting) to think about our call and duty to pray. We, Rod and I, are praying about RiverTree. We want this beautiful, valuing, education to be available to hundreds of children! We long to see smiling faces, excited to learn. These dreams are ones that we offer up to God each day, but we really do need you. There's so much power in corporate prayer. Will you pray with us for RiverTree? We have a lot to accomplish before we open doors next fall. We covet your prayers. If this is something you could commit to in a more official sense, could you email me? I'd like to work on setting up a prayer team for the school. Also, if you are a Facebook user, please check out my new group Friends of RiverTree School (which I did try to link to, but hmm...not able to so you'll have to search for it) where I will also be working on building a network and communicating updates to people who may not always check out this blog.

Think about it. Prayer is amazing in its effectiveness. I'm sure my theology will have a few holes if I pontificate further, God doesn't need our prayers and certainly can and does do His wonders without our prayers, but we bless and are blessed in our praying. I just can't wait to really tell more of how God has been working lately and revealing His will for RiverTree. Can't let all all of the cat out of the bag yet, but expect more details as soon as we're able!

Ambleside of Fredericksburg

I had the great pleasure a few weeks ago to travel to Fredericksburg, Texas for a three day internship at the Ambleside School there. Up until my visit, my knowledge of Charlotte Mason's method had been largely theoretical. I understood it and believed in its efficacy, but hadn't actually seen it in action in a school setting. Well, now that I have, let me tell you, I am more eager than ever for RiverTree to open.

One of the constant sources of anxiety for me was that RiverTree was in uncharted territory. Sure, a lot is known about starting a more generic Christian School. The Association of Christian Schools International even publishes a guide: How to Start a Christian School. But RiverTree isn't going to be like those other Christian Schools, so I didn't have a model to follow.

This is why I am so excited about finding Ambleside Schools International. To find an organization with a vision so closely alligned with RiverTree's was encouraging. To find that the organization actually offered a model to be copied complete with curriculum, handbooks, policies, schedules and training made me want to jump, shout and cheer.

I was planning to spend a large portion of my time over the next few years figuring out what to do in order to make this method work in practice. Now that we have Ambleside of Fredericksburg to follow (and by follow, I mean shamelessly copy), I will instead be able to work on how we do it.

The advantage to parents considering RiverTree is that the early growing pains for the school should be fewer and shorter lived. We will be able to become a mature school much faster than we would have otherwise.

Praise God!

New Logo, New Look

I have been promising a new logo for RiverTree for a while now. I hope you like it and the new look for the blog.

Thanks to Bruce and the folks at SWP Agency for their help.