Unity and Diversity
From Kimberly Somarriba, CMI Event Coordinator:
In a recent Spring CORE reading assignment, I was struck by the following quote:
So there will be a profound unity, just as all trees are trees, not ever confused with jellyfish. But, at the same time, just as there are palm trees, oaks, and birches, so there can be a wonderful variety too. In philosophy this reality/necessity is expressed in the phrase “unity and diversity.” (When Children Love to Learn, p. 29)
As a self-described nature nerd, I appreciate a good nature metaphor. Sometimes it is simpler for us to see truth when it is illustrated with something as natural to us as trees or seashells.
This past Saturday morning, my family went out early to walk the beach at low tide. We were rewarded by having the beach to ourselves, albeit with a few shorebirds, and treasures galore. We found several Atlantic Bay Scallop shells, some were even intact, which is a rare delight. When I looked at the beautiful variety of shells I couldn’t help but reflect on the quote from When Children Love to Learn, “unity and diversity.” We could easily say, “They’re all shells to me.” Or, we might look closer. We might say, “Look at this gorgeous spread of shells! Do you notice the differences in sizes, color, and texture? How amazing is it that the Creator of us all had it in mind to make such a beautiful variety?” How dull life would be without diversity.
One of the reasons I was drawn to the Alveary was because of the beautiful kaleidoscope of image-bearers reflected everywhere I looked. From the photos on the website, the booklists, the board members, staff, and in the Hive community - everywhere I looked I felt like I could see not only my family reflected, but a diverse group of families - all unified by the pursuit of a relational education. The Charlotte Mason Institute truly strives to embody the phrase “unity and diversity.” We hope you will see this everywhere - including in our speaker and session lineup for The Joy of Making this summer.
Join us this July to celebrate and learn alongside the many diverse voices in the Charlotte Mason community. Here are a few of the sessions you’re not going to want to miss:
- Creativity Required: The Case of a Hispanic CM Educator with Jo Perez-Rey
- Connecting to Cultures through Handicrafts with Bethanyanne Howard
- Beauty Amidst Concrete: Delighting in Urban Nature with Erika Alicea
- Crafting Affrilachia: How Identity, Culture and Place Come Together with Marie T. Cochran
- All Children Welcome to the Feast: Inclusion in the Mason Classroom with Minda Ciardi and Amanda Escue
- "A Living Speech": Principles for Teaching a Second Language with Julie Cerdas
- Freedom through Education and the Charlotte Mason Method with Connie Morgan
- Diverse by Design: Leveraging Digital Tools to Create Beauty and Cultivate Belonging in Your Family and Community with Nicole Cottrell
What sessions are you most excited about? Let us know in this Fabulous Friday post!
Notes
1. New Team Member: Join us in welcoming Alveary member Desiree Salcido as CMI’s new Support Specialist. You’ll find Desiree answering your questions through Contact Us and in the Hive, assisting with Office Hours, and supporting members in many other ways!
2. Podcast: Enjoy this episode from “This Golden Hour” as Deani, Kerri, and Kathryn discuss practical resources and insights on homeschooling peacefully and meaningfully.
3. Office Hours: Join us on Wednesday, March 27, at 3:30 p.m. EDT for a session with Jillian and Faith, who have started Alveary co-ops in their communities. Post your questions about co-ops in this Hive Event by noon on Tuesday.
4. Alveary in Groups: Do you want to use Alveary in a co-op, school, hybrid, or other classroom setting? Explore the options here.
5. Book Sale: Living Book Press is offering 20% off site-wide until March 31.
6. Foundations Course: Deepen your understanding of a relational education in our Foundations Course (see RESOURCES on your dashboard). Sign up for the email drip course.
7. Alveary Ambassador Kit: Find inspiration and resources for sharing Alveary with friends in our new Alveary Ambassador Kit.
Query
Why do you connect so many subjects to the history rotation? Does Alveary use unit studies?
“Next in order to religious knowledge, history is the pivot upon which our curriculum turns.” Philosophy of Education, p. 273
A unit study example popular on social media is a classroom with a “Starbucks” theme. The spelling words, math, reading, and everything else all relate to the theme. It makes for good Instagram photos and is undoubtedly fun for students, but a lot of work for the teacher (who has become an entertainer). Every connection is created and forced.
By contrast, Mason’s approach means immersing ourselves in the era to better understand our fellow man. This isn’t for our student’s entertainment, but to help them build a relationship with those in the historical time period. When students discover for themselves through their lessons and Book of Centuries that the Pilgrims were boarding the Mayflower at the same time Galileo was studying the skies, and just four years after Shakespeare’s death, they gain a deeper sense of what life was like in that time and place.
Charlotte Mason describes a unit-study type of lesson:
The whole thing must be highly amusing to the teacher, as ingenious amplifications self-produced always are: that the children too were entertained, one does not doubt. The teacher was probably at her best in getting by sheer force much out of little: she was, in fact, acting a part and the children were entertained as at a show, cinema or other; but of one thing we may be sure, an utter distaste, a loathing, on the part of the children ever after, not only for 'Robinson Crusoe' but for every one of the subjects lugged in to illustrate his adventures. Philosophy of Education, pp. 115-16.
In School Education (p. 231), she further fleshes out her philosophy regarding naturally connecting some subjects to the history rotation:
Another point, the co-ordination of studies is carefully regulated without any reference to the clash of ideas on the threshold or their combination into apperception masses; but solely with reference to the natural and inevitable co-ordination of certain subjects. Thus, in readings on the period of the Armada, we should not devote the contemporary arithmetic lessons to calculations as to the amount of food necessary to sustain the Spanish fleet, because this is an arbitrary and not an inherent connection; but we should read such history, travels, and literature as would make the Spanish Armada live in the mind.
