The Bigger Picture
From the Charlotte Mason Institute Team:
“Do not let the endless succession of small things crowd great ideals out of sight and out of mind.” Charlotte Mason, The Story of Charlotte Mason, p.160
We often read this quote as a reminder to look up and remember the bigger picture. Are you laboring for hours over which type of paint to buy? Step back and remember that the goal is for you and your students to have a relationship with art. Take a moment to get perspective.
A second but more subtle truth in this quote is that education is a paradox – we are limited human beings seeking to embody and present “great ideals” to our students. Because we don't have infinite brain space, the “endless successions of small things” do take over more often than we like to admit.
There are two common paths we take to navigate this tension between small things and great ideals. Some of us respond by trying to minimize the “feast.” We feel the pressures of life, the “great ideals” overwhelm us, and so we give up on Charlotte Mason's insights as impractical and just read a book or two after dinner. This is the “do less” path.
Or, seeing the beauty of Mason's insights, we decide we are called to be omnipresent and omniscient. So we tell our finite minds to work harder to juggle all the necessary details of life along with these great ideals. Perhaps we berate ourselves when things inevitably don't work as perfectly as planned. This is the “be more” path.
Perhaps you find yourself going in one of these directions.
Consider a third path forward: resting in the paradox. Each of us is finite. We live in a variety of places with different limitations of time, knowledge, and space. We are not meant to be omniscient, omnipresent, or omnipotent – no matter what our smartphones tell us. Yet, we were made for rich, deep, and expansive relationships with God and others and the world.
What might it look like to live with a contented discontent? To be honest with ourselves and others about our limitations, about the nature of a particular season, and yet still seek to spread a feast for the students in whatever ways we can? Charlotte Mason invites us to journey through life with these paradoxical realities.
This blurb was taken from the CMI October Newsletter. If you know a friend who would enjoy the newsletter, click here to share it with them!
Notes
- Office Hours: Here is the link to this week’s Office Hours on Shakespeare, Plutarch, and Ourselves.
- Alveary Books: As we dive deeper into the 2024-25 school year, we’d love to hear about the books your students are enjoying! What have been their favorites so far? Share here.
- CMI Advent Guide: The 2024 Advent Guide is here. The weekly format is rich enough to be used year after year and flexible enough for a busy family to supplement with other resources. Download here and share with friends!
- Alveary Ambassador: Find inspiration and resources for sharing Alveary with friends in our Alveary Ambassador Kit. Inside, you’ll find valuable resources and an encouraging video from Dr. Whiteside in the "In-Person Event" section that you won’t want to miss.
- Member Survey: It’s back! Our annual fall member survey is live. Tell us about your experience with Alveary – what you’re loving and what we can improve. Thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts. We rely on your feedback to plan for the future and assess our current offerings. You can submit your responses here.
- Student Survey Winners: Congratulations to Student Survey winners Hannah, Adi, and Lucy. If your students haven’t yet completed the survey, please submit responses here!
- YouTube: Join Amber O'Neal Johnson in this CMI conference session as she shares how to enrich our students' education by incorporating diverse voices and stories through history, literature, music, art, and more. And be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for future videos!
- Fall Books: If you are looking for some cozy books to read during November check out some of the Alveary Team’s favorite Fall picture books here!
