A Unity of Knowledge
I hope you had a chance to watch the video from last week where I took you on a tour of the Spanish Chapel that is attached to the Santa Maria Novella Church in Florence, Italy. The mural on the ceiling and wall shows the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descending over numerous figures that represent all branches of knowledge, whether sacred or secular. The Holy Spirit is the source of all knowledge and gave insight to these various men, whether pagan or Christian. I hope you have come to this great recognition as well and have found joy in pursuing all avenues of knowledge as a Godward movement.
But how can we know that our students have come to this great recognition and are not feeling like they have two separate lives —one spiritual life when they read the Bible and go to church and a secular life when they learn about math, science, literature, etc. Charlotte Mason was very concerned about this in her day and even said, “We believe that this is the fertile source of the unfaith of the day, especially in young and ardent minds.” However, when young people come to this recognition it:
gives us new thoughts of God, new hopes of Heaven, a sense of harmony in our efforts and of acceptance of all that we are…We shall learn to make pause in our thoughts, and shall hear in our intellectual perplexities, as well as in our moral, the clear, sweet, cheering and inspiring tones of our spiritual Guide. We are not speaking here of what is commonly called the religious life, or of our definite approaches to God in prayer and praise; these things all Christian people comprehend more or less fully; we are speaking only of the intellectual life, the development of which in children is the aim of our subjects and methods of instruction (Parents and Children, p. 276-277).
What can we do so our students will come to this understanding? Is there a class they can take or a book they can read?
A couple of years ago I had the privilege to listen to a CM graduate panel talk about this topic of dualism between the sacred and secular. They didn’t have this discord, this tension. They grew up in an atmosphere that saw all education as sacred. That is the vision that Mason provides. We don’t have to try and integrate faith and learning in some forced way. When I asked my 17-year-old daughter about this topic, her thoughts were similar to the graduate panel. She stated, “This is God’s world and if the Holy Spirit is in us, you are doing something wrong if you need to put effort in trying to find where God is present. He is always there in what you do. Everything makes sense because of him. I just have a general understanding that God is in everything we study, and by saying I don’t want to learn about this, is saying I don’t want to learn about God’s world. If God has this knowledge, it is another gift that he has for us. He didn’t have to reveal all these things, but it is a gift we get to enjoy—the knowledge he provides us and reveals to us.”
In what ways have you seen your students come to this understanding? Head to the Hive and share your thoughts.
Notes
1. Modern Language: Are you a native Spanish or French speaker using the Alveary language lesson plans? If so, we’d like to get your feedback as we develop next year’s curriculum. Please email us.
2. Monographs: Thank you for your input! You won A Feast of Living Ideas in a World of Bytes which had nearly 25% of your top votes! Use the code MONOGRAPH to get $5 off the Centenary Series Bundle or to download A Feast of Living Ideas for FREE!
3. YouTube: Need ideas for your younger children? Watch Alveary’s “Before Age 6” video with Kerri Forney.
4. CORE Teacher Training: Registration is now open for fall cohorts of our 8-week intensive on Charlotte Mason's Methods, Conversations on Relational Education (CORE). Classes begin September 5.
5. Blue Open Door. Join CMI Founder Dr. Carroll Smith for “The Nature of the Learner,” a 6-week online course starting September 5! A deep dive into Charlotte Mason’s philosophy in light of current research and educational theory will show the continuing relevance of Mason’s ideas.
6. Office Hours: Join Erin Day on August 30 as she talks about bookbinding (Handicraft) and John Singer Sargent (Picture Study). *Please note the time for this week: 2:00 pm (EDT).
7. Giveaway: We are giving away one set of digital science lesson plans and lab kit (Grades 4-8) from Home Science Tools on Instagram. Tell your friends and enter!
Queries
1. Where can I find the alternatives for out-of-print books or the reading schedule for Kindle books?
Here is a quick overview of out-of-print books and alternatives. You can also find these on the errata page (under Step 3 of your Dashboard). We have added notes under the relevant books in the Program, as well.
