I read a LOT of books. I usually have several going at a time. Since we are getting back into the rhythm of our lessons and books next week, I have been letting my soul be inspired by reading Leah Boden’s book, The Modern Miss Mason.
Leah Boden is an inspiring author, and most certainly a kindred spirit to me. I found myself underlining, line after line in her book.
Charlotte Mason can be a daunting educational method for a lot of home-schooling mothers. I think a lot of home-teachers would agree with Charlotte Mason on many accounts, but the six volume set is a plateful of educational methods and philosophies.
I do believe a mother, whether she home-schools or not, should be educating herself on how to best inspire her children to learn, cultivate good habits, and create a home-environment that cultivates godliness and good discipline. Charlotte Mason’s books are extremally pertinent for any parent in my opinion. But it is understandable that time is a huge deterrent for many a mother with good intentions. The other deterrent from reading Miss Mason’s books is simply that they are written in small print with an older style of writing than we use today. Some of the terms or methods are simply not applicable for our time. The last reason I have found is that women often have difficulty understanding the language of the books written by Charlotte Mason. It can be overwhelming and is not light reading at all.
What Leah Boden has done, is a great service to all who are interested in living education. I love that Leah Boden, takes all of Miss Mason’s educational philosophies and methods, and breaks them down simply. Leah shows the reader what the Charlotte Mason Method looks like in a typical home-schooling household.
One of my take-away quotes from Leah Boden’s book is in her chapter on Living Books, p. 92 when Leah writes that: “Charlotte often stressed that these texts have one dedicated writer, as opposed to a group of editors assembling facts alongside appealing photography.” I love that statement because it summarizes the flaw of textbooks with inferring that textbooks are dead books. Textbooks do not have inspired, passionate authors. Textbooks have limits, borders, and fit into the box of what a child ought to know, instead of laying out a feast of beautiful worded stories of information for a child to taste everything the author lays out.
That is just one example of the many that Leah discusses in her book about the Charlotte Mason Method. In one book, a mother can get the general idea of what Charlotte Mason is about.
The book also is a wonderful source of inspiration for the steadfast believers in the Charlotte Mason Method. Now, I don’t believe it is a book that takes the place of the six volume set, but it certainly is a great start for a general overview, or a quick pep talk as to why someone like me is doing what she is doing.