tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15843479.post485655051597502763..comments2023-09-11T01:59:23.810-07:00Comments on Sierra Highlands: Children are Born PersonsWillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374272000644968446noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15843479.post-39514983363096771022008-11-05T08:53:00.000-08:002008-11-05T08:53:00.000-08:00Willa and Stephanie-I think I would benefit from s...Willa and Stephanie-<BR/><BR/>I think I would benefit from some type of support group for this! I find encouragement on certain blogs and forums, but I also find myself falling into the trap from time to time.<BR/><BR/>I guess it's all about HOW I approach my research into methods and ideas. So many resources for HSing are written from a how-to perspective. But I am better off when I do not approach my research into methodologies and pedagogy as a means of finding a "how-to." <BR/><BR/>Thanks for discussing this!<BR/><BR/>(Did I make a blogging mistake by addressing this to you both on Willa's blog?)<BR/><BR/>Tracey (Connections)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15843479.post-82855541353226211622008-11-04T18:23:00.000-08:002008-11-04T18:23:00.000-08:00What I think we have the hardest time escaping is ...What I think we have the hardest time escaping is the idea that "education" is mechanics. It isn't. It's an organic process, and not entirely dependent on known factors. The organic growing person is himself a player, for one thing - just imagine what it would be like to garden if the veg could CHOOSE! <BR/><BR/>Pedagogy is the most fascinating thing in the world to me. It's my lifelong study to watch how people learn and change and how they assimilate information and what they do with it when they get it. It's not that I think "method" is useless and mechanical ... it's that we have to take an organic, growing, living process into account whenever we find "methods."<BR/><BR/>And it's simply shocking what "methods" a mom/teacher can find or discard if she will "look to the child," as Maria Montessori said to do, you know? Like you said, Tracey ... love teaches us how to teach. It really does.Stephaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04163649031423865626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15843479.post-16679249621089918862008-11-04T17:51:00.000-08:002008-11-04T17:51:00.000-08:00Tracey, I fall into that trap too, definitely. I ...Tracey, I fall into that trap too, definitely. <BR/><BR/>I like theory and I get some good ideas from researching and exploring, but I've found I have to make them work for ME and for my kids. I can't just grab some method and try to use it as a solution for everything. I think that's probably what Highet and others have said about teaching being an Art rather than a Science. That is, it's about trying to make things work (and learning from the inevitable mistakes) rather than following some set of rules in a rigid way.Willahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17374272000644968446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15843479.post-24397654205889817042008-11-04T15:36:00.000-08:002008-11-04T15:36:00.000-08:00Willa-I have been thinking about this, too (but in...Willa-<BR/>I have been thinking about this, too (but in more simple terms). I sometimes feel that too much theory actually results in less effective "teaching" (by me) and almost certainly in less learning (by my boys). I liken it to when I first became a mother. I read and read the parenting books but only after I set them aside and tuned into my child did I really start to understand my child's needs. The background was helpful but then I needed to move on from that to focus on the child I had in front of me- not the theory about what that child should be and do. <BR/><BR/>I find the same thing now, with HSing. I am at my best and my boys are happy and learning the most when I focus on them and what their needs and desires are. <BR/><BR/>Following theory may be easier, but it does NOT yield the best results and it often interferes with my relationship with my boys- it is hard to demonstrate love when I am following the ideas someone else developed after studying other children. Knowing and Loving MY students is a key to their education. Yet, it is easy (for me) to fall into the trap of wanting to simply implement theory. I sometimes need to remind myself that the rewards involved in knowing and loving are indeed worth the effort.<BR/><BR/>Tracey (Connections)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15843479.post-50237596780947025162008-11-03T20:42:00.000-08:002008-11-03T20:42:00.000-08:00I agree, Stephanie. I was just rereading Highet's...I agree, Stephanie. I was just rereading Highet's book recently, and thought he had several things in common with CM. <BR/><BR/>In that way, I can see that pedagogy CAN be a temptation to avoid love and knowledge. That's how it sometimes works out with me.... easier than the attention and commitment required to REALLY teach.Willahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17374272000644968446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15843479.post-19699996277412257352008-11-03T08:42:00.000-08:002008-11-03T08:42:00.000-08:00http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_HighetWilla -...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Highet<BR/><BR/>Willa - that guy - Gilbert Highet - he wrote a book called The Art of Teaching. I remember very little of it generally, but there is a basic principle that seems to me to fit hand in glove with Charlotte Mason's assertion about children.<BR/><BR/>If a child is born a person - not a vessel, not a blank slate, not malleable clay, but a whole human person who will grow and change organically as human persons do - then, (from Highet)<BR/><BR/>It makes sense that there are really only four things necessary to education happening by means of a teacher. The teacher must:<BR/><BR/>Know his subject.<BR/>Love his subject.<BR/>Know his student.<BR/>Love his student.<BR/><BR/>I mean, think about it. How many ethnic dishes have been passed from generation to generation, from a grandmother not at all a professional "educator," but who knew and loved to make that recipe, to a grandchild also known and loved. After those four basic requirements, all the pedagogy in the world is just gravy.<BR/><BR/>Don'tcha think?Stephaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04163649031423865626noreply@blogger.com