The Found Tools of Learning

We should never have lost them.  They were sitting right in front of us all this time.  That's how I look at Mason's method of education.  She based her philosophy on natural law and unswerving faith. It's how children learn and is proven in study after study.   This past weekend at Ferrum College in the Blue Ridge Mountains the CMI conference was held.  We heard about  many aspects of her relational philosophy and how it's true to how we learn and know.  I wish you were there.

The all-day immersion class that I facilitated went very well.  It was a nice mix of those new to the philsophy and a handful of helpful veterans.  I wanted those attending to see how challenging narration can be (we used 4+ types of narration), yet how full of ideas and nourishment a CM day is.  The afternoon debriefing went over time by an hour or so which was an indicator of how excited and interested everyone was to understand and apply Mason's philosophy in their homeschools.

-Afternoon discussion after the immersion group

Next for me was my "The Well-balanced Mind - The Imagination Factor" talk. It is always a delight to have attendees reflect on the role and importance of the imagination in everything from their play to their schools to even their faith.  Mason calls it "My Lord Chief Explorer" for good reason.  It has been neglected in education.

What to do when your student enters high school!

My "High Schoolers as Persons - Equipped For Life" was interesting.  There were over 50 attending this breakout session and I hope I challenged everyone to think beyond the incessant testing and utilitarian approaches.  I finished that speech with Ruskin's excellent take on education:

“The entire object of true education is to make people not merely do the right things, but enjoy the right things: -

not merely industrious, but to love industry-

not merely learned, but to love knowledge-

not merely pure, but to love purity-

not merely just, but to hunger and thirst after justice.”

-John Ruskin

Despite all this talking and sharing, I found my own soul noursished and refreshed. Bonnie Buckingham challenged me to be generative and I look forward to challenging my students with The 500 Year Question. Cheri Struble encouraged moms to treat themselves as persons.   Dr. Jen Spencer's Theory of Personal Integration is going to rock the Mason community.  Art Middlekauff's exposition has now equipped me to use The Saviour of the World in my homeschool and is, I think, indispensable for a Mason education.  It's not this unweildy chunk of medicocre poetry that I was led to believe.  The importance of story was explained and demonstrated by Dr. Carroll Smith.  Dr. Joan Almon called Mason "the best kept secret in education"!


Most important was seeing old friends and making new ones - too many to mention here!  Gladys Schaeffer brought her collection of books that Mason had on her bookshelf.  Try mining through those at 11:00 at night when everyone is a little punchy.

There was more, but that's all I will share for now.  I'm off to Vermont for a few weeks.  My baby is getting married!  Can you believe it?  I can't.  So, my thoughts are turning to this for now.  Any suggestions for what can't be missed in Vermont?  Right before the wedding, we are staying with Richele!  Ahh..the richness of life.  And guess what else?  Marilyn is coming to the wedding.

From joy to joy,
Nancy