Ambleside Schools International

Thinking with Charlotte Mason: Honoring the Sacred Mystery Whenever a teacher sees a child primarily in terms of a few, relatively narrow performance metrics (i.e., test scores) or specific personality traits (i.e., extrovert), she loses sight of the Imago Dei, the divine image. Charlotte Mason believed that poets, such as William Wordsworth and Thomas Traherne, could help us see beyond our limited perceptions: "Wordsworth had glimmerings of the truth: poets mean not less, but a great deal more than they say; and when the poet says [speaking of a child], “Thou best philosopher,” “Thou eye among the blind,” “haunted forever by the eternal mind,” “Prophet, Seer blest,” and so on — phrases that we all know by heart, but how many of us realize? — we may rest assured that he is not using poetical verbiage, but is making what was in his eyes a vain endeavor to express the immensity of a person, and the greater immensity of the little child." Consider Thomas Traherne’s meditation upon his experience as a child: "How like an angel I came down! How bright are all things here! When first among His works I did appear, Oh how their Glory me did crown! The world resembled His Eternity In which my soul did walk; And everything that I did see Did with me talk. The skies in their magnificence, The lively, lovely air; Oh how divine, how soft, how sweet, how fair! The stars did entertain my sense, And all the works of God, so bright and pure, So rich and great did seem, As if they ever must endure In my esteem. The streets were paved with golden stones, The boys and girls were mine, Oh how did all their lovely faces shine! The sons of men were holy ones, In joy and beauty they appeared to me, And everything which here I found, Which like an angel I did see, Adorned the ground." - Charlotte Mason, "Children as Persons," 222-223

Register for a Three-Day Internship! Attending participants receive a life-changing introduction to an Ambleside Education. Since 2000, Ambleside’s Three-Day Internship has provided educators and parents from the U.S. and around the world with practical insights into Charlotte Mason's educational philosophy. Participants engage in 16 hours of seminars on Mason’s principles, such as treating children as persons, fostering natural and relational learning environments, and using narration for knowledge assimilation. They also observe Ambleside teachers in action, gaining a deeper understanding of how to create an inspirational, habit-forming education that nurtures students' minds and character. The internship equips participants to apply Mason’s methods in schools, homes, and beyond. Register for an event and please share with anyone who may be interested. Upcoming Training Events • October 14 - 16, RiverTree School - Crystal, MN • October 28 - 30, Ambleside School - McLean, VA • January 27 - 29, Ambleside School of Ocala - Ocala, FL Register here: https://lnkd.in/gyHQkFVR. #AmblesideSchools #CharlotteMason #AmblesideEducation

The Week That Changed My Life I recall Dr. Bill St Cyr asking me at the opening dinner, “What brought you to Charlotte Mason?” At the time, I had no clear answer. I had just experienced a challenging first year of teaching, which had even driven me to consider changing occupations. I was generally frustrated with the state of education. My answer to his question? I told him it was a “chance occurrence.” Now, I firmly believe that God was guiding me to not only a different way of teaching but also to an entirely transformed way of living and being. Read the full blog: https://lnkd.in/eQZajRPf. #AmblesideSchools #CharlotteMason #AmblesideEducation

Thinking with Charlotte Mason: Dishonoring the Sacred Mystery The problem is not in the identification of behavioral and/or cognitive weaknesses. Identifying weakness is an essential part of facilitating growth. The problem is the labeling, defining, and limiting. "We attempt to define a person, the most commonplace person we know, but he will not submit to bounds; some unexpected beauty of nature breaks out; we find he is not what we thought and begin to suspect that every person exceeds our power of measurement." (Essex Cholmondeley, The Story of Charlotte Mason) Modern science (and with it the modern world) has been built on measurement. We measure and problem-solve to manage outcomes. By doing so, we’ve split atoms, sent the Voyager spacecraft ten billion miles from earth, mapped the human genome, and created the internet. Given the success of science, it is not surprising that the modern educator seeks to utilize the same methods when working with students. But dare we treat a student as an object to be measured and labeled, a problem to be solved, a computer to be programmed, or a product to be managed? In tens of thousands of classrooms every day, well-meaning teachers underestimate and devalue the spiritual and intellectual capacities of children. Teachers label — ADHD, dyslexic, math child, music child, first born, middle child, extrovert, shy, etc. They define students and limit expectations accordingly. The problem is not in the identification of behavioral and/or cognitive weaknesses. Identifying weakness is an essential part of facilitating growth. The problem is the labeling, defining, and limiting. As a result of teacher labels, definitions, and perceived limitations, they make accommodations and endeavor to help their students get by, but rarely do they help them to grow. Too frequently, the sacred mystery of a child is dishonored. Photo credit: Am@[bleside School of Colorado ](urn:li:organization:70846179) #AmblesideSchools #CharlotteMason #AmblesideEducation

Sharing in the joy of an Ambleside education in Calcutta! Join us as Kaleb takes us through their remarkable journey, the impact they’re making in India, and their ongoing commitment to the Ambleside community. This conversation offers a heartfelt look into their service, the incredible work they’re doing, and how, as he describes it, “Ambleside has transformed our own lives and our marriage, influencing the way we relate to others and spend our time.” Read the interview here: https://lnkd.in/eSv_RrSM. #AmblesideSchools #CharlotteMason #AmblesideEducation

What A School Is Required To Be In a world where education often feels like a competition, the Ambleside Method offers a refreshing perspective: a school should be a sanctuary of belonging, joy, and disciplined harmony, where students learn not for rewards, but for the sheer delight of discovery and shared growth. “A proper setting for the beauty of a child’s life is what a school is required to be.” Marion Berry begins with the ideal, establishing a proper school setting consisting of: • A place of belonging — Young children recognize sociability as the first gift they have to give. With smiling faces towards friends, they offer companionship to one another. They see themselves as belonging to an “us”. • The joy of combined effort — Children naturally break off into teams to play tag in the playground’s woods or to gain knowledge of math, history, poetry and literature, delighting with classmates and teacher. Read the full blog: https://lnkd.in/eTiMhRzT. * Image courtesy of Ambleside School of Boerne #AmblesideSchools #CharlotteMason #AmblesideEducation

Parents and educators often put a child on the path of a single interest (sports, music, or science, for example), based on the child’s environment or on cultural trends. But a true education lets children encounter—and develop vital relationships with—people, ideas, and things. Study, conventional wisdom says, is career preparation or cultivation of natural ability. Delight, conventional wisdom says, is found in passive entertainment—not relationships with our vast world. But “fullness of living and serviceableness depend for each of us upon how far we apprehend these relationships and how many we lay hold of.” At Ambleside, children build vital relationships when they: ● Participate in a full, varied curriculum. ● Identify and explore areas of personal interest. ● Complete chores and care for school property. ● Relate to students in different grades. ● Build relationships with the elderly and other adults. ● Spend time with nature. ● Play! #AmblesideSchools #CharlotteMason #AmblesideEducation Photo credit: Ambleside School of Boerne

The Formation of Character is the Ultimate Object of Education "For who remembers the scraps of knowledge he labored over as a child? And would not the application of a few hours in later life effect more than a year's drudgery at any one subject in childhood? If education is to secure the step-by-step progress of the individual and the race, it must mean something over and above the daily plodding at small tasks which goes by the name." - CM, Home Education If education is something more than laboring over scraps of knowledge, what is it? Part of the answer lies in Charlotte Mason’s statement that “the formation of character is the ultimate object of education.” It is Charlotte Mason and Ambleside’s contention that every child who comes to school comes with a unique human nature, a disposition that is somewhat virtuous, somewhat vicious; somewhat mature, somewhat immature. And it is our responsibility to ensure that children not be left to their nature. Sadly, very few Christian schools have a definite plan for the transformation of disposition into character. In other words, very few have a plan for the formation of body, heart, and mind suggested by the word “discipleship.” Most are content to provide a little Bible knowledge, perhaps pray, “manage behavior,” and hope for the best. At Ambleside, we do not manage behavior. We disciple. #AmblesideSchools #CharlotteMason #AmblesideEducation

Thinking with Charlotte Mason: A Mediator of Peaceful Authority It is quite common among those who grew up without a proper model of authority to feel powerless when there is a need to be in authority. The good news is that the proper exercise of authority can be learned. But first, the true nature of authority must be understood. Consider the following passage from Charlotte Mason’s School Education: Autocracy is defined as independent or self-derived power. Authority, on the other hand, may qualify as not being self-derived and not independent. The centurion in the Gospels says: "I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, 'Go,' and he goeth; another, 'Come,' and he cometh; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he doeth it." Here we have the powers and the limitations of authority. The centurion is set under authority, or, as we say, authorized, and, for that reason, he is able to say to one, 'go,' to another, 'come,' and to a third, 'do this,' in the calm certainty that all will be done as he says, because he holds his position for this very purpose — to secure that such and such things shall be accomplished. He himself is a servant with definite tasks, though they are tasks of authority. This, too, is the position that our Lord assumes; He says: "I came not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me." That is His commission and the standing order of His life, and for this reason He spake as one having authority, knowing Himself to be commissioned and supported. (Charlotte Mason, School Education) As Jesus’s dialogue with the centurion makes clear, all human authority is mediated authority. Its source is not the self. Thus, for a teacher, authority is a delegated responsibility. It is never a matter of the teacher’s will, but always a matter of the King’s good purposes, purposes which must not be denied. #AmblesideSchools #CharlotteMason #AmblesideEducation

Ambleside’s Three-Day Internship consists of seminars exploring the fundamentals of Charlotte Mason’s philosophy and the observation/discussion of its application in the Ambleside classroom. Attending participants receive a life-changing introduction to an Ambleside Education. Join us this Fall: October 14 - 16 at RiverTree School in Crystal, MN October 28 - 30 at Ambleside School in McLean, VA Reserve your spot here: https://lnkd.in/gyHQkFVR #AmblesideSchools #CharlotteMason #AmblesideTraining