Inspiration for the seasoned homeschooler

[Doodlebug]

I've begun this post so many times. 

I've deleted each attempt because the thing that drives me to post is dissatisfaction.  There's no nice way to say: More than 1/2 of the articles I read about classical education are 1) rooted in youthful moralistic idealism (and navel gazing) rather than seasoned wisdom, or 2) are thinly veiled attempts to market curriculum.    

I'm in my ninth year of homeschooling and I still need the reminders... to teach the child in front of me.  SWB does that for me.  Cindy Rollins does that for me.  

What do you read for inspiration?  Who do you listen to?  I've got to move into new territory, otherwise I'm destined to become a curmudgeon!  

Thanks!

Edited October 20, 2018 by Doodlebug

[....]

The closest thing I've found lately is podcasts.  I have listened to some of Pam Barnhill's. Even though they're not classical homeschoolers, I love Sue Elvis and Stories of an Unschooling Family, but her kids are in college now and I think she's stopped blogging - however, that lady is just really encouraging with homeschooling in general.  I've also listened to several podcasts from A Delectable Education - that site is more Charlotte Mason.  

All of the homeschooling blogs now are awful.  They're very commercial, they all look the same (manufactured) and the articles have no substance.  I've been very frustrated to the point where I've stopped reading anything about homeschooling online.  I just put on my horse blinders and do what we want.  If I find a personal, non-commercialized homeschooling blog, I'm usually excited to read those - especially if everything doesn't look perfect on their blog and they are honest when they write. 

[HomeAgain]

I'm like Evanthe.  My new thing is podcasts.  Pam Barnhill, Bravewriter...I just sometimes need to hear different perspectives and mull them over.

[Doodlebug]

13 hours ago, texasmom33 said:

In addition to your list, I really like Karen Glass. She's super practical and straightforward and I've enjoyed her two books I've read so far or any talks I've heard her give with Cindy or others. She isn't flowery at all which I appreciate. 

Oh and I puffy heart love Angelina Stanford. She gave an interview on the Your Morning Basket podcast talking about fairy tales and that is in my epic list of podcasts. Here's a link: 

https://pambarnhill.com/ymb41/

She was supposed to have a book come out over the summer, but guessing it was delayed. 

 

I love Angelina Stanford!!!  I miss Angelina Stanford!!!  I'll check out that podcast!  Thank you!

Karen Glass... I read Consider This over the summer.  That book expressed so many ideas I've come to know through the experience of teaching.  Hearing those ideas so thoughtfully connected and articulated was affirming.  If you have a recommendation for what I might read next, let me know.  

 

13 hours ago, --- said:

The Art of Teaching by Gilbert Highet.

The book I found was one of the original ones, copyright 1950, a ragged little paperback. 

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=highet+gilbert&cm_sp=sort-_-SRP-_-Results&sortby=19&tn=art+teaching

I found it fascinating and recognized quite a lot of what I'd discovered naturally as I'd gone through our hs'ing journey.  Be warned though, there are a few outdated parts here and there.  I'm able to ignore stuff like that providing the bulk of the book is useful, so that's what I did because it was so fascinating.  Even the outdated stuff was interesting to me because it was actually how some teachers thought of their students.  

I seemed to have to search elsewhere for my inspiration back when I was hs'ing because I just really needed the no-fluff stuff.

Another source of inspiration for me was hermeneutics.  I discovered these books when we began digging into our Bibles.  The approach is similar to WTM's approach to the GB's.  And it was so exciting to be able to connect our Bible study to all the rest of our academic studies.

 

 

Thank you for sharing this.  This year marks a shift in me with regard to homeschooling... I've read/ experienced enough versions of schooling to know where my version lands.  But leading with my own wisdom is a new way to walk... so it's like starting again in some ways.  So, I love that experience of reading an older/trusted resource and realizing I knew it already! 

And yes to the no fluff stuff.  Or that which asks philosophy and logic to do too much.  Both set my teeth on edge, but that's my problem... Time to find new resources.           

3 hours ago, Evanthe said:

The closest thing I've found lately is podcasts.  I have listened to some of Pam Barnhill's. Even though they're not classical homeschoolers, I love Sue Elvis and Stories of an Unschooling Family, but her kids are in college now and I think she's stopped blogging - however, that lady is just really encouraging with homeschooling in general.  I've also listened to several podcasts from A Delectable Education - that site is more Charlotte Mason.  

All of the homeschooling blogs now are awful.  They're very commercial, they all look the same (manufactured) and the articles have no substance.  I've been very frustrated to the point where I've stopped reading anything about homeschooling online.  I just put on my horse blinders and do what we want.  If I find a personal, non-commercialized homeschooling blog, I'm usually excited to read those - especially if everything doesn't look perfect on their blog and they are honest when they write. 

 

Thanks!  Yes, I find podcasts to be a more reliable resource than online articles/blogs... I just don't have a ton of car time (or exercise time of late) to listen.  This is probably why I'm so frustrated lately.      

2 hours ago, HomeAgain said:

I'm like Evanthe.  My new thing is podcasts.  Pam Barnhill, Bravewriter...I just sometimes need to hear different perspectives and mull them over.

 

OK... I need to get back into my walking routine... that's where I'm able to listen.  Thanks so much for the recommendation!  ? 

 

[Doodlebug]

5 minutes ago, texasmom33 said:

@Doodlebug

Her early stuff is great. She doesn't blog as often anymore, but I think she's the last homeschooling blog where I can read without feeling like I'm about to have a sales pitch pop out. I feel like the others are always inundating me with emails for housekeeping classes, homeschool bootcamps, pantry organization, homeschool how-to camps, or worse. They feel scammy.  I get that they're trying to bring in income while staying home, but after a point, just NO......I wish "unsubscribe" buttons were actually effective. 

 

Thanks so much... seriously... I'm stockpiling all these resources and will hit them as time allows.  It gives me a route around the brick wall I've been hitting. 

The homeschool world is growing in so many directions.  "Homeschool" hasn't been a narrow research term for some time now.  But, even "classical homeschooling" is too broad.  The private classical school and its hybrid seem to have many thoughtful people writing about education.  However, the tone is more dogmatic, which sort of makes sense if you're selling a school.  Strong rhetoric appeals.  For me, it just comes off as condescending.  But I think that's because I'm not the target audience... which is hard to figure out when the classical hybrid operates under the homeschool umbrella.  Sigh... It has taken me some time to recognize that the landscape has changed, along with me!        

4 minutes ago, texasmom33 said:

Oh, and IEW has the Art of Language podcast. It's pretty good if you like Andrew Pudewa, and they started having guests in the newer episodes. 

 

Good ole Andrew Pudewa!  I haven't listened to him in quite a while, but enjoyed him when I did!  He's funny, engaging, and he draws from experience, which seems to be the common thread in the material I find helpful.    

[wintermom]

What do you mean or need in the way of "inspiration?" Is it subject specific, age/development of the student specific, general approach or philosophy of homeschooling, something else or everything? Do you want evaluations of how homeschooled students "turn out" or how parents who homeschooled their dc "turn out?" 

There are lots of different sources of information available, but not necessarily all from the same source or the same method of disseminating the information. I tend to talk to homeschool parents (primarily mothers) who have children a little older than mine, and who are doing things similarly to me. These are my first go-to source of info. Then I'll might go to any educational source, not necessarily homeschool specific, who has an approach that's relevant to me. It could be an organization or college/university that's very specific to the subject area I'm interested in learning more about. 

I'm more wary about plugging into an unknown source for information or inspiration, as it can waste too much valuable time and energy to figure out if it's not a good fit. Or worse, it might do more harm than good. 

But don't rely too much on my judgement (or other's) - you have to try stuff out on your own to find out if it's right for you or not.

[PeterPan]

 

On October 19, 2018 at 7:50 PM, Doodlebug said:

I still need the reminders... to teach the child in front of me. 

Oh sigh, the thing that drives that for me is realizing I have no alternative. Have you been honest with yourself about what happens if you DON'T?

On October 19, 2018 at 7:50 PM, Doodlebug said:

the thing that drives me to post is dissatisfaction.

Are you dissatisfied with the articles or yourself?

On October 19, 2018 at 7:50 PM, Doodlebug said:

What do you read for inspiration?  Who do you listen to?  I've got to move into new territory, otherwise I'm destined to become a curmudgeon!

So you're wanting some re-energizing? Honestly? I go read totally rogue stuff like about Guided Reading and Mathematical Mindsets and all this new wave stuff. I see within there the stuff that I was already doing well YEARS before the fads ever came along, and I see the distractions that their novice tangents are. 

I agree with you on a lot being more about marketing emotion than about what results it would give. Sometimes it's even about how convenient your life would be, sigh.

I see your dc is 12. There was a point around then where my dd was beginning to become more independent, not only with the lists I made but with the way she drove her own education. It took time but maybe less mental time in a way, because I wasn't having to research as much. At that point, I took up hobbies, and having my own self-driven hobbies and things I was learning connected me to how others are learning things these days. That then made me comfortable helping dd explore alternative ways to learn.

So maybe just go learn something? Like go take up a hobby or something totally for yourself and see what happens? Like I said, realizing how self-education has changed was a byproduct of that for me.

[Ausmumof3]

Read aloud revival, schole sisters, your morning basket, the mason jar and simplified organisation podcasts.  Sometimes they are selling stuff but they are always giving value and advice and encouragement as well it doesn’t feel like purely sales pitch.  And I’m way more likely to buy their books because I know the stuff will be useful.  Also sometimes “at  home with sally” but definitely not every day, I can’t handle too much of it.

I think the homeschool market is pretty crowded with people trying to make a few dollars quickly.  Fewer and further are those with really good quality material written by people who were super passionate about their topics.

[....]

9 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I think the homeschool market is pretty crowded with people trying to make a few dollars quickly.  Fewer and further are those with really good quality material written by people who were super passionate about their topics.

 

I agree!!

[Doodlebug]

Thanks for the responses, everyone...

Yes, just looking for inspiration!  I'm not burnt out or needing to remember why I do this.  That's settled for me.  ? 

I enjoy reading and listening to nuggets of wisdom from various sources--different perspectives energize me.  I've been focused on reading online because it's the most easily consumed media when I'm grabbing the odd 15 minutes here and there.   

The dissatisfaction comes when I've invested time into a resource from what used to be my go-to place, only to be left with a "yuck."  Some of that is due to a personal circumstance in the classical homeschooling world which left me with a very bad taste for a certain type of message.  Anything remotely similar in tone or message results in me jumping down an emotionally triggered rabbit hole.  So I need to jump off of that train, and look somewhere else for a while until that experience is old history and my filter is more reliable.  ? 

I really do appreciate all the resources... it gives me many places to explore and reminds me it's too big of a world with great ideas to spend time wound up.           

[birchbark]

I could have written many of the posts on this thread! You're not alone, Doodlebug. So many of my favorite blogs, posters here at WTM, conference speakers. . . gone, or changed. The "leaders" now are so young, or their children are young. I need me some meat and yes I do love Rollins and Landry.

[Doodlebug]

2 hours ago, texasmom33 said:

I don't know if you like reading old threads here, but I found this one today (now that Google search for the forums here works again- yay!!!) that @birchbark started several years ago following up from the famous Circe thread. It reminded me of your thread so I thought I'd post it in case you or anyone else is interested. 

 

 

 

You ROCK!!!!!

I REMEMBER the great Circe thread!!!  But when I read it, my son was only 6!!!  I remember that as a magical time of no fear or self doubt as a teacher.  He loved to read, and I loved to read to him...  So much in that thread affirmed what I was doing.  I had no idea back then that my courage would wane in the upper elementary years... and that fear of a perceived lack of control would lead me so far afield.  

I'm scrolling through both the follow-up thread, and the original... talk about a treasure of resources for the seasoned homeschooler!  I just spent an hour in that thread!  Agh!

[8filltheheart]

The Circe thread was 6 yrs ago? Wow. My favorite outcome from that thread was not actually part of it.  It was an off the WTM forums discussion where we created an analogy about the Shire and Rivendell and homeschooling younger and older children.

Has anyone ever visited the Lancaster area of PA? We went there this summer and much of the scenery reminded me of that discussion. At its core, the discussion was that the beauty that is witnessed comes from hard work and pride in craftsmanship. The aura of peace that emanates outward is in essence the tranquility you sense from that order and its resultant natural beauty. It seems to come from simplicity, but it is really celebrating joyfully in the journey.

How that translates into homeschooling is that being well-prepared and immersed in what you doing in the moment of the day is what brings peace and beauty into our children's lives. It isn't bc the plan or work is laid out for you by prefab lesson plans that you just open and look at before the lesson giving you simplicity. That is the opposite of why the serenity pervades outward. The serenity exists bc that peace comes from being fully engaged before that day's teaching put before you and you control the learning environment and its outcome. The joy is in the process of productive hard work that you share with your children. 

Chaos comes from lack of preparedness and planning. Peace and serenity are the fruits of hard-work and the shared satisfaction that something important has been accomplished.

Not sure that is the inspiration you are looking for, but whenever our homeschool feels off, I don't have to look very far for the reason. Usually I am the one who needs reorientation. I need to create our homeschool's serenity. I need to up "my behind the scenes efforts" so that our actual work is productive, not attempting to "farm" with lame horses or rusty, broken tools.

Edited November 5, 2018 by 8FillTheHeart
Clarity and typos

[Mbelle]

On 10/19/2018 at 7:50 PM, Doodlebug said:

I've begun this post so many times. 

I've deleted each attempt because the thing that drives me to post is dissatisfaction.  There's no nice way to say: More than 1/2 of the articles I read about classical education are 1) rooted in youthful moralistic idealism (and navel gazing) rather than seasoned wisdom, or 2) are thinly veiled attempts to market curriculum.    

I'm in my ninth year of homeschooling and I still need the reminders... to teach the child in front of me.  SWB does that for me.  Cindy Rollins does that for me.  

What do you read for inspiration?  Who do you listen to?  I've got to move into new territory, otherwise I'm destined to become a curmudgeon!  

Thanks!

 

I have had trouble reading blogs online about homeschoolign lately.  I feel hesitant when an author says they are a veteran homeschooler and then states their oldest is in 3rd grade.  I sort of wonder if I'm archaic.  I have been doing this 11 years and would still hesitate to say I'm a veteran.

I have been thinking a lot about what has worked for my older two.  One in college and one in 11th.  I have a 1st grader and I see 11 more years LOOMING in front of me! LOL  I love this little guy.  

What was fun and seemed to have the most impact was reading aloud and having a big book list for them to read through. I do appreciate a Sonlight type list of books.  A couple of well taught online writing classes were very important. Some memory work in the younger years.  Attending good outsourced classes at least for 11-12th grade for most classes worked well.  Latin worked very well for one of my students.  The older 2 have done very well on Standardized test if that is relevant.  

I guess I'm getting my own motivation by looking back, but I am going to mark some of the podcast mentioned for my walks.

I did see Angelina at a conference and heard her speak about fairytales and it was very good.  Cindy was there too!  Very good day!

The Circe thread was good.

Totally agreeing about SWB!!!  My favorite!

[Doodlebug]

I have no idea what I did, but I typed out a response and have somehow managed to double post it and delete it!  HA!  

8, I really appreciate your analogy.  Peace as a fruit of the work we do in preparing.  

I'm prepared and school is going really well!  But peace isn't exactly where I find myself just yet.  ? We dabbled for two years with a classical hybrid school and came back to homeschooling full time this year.  So, one mental hurdle I'm trying to clear is that I'm homeschooling my middle schooler at a time when most of my friends are going the opposite direction.  Another mental/emotional hurdle is challenging the messages I encountered at the school -- mostly concerning the pitfalls of mom-centered education. 

So, I've taken the leap, knowing it's the right thing for us... But I did it because I knew I had to and I definitely do not have my sea legs just yet!  Inspiring content, like yours, helps me tremendously.  Just the fact that I can read your posts, and those of other veteran homeschoolers, helps me believe I can do this.  That it is a reality that others live, and that it can be mine, too!    

Edited November 5, 2018 by Doodlebug

[Doodlebug]

Double post!

Edited November 5, 2018 by Doodlebug

[8filltheheart]

7 hours ago, Doodlebug said:

I have no idea what I did, but I typed out a response and have somehow managed to double post it and delete it!  HA!  

8, I really appreciate your analogy.  Peace as a fruit of the work we do in preparing.  

I'm prepared and school is going really well!  But peace isn't exactly where I find myself just yet.  ? We dabbled for two years with a classical hybrid school and came back to homeschooling full time this year.  So, one mental hurdle I'm trying to clear is that I'm homeschooling my middle schooler at a time when most of my friends are going the opposite direction.  Another mental/emotional hurdle is challenging the messages I encountered at the school -- mostly concerning the pitfalls of mom-centered education. 

So, I've taken the leap, knowing it's the right thing for us... But I did it because I knew I had to and I definitely do not have my sea legs just yet!  Inspiring content, like yours, helps me tremendously.  Just the fact that I can read your posts, and those of other veteran homeschoolers, helps me believe I can do this.  That it is a reality that others live, and that it can be mine, too!    

Sometimes you just have to be Sam and Frodo. You have to just trust that even though you can't see the bigger picture, only the steps right in front of you, that you are in the right path. It can be daunting bc everything around you is telling you that you can't possibly be following the right path and there is no way you can do it. Yet, you can if you are determined to provide your child what they need.

The Rivendell part of the analogy is what keeps me homeschooling yr after yr.  The Shire nurtures curiosity and wonder.  Learning is joyful bc they are inspired to explore ideas cultivated with care. Rivendell is where they are nurtured toward wisdom and truth.  I don't see high school as just a list of content subjects to be mastered to provide them what they need to succeed in the future. At the core, my goals are different. Knowledge for knowledge's sake for career and citizenship is the world's goal. My goal is for my children to have the interior mental freedom to pursue the end for which we are created. That is Ignatius's summation of the spiritual life.  Our true strength comes from discernment where knowledge is our tool, not our king. 

 

Edited November 5, 2018 by 8FillTheHeart

[Lucy the Valiant]

54 minutes ago, 8FillTheHeart said:

Sometimes you just have to be Sam and Frodo. You have to just trust that even though you can't see the bigger picture, only the steps right in front of you, that you are in the right path. It can be daunting bc everything around you is telling you that you can't possibly be following the right path and there is no way you can do it. Yet, you can if you are determined to provide your child what they need.

The Rivendell part of the analogy is what keeps me homeschooling yr after yr.  The Shire nurtures curiosity and wonder.  Learning is joyful bc they are inspired to explore ideas cultivated with care. Rivendell is where they are nurtured toward wisdom and truth.  I don't see high school as just a list of content subjects to be mastered to provide them what they need to succeed in the future. At the core, my goals are different. Knowledge for knowledge's sake for career and citizenship is the world's goal. My goal is for my children to have the interior mental freedom to pursue the end for which we are created. That is Ignatius's summation of the spiritual life.  Our true strength comes from discernment where knowledge is our tool, not our king. 

 

Printing this one out. ❤️

Thank you (and I know it was not addressed to me, but  - my heart heard it). Thank you.

[knitgrl]

9 hours ago, Mbelle said:

 

I have had trouble reading blogs online about homeschoolign lately.  I feel hesitant when an author says they are a veteran homeschooler and then states their oldest is in 3rd grade.  I sort of wonder if I'm archaic.  I have been doing this 11 years and would still hesitate to say I'm a veteran.

 

I'm inclined to believe that you are not allowed to call yourself a veteran until you have homeschooled a kid from primary school through high school. Bonus points if you've done it more than once! ?

[Doodlebug]

1 hour ago, 8FillTheHeart said:

Sometimes you just have to be Sam and Frodo. You have to just trust that even though you can't see the bigger picture, only the steps right in front of you, that you are in the right path. It can be daunting bc everything around you is telling you that you can't possibly be following the right path and there is no way you can do it. Yet, you can if you are determined to provide your child what they need.

The Rivendell part of the analogy is what keeps me homeschooling yr after yr.  The Shire nurtures curiosity and wonder.  Learning is joyful bc they are inspired to explore ideas cultivated with care. Rivendell is where they are nurtured toward wisdom and truth.  I don't see high school as just a list of content subjects to be mastered to provide them what they need to succeed in the future. At the core, my goals are different. Knowledge for knowledge's sake for career and citizenship is the world's goal. My goal is for my children to have the interior mental freedom to pursue the end for which we are created. That is Ignatius's summation of the spiritual life.  Our true strength comes from discernment where knowledge is our tool, not our king. 

 

 

Oh this is beautiful.  Do you ever feel starved for the right metaphor?  I think you just fed me something I needed badly, but could not express.

Off to travel Monday’s path... I will be rereading this!!!

[2_girls_mommy]

My oldest is in 11th grade, the next in 9th, and I will have a new Ker next year with years to fill. I will do plenty the same as I did before, but with the wisdom and experience to know where I am going and what the point of things is if that makes sense. I recently attended the same workshop with the same speaker at our convention on preschool years that I had attended twelve years ago while doing preK the first time around. I understood what she meant on certain things and why I had disregarded certain things back then that I regret now because I didn't understand it well at the time. I still had my notes from back then from the same workshop and could see where I focused my attention and so forth. So I anticipate that I will have those moments all the way through this next time. 

For inspiration, I have really enjoyed the Thinking Tree books (funschoolingbooks dot com) and their dyslexia games. I love how I have been able to fit them into our classical homeschool. They aren't for everyone. They are basically notebooking pages, but they have made positive changes for us in some areas with my artistic child for sure. They remind me to lighten up a little. I am also reading Debra Bell's Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling Teens this year. It breaks down some things into nuts and bolts that I appreciate, even if I am almost done hsing one teen, I still have others behind her. I also am reading John Taylor Gatto for the first time. I have heard him quoted all of these years, but am enjoying reading him for myself. So I have a lot of unschooly things that inspire me within our classical homeschool. And it all melds for us. We are relaxed, yet, my dd has done some very accomplished things that we have set out to do along the way which others wouldn't see as relaxed. It is an odd mix. And I find inspiration in the idealistic materials and articles still. I like to bring some peace and calm into the busy teen years. Those articles and books remind me to allow plenty of space for exploration still amidst college placement exams and all of that stuff. 

[8filltheheart]

Posting the Shire/Rivendell analogy made me go and search out that old email loop.  I spent some time re-reading some of the posts.  It really contains some great inspirational nuggets.  It has been pretty much defunct since early 12015, but if anyone wants to join the loop so they can read through the posts there, send me a PM and I will tell you how to join.

[8filltheheart]

Testing to see if this works. Can others click on that and read the thread?

Edited November 6, 2018 by 8FillTheHeart

[Mbelle]

1 hour ago, 8FillTheHeart said:

Testing to see if this works. Can others click on that and read the thread?

Yes, I can click on the link and read the thread.

[SEGway]

1 hour ago, 8FillTheHeart said:

Testing to see if this works. Can others click on that and read the thread?

I was able to do so. Thanks, 8!

[8filltheheart]

Since that social group appears to be accessible, there are great discussions to be found in there.

In looking through some of those threads, I followed some links (many of them are unfortunately dead). That led me to wandering around and reading various things.  This article is a great read IF you are Christian and want inspiration for holding tight to your Christian beliefs as the foundation for your homeschool (and goes back to my personal core educational philosophy of St Ignatius and the Jesuits.) It is equally depressing to read for other reasons. http://www.theimaginativeconservative.org/2018/11/great-books-education-logos-timeless-michael-jordan.html 

Quote

The endless cycle of idea and action, Endless invention, endless experiment, Brings knowledge of motion, but not of stillness; Knowledge of speech, but not of silence; Knowledge of words, and ignorance of the Word. All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance, All our ignorance brings us nearer to death, But nearness to death no nearer to God. Where is the Life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information? (from Eliot's The Rock,1934)

Quote

Some sort of center is required for information to rise to knowledge, and for knowledge to rise to wisdom. Great Books, especially the Bible, for centuries supplied this center, this orientation: a moral compass, a sense of the common good, an understanding of what it means to be human.

 

[Doodlebug]

25 minutes ago, texasmom33 said:

Yes and there goes the Amazon budget, LOL! 

 

Um, my thoughts exactly!  I KNEW I cleaned my bookshelves this summer for a reason!

Amazing resource, THANK YOU!  

[Doodlebug]

6 hours ago, 8FillTheHeart said:

Since that social group appears to be accessible, there are great discussions to be found in there.

In looking through some of those threads, I followed some links (many of them are unfortunately dead). That led me to wandering around and reading various things.  This article is a great read IF you are Christian and want inspiration for holding tight to your Christian beliefs as the foundation for your homeschool (and goes back to my personal core educational philosophy of St Ignatius and the Jesuits.) It is equally depressing to read for other reasons. http://www.theimaginativeconservative.org/2018/11/great-books-education-logos-timeless-michael-jordan.html 

 

Thank you for this.  I have not yet read the link, but will keep it for my freetime this evening... 

I had to respond to this: 

Quote

The endless cycle of idea and action, Endless invention, endless experiment, Brings knowledge of motion, but not of stillness; Knowledge of speech, but not of silence; Knowledge of words, and ignorance of the Word. All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance, All our ignorance brings us nearer to death, But nearness to death no nearer to God. Where is the Life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information? (from Eliot's The Rock,1934)

 

Pretty sure that quote is an Ignatian mic drop.  ?  Is it Ignatian?   

Whatever it is, I affirm it.  That cycle/paradox of taking great joy in the beauty of knowledge, gorging on it, only to find when you step back from the table that you missed the conversation of your real life neighbor... knowledge, ignorance, death, living, wisdom, a lived theology.  I've always heard it contextualized as a pendulum... so thinking of it as a cycle... that's a new life giving thought!

ETA: I see that quote is Elliot!  It was an Elliotonian mic drop.  ?

Edited November 6, 2018 by Doodlebug

[Zoo Keeper]

Awesome thread!  Many thanks to all who have been posting. ?

[8filltheheart]

6 hours ago, Doodlebug said:

Thank you for this.  I have not yet read the link, but will keep it for my freetime this evening... 

I had to respond to this: 

Pretty sure that quote is an Ignatian mic drop.  ?  Is it Ignatian?   

Whatever it is, I affirm it.  That cycle/paradox of taking great joy in the beauty of knowledge, gorging on it, only to find when you step back from the table that you missed the conversation of your real life neighbor... knowledge, ignorance, death, living, wisdom, a lived theology.  I've always heard it contextualized as a pendulum... so thinking of it as a cycle... that's a new life giving thought!

ETA: I see that quote is Elliot!  It was an Elliotonian mic drop.  ?

I have not been able to let go of that quote all day.  Right now that quote, the Shire/Rivendell analogy, and the pull of the power of the ring on the Elves and Gandalf are gelling in my brain.  I am reflecting on the parallel between the lure of college/career goals and foresaking our homeschool objectives during high school and succumbing to modern temptation of putting those goals as our center.  Do we "touch" the future goals and let them control us vs us controlling the goals?

[Doodlebug]

17 minutes ago, 8FillTheHeart said:

I have not been able to let go of that quote all day.  Right now that quote, the Shire/Rivendell analogy, and the pull of the power of the ring on the Elves and Gandalf are gelling in my brain.  I am reflecting on the parallel between the lure of college/career goals and foresaking our homeschool objectives during high school and succumbing to modern temptation of putting those goals as our center.  Do we "touch" the future goals and let them control us vs us controlling the goals?

 

There's a spark of near connection going on in here, between the discernment of knowledge as a tool... and the Elliot quote. 

I went back to my journals today and found a quote by Karen Glass in Consider This: 

Quote

The Classical Education of 19th Century England was universally referred to as 'a grind,' and understood to be a sort of mental obstacle course which it was prestigious to have completed.  

 

Prestige and fame are old lures.  They offer shallow prizes.  And I know from experience that our school makes the transition to "grind" when subtle voices of fear push my goals toward those sirens.    

 

[Doodlebug]

So I'm going to do this thing where I plop this down here because, well, it seems the best place for now... because it inspired me.  Christian content... 

I'm reading Wendell Berry's Jayber Crow.  I've just completed the chapter where J describes Mr. Athy, a farmer, as "the farm's farmer."  This idea of being anchored to something, like the land... it was the land that provided Athy's vocation, his way of life, and his own sustenance and flourishing.  And Jayber, too, anchored to, of all things, the hair of men... tending it and the souls underneath it.  

How simple are the holy things that call us?  Land.  Hair.  Children. 

And to know that like Athy, who knew his life, as compared to the farm, was the shorter.  What a long view...    

Edited November 9, 2018 by Doodlebug