September 3, 2024
A Discussion on Narration with Dr. Shannon Whiteside
Transcript
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Eight Common Questions
Hi, I'm Dr. Shannon Whiteside, and I'm the [program] director for the Alveary. Today, I want to talk to you about narration. So I'm going to address eight common questions that people have about narration. So let's begin.
Undergirding Ideas
The first question I'd like to address is “What are the ideas that are important to understand that undergird Mason's understanding of narration?” Mason understood the nature of a child and wanted education to fall in line with the way God made a child. We are educating whole persons; their emotions, their reasons, their intellect and their imagination. As we look at children and adults, we understand that we are made in the image of God. That is a complex statement and there are many aspects that could explain what that means.
"We are educating whole persons; their emotions, their reasons, their intellect and their imagination."
But I want to focus on one aspect of what it means to be made in the image of God. We have the capacity for language. Genesis 1 and 2 reveals that we are communing creatures spoken into being so we might speak back to God and to other persons made in His Image. It is through language that we relate to God, that he relates to us, and we relate to others. We create and maintain relationships with our words. One of Adam’s first actions as an image bearer of God was the naming of the animals.
I like what Vern Poythress said in his book In the Beginning was the Word. He said,
“Adam's speech in the naming of the animals shows meaning, control and presence. In this respect it images the meaning, control and presence of God's speech.”
By using names to differentiate between animals, Adam expresses meaning. Adam also expresses control or dominion over the animals, a control that reflects God's own linguistic control in naming elements of creation. For example, the day and night. Lastly, Adam is present with his words because the names that he chose reflects his personal decisions as a unique human being.
If we look at those three ideas of language -- meaning, control and presence -- we can apply that to all persons. We use our language to make meaning or sense of our world. That is why learners should not just sit passively and have input poured into them through a textbook where teachers lecture. A student needs to use their own language, oral and written, to make sense of their world.
The idea of control is that we have a sense of agency. We are not robots or computers where information is given to us. And then we are to give back the same information in the same way. We can only learn when we can put ideas into our own words and see the world through our own perspective. Mason calls this self-education. Students have to do their own learning. We can't do it for them.
Students have to do their own learning. We can't do it for them.
The idea of presence is that our language is a reflection of our personhood and our personality. Our use of language is unique to us and gives us a chance to display who we are, what is important to us, and gives us a medium to grow and flourish in our thinking and understanding of God, ourselves, and others. The idea that a child gets control over their language by using narration as a means to know is an extraordinarily important idea. When we implement an education that doesn't value language in this way. We are not tapping into the essence of who we are as humans made in the image of God.
Why is narration the foundational method?
The second question I want to answer is “Why did Charlotte Mason use narration as the foundational method of learning?” Mason was perceptive enough to see that children love stories. They love to hear stories and they love to tell stories. In volume one, she said,
“Narrating is an art like poetry-making or painting because it is there in every child's mind waiting to be discovered, and it is not the result of any process of disciplinary education...This amazing gift with which normal children are born is allowed to lie fallow in their education.”
~ Home Education p.231
Here is this gift that children have. Why would we not use it for educational purposes as well? Mason talks about a boy named Bobby who came home with a heroic narrative of a fight he had seen between Duke and a dog in the street. And he tells his story with vigor. And we can see this as childish, or, as Mason said, if we have eyes to see and grace to build, this is the ground plan of his education. We can use this idea of telling stories as the foundation of a child's education.
What is Narration?
So the third question is “What is narration?” Narration is simply telling back what the child remembered from that selection that was read to them or that they read themselves. It is not a summary. It is more of a point-by-point retelling in chronological order. A narration is told in one's own words. It is not just trying to tell back exactly what the author says. A student may choose to use the author's words or style but that is more of a choice they make and not what is required. We want them to be able to sift through what they read and retell it in a way that makes sense to them and shows that they have assimilated the knowledge and can understand what they have read.
Is it a reading comprehension exercise?
The fourth question about narration is “Is it simply a reading comprehension exercise?” Is this just a different way of seeing what a child has read and seeing how well they comprehend it? It is not simply a reading comprehension exercise. Narration places the responsibility for the active knowing upon the learner. Mason says,
“The mind can know nothing save what it can produce in the form of an answer to a question put to the mind. That is, the mind puts itself through the process of self-questioning…each new consecutive incident or statement arrives because the mind asks itself - What next?”
~ Towards a Philosophy of Education p.16-17
Reading comprehension exercises do the thinking for the student - pulling out the questions and main ideas. In narration, the learner engages with the curriculum directly. The student is the one who has to sift through the information and put the ideas into coherent narrative. Narration is not a reading comprehension activity because narration is more like storytelling.
Mason said,
“Children are born poets, and they dramatize all the life they see about them, after their own hearts, into an endless play. There is not a reason why this natural gift should not be pressed into the service of education. Indeed, It might be safe to go further: the child who does not dramatize his lessons…is not learning.”
Formation of Character p.306
And this is why I encourage my students to tell back in a way that engages their audience. I tell them to recreate the scene using sensory and concrete images.
A good way to get in the storytelling mood, especially for younger children, is to let them use figures to act out their narration. Then it makes sense to use dialogue and get into that performance mode. For older students, you might want to tell them to engage their audience with their creativity, their wit, their connections that they made in their readings. The more that students can see narration equivalent to storytelling and not reading comprehension the more it will be exciting for the teller and for the audience.
What kind of books?
The fifth question about narration is “What kind of book should we use in narration?” Mason said that students should read and narrate literary books because that is what resonates with us as humans. People think in story. That is how we are wired. What is so special about the literary or narrative form? Well, first the subject of literature is human experience. It is not about stating ideas and abstract propositions. That is not engaging to most people. We want to see those ideas and abstractions in concrete examples. Don't tell us stealing is wrong. Tell us a story and we will come to the conclusion that stealing is wrong when we see how it affected the people.
Another aspect about narrative is that it leaves much of the task of interpretation to the reader. It doesn't tell us what to think. Also, a literary text requires us to enter a whole world of the imagination and experience it as fully as possible. We can enter into situations vicariously and learn empathy and moral judgment when we are brought into a story this way. A narrative has many layers - it cannot be reduced to just one idea. Another aspect of a literary book is that it can be appreciated for its own sake. It is not just about getting the information across but in relishing in the words, the phrases, the creativity of the author. Leland Ryken said,
“A literary author is a performer with words, and we are invited to enjoy the performance.”
Finally, a literary book uses special resources of language such as imagery, metaphor, simile, hyperbole, parallelism, and unordinary vocabulary. The bottom line is that literature expresses truth in its own way, different from ordinary propositional discourse. That is what makes it such a powerful way to learn. It allows the students to engage with their emotions and minds. Because literature presents an experience, instead of telling us about the experience, it constantly appeals to our imagination and allows different interpretations and different perspectives. It also allows students to form their own moral opinions and to grow in their moral imagination.
What is the Goal?
The sixth question is “What is the goal of narration?” The goal of narration is developing relationships not acquiring knowledge, which will happen, but building a connection with everything in this world. The people, the natural world, and most importantly building relationship with God our creator. When we have that goal in mind it will help us keep the right perspective and not lose steam. If our goal is for our children to have encyclopedia knowledge, there's probably a better way to do that. Like rote memory and lots of questions. But if our goal is the flourishing of a whole person then narration is a better means for that.
And how does narration do that? When our children are narrating living books, they are using more than just their rational brains. They're using their imagination their emotions and their hearts. They're connecting on a deeper level to the characters, the ideas, the historical figures. There's not a middleman doing the thinking for them. When they make meaning themselves with what they read, it becomes personal - it becomes theirs. It becomes a treasure.
When our children are narrating living books, they are using more than just their rational brains. They're using their imagination their emotions and their hearts.
What are the Steps of a Lesson?
The seventh question about narration: “What are the steps of a narration lesson?” In volume one, Mason briefly talks about the steps of a lesson.
Recap. Before the reading for the day begins, the teacher should talk a little and get the children to talk about the last lesson with a few words about what is to be read in order that the children may be animated by expectation. But be aware of force stalling the narrative. So the first step is recapping the previous lesson. And this is a really important step because it helps our long-term memory. We want to recap the lesson quickly. And maybe it's more of a summary than a narration and if the students don't remember maybe a couple words could spark their memory.
Intro. And I also think it's nice to give them a heads up about what they're about to read to spark some interest. Maybe ask a question or give them an interesting fact. You could also look up a location on a map. It's not a whole production. It's just a couple minutes. Just to get their juices flowing and get them ready for the reading.
Reading. Then you have the reading of the book. Now it depends on the age of the students when you're first starting narration you may just read a paragraph. It may be something very short, but as they get older they can handle several pages even a whole chapter of a book. So you might be reading aloud to them when they're in first second and third grade but as they get older they should be reading themselves. They can read aloud or they can read silently.
Narration. You want to try to include an episode of what they're reading and have a purposeful stopping point. Then with no talking in between you call on the students to narrate. In turns if there are several of them. You don't want to tease them with corrections. Or stop them when they're talking. They need to just get the narration out and not lose their train of thought. You might start with one child and stop them in mid-sentence and let the next one narrate. You want to keep them on their toes so that they're listening to each other. And if you just have one student you can have them do the narration and you as a teacher or as a mom can also add to it if you would like.
Discussion. And so the last step Mason calls a little talk where moral points are brought out, pictures shown to illustrate the lesson, or diagrams drawn on the blackboard or whiteboard. This is not the time for the teacher to do the talking. It's still the time for the children to do their learning. So we can ask them what they thought about what they read. Do they have any questions? What are they wondering? And this just opens up an opportunity for them to do a little more thinking about what they read and to try to process their learning. They might not have something to say and that's okay and they will have more to discuss as they get older but it's just a good practice. So they realize that there might be more after the narration. You could also ask them an open-ended question. And it is good to keep to the allotted time to keep up a student's attention and alertness.
I'm Struggling. Any Tips?
The eighth question about narration: “What tips do you have for moms and teachers who have students that are struggling with narration?” I think there's a number of things you should check on.
Number one, is the book a literary book? Is it too dry or textbook like? Is it really a living book for your child? There may be a time when a book is living to someone else but it isn't resonating with your student. Maybe it's too hard or they don't have the background knowledge to understand it. Maybe they'll be ready for it in another year. We want to be flexible and open to changing things if needed. There is a time to not give up on a book, but you have to be discerning about that decision as a teacher. There is no Charlotte Mason Police. You have the right to choose the books you think are best for your child. We want every child to feel successful in the reading and narration. Vygotsky calls it the zone of proximal development. This is referring to the space between what a learner can do without assistance and what a learner can do with adults guidance or collaboration with peers.
We want to challenge students but not frustrate them. Making sure you are also changing up the subjects is also helpful. So you're not just reading four books in a row and narrating, switching between the disciplinary subjects, inspirational subjects or physical activity, getting outside and getting breaks. And when you look at the whole curriculum, there's other ways that you are reinforcing what they're learning. Therefore it's important to not neglect those other things that might seem like extras. For example, copywork and dictation can come from books they are reading and those ideas are brought up again in those ways. You can have them do brush drawings from a book. Students have timelines they are making or, if they're older, a book of centuries. In science, they're doing experiments and afternoon occupations.
For Their Benefit
Overall, narration should be a delightful experience for your children as much as possible. And when they are able to understand the importance of it, explain the why behind it, so they can realize it is for their benefit. I hope you found these questions on narration helpful. I encourage you to keep consistent with narration and your students will reap the benefits both now and in the future.
Thank you.
