Courses & certifications

Of the three sorts of knowledge proper to a child, - the knowledge of God, of man, and of the universe – the knowledge of God ranks first in importance, is indispensable, and most happy-making.
Charlotte Mason, Philosophy of Education, p.158
Charlotte Mason said that the knowledge of God ranks first in importance over the study of man and the study of the universe. This course will look at Mason’s understanding of the child as an active worshiping being in relationship to God in Christ. Through the writings of Mason and current authors, various aspects of children's spiritual formation will be explored. These aspects include the role of the teacher, the spiritual life of the child, the correct use of Bible lessons, and the means for assessing growth. Mason’s insight about the Great Recognition that the Holy Spirit is the supreme educator of mankind provides the foundation to extend our discussion about the knowledge of God beyond Bible lessons to an understanding of all education as sacred and all learning as a Godward movement. 

“Give children a wide range of subjects, with the end in view of establishing in each case some one or more relations I have indicated. Let them learn from first-hand sources of information – really good books, the best going, on the subject they are engaged upon. Let them get at the books themselves, and do not let them be flooded with a warm diluent at the lips of the teacher. The teacher’s business is to indicate, stimulate, direct and constrain to the acquirement of knowledge, but by no means be the fountain-head and source of all knowledge in his or her own person.”
~ Charlotte Mason, School Education

In this course, participants will consider how the planning, instructing, and assessing of learning through “books and things” as articulated by Charlotte Mason is best realized in their various 21st century settings. What are the ideas and habits that should comprise the generous feast one seeks to spread for today’s students? How does one design a program of alternating inspirational and disciplinary courses in this day and age? What instructional practices ensure that knowledge isn’t “pablum-ized” into mere information so ubiquitous in currently produced curricula? Is it possible to verify that students are conducting the “science of relations” without reducing learning to memorization and quantification?

Extending Mason’s analogy of spreading a feast, inviting guests to dine, and reading signs of their enjoyment of it, participants will: 1) identify vital elements present in their own communities to fold into those “living” elements that have withstood the test of time that comprise a life-giving curriculum, 2) develop proficiency in recognizing tendencies to over-instruct and adopt practices that allow students to exercise agency over their own learning, and 3) learn to recognize indicators of deepening and broadening relationships between students and the world around them.

A child should…be in touch with the literature, art and thought of the past and the present. I do not mean he (sic) should know all of these things; but he (sic) should feel, when he reads of it in the newspapers, the thrill which stirred the Cretan peasants when the frescoes in the palace of King Minos were disclosed to the labour of their spades.
~Charlotte Mason, School Education, p. 220

In this course, participants consider Mason's framework for books, how to use them, developing executive function, the importance of narrative, and her methods and theories of teaching literature, composition, and reading. These topics are all considered in the light of current research to help educators discern where Mason's methods need to be revised in order to stay true to her principle of personhood.

A corollary of the principle that education is the science of relations, is that no education seems to be worth the name which has not made children at home in the world of books, and so related them, mind to mind with thinkers who have dealt with knowledge.
~Charlotte Mason, School Education, p. 226
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This six-week course continues our study of the rest of the content  areas that fall under the category “The knowledge of humankind.” We will explore the philosophy and methodology of the following subjects that could be categorized under the subtitle ‘culture’: history, citizenship, architecture, art, and music. As we anchor our understanding around Mason’s writings on these subjects, we will also do the hard work of translating the way these subjects should be taught to children in North America in the 21st century. It is important to keep in mind how each discipline field has a structure that can be described and used for instructional purposes—view(s) of reality, essential questions and ideas, mode(s) of inquiry, skill sets, and procedures, and terminology.

It is a wide programme founded on the educational rights of man; wide, but we may not say it is impossible nor may we pick and choose and educate him(sic) in this direction and not that. We may not even make choice between science and the ‘humanities.’ Our part it seems to me is to give a child a vital hold upon as many as possible of those wide relationships proper to him (sic).Shelly offers us the key to education when he speaks of “understanding that grows bright gazing on may truths.”
Charlotte Mason, A Philosophy of Education, p. 156
‍This course seeks to explore an understanding of curriculum from a Mason perspective with central consideration given to the domain of education known as “Knowledge of the Universe.” This course seeks to expand the knowledge of the universe to considerations of current curriculum understandings of the physical world. We will explore Mason’s thoughts on curriculum in general and then zero in on areas of the curriculum that deals with knowledge of the universe, specifically, 1) Living: What does it mean? 2) Science, 3) Mathematics, 4) Geography, 5) Handwork and the physical world, 6) Current thoughts on the keeping of field notebooks.

This is how we find children – with intelligence more acute, logic more keen, observing powers more alert, moral sensibilities more quick, love and faith and hope more abounding; in fact, in all points as we are, only more so; but absolutely ignorant of the world and its belongings, of us and our ways, and, above all, of how to control and direct and manifest the infinite possibilities with which they are born. 
~Charlotte Mason, Parents and Children, p. 253

‍The central project of this six-week course is to explore the philosophy and model of Charlotte Mason (1842-1923) alongside. current research into the nature and role of school instructional leadership. Most certainly, understanding and applying the principles and practices of a late 19th, early 20th century educationalist may be challenging in a modern school. How is the school to apply Mason’s universalizing principles as found in her 20 Principles in a current world and educational context? Moreover, how is the School Head – in charge of the mission, vision, curriculum, and persons of the school – to hold the school consistent in its fidelity to these principles? How do we describe the attributes and characteristics of a school leader in their role as servant leader amongst a community of instructional practitioners committed to a universalizing philosophy of education? What does that kind of leadership look like and what does it entail? Over the next six weeks, we will attempt to unpack the unique nature and role of the School Head in a Mason school.‍

School administrators have many jobs: scheduling, budgeting, accounting, cheerleading, hiring, supervising, and communicating, to name a few. But one of the most important and satisfying roles a school administrator has is the keeping of the school’s mission, vision, values, and purpose. When these are clear and kept consistently in focus, the principal’s job is elevated from simple management to nurturing the soul of the school. The stories we tell, the rituals and traditions we keep, and even the physical school environment say much about what we believe of ourselves and the persons we serve, as well as what we value. When done well, vision, mission, and values, far from being mere statements in a handbook or empty words that hang in our hallways, become the very life’s blood of our schools, informing nearly every decision leaders make. In this course, we will explore the elements of school culture, articulate our stories and beliefs, and learn to develop mission, vision, and values to inform the ways we live out Mason’s philosophy of education.

Building a professional learning community of collaboration and growth for teachers is essential to maintaining fidelity and consistency in the application of Mason’s principles in a current school context. Teacher collaborative learning that is differentiated to professional need encourages a foundation of trust and comradery within the school culture. Professional learning then becomes foundational to how teachers are evaluated. A study of the nature and purpose of supervision as rooted within the broader context of professional development of instructional practitioners.  Students study current issues in supervision of instruction within a framework of best practices in educational leadership inclusive of peer coaching and mentoring, action and reflective research, adult and team learning and development, individual teaching development cycles, and differentiated supervision.  Thought and application of instructional benchmarks that describe effective Mason teaching practices will also be explored. The pastoral role of the leader practitioner will provide a context for the development of a community of professional practitioners in a school context.

In this course, we will explore the concepts of school growth and improvement. What is growth? What is improvement? How is it connected to our mission, vision, and values? How can we design a plan for growth? Do we need a fix growth mindset or a growth mindset? How does a mindset workout in a school setting? We will explore some of these ideas to enable you to develop a growth plan for yourself or your school.