A Brave Writer's Life in Brief

On today’s Brave Writer podcast:

• Meet Charlotte Mason—who she is and why her method of education was so revolutionary.
• What constitutes living literature and where do we find it today?
• Meet Leah Boden—Modern Miss Mason. How has she helped bring Charlotte’s teachings into the 21st century with our iPads, movies, and video games?
• What’s a short lesson? Why are they important?
• What does it mean to bring your own “breath” or “spirit” to the home education you give your children? There’s a word for it that Leah shares!

Leah Boden is a wife, mother, homeschooler, podcaster, writer, and speaker. She has four children — one who is an adult and the remaining three that are still educated at home. Leah is passionate about bringing learning to life and is committed to modernizing the Charlotte Mason method of education.

Her new book, Modern Miss Mason, is published by Tyndale (a Christian publisher), and has wonderful resources and supportive information for any parent. Leah is known for her wise, warm voice in the home education space.

Charlotte Mason was an education reformer and pioneer. Her method of education relies heaving on immersion in living literature, history, art appreciation and nature study. She established an open and expansive vision of learning, and Leah Boden has done an excellent job of modernizing that vision and applying its spirit to the world we live in today.

If you want to read more of what Leah shares, purchase a copy of Modern Miss Mason.

Show Notes

Who is Charlotte Mason?

Charlotte Mason was an English educator and philosopher in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She developed a method of education that focused on developing a child’s character and imagination by teaching them living ideas, rather than rote memorization. Her approach to education has had a lasting influence on education and is still used in many schools today. Her approach was made popular in homeschooling through the re-publication of Charlotte Mason’s Original Homeschool Series, a six volume set released in the 1980s.

For over 20 years, Leah has been a parent and practitioner of home education and the Charlotte Mason philosophy. When she first began her homeschooling journey, she found the vast majority of information about Charlotte Mason’s work was from America. After doing extensive research, she discovered more material from the British archives and Charlotte’s original work. Leah was immediately drawn to Charlotte’s philosophy on childhood, education and motherhood. She tailored her philosophy to fit her British culture, time period, and the individual personalities of her children. Now, her goal is to help other people find freedom in Charlotte’s teachings.

It was only near the end of Charlotte Mason’s life that she began to see the results of her work taking shape in the world — now it is up to a new generation to carry on her legacy.

What does it mean to be a Modern Miss Mason?

Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of living education emphasizes getting to know the people behind a subject, rather than just reading old books. She encouraged her readers to discern for themselves what a living book looked like, and to find modern authors who could bring that same energy to their work. Leah’s book, Modern Miss Mason, encourages readers to educate themselves, stay intellectually alive, and bring their own energy to their children’s education. 

The power of short lessons

Charlotte emphasized the power of short lessons and how they have helped her with her family. She believes that keeping lessons short helps to develop the habit of attention and that knowledge should be celebrated rather than focusing on the quantity of what is retained. While longer lessons or hitting bigger milestones such as reading a certain number of books may seem impressive, the end result is often inferior. Charlotte Mason’s focus was on giving children the opportunity to dig for their own knowledge and to make the associations that are most meaningful to them.

Charlotte Mason established an open and expansive vision of learning, and Leah Boden has done an excellent job of modernizing that vision and applying its spirit to the world we live in today. If you want to read more of what she shares, purchase a copy of Modern Miss Mason.

Resources

• Instagram: @modernmissmason
• Book: Modern Miss Mason
• Website: www.leahboden.com
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