Ask Art #3 – Scaffolding
What is scaffolding? Does it mean one thing in some educational circles and something else in Charlotte Mason educational circles? Is there anything wrong with scaffolding “the Charlotte Mason way”? Does the concept affect how we approach lessons in a living education? Join me as I weigh in on the scaffolding debate in a detailed discussion with Ashley Olander. Be sure to listen and see how scaffolding is fundamentally a “why” and not a “what.”
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Links
Elsie Kitching’s The Meeting
H.W. Household on The Teaching Methods of Charlotte Mason
7 Replies to “Ask Art #3 – Scaffolding”
This podcast episode presented as compelling an argument as Ashley’s first article on the subject — which I just happened to listen to yesterday! How perfect! That article was so well presented and researched.The quotes were beautifully used and made the overall argument practically undebatable. If the book The Living Page is so thorough and well documented would you not recommend it simply on the basis of its underlying premise on scaffolding? I was totally surprised about the Calender of Firsts possibly not actually being a really thing in CM’s time. So interesting to see how praxis begins to form a new philosophy and one that we should perhaps be more wary of!
Marlon,
Thank you for listening to this episode and sharing your thoughts! I still think that The Living Page is a useful resource, even though I do not agree with its use of scaffolding as an overall interpretive paradigm. To the author’s credit, the book does acknowledge that “Book of Firsts” is a term new to “this century.”
Blessings,
Art
There was a quote in this podcast about “wisdom” being a better name for “education”. I think it was this one. I have listened to so many lately. What was that quote from. I can’t find it in any of the links below in podcast details. Or was that something Art was speaking about and not quoting.
Marlon,
The quote read was from page 75 of School Education:
What, then, have we to do for the child? Plainly we have not to develop the person; he is there already, with, possibly, every power that will serve him in his passage through life. Some day we shall be told that the very word education is a misnomer belonging to the stage of thought when the drawing forth of ‘faculties’ was supposed to be a teacher’s business. We shall have some fit new word meaning, perhaps, ‘applied wisdom,’ for wisdom is the science of relations, and the thing we have to do for a young human being is to put him in touch, so far as we can, with all the relations proper to him.
Blessings,
Art
Wonderful! Thank you!
Thank you for this podcast! The discussion and research behind the topic is quite helpful. I wish there could be a transcript of the podcast. That would be extra helpful. In listening to the podcast and the discussion as to why the term scaffolding has come to be used by some Charlotte Mason educators who strive to do their research and remain true to Charlotte Mason yet have misunderstood on this topic, I understand how this can happen no matter how careful one tries to be. Charlotte Mason’s educational philosophy and methods take years of study to learn. It involves so much research and time. It involves an enormous paradigm shift with years of reading, study, learning, etc., to put into practice. None of us can learn it all at once. Plus, we don’t have Miss Mason living today to ask her for more explanation about something we don’t fully understand. We are all human. When I’ve attended CM conferencees and retreats I have repeatedly heard speakers who have been studying Miss Mason’s philosophy and methods for years and putting this into practice say how they continue to learn, grow, and even realize they have misunderstood some aspect or did not realize they were not doing something as Charlotte Mason intended something to be done. We cannot suddenly switch to her philosophy, read her books, research the original sources, and understand and live out everything correctly all at once or ever. This journey requires so much grace to give to one another. As much as someone may want to learn and be a purist with the CM educational philosophy, we do not arrive at that all at once or ever become perfect in every way with the whole picture. It’s so good to be helping one another learn and grow together and know the journey requires so much grace and humility as we grow in wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and change. I’m so thankful for Charlotte Mason Poetry and other Charlotte Mason teachers, speakers, and groups who are working hard to research, study, and learn as faithfully as possible from the original sources because this is a great and beautiful work that is needed today for the sake of the children, families, cultures, and each person. It’s such a lovely think when God uses imperfect persons that we are as iron to sharpen iron and assist one another by His grace. Thank you for your dedicated, faithful and hard work to teach us and to help sharpen us, Art and Ashley. May the Holy Spirit help us all as we learn and grow, giving us the grace, unity, humility, understanding, and everything else needed to encourage and help one another learn in this great work for His glory and honor. How beautiful it will be if God uses Miss Mason’s philosophy to help bring about a glorious transformation in each heart and mind, family, home, church, school – our very culture, nation and beyond. May the Lord do a marvelous work through Miss Mason’s glorious educational philosophy, a life-giving philosophy for daily living. Thanks again for a wonderful podcast and for all the hard work to give us more knowledge and understanding , Art, Ashley, and the Charlotte Mason Poetry team!
Sheila,
Thank you for your comment. I completely agree that “the journey requires so much grace and humility as we grow in wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and change.” My own understanding of Charlotte Mason has grown and evolved over the years, and a big factor in that is the dialog and discussion I have had with others. Sometimes I have had to retract my position on things, and at other times I have had to extend grace to those who were challenged by my ideas. But in the end it’s not about being comfortable; it’s about continually pursuing a deeper and better understanding of Miss Mason’s method.
Blessings,
Art