CMP Review 2024-03-12

March 12, 2024

For many of us, discussion seems to be indispensable to learning. Whether it is a book discussion, a Bible discussion, or a discussion after a lecture, it seems to be almost synonymous with digging deeper and appropriating the ideas one is encountering.

Many in the Charlotte Mason community naturally assume that discussion plays a role in this method of learning too. Sometimes it goes by a different name — conversation, or “grand conversation” — and sometimes it is simply labeled “discussion.” We seem to expect it, but its relationship to narration, a staple of a Charlotte Mason education, seems unclear.

In 1944, Essex Cholmondeley took this question head-on. In the 1940s, discussion was emerging as a primary mechanism of learning. How did it relate to the Charlotte Mason approach? Cholmondeley was a former principal of the House of Education and a future biographer of Charlotte Mason. She was well-qualified to consider the question.

Cholmondeley’s exploration of discussion and narration begins with the nature and function of the mind. Her article serves as a fitting conclusion to our series of vintage articles on topics related to narration. Read or hear it here, and we welcome your “discussion” in the comments!

@artmiddlekauff