 “What are we to do? Are we to waste time in discussing with children every idle and blasphemous proposition that comes their way? Surely not. But we may help them to principles which should enable them to discern these two characters for themselves.”[i] * “…but young people who have been brought up on this sort of work (the reading of literature concurrently with a chronological study of history and current events) may, we find, be trusted to keep themselves au fait with the best that is being produced in their own days.”[ii] * “The response of the young students to such a scheme of study is very delightful. What they write has literary and sometimes poetic value, and the fact that they can write well is the least of the gains acquired. They can read, appreciating every turn of their author's thought; and they can bring cultivated minds to bear on the problems of the hour and the guiding of the State; that is to say, their education bears at every point on the issues and interests of everyday life, and they shew good progress in the art of becoming the magnanimous citizens of the future.” [iii] * “Forms V and VI are expected to keep up with the newspapers and know something about places and regions coming most into note in the current term.”[iv] Examen: How am I feeling about "the problems of the hour?" Do I feel that the curriculum must be continually updated? What are the sources of the pressure to make sure that students encounter all the issues of the day and read the latest literature? How does Charlotte Mason's “we may help them to principles” answer this? ~~~~~~~ [i] What are we: Charlotte Mason, Philosophy, 6:148. [ii] ...but young people: 6:184. [iii] The response of: 6:194. [iv] Forms V and VI: 6:230 i.e. older students. Day 8 Au fait meditation/100 Days copyright Laurie Bestvater 2025
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 Sister Kim Ok-sun's Holy Fire: Don't worry “We believe that Christ rose again the third day and ascended into heaven; or we accept the far more incredible hypothesis that 'there is no God'; or, anyway, the God of Revelation, in his adorable Personality, has ceased to be for us. There is no middle way.” * “Faith is, then, the simple trust of person in Person.” * “We are inclined to make our religious aims subjective rather than objective. We are tempted to look upon Christianity as a scheme of salvation designed and carried out for our benefit; whereas the very essence of Christianity is passionate devotion to an altogether adorable Person.” * “Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair.” ~ G. K. Chesterton * “Gentlemen, this is a football.” ~ Vince Lombardi Examen: Good educational design answers two questions: “Who is education for?” and “What is education for? Charlotte Mason has spent her life answering these questions from her robust Christianity: Education is for the “children’s sake,” and its project is a clear sightline to the Adorable Person. How do I answer them? ~~~~~~~ We believe that Christ: Charlotte Mason, Parents and Children, 2:99. Faith is, then,: 2:135. We are inclined: Charlotte Mason, School Education, 3:145. Let your religion be: G. K. Chesterton, Saint Francis of Assisi, ed. Chesterton Books (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2011). Gentlemen, this is: James Clear, “Vince Lombardi on the Hidden Power of Mastering the Fundamentals,” James Clear (blog), January 30, 2015, Who is education for: April 6 and 2023, “Replacing Bad Systems with Bad Systems,” Seth’s Blog, April 6, 2023, https://seths.blog/2023/04/replacing-bad-systems-with-bad-systems/. Day 1 Adorable Person meditation/100 Days copyright Laurie Bestvater 2025  source unknown "What I'm talking about is work that wakes us up...Knowing the names of plants, noticing the sun and how it's hitting the chrome in a car. That comes with practice." ~ Natalie Goldberg I copied this in my Commonplace a few weeks ago, because it struck me that that is what I am always talking about too. The Work that wakes us up. Although I have been making notebooks all my life, over the last several years, Lent signals One Hundred Days of Keeping and my invitation to others to make it a defined practice with Charlotte Mason. I will be circling back to trace some of the markers on my sojourn with her and offering those meditations here. Is there something you want to Keep? What is waking you up? Let's refine our practice!  "Lent once more. What shall my discipline be? Rather than fast I will say Compline before I sleep. Also feed on George Herbert. And recognize that the wilderness is not the wasteland." ~ Ronald Blythe 100 Days of Keeping begins again on March 5, 2025 (Ash Wednesday). Will you join me in some dedicated keeping? What shall your discipline be? What will you feed on? What might you recognize? I know it is largely a quiet art but please consider leaving a comment below...it's so encouraging to the tribe. And invite some friends!  Reasons for Keeping:
93. to stay curious 94. to discover eco-systems 95. to discover my "own little piece of brotherly work" 96. to be more intentional 97. to care for what has been given 98. to have more modes of expression 99. to "kick at the darkness"  "Spring on the Window, Tatyana Yablonskaya 1954 Reasons for Keeping:
86. to Practice the Presence 87. to put fewer obstacles in anyone's way 88. to gather substantives 89. for self-direction 90. Monet painted Rouen Cathedral 30+ times 91. in communion with my students 92. for the love of pencils  Reasons for Keeping:
79. our "duty of praise" 80. to return to "the enthusiasm of childhood" 81. to "study to be quiet" 82. to become a revolutionary 83. to think for ourselves 84. to understand the times 85. to "read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest"  Lost Sheep, Lake District, England Image by Mark Howells-Mead Reasons for Keeping:
71. to slow the "virus of technique" 72. to knock on the door of a larger room 73. to practice looking for Light 74. to fast from social media 75. as ballast 76. to see patterns 77. to trace the "ancestors and progeny" of ideas  Notebook by Mandy Pattullo Reasons for Keeping:
64. for educational healing 65. to turn to the Supreme Educator 66. to experience the Ambleside Method 67. to have a growth mindset 68. to make healthy boundaries - your page, my page 69. for self-compelling power 70. to learn Ourselves  The Notes of Isaac Newton "Sometimes, we’re so afraid of creation that we don’t even leave blank pages around. " Seth Godin Reasons for Keeping: 57. to fail 58. to begin again 59. to draw more 60. to live with questions 61. to see the world more sacramentally 62. to listen with the heart 63. fulness of life |
"Thus, I propose that the middle of February remind CM admirers
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