Day 8 Au fait

“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.”
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“…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.”

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“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.” 

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“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.”
 
 

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?  

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What are we:  Charlotte Mason, Towards a Philosophy of Education, 6:148.
...but young people: 6:184.
The response of: 6:194.
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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