{"id":1591,"date":"2020-10-03T07:17:53","date_gmt":"2020-10-03T12:17:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/?p=1591"},"modified":"2023-05-01T20:48:47","modified_gmt":"2023-05-02T01:48:47","slug":"why-the-history-of-narration-matters-part-1-charlotte-masons-discovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2020\/10\/03\/why-the-history-of-narration-matters-part-1-charlotte-masons-discovery\/","title":{"rendered":"Why The History of Narration Matters, Part 1: Charlotte Mason&#8217;s Discovery?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I\u2019ve decided to put the series on <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2020\/08\/15\/blooms-taxonomy-and-the-purpose-of-education\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bloom&#8217;s Taxonomy vs. Aristotle\u2019s Intellectual Virtues<\/a> on hold for a couple months after contracting with <a href=\"https:\/\/classicalacademicpress.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Classical Academic Press<\/a> to film two courses in December for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalu.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ClassicalU<\/a>: one on narration and another on Charlotte Mason\u2019s philosophy for classical educators. So I\u2019m returning to the topic of narration and <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/charlotte-mason\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Charlotte Mason<\/a> to help me deliberately prepare.&nbsp;(By the way, if you have suggestions for what topics you&#8217;d like to see tackled or questions you&#8217;d like answered in either of these courses, email us at educationalrenaissanceblog@gmail.com!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s been some time since I\u2019ve written explicitly on narration for Educational Renaissance. The last article that addressed it directly (<a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2019\/10\/05\/the-flow-of-thought-part-3-narration-as-flow\/\">Narration as Flow<\/a>) came shortly after launching the popular eBook \u201cHow to Implement Narration in the Classical Classroom\u201d that I recently retired because of incorporating it into a larger book. (Don&#8217;t worry! I replaced it with a similar resource <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/charlotte-mason\/charlotte-masons-practice-of-narration\/\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;Charlotte Mason and the Trivium: Planning Lessons with Narration&#8221;<\/a>.) But that doesn\u2019t mean the teaching tool of narration has been off my mind since.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Why the History of Narration Matters, Part 1   Charlotte Mason&#039;s Discovery\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TeuLPtG1Pls?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Narration on My Mind<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Last winter I did most of the leg work in terms of research and writing to get my book <em>A Classical Guide to Narration <\/em>(forthcoming with the CiRCE Institute) into the right place for the editorial process. Lugging that stack of books home for nights and weekends, I plugged away while watching the kids as my wife taught voice lessons. I didn&#8217;t know I could write while monitoring a toddler and a baby&#8230; but after all necessity is the mother of invention. Then during the discussions last spring that led me to take a new position as Principal at Coram Deo Academy, narration was my one non-negotiable.&nbsp;If I came, Coram Deo would be implementing narration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1594\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2020\/10\/03\/why-the-history-of-narration-matters-part-1-charlotte-masons-discovery\/canva-person-typing\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Canva-Person-Typing-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1708&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1708\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Canva-Person-Typing\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Canva-Person-Typing-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Canva-Person-Typing-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Canva-Person-Typing-scaled.jpg?fit=810%2C540&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1594\" width=\"498\" height=\"333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Canva-Person-Typing-scaled.jpg?w=2560&amp;ssl=1 2560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Canva-Person-Typing-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Canva-Person-Typing-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Canva-Person-Typing-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C513&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Canva-Person-Typing-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1025&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Canva-Person-Typing-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1367&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Canva-Person-Typing-scaled.jpg?resize=120%2C80&amp;ssl=1 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the summer I had the opportunity to share about narration at several conferences: the <a href=\"https:\/\/classicalchristian.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Association of Classical Christian Schools<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/societyforclassicallearning.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Society for Classical Learning<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/umsi.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">University Model Schools International<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.circeinstitute.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CiRCE Institute<\/a>, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/cmpeoria.com\/2020-family-camp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Charlotte Mason Family Camp<\/a>. Lastly, as the school year got started, I trained <a href=\"https:\/\/coramdeo-in.com\/faculty-staff\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">my own faculty<\/a> in the practice of narration, as well as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esischools.org\/\">Ecclesial Schools Initiative<\/a> by Zoom. I even had the opportunity to share narration with Asian Christian educators as part of a team-taught <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2020\/04\/11\/the-benefits-and-drawbacks-of-online-learning-6-hacks-to-mitigate-the-drawbacks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">virtual course<\/a> on poetic knowledge led by Ravi Jain.&nbsp;That all might sound exhausting, but for me it was exhilarating, not least because of the chance to share about a practice that really matters to me and is life-changing for children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-rounded is-style-rounded--1\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"190\" height=\"238\" data-attachment-id=\"122\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2018\/07\/20\/the-classical-distinction-between-an-art-and-a-science\/john-locke\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/John-Locke.jpg?fit=190%2C238&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"190,238\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"John Locke\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/John-Locke.jpg?fit=190%2C238&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/John-Locke.jpg?fit=190%2C238&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/John-Locke.jpg?resize=190%2C238&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"John Locke\" class=\"wp-image-122\"\/><figcaption>John Locke<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>All this is to say that <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/charlotte-mason\/charlotte-masons-practice-of-narration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">narration<\/a> has been on my mind quite a lot as I\u2019ve first researched then rehearsed material from the book in presentations. One of the most interesting and significant discoveries that I made in my research about narration is its history before <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/charlotte-mason\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Charlotte Mason<\/a> in the grammatical and rhetorical tradition. Since my first hints at this fact years ago while <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2019\/10\/19\/attention-then-and-now-the-science-of-focus-before-and-after-charlotte-masons-time\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reading John Locke<\/a> and Quintilian, I\u2019ve been fascinated by earlier educators\u2019 endorsement of practices very like Mason\u2019s narration.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But I think this history is especially significant for two movements today: the Charlotte Mason movement and the classical Christian education movement. You can see why. If narration has a history in <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2020\/02\/15\/charlotte-mason-and-the-liberal-arts-tradition-part-1-mapping-a-harmony\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the liberal arts tradition<\/a>, then it makes it hard for either Masonites or CCE leaders to claim that never the twain shall meet.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/downloads\/narration-2-0-webinar-recording\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2783\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/webinars\/copy-of-narration-2-0-ad\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Copy-of-Narration-2.0-Ad.png?fit=1080%2C1080&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1080,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Copy-of-Narration-2.0-Ad\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Copy-of-Narration-2.0-Ad.png?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Copy-of-Narration-2.0-Ad.png?fit=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Copy-of-Narration-2.0-Ad.png?resize=633%2C633&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2783\" width=\"633\" height=\"633\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Copy-of-Narration-2.0-Ad.png?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Copy-of-Narration-2.0-Ad.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Copy-of-Narration-2.0-Ad.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Copy-of-Narration-2.0-Ad.png?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Copy-of-Narration-2.0-Ad.png?w=1080&amp;ssl=1 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 633px) 100vw, 633px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Charlotte Mason vs. Classical Christian Education?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For instance, Art Middlekauff of Charlotte Mason Poetry <a href=\"http:\/\/charlottemasonpoetry.org\/five-important-differences-between-charlotte-mason-and-classical-christian-education\/\">has claimed<\/a> that Charlotte Mason did not \u201clook to the classical tradition to guide her theory\u201d but instead \u201clooked to the Gospels, science and her observations of children.\u201d While containing a grain of truth, this claim ends up being a simplistic reduction of Mason. It would be more accurate to say that Mason regularly makes rhetorical appeal to advancing science (as a good Victorian British Christian might be expected to). But by science, it\u2019s also worth wondering whether this is necessarily against the classical tradition. After all, science itself is a term and sphere dependent on the tradition of <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2020\/02\/08\/rediscovering-science-as-love-of-wisdom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the liberal arts and sciences<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, Art Middlekauff has picked his evidence with care and neglected Charlotte Mason\u2019s own references to classical philosophers of education as authoritative, as well as her refutation of new educational thinkers on the basis of the principles of the liberal arts tradition. While she does claim some newness for her methods\u2014as many classical educators have over the course of the tradition, by the way&#8230; the liberal arts tradition has never been opposed to <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2019\/11\/09\/the-flow-of-thought-part-4-the-seven-liberal-arts-as-mental-games\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">innovation<\/a>\u2014she is also happy to confess her reliance on tradition.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-rounded is-style-rounded--2\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"219\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2019\/01\/12\/educating-for-self-control-part-2-the-link-between-attention-and-willpower\/charlotte_mason_1902_frederic_yates-3\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/charlotte_mason_1902_frederic_yates-3.jpg?fit=399%2C441&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"399,441\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;(c) The Armitt Museum and Librar&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;(c) The Armitt Museum and Library; Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;This image is copyrighted. For further information please read Rights Usage Terms.&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;(c) The Armitt Museum and Library; Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"charlotte_mason_1902_frederic_yates-3\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;(c) The Armitt Museum and Library; Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/charlotte_mason_1902_frederic_yates-3.jpg?fit=271%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/charlotte_mason_1902_frederic_yates-3.jpg?fit=399%2C441&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/charlotte_mason_1902_frederic_yates-3.jpg?resize=327%2C361&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Charlotte Mason\" class=\"wp-image-219\" width=\"327\" height=\"361\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/charlotte_mason_1902_frederic_yates-3.jpg?w=399&amp;ssl=1 399w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/charlotte_mason_1902_frederic_yates-3.jpg?resize=271%2C300&amp;ssl=1 271w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 327px) 100vw, 327px\" \/><figcaption>The Armitt Museum and Library; Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>As she says explicitly of her educational theory in the first chapter of her final book <em>Towards a Philosophy of Education<\/em>,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>I have attempted to unfold (in various volumes) a system of educational theory which seems to me able to meet any rational demand, even that severest criterion set by Plato; it is able to \u201crun the gauntlet of objections, and is ready to disprove them, not by appeals to opinion, but to absolute truth.\u201d <strong>Some of it is new, much of it is old.<\/strong><\/p><cite>(2008 Wilder, 28-29; emphasis added)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>This hardly sounds like an extreme modernist who opposes engaging with educational theorists of the past in favor of the new science.&nbsp;The very fact that she quotes from Plato belies such an assumption. Moreover, the implication of her wording is that more of her theory is old than it is new (&#8220;some&#8221; is less than &#8220;much&#8221;). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Opposing Charlotte Mason and the classical tradition in this way also presents us with a false dichotomy that is unfortunately present in the thinking of both some Masonites and some classical Christian educators: <strong>either<\/strong> we must look to the past <strong>or<\/strong> we look to modern research and methods. In an educational landscape <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2020\/05\/23\/the-problem-of-scientism-in-conventional-education\/\">obsessed with scientism<\/a>, it is no wonder that the classical education movement has taken a hard turn toward historical theories and methods. Mason had much less pushing her to such an extreme, and, in fact, with the tide just beginning to ebb out toward the new depths of scientific discovery about the brain, psychology and the nature of habit formation, she had to make an appeal that garnered the attention of a very different crowd.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Given the differences of time and place, the fact that Mason\u2019s rhetoric differs from the modern classical education movement is not at all surprising. But this should not confine Masonites and classical Christian educators to separate camps and antagonism, especially given the amount of essential agreement between them. Besides, the opposition of <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2020\/03\/07\/charlotte-mason-and-the-liberal-arts-tradition-part-2-educating-the-whole-person\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Charlotte Mason and the classical tradition<\/a> makes little sense; they are such different things! Unless we think of the classical tradition as some monolithic, unified theory and practice of education, opposing a single thinker to it is a strange notion. We could just as easily set up Plato, or Aristotle, Quintilian, Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Melanchton, Bacon, Locke or Comenius to it. There is always a gap between any individual educational thinker and the tradition as a whole (if one can even view it that way); otherwise, they would be mere parrots. Sometimes this gap represents a departure from a core value, but other times it represents a fruitful development from within. Such a question cannot be solved by simplistic dichotomies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"755\" data-attachment-id=\"118\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2018\/07\/20\/the-classical-distinction-between-an-art-and-a-science\/liberal-arts\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Liberal-Arts.jpg?fit=1025%2C756&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1025,756\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Liberal Arts\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Liberal-Arts.jpg?fit=300%2C221&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Liberal-Arts.jpg?fit=1024%2C755&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Liberal-Arts.jpg?resize=1024%2C755&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"The Liberal Arts of the Classical Tradition\" class=\"wp-image-118\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Liberal-Arts.jpg?resize=1024%2C755&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Liberal-Arts.jpg?resize=300%2C221&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Liberal-Arts.jpg?resize=768%2C566&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Liberal-Arts.jpg?w=1025&amp;ssl=1 1025w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>More important perhaps is the gap between movements that should be allies. Educational Renaissance exists, in a way, to bridge this gap, not only between Charlotte Mason and the classical tradition, but between new and old educational theory in general\u2026 between the insights of ancient wisdom and the legitimate advances of modern research. The real glory is in an appropriate synthesis of seemingly opposite ideas and data, as no less revered a figure than Thomas Aquinas revealed in his own dialectical method.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Charlotte Mason\u2019s Claim of Discovery<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Narration is a test case of this broader claim for <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2020\/02\/15\/charlotte-mason-and-the-liberal-arts-tradition-part-1-mapping-a-harmony\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Charlotte Mason and the classical tradition<\/a>. While some will still want to emphasize the disagreement and opposition, narration tells a different story. And that is because narration is a teaching practice that Charlotte Mason adapted from the rhetorical tradition.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Short-History-Narration-Historical-Perspective\/dp\/B09VWRWVG5\/ref=sr_1_2?crid=30SSIY5CUG23H&amp;keywords=a+short+history+of+narration&amp;qid=1648313903&amp;s=books&amp;sprefix=%2Cstripbooks%2C205&amp;sr=1-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2806\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/edren-books\/41tzbxb91l-_sx331_bo1204203200_\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/41TZbxb91L._SX331_BO1204203200_.jpg?fit=333%2C499&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"333,499\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"41TZbxb91L._SX331_BO1204203200_\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/41TZbxb91L._SX331_BO1204203200_.jpg?fit=200%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/41TZbxb91L._SX331_BO1204203200_.jpg?fit=333%2C499&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/41TZbxb91L._SX331_BO1204203200_.jpg?resize=238%2C356&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2806\" width=\"238\" height=\"356\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/41TZbxb91L._SX331_BO1204203200_.jpg?w=333&amp;ssl=1 333w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/41TZbxb91L._SX331_BO1204203200_.jpg?resize=200%2C300&amp;ssl=1 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 238px) 100vw, 238px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>But if this is the case, as I contend in my forthcoming book, then what of Charlotte Mason\u2019s own claims about discovering narration? I know very well that she nowhere cites any explicit classical sources for the practice, like John Locke (her likely source based on similarities in language and detail in <em>Home Education<\/em>) or his source Quintilian. On the other hand, she does confess in her final volume that she \u201cwas reading a good deal of philosophy and \u2018Education\u2019 at the time.\u201d And she does cite Plato\u2019s conception of the forms or ideas for support of the mind needing proper sustenance (see <em>Towards a Philosophy of Education<\/em>, Introduction,<em> <\/em>Wilder: 18). This is one of many instances that at least puts the lie to the claim that she doesn\u2019t draw her philosophy from the tradition; in fact, whether or not she draws from it as a source for her theory, she often feels the need to justify it in the philosophical terms of the classical tradition.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But of course, she does also mention her observation of children and general reading, as stepping stones on her journey of discovery:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>It is difficult to explain how I came to a solution of a puzzling problem,\u2014how to secure attention. Much observation of children, various incidents from one\u2019s general reading, the recollection of my own childhood and the consideration of my present habits of mind brought me to the recognition of certain laws of the mind, by working in accordance with which the steady attention of children of any age and any class in society is insured, week-in, week out,\u2014attention, not affected by distracting circumstances. (20)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.karenglass.net\/in-vital-harmony-now-available\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1595\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2020\/10\/03\/why-the-history-of-narration-matters-part-1-charlotte-masons-discovery\/in-vital-harmony\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/In-Vital-Harmony.jpg?fit=167%2C250&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"167,250\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"In-Vital-Harmony\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/In-Vital-Harmony.jpg?fit=167%2C250&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/In-Vital-Harmony.jpg?fit=167%2C250&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/In-Vital-Harmony.jpg?resize=192%2C287&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"In Vital Harmony by Karen Glass\" class=\"wp-image-1595\" width=\"192\" height=\"287\"\/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>While this may seem like a claim that she derived the details of narration from observation and her own philosophical reflection, instead we should see it as an account of how she came to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.karenglass.net\/in-vital-harmony-now-available\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the principles<\/a> that undergird the practice of narration. (I&#8217;m reading Karen Glass&#8217; <em>In Vital Harmony<\/em> now and am definitely enjoying it.) For Charlotte Mason the <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/charlotte-mason\/charlotte-masons-practice-of-narration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">practice of narration<\/a> had to have a number of attendant circumstances for it to work optimally: a rich text, a single reading, a moral impulse in the students, etc. The practice of narration becomes a valuable and global tool of learning when embodied in the right atmosphere, as a means of training in the <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2019\/10\/19\/attention-then-and-now-the-science-of-focus-before-and-after-charlotte-masons-time\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">habit of attention<\/a>, and through the natural curiosity of the mind feeding on <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2018\/11\/02\/the-role-of-ideas-in-education\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">living ideas<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Narration itself is a common and simple enough exercise that it was used here or there, in rhetorical training, as far back as we have record. It was the principles of the child\u2019s personhood and the nature of mind that she claimed to have discovered and applied more uniformly to the how, when and what of narration. As she remarks later in the introduction to her final volume,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>The reader will say with truth,\u2014\u201dI knew all this before and have always acted more or less on these principles\u201d; and I can only point to the unusual results we obtain through adhering not \u2018more or less,\u2019 but strictly to the principles and practices I have indicated. (24)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>This account from Charlotte Mason herself seems to answer the charge that she claimed to have \u201cdiscovered\u201d narration, and so it cannot be derived from the classical tradition.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As we\u2019ll see in the <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2020\/10\/24\/classical-roots-of-narration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">next article<\/a>, there are a variety of earlier sources that detail the regular use of narration in a manner very like what Charlotte Mason recommended. There are even two of her contemporaries across the Atlantic, rhetoric professors in America, who recommend narration-like exercises in their rhetoric and composition textbook for use in secondary schools.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"130\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2018\/11\/23\/deep-reading-in-education\/best-books\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/best-books.jpg?fit=1280%2C853&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1280,853\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"best-books\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/best-books.jpg?fit=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/best-books.jpg?fit=1024%2C682&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/best-books.jpg?resize=637%2C424&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"books\" class=\"wp-image-130\" width=\"637\" height=\"424\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/best-books.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/best-books.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/best-books.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/best-books.jpg?resize=120%2C80&amp;ssl=1 120w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/best-books.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 637px) 100vw, 637px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, none of these earlier examples call for exactly what Charlotte Mason recommends, but in a way that would have been impossible. Only at Charlotte Mason\u2019s time in England were a wealth of books finally cheap enough and widely available enough for the sort of book-based education she envisioned. The mass publication and commercialization of books in Victorian England was, arguably, a necessary ingredient in the history of narration entering its final stage with Charlotte Mason\u2019s \u2018liberal education for all\u2019 movement.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But more on that next time after we walk through the various stages in the history of narration, as best as I have been able to piece them together so far. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.circeinstitute.org\/store\/books\/classical-guide-narration\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"550\" data-attachment-id=\"1646\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2020\/10\/24\/classical-roots-of-narration\/narr_store-1\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/narr_store-1.jpg?fit=400%2C550&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"400,550\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"narr_store-1\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/narr_store-1.jpg?fit=218%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/narr_store-1.jpg?fit=400%2C550&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/narr_store-1.jpg?resize=400%2C550&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"A Classical Guide to Narration by Jason Barney\" class=\"wp-image-1646\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/narr_store-1.jpg?w=400&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/narr_store-1.jpg?resize=218%2C300&amp;ssl=1 218w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Later articles in this series:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2020\/10\/24\/classical-roots-of-narration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Part 2: Classical Roots<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/02\/why-the-history-of-narration-matters-part-3-narrations-rebirth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Part 3: Narration\u2019s Rebirth<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Part 4: Charlotte Mason\u2019s Practice of Narration in Historical Perspective<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019ve decided to put the series on Bloom&#8217;s Taxonomy vs. Aristotle\u2019s Intellectual Virtues on hold for a couple months after contracting with Classical Academic Press to film two courses in December for ClassicalU: one on narration and another on Charlotte Mason\u2019s philosophy for classical educators. So I\u2019m returning to the topic of narration and Charlotte [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":418,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[38],"tags":[70,11,24,32,13,140,23,101,361,27,31],"class_list":["post-1591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-of-education","tag-attention","tag-charlotte-mason","tag-classical-education","tag-classical-tradition","tag-ideas","tag-john-locke","tag-liberal-arts","tag-narration","tag-principles","tag-rhetoric","tag-science"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why The History of Narration Matters, Part 1: Charlotte Mason&#039;s Discovery? &#8226;<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2020\/10\/03\/why-the-history-of-narration-matters-part-1-charlotte-masons-discovery\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why The History of Narration Matters, Part 1: Charlotte Mason&#039;s Discovery? &#8226;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I\u2019ve decided to put the series on Bloom&#8217;s Taxonomy vs. Aristotle\u2019s Intellectual Virtues on hold for a couple months after contracting with Classical Academic Press to film two courses in December for ClassicalU: one on narration and another on Charlotte Mason\u2019s philosophy for classical educators. 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When we know this history and turn to Charlotte\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;History of Education&quot;","block_context":{"text":"History of Education","link":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/category\/history-of-education\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/16813474792_c751c5480b_z.jpg?fit=640%2C424&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/16813474792_c751c5480b_z.jpg?fit=640%2C424&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/16813474792_c751c5480b_z.jpg?fit=640%2C424&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1713,"url":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2020\/11\/21\/narration-course-for-classical-u-a-rehearsal-sneak-peek\/","url_meta":{"origin":1591,"position":1},"title":"Narration Course for ClassicalU: A Rehearsal Sneak Peek","author":"Jason Barney","date":"November 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"As I mentioned in a previous article on the history of narration, I've received an opportunity to film two courses at the beginning of December for Classical Academic Press' ClassicalU: one on narration and another on Charlotte Mason's philosophy for classical educators. 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There are some notable exceptions who have tried to cross the aisle, but for the most part\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;History of Education&quot;","block_context":{"text":"History of Education","link":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/category\/history-of-education\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Quintilian","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Quintilian.jpg?fit=528%2C536&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Quintilian.jpg?fit=528%2C536&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Quintilian.jpg?fit=528%2C536&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1785,"url":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/02\/why-the-history-of-narration-matters-part-3-narrations-rebirth\/","url_meta":{"origin":1591,"position":3},"title":"Why the History of Narration Matters, Part 3: Narration&#8217;s Rebirth","author":"Jason Barney","date":"January 2, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"In my previous two articles I framed my discussion of the history of narration with the controversy between Charlotte Mason and classical Christian education advocates. I suggested that narration\u2019s history may be a fact that puts to rest the false dichotomies of either side. While Charlotte Mason did claim discovery\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;History of Education&quot;","block_context":{"text":"History of Education","link":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/category\/history-of-education\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Renaissance","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/renaissance.jpg?fit=1200%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/renaissance.jpg?fit=1200%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/renaissance.jpg?fit=1200%2C533&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/renaissance.jpg?fit=1200%2C533&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/renaissance.jpg?fit=1200%2C533&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":446,"url":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2019\/08\/03\/back-to-school-and-back-to-educational-renaissance\/","url_meta":{"origin":1591,"position":4},"title":"Back to School and Back to Educational Renaissance","author":"Patrick Egan","date":"August 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Welcome back to a new school year and to a new year of Educational Renaissance! The back-to-school sale shelves are probably already picked over and disheveled, but Jason, Kolby and I are planning a whole series of great posts that will last you the whole school year. Look for our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Updates&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Updates","link":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/category\/updates\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"classroom waiting for students to return","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/classroom.jpg?fit=1200%2C858&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/classroom.jpg?fit=1200%2C858&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/classroom.jpg?fit=1200%2C858&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/classroom.jpg?fit=1200%2C858&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/classroom.jpg?fit=1200%2C858&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2435,"url":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/12\/04\/expanding-narrations-history-in-the-late-middle-ages-bernard-of-chartres-from-john-of-salisburys-metalogicon\/","url_meta":{"origin":1591,"position":5},"title":"Expanding Narration&#8217;s History in the late Middle Ages: Bernard of Chartres from John of Salisbury&#8217;s Metalogicon","author":"Jason Barney","date":"December 4, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"This is the third blog article expanding the short history of narration I laid out a year ago. In the last two I expanded my treatment of John Amos Comenius to engage in detail with the passages from The Great Didactic and the Analytical Didactic that recommend activities that Charlotte\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;History of Education&quot;","block_context":{"text":"History of Education","link":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/category\/history-of-education\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Chartres_-_Cathedrale_2012.01_08-e1638620744242.jpg?fit=799%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Chartres_-_Cathedrale_2012.01_08-e1638620744242.jpg?fit=799%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Chartres_-_Cathedrale_2012.01_08-e1638620744242.jpg?fit=799%2C533&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Chartres_-_Cathedrale_2012.01_08-e1638620744242.jpg?fit=799%2C533&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1591"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1591\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2841,"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1591\/revisions\/2841"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}