{"id":1816,"date":"2021-01-23T08:18:24","date_gmt":"2021-01-23T14:18:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/?p=1816"},"modified":"2023-05-01T20:38:17","modified_gmt":"2023-05-02T01:38:17","slug":"history-narration-charlotte-mason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the History of Narration Matters, Part 4: Charlotte Mason&#8217;s Practice of Narration in Historical Perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In this series I have contended that <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2020\/10\/03\/why-the-history-of-narration-matters-part-1-charlotte-masons-discovery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the history of narration should bring Charlotte Mason educators and classical Christian educators together.<\/a> That is because narration\u2019s use as a pedagogical practice in the classical tradition illustrates vividly the connection between the two. When we know this history and turn to Charlotte Mason\u2019s advocacy for the practice of narration as a central learning strategy, we see her not as a scientific modernist, intent on casting aside the liberal arts tradition of education, but as a renaissance-style educator. Mason was seeking to revive the best of ancient wisdom about education, even as she sifted it from a Christian worldview and bolstered it with the legitimate advances of modern research.&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 4: CM&#039;s Practice of Narration in Historical Perspective\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2ANT0iw4AUs?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>Mason\u2019s revival of narration therefore stands as a signpost of her larger project. And it is a project that we find inspiration from here at Educational Renaissance. <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2019\/02\/01\/renaissance-education-looking-to-the-past-to-chart-a-course-for-education-today\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The renaissance <\/a>had a healthy respect for and appreciation of the classical past, while at the same time being quite innovative in a number of areas. In a way <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/charlotte-mason\/charlotte-masons-practice-of-narration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">narration<\/a> is simply one piece of this broader puzzle: all the pieces will help create a more accurate picture of Charlotte Mason as an educator within the liberal arts tradition of education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"575\" data-attachment-id=\"1818\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/narrate-by-nature\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Narrate-by-nature.png?fit=1292%2C725&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1292,725\" 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=\"Narrate-by-nature\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Narrate-by-nature.png?fit=300%2C168&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Narrate-by-nature.png?fit=1024%2C575&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Narrate-by-nature.png?resize=1024%2C575&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1818\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Narrate-by-nature.png?resize=1024%2C575&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Narrate-by-nature.png?resize=300%2C168&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Narrate-by-nature.png?resize=768%2C431&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Narrate-by-nature.png?w=1292&amp;ssl=1 1292w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In this article we come to <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/charlotte-mason\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Charlotte Mason herself<\/a> to see how her recommendations for narration square with those of the classical and renaissance educators we have surveyed. We will see that Mason\u2019s use of narration was at least as innovative as any other educator in its history, even if the steps she took make perfect sense as natural developments. In the process we will discern some new possibilities for narration, including how we could revive the narration practices of earlier educators to supplement Charlotte Mason\u2019s recommendations, or even reach out into new and uncharted territory with narration to attain new pedagogical goals.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We will begin by looking at three issues raised by <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/charlotte-mason\/charlotte-masons-practice-of-narration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Charlotte Mason\u2019s practice of narration<\/a>: 1) the focus on rich texts, 2) the main goal of knowing content, and 3) the methods of narration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Charlotte Mason\u2019s Practice of Narration, Issue 1: Focusing on Rich Texts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Readers who are familiar with Charlotte Mason will be aware of some of the ways that Mason\u2019s narration differs from that of the educators we have surveyed so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first and most obvious difference, perhaps, is that the focus of Mason\u2019s narration is upon a rich text, and not an informative lecture, as in <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/02\/why-the-history-of-narration-matters-part-3-narrations-rebirth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Erasmus or Comenius<\/a>, or else the telling of any story that the child knows, as in John Locke. In this way <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2020\/10\/24\/classical-roots-of-narration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mason sides with Aelius Theon, Quintilian<\/a> and the secondary steps detailed by Locke.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Charlotte Mason has a very practical and down-to-earth set of considerations for her decided preference for what she calls \u201cliving books\u201d over \u201coral teaching\u201d (not to mention the \u201cdry-as-dust\u201d textbooks of her era). Her thoughts in her third volume <em>School Education<\/em> are worth reproducing in full:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>&#8220;<strong>Reason for Oral Teaching.<\/strong>\u2013\u2013Intelligent teachers are well aware of the dry-as-dust character of school books, so they fall back upon the &#8216;oral&#8217; lesson, one of whose qualities must be that it is not <em>bookish<\/em>. Living ideas can be derived only from living minds, and so it occasionally happens that a vital spark is flashed from teacher to pupil. But this occurs only when the subject is one to which the teacher has given <em>original<\/em> thought. In most cases the oral lesson, or the more advanced lecture, consists of information got up by the teacher from various books, and imparted in language, a little pedantic, or a little commonplace, or a little reading-made-easy in style. At the best, the teacher is not likely to have vital interest in, and, consequently, original thought upon, a wide range of subjects.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>&#8220;<strong>Limitations of Teachers.<\/strong>\u2013\u2013We wish to place before the child open doors to many avenues of instruction and delight, in each one of which he should find quickening thoughts. We cannot expect a school to be manned by a dozen master-minds, and even if it were, and the scholar were taught by each in turn, it would be much to his disadvantage. What he wants of his teacher is moral and mental discipline, sympathy and direction; and it is better, on the whole, that the training of the pupil should be undertaken by one wise teacher than that he should be passed from hand to hand for this subject and that.&#8221;<\/p><cite>Charlotte Mason, <em>School Education<\/em>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amblesideonline.org\/CM\/vol3complete.html#170\"><em>vol 3 pg 170<\/em><\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>For Mason an inspirational lecture requires a master-mind, in a way the type of teacher that Erasmus called for in his work on education, who could interpret to his students the best of a whole host of great classical works of literature on all topics. But in Mason\u2019s day and age, the master-mind teacher approach would require experts on a variety of subjects, like science and literature, history and math, art and Bible\u2014a feat that was becoming less and less attainable as scholarship proliferated in the modern era. At the same time schooling was spreading to more and more children of the British empire, making this ideal less and less viable, or even desirable for teachers specifically. Teachers were no longer scholars. Specialization had virtually ruled that out.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large 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\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2724\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/edren-books\/copy-of-black-and-white-filter-and-friends-biking-life-quotes-4\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Copy-of-Black-and-White-Filter-and-Friends-Biking-Life-Quotes-4.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-Black-and-White-Filter-and-Friends-Biking-Life-Quotes-4\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Copy-of-Black-and-White-Filter-and-Friends-Biking-Life-Quotes-4.png?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Copy-of-Black-and-White-Filter-and-Friends-Biking-Life-Quotes-4.png?fit=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Copy-of-Black-and-White-Filter-and-Friends-Biking-Life-Quotes-4.png?resize=1024%2C1024&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2724\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Copy-of-Black-and-White-Filter-and-Friends-Biking-Life-Quotes-4.png?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Copy-of-Black-and-White-Filter-and-Friends-Biking-Life-Quotes-4.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Copy-of-Black-and-White-Filter-and-Friends-Biking-Life-Quotes-4.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Copy-of-Black-and-White-Filter-and-Friends-Biking-Life-Quotes-4.png?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Copy-of-Black-and-White-Filter-and-Friends-Biking-Life-Quotes-4.png?w=1080&amp;ssl=1 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>And for Mason the practice of narrating from rich texts allows the teacher to focus more, not less, on the \u201cmoral and mental discipline, sympathy and direction\u201d that students really need. As she says at the end of her 1st chapter on \u201cself-education\u201d in her final volume <em>Toward 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>&#8220;In urging a method of self-education for children in lieu of the vicarious education which prevails, I should like to dwell on the enormous relief to teachers, a self-sacrificing and greatly overburdened class; the difference is just that between driving a horse that is light and a horse that is heavy in hand; the former covers the ground of his own gay will and the driver goes merrily. The teacher who allows his scholars the freedom of the city of books is at liberty to be their guide, philosopher and friend; and is no longer the mere instrument of forcible intellectual feeding.&#8221; (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amblesideonline.org\/CM\/vol6complete.html#032\">vol 6 pg 32<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Narration focuses on living books or rich texts as a means of providing the most vibrant and vital source of thought, while relieving the average teacher of the burden of inspiration. She can be a <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2020\/02\/29\/the-flow-of-thought-part-8-restoring-the-school-of-philosophers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">philosopher-guide<\/a> even in territory she has not mastered to the point of being able to speak on it with power and conviction.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Exceptions to Focusing on Rich Texts Only<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>There is an exception clause to Charlotte Mason\u2019s nixing of oral teaching, and that is foreign languages. In her 6th volume <em>Toward a Philosophy of Education<\/em>, Mason reports on a development in foreign language instruction at her House of Education (the training school for future teachers and governesses) and the Parents Union School at Fairfield where they were apprentice-teachers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>&#8220;The French mistress gives, let us suppose, a lecture in history or literature lasting, say, for half an hour. At the end the students will narrate the substance of the lecture with few omissions and few errors.&#8221; (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amblesideonline.org\/CM\/vol6complete.html#212\">vol. 6, p. 212<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>It should be noted that this occurred with the senior students, and was a less frequent exercise than narrating from a text. Early training in French, German, Italian or Latin consisted of narrating from texts after they had been translated or \u201cthoroughly studied in grammar, syntax and style\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amblesideonline.org\/CM\/vol6complete.html#213\">vol. 6. p. 213<\/a>).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I would be remiss if I didn\u2019t mention Mason\u2019s concession to the value of oral teaching. As she herself admitted:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>&#8220;We cannot do without the oral lesson\u2014to introduce, to illustrate, to amplify, to sum up. My stipulation is that oral lessons should be like visits of angels, and that the child who has to walk through life, and has to find his intellectual food in books or go without, shall not be first taught to go upon crutches.&#8221; (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amblesideonline.org\/PR\/PR14p907ManifestoDiscussion.shtml\"><em>Parents Review<\/em>, Vol. 14, 1903, \u201cManifesto Discussion with Charlotte Mason\u201d, pp. 907-913<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>We have to wonder if Mason\u2019s concerns would have been quite the same, if podcasts had been available in her day\u2026 or equally, if books had not been so cheap and readily available. Mason seems to base her advice to focus on narrating from books upon the practical realities of <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2020\/03\/21\/the-flow-of-thought-part-9-the-lifelong-love-of-learning\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lifelong learning<\/a> that were available in her day. Books would be the chief source of intellectual nourishment for her students, and so they should learn to walk on their own two feet in reading books from the start.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Charlotte Mason\u2019s Practice of Narration, Issue 2: The Main Goal of Using Narration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The second area in which Charlotte Mason\u2019s practice of narration differs from the other <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2020\/10\/24\/classical-roots-of-narration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">educators of the classical era<\/a> or renaissance is in the main pedagogical goal. For Quintilian, Aelius Theon and John Locke the main goal had been rhetorical training: the development of style through imitation. Students were learning, through narrating texts or stories, to speak fluently and to the point, with concise and clear expression. They might very well remember many of the exact details of things they narrated, and certainly stocking the memory with words, phrases, ideas, and common topics was necessary. But the point of all that memory-stocking and practice was the students\u2019 own rhetorical style and fluency.&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=\"1819\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/800px-quintilian_institutio_oratoria_ed-_burman_leiden_1720_frontispiece-3\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/800px-Quintilian_Institutio_oratoria_ed._Burman_Leiden_1720_frontispiece-1.jpg?fit=800%2C1071&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"800,1071\" 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=\"800px-Quintilian,_Institutio_oratoria_ed._Burman_(Leiden_1720),_frontispiece\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/800px-Quintilian_Institutio_oratoria_ed._Burman_Leiden_1720_frontispiece-1.jpg?fit=224%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/800px-Quintilian_Institutio_oratoria_ed._Burman_Leiden_1720_frontispiece-1.jpg?fit=765%2C1024&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/800px-Quintilian_Institutio_oratoria_ed._Burman_Leiden_1720_frontispiece-1.jpg?resize=534%2C715&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Quintilian\" class=\"wp-image-1819\" width=\"534\" height=\"715\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/800px-Quintilian_Institutio_oratoria_ed._Burman_Leiden_1720_frontispiece-1.jpg?resize=765%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 765w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/800px-Quintilian_Institutio_oratoria_ed._Burman_Leiden_1720_frontispiece-1.jpg?resize=224%2C300&amp;ssl=1 224w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/800px-Quintilian_Institutio_oratoria_ed._Burman_Leiden_1720_frontispiece-1.jpg?resize=768%2C1028&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/800px-Quintilian_Institutio_oratoria_ed._Burman_Leiden_1720_frontispiece-1.jpg?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 534px) 100vw, 534px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>As you\u2019ll recall, this changed with <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/02\/why-the-history-of-narration-matters-part-3-narrations-rebirth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Erasmus and Comenius in the renaissance<\/a>. Now the focus was on the content of the teacher\u2019s lecture or explanation. And they even made a point of emphasizing that the substance of the things, rather than the style of the teacher\u2019s expression, was the important thing to be narrated in the child\u2019s own way. For them, the main goal of narration is the students\u2019 knowledge or memory of content, a scientific rather than rhetorical pedagogy, if you will. Students were learning, through narrating their teacher\u2019s lecture or explanation, certain truths either as background to a text or as pictures of the way the world works. The emphasis is entirely upon narration as a sealing up of new knowledge, and not upon the development of style.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, Charlotte Mason made an innovative leap. Familiar with&nbsp;John Locke\u2019s narration from texts to develop style and fluency in speech and writing, and perhaps also with Comenius (given her quotations from him), she fuses the approach of the two to focus narration upon rich texts, with the main goal of memory of content or the development of knowledge. If you take a moment to glance at the table I have made below, \u201cNarration in Historical Perspective Table,\u201d you can see that she has pulled from the left and top right sections down into the bottom right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/Ky81wgMvuHLuSLkHuiSAiUZ4ZtCG5CmCxjl7VB9KY5Ony4qw3CNvrtf-V4uu4fkwicdJnXZU9KMYXSaGkq6-LomgWbWe0K0nFwgtYAp4UBw5XteW1WVq2_WrHjKTjUTdRxOF-SZg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Now here we must note one or two exceptions that seem to indicate that Charlotte Mason had rhetorical training in mind, even if she preferred for various reasons not to emphasize it as the main goal of narration. For instance, when discussing composition of the youngest students (Form I) in her 6th volume, she mentions the style of students\u2019 narrations, as well as the accuracy of the content, saying, \u201cThe facts are sure to be accurate and the expression surprisingly vigorous, striking and unhesitating\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amblesideonline.org\/CM\/vol6complete.html#190\">vol. 6, p. 190<\/a>). However, she is still adamant against Locke\u2019s method of coaching students to correct their narrations, whether written or oral, in the younger years:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cCorrections must not be made during the act of narration, nor must any interruption be allowed.\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amblesideonline.org\/CM\/vol6complete.html#191\">vol. 6, p. 191<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cChildren must not be teased or instructed about the use of stops or capital letters. These things too come by nature to the child who reads, and the teacher&#8217;s instructions are apt to issue in the use of a pepper box for commas.\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amblesideonline.org\/CM\/vol6complete.html#191\">vol. 6, p. 191<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cBut let me again say there must be no attempt to teach composition.\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amblesideonline.org\/CM\/vol6complete.html#192\">vol. 6, p. 192<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Even for the oldest students (Forms V and VI), Mason\u2019s emphasis is against too much active focus on matters of style and rhetoric, preferring a natural imitative process that comes passively through a focus on content:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cForms V and VI. In these Forms some definite teaching in the art of composition is advisable, but not too much, lest the young scholars be saddled with a stilted style which may encumber them for life. Perhaps the method of a University tutor is the best that can be adopted; that is, a point or two might be taken up in a given composition and suggestions or corrections made with little talk. Having been brought up so far upon stylists the pupils are almost certain to have formed a good style; because they have been thrown into the society of many great minds, they will not make a servile copy of any one but will shape an individual style out of the wealth of material they possess; and because they have matter in abundance and of the best they will not write mere verbiage.&#8221; (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amblesideonline.org\/CM\/vol6complete.html#193\">vol. 6, pp. 193-194<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>In essence, Mason\u2019s approach to the development of style was as an afterthought that will take care of itself by narrating rich texts if the teacher doesn\u2019t get in the way. This approach will fall short of what many modern classical Christian educators desire, who value the revitalization of active teaching of <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2020\/12\/05\/training-the-prophetic-voice-part-6-classical-rhetoric-for-the-modern-world\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the art of rhetoric<\/a> as a major goal of the movement. We might situate Charlotte Mason in this conversation by imagining the dangers of a \u201cstilted style\u201d or overly programmatic formalist structure, that might result from certain types of prescriptive rhetorical training. The long, natural process of narration that Mason envisioned might, in and of itself, subvert the dangers of formalism in our students\u2019 writing and speaking, even if our schools do engage in somewhat more active coaching in grammar, punctuation, style and rhetorical forms than she envisioned.\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=563%2C563&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2783\" width=\"563\" height=\"563\" 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: 563px) 100vw, 563px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Charlotte Mason\u2019s Practice of Narration, Issue 3: The Method of Narration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We leave to the last the method of narration, whether oral or written. As we saw, classical educators often emphasized one or the other, or else both in sequence. Aelius Theon seemed to envision older pupils, trained in writing previously, coming into his rhetorical school ready to write their narrations immediately. Quintilian, and John Locke after him, envisioned a process that started earlier with oral narration, moving to written narration and composition exercises as students grew in facility with the skill of putting pen to paper. From reading in between the lines of their comments, Erasmus seemed to envision written narrations to be turned in to the teacher, while Comenius implied students becoming teachers explaining truths aloud to the rest of the class after the teacher had first done so.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Charlotte Mason provides the fullest vision for narration as a consistent pedagogical practice, where both oral and written narration play a consistent role in students\u2019 education. Students gently progress to writing their own narrations as they are able. Examinations at the end of the term utilize written \u201cnarration\u201d of any amount of knowledge previously stored in students\u2019 memories by initial narration. Given how central narration became in Charlotte Mason\u2019s schools, it is not surprising to find her and her schools after her innovating other creative ways to narrate through the fine and performing arts. Karen Glass quotes from an article in the <em>Parents\u2019 Review<\/em> long after Mason\u2019s death about the practice of artistic narrations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.karenglass.net\/know-and-tell\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" data-attachment-id=\"1791\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/02\/why-the-history-of-narration-matters-part-3-narrations-rebirth\/know-and-tell-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Know-and-Tell.png?fit=203%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"203,300\" 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=\"Know and Tell\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Know-and-Tell.png?fit=203%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Know-and-Tell.png?fit=203%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Know-and-Tell.png?resize=203%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Know and Tell\" class=\"wp-image-1791\"\/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cBut is narration&#8230;always merely \u2018telling back\u2019? It must be, we know, the child\u2019s answer to \u2018What comes next?\u2019 It can be acted, with good speaking parts and plenty of criticism from actors and onlookers; nothing may be added or left out. Map drawing can be an excellent narration, or, maybe, clay modelling will supply the means to answer that question, or paper and poster paints, or chalks, even a paper model with scissors and paste pot. Always, however, there should be talk as well, the answer expressed in words; that is, the picture painted, the clay model, etc., will be described and fully described, because, with few exceptions, only words are really satisfying.\u201d (<em>Know and Tell<\/em>, pp. 46, 48)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>It may be a matter of debate how much these dramatic and artistic forms of \u201cnarration\u201d began during Charlotte Mason\u2019s lifetime, and to what extent they would fall under her definition of narration. Interestingly, Helen Wix, the author of this article, emphasizes the need for words. Acted narrations require words necessarily and are attested nearer Miss Mason\u2019s time (see the second block quote on <em>Know and Tell<\/em>, p. 48 from <em>The Parents\u2019 Review <\/em>of 1924, the year after Mason\u2019s death). We also know that illustrations of particular moments from a literature or history book were a common practice in PNEU schools that Mason supported. So I have included drawn and acted narrations as innovations of Charlotte Mason. But it seems clear that oral and written narration were always the core and regular daily methods of narration, while other artistic \u201cnarrations\u201d featured as occasional experiences that kept things fresh.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Practice of Narration for Charlotte Mason and Classical Christian Educators Today<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>What can we learn from this history of narration to guide our practices today? I will conclude this series with a list of propositions and suggestions for the future of narration in our movements today. These twelve points summarize what we\u2019ve learned and point forward to exciting possibilities for using narration as classical Christian and Charlotte Mason educators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/Ky81wgMvuHLuSLkHuiSAiUZ4ZtCG5CmCxjl7VB9KY5Ony4qw3CNvrtf-V4uu4fkwicdJnXZU9KMYXSaGkq6-LomgWbWe0K0nFwgtYAp4UBw5XteW1WVq2_WrHjKTjUTdRxOF-SZg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Narration began in the rhetorical tradition with the main goal of developing students\u2019 style in rhetorical training.<\/li><li>Renaissance educators shifted the focus of narration from books to lectures and the goal of narration from style to knowledge of content.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Charlotte Mason adapted narration from the tradition for her context in accordance with her philosophy of education and mind.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Her innovations in narration included taking the focus on rich texts from the classical era and joining it with the main goal of knowledge of content from the Renaissance educators.&nbsp;<\/li><li>She also elevated it to the core status of the primary teaching and learning tool of the PNEU, a development that has support from modern research on retrieval practice.<\/li><li>Therefore, classical Christian educators who adopt narration may want to revive some of the rhetorical training pedagogy from John Locke, Quintilian and Aelius Theon.<\/li><li>Educators who follow Charlotte Mason may also want to consider more carefully her concerns about training in style or composition and whether or not the concerns she had about creating a \u201cstilted style\u201d were responding to specific trends in composition or rhetoric instruction during her day.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Perhaps some Masonites will opt for more explicit rhetorical training than she might have envisioned, even while avoiding the errors she was warning against.<\/li><li>Given the technological developments of our modern world in audio and video recording and the free accessibility of high quality material from \u201cliving\u201d voices and scholars, both Masonites and classical Christian educators might want to expand the role of inspirational lectures and oral teaching in education, with narration as the learning tool for either content or style.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Classical Christian educators may feel that many of their teachers (or video instructors) reach the level of \u201cmaster-minds\u201d (in Charlotte Mason\u2019s terms) and therefore inspirational lectures should play a larger role in their schools, or online courses.&nbsp;<\/li><li>If the power of the spoken word is gaining new prominence through video recording and sharing technologies, then perhaps the next important innovation in narration would be to employ video recordings of great modern orators for students to narrate with the goal of developing their own rhetorical style, while also learning content.<\/li><li>At the same time, the use of lectures\/speeches as a focus of narration should not crowd out the central importance of rich texts (either for Charlotte Mason or the classical tradition). In our day and age, a facility with the thoughts of the best minds of earlier eras has never been more crucial for students\u2019 development of moral wisdom and historical judgment.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Hope you have enjoyed this series! Share your thoughts in the comments on why you think the history of narration matters.<\/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=\"\" 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>Earlier articles in this series:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2020\/10\/03\/why-the-history-of-narration-matters-part-1-charlotte-masons-discovery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Part 1: Charlotte Mason\u2019s Discovery?<\/a><\/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","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this series I have contended that the history of narration should bring Charlotte Mason educators and classical Christian educators together. That is because narration\u2019s use as a pedagogical practice in the classical tradition illustrates vividly the connection between the two. When we know this history and turn to Charlotte Mason\u2019s advocacy for the practice [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1822,"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":[374,369,70,11,24,93,628,140,23,114,101,368,297,117,27,367,175,155,171],"class_list":["post-1816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-of-education","tag-a-classical-guide-to-narration-by-jason-barney","tag-aelius-theon","tag-attention","tag-charlotte-mason","tag-classical-education","tag-history","tag-in-the-classroom","tag-john-locke","tag-liberal-arts","tag-memory","tag-narration","tag-quintilian","tag-renaissance","tag-retrieval-practice","tag-rhetoric","tag-rhetorical-tradition","tag-style","tag-trivium","tag-writing"],"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 4: Charlotte Mason&#039;s Practice of Narration in Historical Perspective &#8226;<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"See how Charlotte Mason&#039;s practice of narration innovated on the history of narration in classical and renaissance educators.\" \/>\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\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/\" \/>\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 4: Charlotte Mason&#039;s Practice of Narration in Historical Perspective &#8226;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"See how Charlotte Mason&#039;s practice of narration innovated on the history of narration in classical and renaissance educators.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-01-23T14:18:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-02T01:38:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/16813474792_c751c5480b_z.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"424\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jason Barney\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jason Barney\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"17 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jason Barney\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/#\/schema\/person\/daafd4e85c42df9c7500e6141085ad9c\"},\"headline\":\"Why the History of Narration Matters, Part 4: Charlotte Mason&#8217;s Practice of Narration in Historical Perspective\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-23T14:18:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-02T01:38:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/\"},\"wordCount\":3398,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2d4cdc44e87637ecf2c2c4327e66ade6\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/16813474792_c751c5480b_z.jpg?fit=640%2C424&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"A Classical Guide to Narration by Jason Barney\",\"Aelius Theon\",\"attention\",\"Charlotte Mason\",\"classical education\",\"History\",\"in the classroom\",\"John Locke\",\"liberal arts\",\"memory\",\"narration\",\"Quintilian\",\"renaissance\",\"retrieval practice\",\"rhetoric\",\"rhetorical tradition\",\"style\",\"trivium\",\"writing\"],\"articleSection\":[\"History of Education\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/\",\"name\":\"Why the History of Narration Matters, Part 4: Charlotte Mason's Practice of Narration in Historical Perspective &#8226;\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/16813474792_c751c5480b_z.jpg?fit=640%2C424&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-23T14:18:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-02T01:38:17+00:00\",\"description\":\"See how Charlotte Mason's practice of narration innovated on the history of narration in classical and renaissance educators.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/16813474792_c751c5480b_z.jpg?fit=640%2C424&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/16813474792_c751c5480b_z.jpg?fit=640%2C424&ssl=1\",\"width\":640,\"height\":424},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why the History of Narration Matters, Part 4: Charlotte Mason&#8217;s Practice of Narration in Historical Perspective\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/\",\"name\":\"\",\"description\":\"Promoting a Rebirth of Ancient Wisdom for the Modern Era\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2d4cdc44e87637ecf2c2c4327e66ade6\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2d4cdc44e87637ecf2c2c4327e66ade6\",\"name\":\"Patrick Egan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cropped-Screenshot-2025-02-23-at-10.17.57%E2%80%AFPM-1.png?fit=1093%2C995&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cropped-Screenshot-2025-02-23-at-10.17.57%E2%80%AFPM-1.png?fit=1093%2C995&ssl=1\",\"width\":1093,\"height\":995,\"caption\":\"Patrick Egan\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/#\/schema\/person\/daafd4e85c42df9c7500e6141085ad9c\",\"name\":\"Jason Barney\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/68f53261a8897c2f55227c2cced4ef37313f06b32b7e93d43bd6e109d3bafede?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/68f53261a8897c2f55227c2cced4ef37313f06b32b7e93d43bd6e109d3bafede?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jason Barney\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/author\/jasonmbarney\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why the History of Narration Matters, Part 4: Charlotte Mason's Practice of Narration in Historical Perspective &#8226;","description":"See how Charlotte Mason's practice of narration innovated on the history of narration in classical and renaissance educators.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why the History of Narration Matters, Part 4: Charlotte Mason's Practice of Narration in Historical Perspective &#8226;","og_description":"See how Charlotte Mason's practice of narration innovated on the history of narration in classical and renaissance educators.","og_url":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/","article_published_time":"2021-01-23T14:18:24+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-05-02T01:38:17+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":424,"url":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/16813474792_c751c5480b_z.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jason Barney","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jason Barney","Est. reading time":"17 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/"},"author":{"name":"Jason Barney","@id":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/#\/schema\/person\/daafd4e85c42df9c7500e6141085ad9c"},"headline":"Why the History of Narration Matters, Part 4: Charlotte Mason&#8217;s Practice of Narration in Historical Perspective","datePublished":"2021-01-23T14:18:24+00:00","dateModified":"2023-05-02T01:38:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/"},"wordCount":3398,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2d4cdc44e87637ecf2c2c4327e66ade6"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/16813474792_c751c5480b_z.jpg?fit=640%2C424&ssl=1","keywords":["A Classical Guide to Narration by Jason Barney","Aelius Theon","attention","Charlotte Mason","classical education","History","in the classroom","John Locke","liberal arts","memory","narration","Quintilian","renaissance","retrieval practice","rhetoric","rhetorical tradition","style","trivium","writing"],"articleSection":["History of Education"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/","url":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/","name":"Why the History of Narration Matters, Part 4: Charlotte Mason's Practice of Narration in Historical Perspective &#8226;","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/16813474792_c751c5480b_z.jpg?fit=640%2C424&ssl=1","datePublished":"2021-01-23T14:18:24+00:00","dateModified":"2023-05-02T01:38:17+00:00","description":"See how Charlotte Mason's practice of narration innovated on the history of narration in classical and renaissance educators.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/16813474792_c751c5480b_z.jpg?fit=640%2C424&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/16813474792_c751c5480b_z.jpg?fit=640%2C424&ssl=1","width":640,"height":424},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/23\/history-narration-charlotte-mason\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why the History of Narration Matters, Part 4: Charlotte Mason&#8217;s Practice of Narration in Historical Perspective"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/","name":"","description":"Promoting a Rebirth of Ancient Wisdom for the Modern Era","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2d4cdc44e87637ecf2c2c4327e66ade6"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2d4cdc44e87637ecf2c2c4327e66ade6","name":"Patrick Egan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cropped-Screenshot-2025-02-23-at-10.17.57%E2%80%AFPM-1.png?fit=1093%2C995&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cropped-Screenshot-2025-02-23-at-10.17.57%E2%80%AFPM-1.png?fit=1093%2C995&ssl=1","width":1093,"height":995,"caption":"Patrick Egan"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/#\/schema\/person\/daafd4e85c42df9c7500e6141085ad9c","name":"Jason Barney","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/68f53261a8897c2f55227c2cced4ef37313f06b32b7e93d43bd6e109d3bafede?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/68f53261a8897c2f55227c2cced4ef37313f06b32b7e93d43bd6e109d3bafede?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jason Barney"},"url":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/author\/jasonmbarney\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/16813474792_c751c5480b_z.jpg?fit=640%2C424&ssl=1","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/16813474792_c751c5480b_z.jpg?fit=640%2C424&ssl=1",640,424,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/16813474792_c751c5480b_z.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/16813474792_c751c5480b_z.jpg?fit=300%2C199&ssl=1",300,199,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/16813474792_c751c5480b_z.jpg?fit=640%2C424&ssl=1",640,424,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/16813474792_c751c5480b_z.jpg?fit=640%2C424&ssl=1",640,424,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/16813474792_c751c5480b_z.jpg?fit=640%2C424&ssl=1",640,424,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/16813474792_c751c5480b_z.jpg?fit=640%2C424&ssl=1",640,424,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Jason Barney","author_link":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/author\/jasonmbarney\/"},"uagb_comment_info":1,"uagb_excerpt":"In this series I have contended that the history of narration should bring Charlotte Mason educators and classical Christian educators together. That is because narration\u2019s use as a pedagogical practice in the classical tradition illustrates vividly the connection between the two. When we know this history and turn to Charlotte Mason\u2019s advocacy for the practice&hellip;","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa7K1D-ti","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1591,"url":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2020\/10\/03\/why-the-history-of-narration-matters-part-1-charlotte-masons-discovery\/","url_meta":{"origin":1816,"position":0},"title":"Why The History of Narration Matters, Part 1: Charlotte Mason&#8217;s Discovery?","author":"Jason Barney","date":"October 3, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve decided to put the series on Bloom'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\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":"an old and traditional school room","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Canva-Brown-Wooden-Desks-With-Benches.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Canva-Brown-Wooden-Desks-With-Benches.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Canva-Brown-Wooden-Desks-With-Benches.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Canva-Brown-Wooden-Desks-With-Benches.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Canva-Brown-Wooden-Desks-With-Benches.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1713,"url":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2020\/11\/21\/narration-course-for-classical-u-a-rehearsal-sneak-peek\/","url_meta":{"origin":1816,"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. Our working titles are A Classical Guide to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Charlotte Mason&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Charlotte Mason","link":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/category\/charlotte-mason\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"civic building with classical style of architecture","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/ancient-classical-order-on-historical-building-in-london-picjumbo-com-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/ancient-classical-order-on-historical-building-in-london-picjumbo-com-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/ancient-classical-order-on-historical-building-in-london-picjumbo-com-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/ancient-classical-order-on-historical-building-in-london-picjumbo-com-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/ancient-classical-order-on-historical-building-in-london-picjumbo-com-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1645,"url":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2020\/10\/24\/classical-roots-of-narration\/","url_meta":{"origin":1816,"position":2},"title":"Why the History of Narration Matters, Part 2: Classical Roots","author":"Jason Barney","date":"October 24, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"In my last article I shared the first piece of why the history of narration matters: it has the potential to break down the barrier between the Charlotte Mason community and classical educators. 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":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":1816,"position":3},"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":[]},{"id":1785,"url":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/01\/02\/why-the-history-of-narration-matters-part-3-narrations-rebirth\/","url_meta":{"origin":1816,"position":4},"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":568,"url":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2019\/10\/05\/the-flow-of-thought-part-3-narration-as-flow\/","url_meta":{"origin":1816,"position":5},"title":"The Flow of Thought, Part 3: Narration as Flow","author":"Jason Barney","date":"October 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s been a little while since my last article on the flow of thought, or how Mihayli Csikszentmihalyi\u2019s concept of flow can support the philosophy of classical education. In the meantime, I\u2019ve shared an early version of my eBook on implementing Charlotte Mason\u2019s practice of narration in the classroom (see\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Modern Research&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Modern Research","link":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/category\/modern-research\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"reading book in flow","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Canva-Reading-the-book.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Canva-Reading-the-book.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Canva-Reading-the-book.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Canva-Reading-the-book.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Canva-Reading-the-book.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1816","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=1816"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1816\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2835,"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1816\/revisions\/2835"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}