{"id":1275,"date":"2023-01-31T19:00:22","date_gmt":"2023-02-01T00:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amblesideschools.org\/?p=1275"},"modified":"2025-04-09T15:19:28","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T19:19:28","slug":"ideas-to-ponder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amblesideschools.org\/ideas-to-ponder\/","title":{"rendered":"Ideas to Ponder"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row_content&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;true&#8221; custom_padding_t=&#8221;30&#8243; custom_padding_b=&#8221;30&#8243; row_hide_sm=&#8221;yes&#8221; row_hide_md=&#8221;yes&#8221; row_hide_xs=&#8221;yes&#8221; css_zindex=&#8221;999&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1706724022972{background-color: #faf5eb !important;}&#8221;][vc_column]<div class=\"templatera_shortcode\"><div class=\"container-fluid row_section vc_row_cp_lr_15 vc_row_cp_t_0 vc_row_cp_b_0\"><div  class=\"vc_row wpb_row vc_row-fluid vc_column-gap-15 rdy_vc_row-o-equal-height 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vc_column_container_6953b037698a6365565267 column_vertical_align_bottom\" style=\"text-align:right;z-index:0\"><div class=\"vc_column-inner \"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t<div class=\"wpb_raw_code wpb_content_element wpb_raw_html\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t  <style>\n\/* Style The Dropdown Button *\/\n.dropbtn2 {\n  background-color: #faf5eb;\n  color: white;\n  padding: 10px 14px 10px 14px;\n  text-align: center;\n  font-size: 12px;\n  border: none;\n  cursor: pointer;\n}\n\n\/* The container <div> - needed to position the dropdown content *\/\n.dropdown {\n  position: relative;\n  display: inline-block;\n}\n\n\/* Dropdown Content (Hidden by Default) *\/\n.dropdown-content {\n  display: none;\n  position: absolute;\n  text-align: left;\n  background-color: #f9f9f9;\n  min-width: 100px;\n  box-shadow: 0px 8px 16px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0.2);\n  z-index: 10000;\n}\n\n\/* Links inside the dropdown *\/\n.dropdown-content a {\n  color: black;\n  padding: 12px 16px;\n  text-decoration: none;\n  display: block;\n}\n\n\/* Change color of dropdown links on hover *\/\n.dropdown-content a:hover {background-color: #f1f1f1}\n\n\/* Show the dropdown menu on hover *\/\n.dropdown:hover .dropdown-content {\n  display: block;\n}\n<\/div> \n<\/style>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"wpb_raw_code wpb_content_element wpb_raw_html\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"dropdown\">\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/amblesideschools.org\/about-us\/\"><button class=\"dropbtn2\"><h5 style=\"color:black;\">ABOUT US<\/h5><\/button><\/a>\n  <div class=\"dropdown-content\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/amblesideschools.org\/philosophy-of-education\/\">Philosophy<\/a>\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/amblesideschools.org\/history\/\">History<\/a>\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/amblesideschools.org\/faith-commitment\/\">Faith Commitment<\/a>\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/amblesideschools.org\/accreditation\/\">Accreditation<\/a>\n    <a 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Mason<\/a><\/span><\/h5><\/div><div class=\"vc_empty_space  vc_empty_space_3\"   style=\"height: 10px\" ><span class=\"vc_empty_space_inner\"><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"vc_custom_heading vc_custom_heading_6953b0376af77682798682\" ><h5 style=\"font-size: 17px;color: #000000;text-align: left\"><span class=\"hilight\"  ><a href=\"https:\/\/amblesideschools.org\/blog\/\">Articles<\/a><\/span><\/h5><\/div><div class=\"vc_empty_space  vc_empty_space_4\"   style=\"height: 10px\" ><span class=\"vc_empty_space_inner\"><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"vc_custom_heading vc_custom_heading_6953b0376b07a714789852\" ><h5 style=\"font-size: 17px;color: #000000;text-align: left\"><span class=\"hilight\"  ><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amblesideschools.com\/main\/educator-support\" target=\"_blank\">Members<\/a><\/span><\/h5><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>[\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;3\/4&#8243;][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/amblesideschools.org\/blog\/\"><span style=\"color: #003865;\">&gt; Return to Articles<\/span><\/a><\/h4>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;30&#8243;][vc_custom_heading text=&#8221;Ideas to Ponder&#8221; use_theme_fonts=&#8221;yes&#8221; font_container=&#8221;tag:h1|font_size:30|text_align:left|color:%23020202&#8243;][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;15&#8243;][vc_separator width_in_percentages=&#8221;yes&#8221;][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;30&#8243;][vc_column_text]As an Ambleside teacher, we often discuss our \u201cparadigm shift\u2019 \u2013 from textbooks, grades, and stickers to \u201cliving books,\u201d \u201cnarrations,\u201d and \u201chabits.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s difficult, for many of us.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re not just learning about a method of education; we\u2019re learning again <em>how <\/em>to learn. Often, I hear a parent say, \u201cI\u2019m glad my children are getting this kind of education.\u201d\u00a0 You ought to be glad! I would know. I was one of them.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Before I was sixteen years old, I had never received a formal grade. I wrote my first formal essay when I was fourteen. We used a science textbook once for about two weeks before my mother threw it out. In our home there were no workbooks, stickers, rewards, or detentions. We were expected to do as we ought, <em>because <\/em>we ought.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>You see, I was blessed to grow up in a Charlotte Mason homeschool. My mother read <em>For the Children\u2019s Sake<\/em> while my sister and I played pioneers in the woods or drew the solar system on the sidewalk. Our school day was full of books and more books. Queen Elizabeth, Bilbo Baggins, the planet Saturn, Purple Coneflowers, and Leonardo da Vinci were among our daily acquaintances. We &#8216;retold\u2019 the stories from our lessons in the car, in the kitchen, and in copybooks that are still stacked in the backs of our closets. Education in our home meant the direct confrontation with real things \u2013 real books, real nature, real ideas \u2013 and the struggle that follows as your mind takes in and digests new knowledge.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cThe mind feeds on ideas,\u201d Charlotte Mason wrote,<\/p>\n<p>\u201cand therefore children should have a generous curriculum.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>From a young age, I was privileged to feed deeply and widely at a banquet of knowledge. We reflected upon and discussed ideas, not just facts. And we <em>cared<\/em> about what we learned. We cried when Beth died in <em>Little Women<\/em> and became outraged at Benedict Arnold\u2019s treachery. Everything we read took root inside us, and we lived it. This is a joy that I now experience alongside my students each day, in my Ambleside classroom. I see the excitement on their faces, and I recognize it because I have felt it, too.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>At times, I think this method of education seemed frivolous to outsiders -\u2013 as though my parents weren\u2019t concerned enough about our preparation for college or the workplace, as though they were gambling with our future.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But a Charlotte Mason education is an inheritance <em>within<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Jesus said, \u201cThe good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good.\u201d ~ Luke 6:45<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>On the outside, this education may seem impractical, but on the inside a child has amassed a treasure beyond rubies \u2013 and certainly beyond any career goal or college award. I have never wished that my parents had given me more tests or grades, that they had replaced our family love affair with learning with a staid set of workbooks and drills. But I am thankful every day for the riches of my education.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>As we partner in this great work of education, let us remember that we are feeding the souls of <em>persons<\/em>, who deserve to feast on the riches of God\u2019s creation. One day, they will thank you for it.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 An Ambleside Teacher<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;30&#8243;][vc_separator width_in_percentages=&#8221;yes&#8221;][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;30&#8243;][vc_column_text]Image: Benedict Arnold\u2019s Oath of Allegiance, May 30, 1778[\/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]JTVCeWFycHAlNUQ=[\/vc_raw_html][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As an Ambleside teacher, we often discuss our \u201cparadigm shift\u2019 \u2013 from textbooks, grades, and stickers to \u201cliving books,\u201d \u201cnarrations,\u201d and \u201chabits.\u201d It\u2019s difficult, for many of us. We\u2019re not just learning about a method of education; we\u2019re learning again how to learn. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[88,96,142,187],"class_list":["post-1275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spiritual-formation","tag-charlotte-mason","tag-curriculum","tag-education","tag-living-ideas"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Ideas to Ponder - Ambleside International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Charlotte Mason wrote, \u201cThe mind feeds on ideas...and therefore children should have a generous curriculum.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/amblesideschools.org\/ideas-to-ponder\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ideas to Ponder - 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