The Ambleside
Method is based upon the ideas of English author, philosopher and educator
Charlotte Mason (1842-1923), who founded a teacher training college in
Ambleside, England, inspired the creation of the Parents National Education
Union, and shaped the work of education in hundreds of primary and secondary
schools worldwide. Her ideas are set forth extensively in a six volume
collection of her writings, and can be summarized as follows: Children are born
Persons and Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline and a Life.
Children as Persons
We attempt to define a person, the most commonplace person we know, but he will
not submit to bounds; some unexpected beauty of nature breaks out; we find he is
not what we thought, and begin to suspect that every person exceeds our power of
measurement. I believe that the first article of a valid educational creed -
'Children are born persons' - is of a revolutionary character... We must either
reverence or despise children; and while we regard them as incomplete and
undeveloped beings... rather than as weak and ignorant persons, (whose ignorance
we must inform and whose weakness we must support, but whose potentialities are
as great as our own), we cannot do otherwise than despise children, however
kindly or even tenderly we commit the offence.
(Charlotte Mason)
At Ambleside, no child is viewed as an incomplete and undeveloped being; like
so much clay in the hands of a system, to be molded by various manipulative
techniques. Rather, all children are viewed as persons, created in the image of
God with a vast potential. Students are not classified according to strengths or
weaknesses, but all participate in a broad, rigorous curriculum. All children
calculate, solve, attend, explore, ponder, recite, paint, and sing. All children
are held to a high standard in relationship to self, others, ideas, and work.
All children are expected to have their ignorance informed and their weakness
strengthened, but also to surprise and amaze with the wonder of their God-given
potential.
Education as an Atmosphere
The bracing atmosphere of truth and sincerity should be perceived in every
school; and here again the common pursuit of knowledge by teacher and class
comes to our aid and creates a current of fresh air perceptible even to the
chance visitor, who sees the glow of intellectual life and the moral health on
the faces of teachers and children alike.
(Charlotte Mason)
Released from the burden of competing for ranks, grades, or prizes, Ambleside
students are free to learn for the pleasure of learning. Ambleside teachers
maintain a classroom atmosphere that is both inspiring and rigorous. Students
encounter real life and great ideas in a natural manner. They observe, explore,
understand, and respond. They experience the guiding hand of a teacher that is
both loving and firm, allowing the natural consequences of their actions to be
experienced, be they enjoyable or somewhat unpleasant.
Education as a Discipline
By this formula we mean the discipline of habits formed definitely and
thoughtfully whether habits of mind or of body. Physiologists tell us of the
adaptation of brain structure to habitual lines of thought, i.e. to our habits.
(Charlotte Mason)
Rather than placing primary emphasis upon performance on the next exam, at
Ambleside, teachers focus on the kind of student a child is becoming. Does he
give focused attention to the task at hand? Does she put forth consistent
effort? Is he thorough? Does she show proper respect to authority? Does he
relate well to his peers? In cultivating the habits proper to learning,
Ambleside teachers equip students to master all areas of study to the fullness
of their God-given potential. In cultivating the habits proper to mature living,
Ambleside teachers prepare students to live full and satisfying lives, rich in
devotion to God, service to others, and continuing personal growth.
Education as a Life
For the mind is capable of dealing with only one kind of food; it lives, grows
and is nourished upon ideas only; mere information is to it as a meal of sawdust
to the body; there are no organs for the assimilation of the one more than of
the other.
(Charlotte Mason)
Education properly understood is not merely the assimilation of data and
technique; it is the mind feeding on ideas given expression in God's creation,
great works of art, musical masterpieces, and living books. Real learning occurs
when students engage with novelists, poets, philosophers, scientists,
mathematicians, artists, musicians, historians, and explorers; when they wonder
"Why?" and
"How?". Ambleside teachers foster such an engagement using the
Ambleside Curriculum.