Today I am sharing with you an article that I have found tremendously helpful over the years! It has helped me be a better teacher in my home, at church, in our co-op, and during immersion sessions. I have shared it many times when meeting with others trying to teach in a Mason paradigm. In fact, this was a very helpful article to use in one of our TBG planning meetings.
Crits is shorthand for criticism lessons. Mason would watch her student teachers give lessons and then she critiqued them. The notes shared here are chock full of wonderful tips. I first read this article in Karen Andreola‘s Parents’ Review magazine, Vol. 3, Winter, 1993-1994 and she has graciously given me permission to reprint it here. Do share with me your favorite nugget in the comments below!
Warmly,
Nancy
Criticism Lessons: Some Personal Memories of Charlotte Mason by Essex Cholmondeley, Parents’ Review 1963
Much activity went on this fall. The squirrels made ready their treasury of nuts, the mice their store of grain. To those who are passing the winter in sleep hunger will be their first experience when the early sunshine summons them from their nests. One mouse forgot its granary, hidden near a shrub in the garden, and when a sleepy winter has ended, up will spring a small crop of wheat. For nuts and seeds are full of vitality, they wait patiently for a long time before they spring to life.
The little hoard, laid before you in these pages, has waited forty years before coming to light. It was buried in an old note-book, a store of ideas collected week by week during the two years’ training given at the House of Education, Ambleside (now the Charlotte Mason College). The student was discovering, during the period known as Criticism Lessons, an approach to knowledge direct, simple and within reach of all.
Criticism Lessons – how vividly they come to my mind with their moments of intense effort and endurance. They were held in the room at Scale How which had once been the drawing-room, complete with glass chandelier and French windows. Now it was a classroom: rows of students were seated at the back of the room, the members of the teaching staff forming a semicircle opposite them. In the space by the windows there were desks, or a table and chairs, ready for the children who were even now walking up the drive from Fairfield School. When they had entered and taken their places with the student-teacher who was to give the first lesson, the door was left open. Presently Miss Mason entered, with a smile for children and students, and the session began.
The notebook records the remarks made by Miss Mason at the end of the morning when the lessons were criticized. First the students were asked to contribute, then the staff. Finally Miss Mason said a few words of comment and these words, copied verbatim from the notebook, proved to be a veritable store of nuts, a life-long possession of ideas to the students.
The notes are grouped under subject for easier reading:
The Life of Nelson.
A dull lesson because of the teacher’s lack of animation. She was not interested in nor proud of Nelson. Put more of yourselves into what you can do. But don’t think about yourselves. Be on the qui vive. Listen to the narration enthusiastically. Listen actively. The PNEU has discovered the power of attention and it is making a revolution in education.
History.
Narration should not be accepted as perfect unless it really is so. ‘One, two, three, four things have been left out. Who can give them?’ Imperfect narration means imperfect attention. Perfect attention is easier to give than imperfect.
Put the ‘little minds’ of children out of your thoughts. Children have just as big minds as we have.
Power of attention shows an educated man.
Alert attention (animation) is the first duty of the teacher.
Where and how are we to appeal to the imagination? At the beginning of the lesson.
Teachers must teach less and scholars must learn more.
Miss X was panic-stricken because the lesson was not going well – that’s the moment to rally.
Emphasize proper names. Read always as if deeply interested yourself. Read at people and meet the eyes of those who read to us and to whom we read.
Lady Jane Grey.
The Greek tragedies aroused the emotions of pity and fear. A historical drama should in the same way arouse emotions of pity and admiration.
Guard against inertia, be alert.
What little the teacher does must be done extremely well.
Geography.
The subject was rendered commonplace.
If you do not think about the matter at hand, you think about yourself.
Conceive the whole thing. Do not interrupt narration either by questions or by any other means. This lesson was not sufficiently nutritive.
Nature Study.
Narration can be helped by means of headings on the blackboard, by an interested manner, not by questions but by remarks.
Science.
There are two ways of approach: read and narrate first, then experiment; or, experiment first, then read and narrate.
You cannot tell what you don’t know.
Clear speaking is a sign of cultivation.
Botany.
A clear general idea is what we want; we can always make our own additions and corrections, noting exceptions
The British Museum.
Never wait too long for narration and wait expectantly.
Picture Study.
Let the children look again and again and again at the picture.
Scripture.
Dull passages – sufficient animation and interest should carry the children through these and should learn at a single reading.
Indian History.
It is the teacher’s duty to show by her attitude that, though other religions have light, our religion has the supreme light.
English Literature.
We must pass on our feeling, but not our opinion…feeling kindles feeling.
Latin.
Make the children see that the book is the thing. Let them get over their own stiles. (A stile is a step or set of steps for passing over a fence or wall such as they have throughout the countryside in the Lake District of England. – Ed.)
English Grammar.
People do not do any more than they are expected to do, or know more than they are expected to know.
Never lose sight of last term’s work.
Children should have ‘the grand elemental principle of pleasure’ in their work and the teacher must share in the pleasure.
Joan of Arc.
(The notebook describes an incident fully.)The children had given good narration of the book used during this lesson. During the criticism period, one student said that the class was ‘not given enough work to do.’ Miss Mason asked which of those who agreed with this criticism could narrate the lesson with all the dates, names, etc.? No one volunteered to try.
Miss Mason then showed us that the clear narration of things read or heard is true work of the mind. We must not think that because this work is done easily and invisibly that it is not true work. ‘Prove that it is work by doing it yourselves. It is not the question which Miss Jones asks Mary Robinson that makes Mary work, but the question which Mary asks Mary. You must all be Mary Robinsons.’
Miss Mason went on to say that the best work is not visible: it doesn’t not employ the reasoning here, the imagination there. It employs the whole mind, for the mind is a whole, not a parcel of faculties. One should not think that what is not seen does not exist: when the whole mind is at work, knowledge infallibly results.
Well, there is the sort of notebook-nuts. Each one has its full kernel. Happy are the teachers who can crack them and use the contents; they will find a vital approach to knowledge.
you kind of answered the question i had too about this quote “Narration should not be accepted as perfect unless it really is so. ‘One, two, three, four things have been left out. Who can give them?’…” but not fully. if i only have one child that i am teaching how would i “correct” them if they they totally did not do a good job. my daughter has a hard time understanding almost anything i read and i just move on but that doesnt seem to help any.
Hello, Lorie!
I guess I would need to know more about the situation before I could fully answer. Why is she not understanding? What books are you reading? How much are you reading? Does she have issues narrating outside of school lessons? (As in, can she tell you all about something she saw outside or a movie she watched?).
Moving on with no understanding and poor narrations would probably not be the best thing to do. It sounds like you might need to slow down and form a precise habit of thorough narrations through the habit of attention. Let me know if that helps or if you want to share more information.
Warmly,
Nancy
This was such a fabulous post Nancy! I really loved reading what you said, and then what a treat to read Charlotte Mason's comments.
Listen to the narration enthusiastically. Listen actively.
This is so hard for me! We have about 20-30 narrations a DAY (I have 9 school age kids) so it is hard to give full attention for so many. The part about the teacher doing what little they do really well dovetails right into that as well. Really looking forward to Peoria where I will attend my first immersion!
Dear Debi,
It is a challenge but it can be done. I think you might garner some ideas from the Awakening immersion next Thursday. I am looking forward to seeing you there!
Warmly,
Nancy
WOW. This is unbelievably helpful! I find this to be very interesting – "Narration should not be accepted as perfect unless it really is so. ‘One, two, three, four things have been left out. Who can give them?’…"
Does that mean we should be looking for certain things in narrations?? I was under the impression that we should ONLY let the child take what he wants from the reading. Or maybe that just applies to the younger years, when the child is still learning to narrate? *scratching head*
It also makes me realize how well *I* need to know the material. I've been having my Year 3 student read a lot of her books on her own b/c I don't want our days to DRAG on (reading aloud ALL the books to both my girls would take a long time!), but I'm thinking I might either start pre-reading or read more aloud to her?
Your thoughts? Did you combine as much as possible with your kids or keep them very separate? Did you pre-read? Did you read aloud to everyone in the early years? 🙂
And these also really stuck out to me, "Put the ‘little minds’ of children out of your thoughts. Children have just as big minds as we have." "Where and how are we to appeal to the imagination? At the beginning of the lesson."
"Miss X was panic-stricken because the lesson was not going well – that’s the moment to rally." I wonder what kinds of things they did to "rally?" Changed subjects maybe?
Also.. are there more of these Crits that you know of?? It IS really, really helpful!
Sorry I'm so wordy!! 😀 #extrovert
Dear Catie,
Thank you for your comments! I know that when my children narrate and they have clearly left out large chunks of the narrative, I go to the next child and say, "Can you add to that?". And yes, I combine quite a lot of things with everyone and each reading child has a few of their own books, but not dozens! And yes, you can find Crits scattered throughout the Parents' Reviews found at the CMDC.
Warmly,
Nancy
Thanks so much, Nancy! 🙂 I was looking around on Karen's site, but couldn't find how to search the archives, so I'll definitely check the CMDC out! (I always forget about that.)
Thanks for your advice! 🙂
I enjoyed this much, Nancy. It's so timely.
I'm glad you gleaned from it, Silvia!
What little the teacher does, must be done extremely well. 🙂 Also, to listen enthusiastically to the narration. Often, my mind is on the next subject at hand and I am not really fully listening to the narration.
These were my favorite pearls from this article, too, Amy. In addition, I think the following is important to emphasize in this culture of rapidly progressing moral relativism:
"It is the teacher’s duty to show by her attitude that, though other religions have light, our religion has the supreme light."
I like that one too! (Then again, I like them all…)
Ah, yes, being fully involved and awake to the narration. This can be so difficult at times…
Thanks for posing and finding this helpful advice. There is much to think about in this. Can you post a lesson you have done in one of the areas listed?
You're welcome, Bonnie! When I write out a lesson, they look much like her lesson examples in the volumes – brief, an idea or two, and the sequence of events for the lesson. And truth be told, I don't write out very many of these for my homeschool. I do for our co-op and immersions, though. If you are referring to how I use the article itself, I usually have others read it and then we discuss it together. Does that answer your question?
WOW! Treasure TROVE, indeed!!! The Geography bit was convicting, just by itself…"The subject was rendered commonplace.
If you do not think about the matter at hand, you think about yourself.
Conceive the whole thing. Do not interrupt narration either by questions or by any other means. This lesson was not sufficiently nutritive."
I KNOW! There are so many little lessons in these notes! I like the ones you highlighted, Amy.