Charlotte Mason’s Method of Narration
Home teachers looking over the ideas of Charlotte Mason ask,
“What's narration?”
I answer, “It is creating the opportunity for a child to put
the reading (experience or observation) in his own words.” It’s that simple.
Sometimes it’s the simplest things in life that get overlooked.
Narration is generic. There is nothing
strange or special about it, really. The ability to deliver ideas through
spoken language has been fundamental to civilizations around the world for
centuries. Yet, when I first read about how Miss Mason relied upon the method
of narration in a child’s lessons I thought it very strange. As a young mother I had no familiarity with
narration. How odd, and what a novelty I found Miss Mason’s 100-year-old method
to be!
Narrating Crafts an Understanding
Narration was generally absent in my childhood. My education
was incomplete of putting anything audibly in my own words. A docile and quiet
child, I never raised my hand in class. And I was never called upon to speak.
Except for the odd composition or project, the assignments that required me to
follow a train of thought and craft an understanding in my own words, were few-and-far-between.
Paperwork was the time-saving, big-classroom kind: boxes
checked, letters circled, lines drawn from column A to column B. Homework was a
questionnaire or lists of facts to cram for tests. Suffice to say, I found Miss
Mason’s method of narration to be refreshingly appealing.
Immediately, upon reading about narration, I wanted my
children to have the advantage of this basic power of expression. Although in
the 1980s I hadn’t yet met a teacher primarily using narration for schoolwork I
sought to make narration intrinsic to our home learning experience. I had an
awkward time of it at first. Apprehension hung over my head. But after some
trial and error we got into the groove.
I consider the timing of this narration-enlightenment to be
one of God’s blessings in our family. As a result of years of practice the
Andreolas now rarely stop narrating –
hopefully without recklessness – and hopefully with a listening ear or two. It
spontaneously occurs around the breakfast and supper table, and in the car.
Narration is personable.
 |
| Karen talking with the baker at Lands Valley |
Oral Tradition
Down through history, how did cultures convey something they
wanted the next generation to remember? Children grew up with oral tradition - usually
in the form of stories. The ancient Greeks had their mythology. We still refer
to the constellations they named with their characters.
The Greek teacher Aesop, taught morals by way of fables.
Notice my book (pictured) is titled The Aesop for Children. Aesop originally wrote these short stories for adults. His animals act out the
idiosyncrasies of people - people like us – with their failings or good sense.
Narration is an exercise in “the art of knowing.” With
narration a child learns by doing. Having to work at putting something in his
own words, a child gains comprehension - and proves it. Narration is a
wonderful way of passing on knowledge that is both meaningful and memorable to
children. It gets to the heart of the matter. And impression with expression
has staying power.
Narration is low-cost (except in economy of time.) And yet
it is so effective as a learning tool, it is a valuable use of time. It
takes time for a child to “tell” and for you to listen. It takes time for a
child to write a narration and to illustrate it for his notebook. And time for
a child to, perhaps, once-in-a-while, read his narration to Dad after
supper.
Begin Anytime
If you’ve missed opportunities for narrating, fear not. You
can begin right where you are. Since an Aesop fable is short but meaningful -
it makes a good source for a new narrator – of whatever age. Read aloud the
fable to your student (but not its moral at the end.) Then, ask the student to
tell it back in his own words (and guess the moral).
An older student might be more comfortable reading the fable
silently and then penning his spin on it. After several he might find it “cool”
to come up with his own fables – and morals – like Arnold Lobel did. I remember
my son narrating from the humorous, but sensible, pages of Arnold Lobel’s Fables.
Our Dearest Narrator
What is one of the teaching methods of Jesus? Through
parables His hearers gained insight to what the kingdom of heaven is like. The
parables of our Lord are short and meaningful, easy to remember, easy to be
passed on - to be narrated person to person.
 |
| The Road to Emmaus by Robert Zund |
I wonder what Jesus spoke – shortly after his resurrection -
when he walked incognito with two men on the road to Emmaus. It was a
seven-mile walk. He must have talked a long time. Luke says that “Beginning
with Moses and all the prophets he expounded to them in all the Scriptures, the
things concerning Himself.”
Later at supper, when Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke
it, their eyes where opened. The moment they recognized him, Jesus vanished
from sight. They said to one another, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us while
He talked with us on the road?” They were so excited that they got up from the
table to walk the seven miles back to Jerusalem, to tell the other followers. I
imagine that these especially privileged (yet un-named) men treasured Jesus’
personal narration for years to come. They probably shared it over and over
again, in their own words, for the rest of their lives.
The Vikings told stories around a blazing fire. The American
Indians passed on their knowledge to their children with practical hands-on
training and with stories. Who are we letting tell the stories to our children?
Those who tell the stories are the ones guiding the next generation.
A sweet hymn came to mind while I was writing this post. You
might know it. The first verse is:
I love to tell the story of unseen things above.
Of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his love.
I love to tell the story because I know ‘tis true;
It satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.
Has a form of narration found its way into your life?
Post Script
Most of the photographs on this post were taken at Landis
Valley Museum.
My daughter, Yolanda, while in Maine, took the water themed photographs.
I think they’re beautifully peaceful.
A Charlotte Mason Companion has chapters that explain the philosophy of narration and its
benefits. I also give examples of its use. Narration is applicable to a range
of literary subjects. It is flexible enough to be made suitable for a range of
ages. My book, Story Starters gives
students opportunities to narrate creatively.
On her Charlotte Mason blog, Sonja Shafer has
generously answered questions that commonly arise on the how-to of narration.
It’s nice to have you stopping by my place in the blog
neighborhood. May it support your way of life - in some way - in bearing
fruitfulness.
Karen Andreola
