> Return to Articles

We all have experiences that shape and form us. It could be the passing of a loved one, a serious illness, a book we read, a conversation with a mentor, or a teacher who profoundly impacted our life. These interactions not only influence us in that moment but also shape our desires, values, and who we become.

For me, it was a defining event — one specific week — that deeply impacted who I would become and how I live my life. About ten years ago, I attended the Ambleside Summer Institute in Fredericksburg, Texas. This week-long intensive training on the philosophy and principles of Charlotte Mason not only shaped how I would teach and lead but also transformed the way I live, the things I value, and how I support my growing family.

I recall Dr. Bill St Cyr asking me at the opening dinner, “What brought you to Charlotte Mason?” At the time, I had no clear answer. I had just experienced a challenging first year of teaching, which had even driven me to consider changing occupations. I was generally frustrated with the state of education. My answer to his question? I told him it was a “chance occurrence.” Now, I firmly believe that God was guiding me to not only a different way of teaching but also to an entirely transformed way of living and being.

The previous year, I had been teaching high school students and had encountered what many teachers experience in our modern educational system: students who disliked learning. They had antagonistic relationships with teachers, and “friendships” were based on making fun of each other and putting each other down. The atmosphere was tainted, relationships were broken, and the entire educational system seemed flawed. Students learned to minimize effort and maximize results, doing the bare minimum to achieve the desired grade. They would complete their assignments, check the box, and move on, never truly learning or building a relationship with knowledge.

Looking back, the students were not to blame. It was all they knew and was the atmosphere and system they lived in every day. The natural result of this environment, by no conscious intention of the teachers, was the development of poor life habits. I did the same thing in high school — minimized effort, maximized grades, and played the game to get into college, obtain my degree, and start my job. The problem with this system is that no real learning takes place. Character is not formed or strengthened, and bad life habits are developed. Through my education, I mostly learned the habits of laziness, procrastination, and cramming. These are not habits of a good and flourishing life. This is what I saw in my students as well.

What was so life-changing about that week in Texas? In short, I began to understand a new way of living and being with students, people, and the world around me. I was introduced to a different way of education that was truly based on Christian principles.

Many ideas from Charlotte Mason struck me that week, and my mind would feast on them in the weeks, months, and years to come. A central idea changed my relationship with learning and knowledge. I remember reading about the nature of knowledge and how the Holy Spirit works in the minds of people to inspire and apprehend more of God’s eternal logos. Charlotte Mason explained a religious fresco in the chapel of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, Italy, which shows the Holy Spirit hovering over not only religious thinkers but also the greatest secular thinkers of her time. The idea depicted in this painting was that all knowledge comes from God and that all human knowing is a moment of inspiration or apprehension of something of the Eternal Logos. All coming to know is coming to know something of the mind of God. Knowledge is not something to be attained, but a gift of inspiration by the Holy Spirit.

This idea is not a new idea in the Christian faith. John begins his gospel with:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. All coming to know is to know something of God.

This idea has greatly shaped how I have lived my life since that week. The modern educational system treats knowledge as transactional — one learns something to attain something in return, whether it be money, power, or status. There is only purpose in learning if I get something in return. It is a sad thought, but it is the habit and values that the current system produces.

What if, instead of knowledge being transactional and self-focused, it was instead relational? As people created in God’s image, we are relational beings. Knowledge is no different. What if, instead of pursuing knowledge for personal gain, it was pursued to better understand God, his created world, and the people around us, and to grow intimate relationships with all these people and things?

Knowledge, when viewed in this light, is more of a joining in understanding the eternal logos, and communing with God and others in the process. Coming to know is coming to understand something of the mind of God.

Not only has this idea changed how I taught in the classroom; it also changed my relationship with knowledge in a very intimate way. In my entire life to that point, I viewed knowledge or learning as something I had to get through to get to what I was told was “the good stuff” (sports, TV shows, etc.). From that point on, as Charlotte Mason puts it, studies began to serve as delight for me, and I began to take part and feast upon all of God’s great inheritance.

There were studies, at the time, that I had never even been exposed to. I had never truly read poetry for delight. Now, ten years later, I write my own poetry, and poetry is considered one of my dearest friends. I spend a great amount of my spare time reading and writing poetry. If I was not introduced to this idea, I am not sure I would have ever developed a love of poetry, which is a sad thought to consider.

The Ambleside Summer Institute gave me an opportunity to reform my relationship with learning and knowledge. The Institute introduced me to a wide range of subjects and a way of relating with these subjects that inspired joy, curiosity, and a love of learning. If my relationship with learning had not changed, I would have no hope of offering a truly life-giving education to my students, and I would have no hope of maintaining a joyful, life-giving atmosphere for my own children in my home.

Many of us at Ambleside refer to a common phrase we have all found to be true: an Ambleside education is an education that is twice blessed. Not only does it bless the students, but it blesses the teacher and instructor alike. This statement has held true in my life. I am blessed and forever grateful for the week that changed my life at the Ambleside Institute.

Ben Sytsma