Before Ambleside, I attended traditional Christian schools. In third grade, I was depressed, acting out, behind in math, trailing in reading, and I hated school. I was deeply convinced that I was stupid. My parents were fearful for my future, questioning if I would even graduate high school.
I think schools often focus on information as the outcome of what they’re trying to do. Test results. What makes a “living education” is that we focus on the work of formation. It’s not just passing the test. We’re trying to form the child for every aspect of their future life.
Charlotte Mason understood the potential of the littlest of us and then made it her duty to cultivate a way of education that respects our children as persons; worthy to be given the BEST ideas to nourish their minds upon.
Charlotte Mason talks about “seeing eyes” – truly looking and observing deeply the world and God’s creation in front of us.
Knowledge and the mind of man are to each other as are air and the lungs. The mind lives by knowledge; it stagnates, faints, perishes, if deprived of this necessary atmosphere.
All education in the True, Good, and Beautiful is a gift of common grace. And yet, to be wisely offered, such an education involves a set of definite practices.
The Charlotte Mason-inspired Ambleside Method is unique and countercultural. We are not like even other Christian schools. The Ambleside vision is to renew Christian education across the globe with our Holy Spirit-infused model of education.
In considering their children’s education, parents often ask themselves “what kind of person do I want my child to be like when he or she turns 18?”
ASI has trained me. It started with my training as an Ambleside teacher. I took part in the Ambleside Institute and Internships and really fell in love with this education.
After inspiring a child with an idea and building an alliance, then, establish a strategy for forming a new habit. Ask the child, “How can I help you?” Often they themselves will offer a great strategy.
