New Camera!

I'll be posting a lot more pictures from now on!

Look at this one, I just snapped a shot of a weed that Miss M had picked that was lying on the van dashboard:





and here's me testing the macro mode on a clover:




and even the ring on my finger:

Chapter 2 - The Singing School

The Educated Imagination - Chapter 2 - The Singing School

In the first chapter, Frye described three attitudes with their corresponding languages of expression:
1 - awareness that self is separate from world leads to ordinary conversation
2 - attempt to adapt the environment for survival and comfort leads to informative, practical language
3 - imagination of how things could be leads to the figurative language of art

Early cultures begin by identifying with some kind of deity or magic, so primitive imaginative literature is always in the form of legends or myths. Epic poems and ballads, early Greek drama are two examples.

Writers follow convention. An ancient Greek could not have written To Kill a Mockingbird, he could only express what he knew in the form he knew. Literature can only exist in certain forms: a story has to have a beginning, middle and end. Suspense makes it interesting, the plot revolves around characters. A character usually discovers something about himself as a result of some crucial experience. Detective stories tend to follow a certain formula, romances do, too. Even plots aren't very original. What's original in literature isn't so much what's said as the way they're said within the conventional form.

Writers tend to reference other works and themes and characters to make their own allegories, similes and comparisons. And one story will sound somehow similar to another, or one character will remind us vaguely of a character in another book. It's like all of literature is a complex intertwining of characters. The same themes and the same characters keep on popping up as we read more and more, so that, for someone who reads a lot, literature itself starts to seem like one main theme with a few main characters, and each book is like a variation in the way the story is told.

One recurring theme is a cycle: seasons, water, even life all represent variations of the cycle theme. In myths, heroes may go through a cycle of adventure, and rebirth (perhaps as a constellation.) There's the recurring theme of the female who is sometimes good and beautiful, but can turn treacherous. Loss of identity and regaining it is a popular theme in literature.

Some speculate that all stories are really just reminders of one main story from long, long ago that we can't quite remember, but that we continue to try to recapture (this reminds me of the book Lucy found in the magician's house in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader!) Frye wonders if we somehow sense that we were once in a different place, and we're trying to re-create that place. It might be the Garden of Eden, or Atlantis. We yearn to get back because, in that place, we felt like we belonged and like we were at one with our environment.

Modern literature doesn't try to take us back to that lost place so often. Instead, it describes man's misery. But that still fits with the theme: it's an attempt to drive home the point that we don't belong here, we belong somewhere else. It also reflects that, as we get more civilized and technical, we're getting more absorbed with our day to day routine and contemplating less about our relation to the the universal scheme of things. And the characters and themes in modern literature are less vague and more sharp, more similar to ourselves and the world we know than a vague, misty hint of what we yearn for. They're still the same recurring themes and characters, just portrayed more to modern expectations.

Last Child in the Woods

"Richard Louv argues in his new book that children are suffering from attention problems and higher rates of mental and physical illness because they aren't exposed to direct nature. In Last Child in the Woods, he calls the idea 'nature-deficit disorder.' "

"He gathered anecdotal information to help back up his theory that nature helps children become more observant, calm and creative, though there aren't hard figures to back it up. 'There's a real sense of wonder that is lost when kids aren't exposed to nature,' Louv said . . . 'Nature doesn't have to be Yosemite. It can be the empty lot nearby or the back yard. Any place where they can learn about their surroundings.' "

"Just the fresh air alone is so important for them. And it's great for their imagination. It's where they learn to be brothers and work together . . ."

This article reviewing the book, Outdoor Tme, encourages parents to get their kids outside. It doesn't mention Charlotte Mason, but it sounds like something she might have written herself.

Thanks, Roxie, for sharing this link!

The Motive for Metaphor

Notes from The Educated Imagination by Northrop Frye

Chapter 1 - The Motive for Metaphor

No matter what the language, if you go very far getting an education in that language, you'll end up studying its literature. Every language has its Shakespeare and Milton. Literature (novels, plays and poetry) is an art. It has no direct utilitarian value. So what good is it?

Frye has us imagine that we're shipwrecked on an island. First, we survey the area and note that it's wild and barren of human intelligence. That makes us feel alone and scared. Second, we're curious about the place and we have an opinion about it - we like it, or we don't. Those are intellectual and emotional responses. To express this, we use a specific level of language--lots of nouns and descriptive adjectives. On an emotional level, our opinion tends to focus on what we feel belongs as a part of us, and what we like or want. We want to feel at home, so after our basic needs are met with a shelter and food supply, we start working on our wants to make ourselves more comfortable. We might plant a garden and distinguish between plants--those we want (our crop) and those we don't want (which we perceive as weeds.) At this level, we have things we have to do (find food) and things we choose to do (weed the garden.)

Later, another person is shipwrecked, too, and the two of you marry and start a family. Now you have a society and the place starts taking on the form of civilization with engineered buildings, agriculture, medicine--applied arts and sciences. This requires practical language with lots of verbs and action words. We're adapting our environment to suit us. Animals (beavers, for example) do that, too--we still haven't really gone beyond the level of animals.

What separates us from animals is a conscious awareness that we exist, paired with practical skill. We envision what we want and bring it to reality. But first, we have to see it in our mind. That's the imagination, and it uses a third level of language. This is the language of literature and poetry, and it's less practical.

Art differs from science in this way: science starts with what's there and works outward, trying to make sense of it by discovering its laws, which often brings it into the realm of math, which is abstract and in the realm of the imagination. It goes from the world to the mind. Art goes in the opposite direction. It starts in the mind, in the imagination, and then tries to fit it to the real world. Science seeks to progress, to learn more and more. But art can't progress. Drama will never improve and leave Shakespeare in the dust, poetry will never progress and be better than Dante. Art's masterpieces are timeless and not improvable. And, since art seeks to find meaning and help us find our place in the world, then we can't outgrow our need for it, no matter how much the world evolves and makes progress. We'll always be asking the same questions about why we're here.

Perhaps, somewhere in our mind, we're seeking to return and recapture a sense of belonging, or being united with our environment, identifying with something. Some think of this as a return to the Garden of Eden, or nirvana, or heaven, or some other explanation. Art seeks to free man's spirit from the bondage of time and space.

Writing is either describing the world, or is instructive (practical), or else it's an abstract association with the mind (art). Being abstract and associative, artistic writing (literature) tends to use a lot of suggestive similes and metaphors. But practical writing has to be precise, so it tries to steer clear of vague suggestive clichés.

The Educated Imagination

Literature encourages tolerance - bigots and fanatics seldom have any use for the arts, because they're so preoccupied with their beliefs and actions that they can't see them also as possibilities.

-Northrop Frye, writer (1912-1991)

This quote was posted this morning on the Jackson Browne message board I frequent. It's from the 1964 book The Educated Imagination. I started reading that book a few days ago because it kept coming up in some of my favorite blogs. Then I checked my email, and someone mentioned the book in her email to me. It's really eerie how that book keeps coming up lately. I don't know what it all means, but I guess I'll do the only thing I know how to do. I'll take notes as I read the book and post my notes. Maybe something will come of it??

Is TV Making Us Smarter?

This article says so. Pop culture is increasing our collective IQ's because plots are more complicated for today's sophisticated audiences. Even video games are more complex than ever. But "reading books chronically understimulates the senses...books are simply a barren string of words on the page..."

So I guess Charlotte Mason was wrong! I'd better go tell my kids to "close that book and do something more mind-stretching. Go watch TV!" ;)

http://www.newyorker.com/critics/books/articles/050516crbo_books

My Real Name

(No, this isn't about my "actual" or "real-life" name; it's about my real name, real in a Platonic sense. Also note that this is mere speculation and the reality may be rather different.)

As a Christian, I look forward to the day when I will enter heaven and the Lord will call me by name. But I wonder, what name will that be? The same name I have used and been accustomed to, day in and day out, here in this world? Or will it be another name--a name I have never heard, perhaps, yet is unquestionably mine? A name which I do not know and yet know intimately, as I know myself. The name that I am. The name which is uniquely mine. "Oh," perhaps I will say, "so that's my name. Of course! How could I be anything else?" And of course I will answer to it. No one could help answering to their name.

(I also find the idea of a heavenly language interesting. Zephaniah 3:9 particularly kindles my imagination: "For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, that they may call on the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one accord." What will that language be? I know, from a passing acquaintance with Tolkien's languages, that certain words seem fit to their meaning: this word is this thing, and could not imaginably be anything else. I often wonder if this might be a glimpse into the reality of language.)

Books I Finished This Month

The Headmistress at the Common Room has started posting a list of books she read for the month. Books like Brave New World (which I actually have on my shelf) and one by Virginia Woolf, and books I've never heard of. It's a great idea, so I'm going to do that here, too.

I read one book this month. It was The Moffats. I was reading it to the boys and we finished it last night.

Okay, so maybe I should wait until I have time to read to start my list. I did start The Educated Imagination by Northrup Frye (it was posted on two "what I read this month" lists, which is where I found out about it) and I hope to do Ambleside's Year 10 along with Tim this coming school year so we can discuss them during the year.

Two Hours Later

I'd forgotten what a nightmare it is trying to reconstruct an attendance record from the kids' old daily assignment schedules. One son started off great, dating all of his schedules, but then he petered out. Another son started dating his in the last term. We had to go through some recorded narrations to fill in the middle. But that part's done. Two sons' forms are done. It's taken two hours with a few hair-pulling moments to get this far. Now I need to do Tim's. Since hestarted high school, there's a specific way I have to label his subjects so they count for credits. We went over the credits he'd need and sorted them according to Ambleside Online's curriculum so we have a pretty good idea which credits he'll be working on in which year. But I need to find the file on my computer to see what we did before I get started on filling out his forms, and I have a squirming baby on my lap.

When this is done, I'll feel justified in indulging in a large bowl of (dairy-free) banana ice cream.

This is the Day

Today I'm going to fill out and send our attendance/grade reports to our umbrella school. We finished school a couple weeks ago, and even completed exams last week. So now we're ready for that last and final step. I've made a cup of tea, the kids have done all their chores and won't need me for a little while. My computer duties are caught up and now I have some time to do it.

I put this off every year. I love the planning, I take a day or two to schedule each day's tasks and print off a copy for each student so that all they need to do is look at that day's assignments and know exactly what needs to be done. And the day-to-day is pretty smooth, no problem there. But filling out and sending our attendance reports is a problem. I always procratinate. Two years in a row, I finally sent them in with our September re-application forms. I don't know why I always put it off, it takes all of twenty minutes, and when it's done, I always wonder why it seemed so overwhelming.

No, I know why I drag my feet. It requires a certain amount of paperwork (the kids' daily schedules from the year) to be in order and in my hand, and my presence of mind to fully focus for a block of time. And it requires both of those things at the same time. I need to have the papers in hand at the same time I have a block of uninterrupted time to sort my thoughts, figure out my filing system, and transfer the information from the year's papers to the form. This is the most challenging task of my school duties.

And I'm going to get it done. Today.

Reflections at Twilight

I sat out on the porch swing after the sun had gone down, alone save for an untalkative baby sister. It was a melancholy evening. Not really mournful, but it had a wistful kind of sadness. The wind seemed to speak of it, while the trees listened, ever moving yet ever fixed in their place. It was overcast: the grey clouds diffused the light and softened the shadows. Green lights twinkled slowly all around. Fireflies. They heard the wind too. The night held something of the sadness of the elves, the sadness for that which passes and cannot be retrieved. I could feel strongly the flowing of time. But just as strongly I felt that I was not of time. I am like the trees: always changing, always moving. But ever fixed, standing still while years and time itself blow past. Time flows, worlds pass, ages are forgotten: yet the human soul lives on.

I Clearly Have Too Much Time on my Hands

I took a whole bunch of the quizzes listed in the left box at http://www.blogthings.com/index.html

How American Are You?
You Are 54% American
Most times you are proud to be an American.
Though sometimes the good ole US of A makes you cringe
Still, you know there's no place better suited to be your home.
You love your freedom and no one's going to take it away from you!

The World's Shortest Personality Test
You are pure, moral, and adaptable.
You tend to blend into your surroundings.
Shy on the outside, you're outspoken to your friends.
You believe that you live a virtuous life...
And you tend to judge others with a harsh eye.
As a result, people tend to crave your approval.

How Do People See You?
Slow and Steady
Your friends see you as painstaking and fussy.
They see you as very cautious, extremely careful, a slow and steady plodder.
It'd really surprise them if you ever did something impulsively or on the spur of the moment.
They expect you to examine everything carefully from every angle and then usually decide against it.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?
The Keys to Your Heart
You are attracted to good manners and elegance.
In love, you feel the most alive when everything is uncertain, one moment heaven... the next moment hell.
You'd like to your lover to think you are stylish and alluring.
You would be forced to break up with someone who was ruthless, cold-blooded, and sarcastic.
Your ideal relationship is comforting. You crave a relationship where you always feel warmth and love.
Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment.
You think of marriage something you've always wanted... though you haven't really thought about it.
In this moment, you think of love as commitment. Love only works when both people are totally devoted.

What Age Do You Act?
28 You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.

What Flavor Ice Cream Are You?

I expected vanilla, I love vanilla.

You Are Strawberry Ice Cream

A bit shy and sensitive, you are sweet to the core. You often find yourself on the outside looking in. Insightful and pensive, you really understand how the world works. You are most compatible with chocolate chip ice cream.

What Flavor Ice Cream Are You?

Look What We Found!

This was on the floor in the boys' room. For more views, click here and here.

Grapes and Running Water

These are some of my recent photos. They've all been digitally enhanced, especially the last two.




For the technically minded, the pictures were taken with a FujiFilm FinePix 2800Z. DOF and some extra contrast/color enhancements were done on the computer.

May the Fourth be with you

I found this picture online, the full version is here. Happy Independence Day!

A modern-language translation of the Declaration of Independence HERE

We are currently listening to:
One Nation Under God, by The Sons of Tennessee

New Template

We've remodeled our blog. See that picture up top? That's our house! Well, it's our house, but it's moved to a more scenic location (one of Tim's photos of the area), thanks to Tim's graphic magic. We live in a rural area, but not quite that rural. It used to be a lot more rural, but suburbia has been creeping up on us, and now it's more like semi-rural.

What Kind of Soul is Tim?

You Are an Old Soul

You are an experienced soul who appreciates tradition. Mellow and wise, you like to be with others but also to be alone. Down to earth, you are sensible and impatient. A creature of habit, it takes you a while to warm up to new people. You hate injustice, and you're very protective of family and friends A bit demanding, you expect proper behavior from others. Extremely independent you don't mind living or being alone. But when you find love, you tend to want marriage right away. Souls you are most compatible with: Warrior Soul and Visionary Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

What Kind of Soul Are You?

I got this from fellow-mom Elizabeth's blog.

You Are a Retrospective Soul

The most misunderstood of all the soul signs. Sometimes you even have difficulty seeing yourself as who you are. You are intense and desire perfection in every facet of your life. You're best described as extremely idealistic, hardworking, and a survivor. Great moments of insight and sensitivity come to you easily. But if you aren't careful, you'll ignore these moments and repeat past mistakes. For you, it is difficult to seperate the past from the present. You will suceed once you overcome the disappoinments in life. Souls you are most compatible with: Traveler Soul and Prophet Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

A Picture of a Room

Tim made this image from a cardboard box and some toys. See how here.

Education vs. Brainwashing

I hear talk about children not turning out the way people wanted, or how the new generation has a different mindset than intended. This sounds as if we had tried to teach the children what they should and shouldn't think--as if all our education was just an attempt to brainwash them. And really, education is a lot like brainwashing, at least on the surface. The difference is that brainwashing teaches what to think, while education teaches how. If all we teach children is what to think, we are simply programming them as we would machines. This de-humanizes them. Teaching children how to think makes them rational creatures, which makes them more human. If we follow Plato's reasoning, the perfect human in the realm of ideas is a rational creature, and therefore the more rational we become the more we become like the 'idea' human.

Which, then, does education do today? Does it teach what or how? I can't speak for all forms of education or curricula, nor do I have an intimate knowledge of public schools in general. I can tell what I do know:

Right now there is a struggle going on over whether or not Evolution should be taught as fact in schools. So far, any attempt to cast even the shadow of a doubt on the theory (note it well!) has been fought and defeated. This isn't about the truth of Evolution as a theory, so I will go no further than to say that its validity is very much in question. But even if it were universally accepted as truth, teaching it as a fact--a fact that not only should not be questioned but cannot be questioned--defeats the purpose of education. It teaches students what to think, not how or why.

I compare this to my homeschooling. Again, I only know the curriculum I have used. But by this curriculum I am learning to think logically and to scrutinize ideas with reason: not to accept them blindly as 'fact'. I am learning, when I come upon a piece of information, to discern whether it is true or not, and what meaning it has, if any, in the broader scope of the world. I am learning, as someone (I forget now who)* said, to greet reason with open arms. And that should be the purpose of education.


* This in itself says something. I've forgotten the fact of the name, but I remember the idea.

Friday's Responses

Our final day of exams.
The map questions are giving the younger two difficulties. I guess we'll have to focus more on that next year. (sigh)

Year 3 Student

What invention do you think most changed the world? What can you tell about how it came about?

The car. And the reaper. There were five reapers invented, but only one really worked. One would actually cut the grain and bind it, but when the men went to put it in the barn, they were getting cut because the little pieces of wire they used to bind them up were getting in the wheat and were cutting the men. But I guess one man succeeded in making a good reaper and I guess nowadays they have tractors instead of reapers. It used to be, all the families were going out and cutting the grain with something that looked like hooks but they had blades and I guess the women as well as the men were binding grain and the children were tying it up and it made a big difference in the world to make a reaper because people didn't have to do that anymore.

Trace Minn's journey on a map.

(Student traced route on a map with his finger, pointing out a few cities along the Mississippi River after going over the book again!)

Year 5 Student

Trace Lewis and Clark's route on a map.

(Student traced his route on a map with his finger after a short review)

From the Complete Book of Marvels - tell about your favorite place he visited.

I like them all, but the Rock of Gibraltar is the one whose name I remember. The Rock of Gibraltar is guarding a bay. The rock is hollow. It belongs to England, but it used to belong to someone else. The French and the English fought over it, but the English won. Ever since then, England's been guarding it. When you visit it, they show you the old guns but they don't show you the new guns. There are passages all the way around and it provides a great view all around of the sea.

Year 9 Student

Trace Richard Halliburton’s travels in Europe.

First he climbed the Matterhorn with almost no previous climbing experience. The guide helped. Then he went to France, visited Paris and the Eiffel Tower, visited a French cathedral and then traveled south to Carcassonne. From there he went south, over the mountains, through Andorra, to Spain. He spent a night on the Rock of Gibraltar and ended up in jail for it. But he got some pictures just the same.

What were some of George Washington’s strengths?

He had very strong emotions, but such complete self-control that he almost never expressed them. He was modest and humble but committed to his duty. He had an unimpeachable character and reputation. He was tall with a dignified bearing and majestic carriage equal to any king. But most of all he was a complete patriot who put his country’s good before his own and cared for its welfare in his generalship, presidency, and beyond.