CLUSA Conference 2009 - A Teen's Perspective

Yes; we are back from a wonderful week with Charlotte Mason friends, full of things to tell about this year's conference and dreaming of plans for the next one. I don't think I can remember ever meeting so many people with whom we had so much in common. From what others have told me, I think the same was true for most of us.

Some of the teens, on the last day

For our family the CM week began a few days before the actual conference, because our mother went early to work on business (which I will let her explain or not as she chooses). Zacharias and I dropped her off and then we had a small adventure, taking a road trip on our own for the first time (and driving in city traffic to boot! yay...). We stayed for a couple days at the house of some friends who live not far from Boiling Springs. I met the eldest daughter at last year's conference, but for the rest of us it was our first meeting; and I make bold to say that we got on well. Honestly, what else could I say when the first evening we found ourselves discussing the various properties of iocaine powder and its effects when combined with the water from Tuck Everlasting (a question which still remains unresolved), and then stayed up--well--later than I wish to say--playing folksongs in an impromptu band comprising a piano, two violins, a guitar, a drum, and several singers? I do not wish, however, to give the impression that our whole time was spent in dissipation. Being Chief Planners and Co-Conspirators of the CLUSA Conference Teen Activities, we were obliged to spend the rest of the visit in serious matters such as Regency dances and music practice and Tolkien readings.

The conference lasts four days, Wednesday through Saturday. Each day there are plenary sessions (which the whole conference is meant to attend), workshops on specific topics, book discussions, and free time for meals or reflection. When we planned the teen activities this year we tried to keep the plenary sessions open so that the teens could attend them. I wanted to keep the teens involved in the main conference as much as possible. The stuff we did on our own was mostly for fun, and it was good for all of us to meet and hang out with like-minded peers. But we are the rising generation of Charlotte Mason students and teachers. I think the CLUSA conference is a great opportunity for the teens, most of whom have been raised on CM, to learn about her ideas from experienced teachers and thinkers and writers. It is a chance for us to learn more about Charlotte Mason's philosophy, so that we can understand why we were raised as we have been, and why CM education is still important for us even as we're graduating and going out into the world. To some extent, I hope that this year's conference did that.

On Thursday I attended an excellent lecture called "The Life and Work of Charlotte Mason," about the history of educational theory and where CM fits into it. I think my mom is going to blog about it, but I might post my own notes as well. After the lecture, two of the teens, along with some CM teachers, were on the panel for the workshop "Exploring CM for the High School Student." Thursday afternoon we had a Jane Austen discussion over tea and cakes, hosted by the local coffee shop. Later that day we attended a lecture "On Time," which was about living life deeply instead of just by a schedule. That evening I went to a plenary lecture about CM's life, specifically the period when she was forming her ideas about education, writing her first books, and founding the PNEU. Afterwards one of the music professors from Gardner-Webb gave a concert/lecture about counterpoint in Bach. (I got to play the harpsichord when she was finished!) That night the teens went to a book discussion about Tolkien's short story Leaf by Niggle.

On Friday two of the teens led matins at 8:00am. I mention the time because it seems extremely early when you've only had 4 hours of sleep. Yes... *cough* well... after matins we went back to our rooms and acted out some scenes from Shakespeare, and then took a traveling production of Pyramus and Thisbe to one of the moms who was alone in her room. Friday afternoon we had a LotR discussion, led by a professor from Gardner-Webb; I've heard some say that discussion was the highlight of the conference. After that we rushed to find music and a CD player for our Regency dance lesson, which went well but took longer than we thought it would. We took a break for dinner and then returned in costume for a ball. Dancing Elizabeth and Darcy's dance from the A&E Pride and Prejudice was another highlight of the week. After the ball we changed out of costume--or not--and went to the Broad River Greenway for a walk in the woods. (The conference does this every year; usually there are trail guides, live music, and an astronomer with a telescope.) That night, after we got back from the Greenway, we met in one of the apartments and read Sherlock Holmes and Edgar Allen Poe.

On Saturday we spent most of the morning packing. Two of the teens performed a piece of music from Swan Lake before the last plenary session, which was about CM's perspective on parenting as discussed in her book Parents and Children. After that we finished packing, ate an improvised lunch, had one last lingering meeting at the local ice cream parlor (see the picture!), and then left and went our separate ways. Some of our friends (who live in Oklahoma) came home with us and stayed a couple of days. Next week we will again be having visitors, as two members of the family with which Zacharias and I stayed will be coming to stay with us. For the moment, however, everyone has gone home, the conference feels quite ended, and as time permits I will be blogging my report of it.

ChildLightUSA CM Conference

I'm back from this conference, which takes place every year in Boiling Springs, NC. I love these conferences because there's always so much CM information shared. Whether you're new to the method or experienced, there are lectures and workshops that people at every level can learn from, and the teachers are dedicated CM students who have earned doctorates in CM study, or are familiar with her books so that the information is usually solid. There are both homeschoolers and school teachers there, and it's neat to see both working together to further their own understanding of the CM method.

Last year a couple of teens were there with their homeschooling parents and met and had so much fun talking about their favorite books and sharing music that they decided to plan their own activities for high school/colleg-aged offspring of CM homeschooling moms. They talked about Jane Austen over tea, read Sherlock Holmes and Poe together, dressed up and had a Regency ball, recited Shakespeare, had a Tolkein discussion with one of Gardner-Webb's teachers, hiked, and played Beatles Monopoly . The Monopoly game was an unplanned event. ;) They're already thinking ahead to next year's conference.

For the kids, I think the experience of finally finding others who were into the same things as them was validating and exhilarating - one mom said it reminded her of the CS Lewis quote on friendship, "What! You too? I thought I was the only one!" And for the adults, the conference was compared to coming home to Rivendell. I suspect that the CM method attracts a certain type of person, so when you meet with CM moms, you already have things in common. At least that's been my experience with online CM friends, my local CM group and those I've met through these conferences.

I took notes on a few of the sessions, which I'll be typing to post here in the next few days. The highlights were a day-long session on narration, and a lesson about the history of education and where CM fits in with that.

A thought about heaven

Some moments, on our earth, we can catch a glimpse of God in creation: in a waterfall rippling over stones; evening light spilling across the grass; mist descending upon distant mountains. I can't say for sure what causes those moments, when we look at nature and see it as if the divine is being poured through it like water through a funnel (to paraphrase Evelyn Underhill): when we look at a sunset and suddenly realize what is meant by the word "glory," or when we see the brown earth covered in snow and suddenly understand what is meant by "grace": when the world is baptized by the presence of God shining through it. Yet some moments are like that. All of a sudden our vision clears, and we can see God through the world, as we can see the world through a window, or an idea through words, or an experience through a poem. Most of the time our minds aren't aware enough, or the world isn't clear enough, for us to see God through it. But what if we always could?

Imagine a heaven where the world is a perfect expression of God, as the physical man Jesus was the perfect expression of Christ, God's son, the second person of the trinity. Imagine a heaven where our minds have the blinders taken off, so that we can understand clearly all the time: a heaven where the beauty of creation declares the glory of God unceasingly, so that God's presence is with us completely at all times: a heaven where language is perfect, so that every word is the ideal embodiment of the idea it represents. Imagine a world where nature is perfect, so that every stone and tree and blade of grass is a perfect bearer of God to us. That I think would be heaven indeed, when the language of the earth is purified so that it perfectly carries the character of God, so that where'er you walk God's presence is fully expressed to you.

One of my favorite verses is Zephaniah 3:9, "For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, that they all may call upon the Lord to serve him with one accord." It speaks only of language; but how far will that restoration extend?

Obama Says U.S. Could Be Seen as a Muslim Country, Too

Obama Says U.S. Could Be Seen as a Muslim Country, Too (New York Times Caucus blog)

Hat tip to Jihad Watch. Have a look at their post, too. In an interview anticipating his trip to the Middle East this week, Obama said that we could be considered "one of the largest Muslim countries in the world". How does he figure--by law? history? statistics?--because none of those agree with him. I'm not sure whether this is an example of liberal favoritism towards (certain) minorities, dhimmitude, or a real wish that the U.S. would become a Muslim country. Perhaps all three. Whichever it is, it bodes little good for a state when its leader supports a religion that so directly contradicts the ideals of that state.

The Wise Fool Speaks

I kept an orchard once wherein a single apple grew,
As fair as any fruit that any tree has ever borne:
Its skin was firm as willow-wand and golden as the dew,
Its scent was wine and honey on the wind-song morn.

At dawn I came to check the bough and see no leaf was sere;
At dusk I stopped to water all the earth around the root:
So every day I tended it, and stole throughout the year
A thousand careless glances at the slow-ripe fruit.

With every week that passed I waited more impatiently:
The fruit grew daily heavier and brighter in my sight—
Until one day, too early still, I plucked it from the tree
And ate, and found the apple and myself unripe.

The Taming of the Shrew

Let it be made known that henceforth at Rusticanda "Brother J" shall be referred to as Zacharias, in keeping with his personal preference and my command decision as the one who is blogging. Readers take note.

This summer, Zacharias and Giselle and I are directing a production of The Taming of the Shrew with our local CM co-op. Yes, gentle readers: we are putting on a Shakespeare play! Being inveterate Shakespeare lovers all three, I need hardly say that we are excited about the prospect.

The genesis of the project came during one of our homeschool co-op's book club meetings this spring. (I wasn't there myself, but I've heard reports.) The moms were trying to think of ways to keep the co-op active through the summer, and they started talking about drama. Zacharias was there and said something about Shakespeare, and then Giselle (who was also there) got excited about the idea, and the end of it was that Zacharias and Giselle were put in charge of putting on a Shakespeare play with the co-op during the summer. Then they told me about it and I got excited about it; so we are now working as three co-directors overseeing different parts of production (coaching, costumes, props, scheduling, etc).

Yesterday's Shrew meeting

Since then friends from co-op, church, ballet, and college have joined the production, and there is now a full cast of 21 people. We've had three meetings so far, the last one yesterday. In some ways yesterday's meeting felt like the real end of planning and the start of production. For the first time almost the whole cast was together, and we were able to read through the first half of the play. We heard some people read for the first time. We've already had some pleasant surprises with how well people read, and how excited they are to be in the play; but there's plenty of work to be done still. The current date for the performance is at the beginning of August. Until then we will be memorizing lines, getting into characters, making costumes, finding a place to hold the perfomance (*fingers crossed*), collecting props, and rehearsing, rehearsing, rehearsing.

So, yes. If you should hear us muttering things such as "Why sir, what am I, sir, that I should knock you here sir?" or "Let him that moved you hither remove you hence: I knew you at the first you were a moveable," you will understand that our minds are not deranged (not entirely, at any rate), but we are only remembering our Shakespeare. Now I must hence; and farewell to you all.

Imagination, Beauty, and Creativity

This is from an article by poet Luci Shaw; I'm just going to post the second paragraph.

I have come to believe that beauty is something inherent in creation (and by creation I mean the environment, the created universe in which we live). A sense of the beautiful is so integral, so deeply a part of who we are and what we enjoy as human beings, that we may easily take it for granted. Often flawed, or marred, or distorted as a result of human depravity and failure, beauty is still visible in the fingerprints of the Creator on the natural world, in the wilderness, and in human beings who reflect the Creator's beauty.

Only the individual twisted by wrong choices and destructive relationships into perversity and emptiness will create and worship ugliness. Beauty is perhaps one of the few things that constantly calls us back to God, that reminds us of a standard of goodness, vitality, and reality that embodies the beautiful. The Benedictines hold that beauty is "truth shining into being," a principle adopted by John Keats in his famous line "beauty is truth, truth beauty." In this sense beauty is redemptive and powerful. It can motivate us to turn a corner, to pursue a new objective. It awakens a new awareness in us because it is often surprising enough to startle, showing up in unexpected forms and places.

Tim and I are reading The Christian Imagination by Leland Ryken because it was assigned for our upcoming CM conference for a book discussion. The book is a collection of essays; we're just reading Part 2, "Imagination, Beauty, and Creativity," because the theme of this year's conference is beauty, and the essays in this section seemed to go along with that theme.

I suspect that Luci Shaw is getting at the exact point that will be emphasized at the conference, although she comes at it from a poet's perspective, so I felt like I had to wade through a bit of unsettling sentimental fluff to get to what she was saying. Luckily, what she was saying made the wading worth the effort. The gist of it was that beauty seems like an ornamental extra, but it's important enough for God to include in creation and even in decorative elements in the tabernacle, and it seems to be a vital need of humans created in His image.

We also read an essay entitled "The Christian Imagination" by Janine Langan, but that will take a second reading before I grasp enough to have anything to say about it.

Dylan Thomas on poetry

I've been studying Dylan Thomas and his poetry for a paper I'm writing, about his play "Under Milk Wood." In my reading today I stumbled upon this quote which I love:

You can tear a poem apart to see what makes it technically tick, and say to yourself, when the works are laid out before you, the vowels, the consonants, the rhymes or rhythms, 'Yes, this is it. This is why the poem moves me so. It is because of the craftsmanship.' But you're back again where you began.

You're back with the mystery of having been moved by words. The best craftsmanship always leaves holes and gaps in the works of the poem so that something that is not in the poem can creep, crawl, flash, or thunder in.

- Dylan Thomas, "Notes on the Art of Poetry"

A thought

The real value of poetry lies
not in expressing a moment
but
in expressing the thing of which
the moment itself
is but an expression.

The Christian Imagination edited by Leland Ryken

For the upcoming CM Conference, I'm going to be reading The Christian Imagination edited by Leland Ryken; they've also listed an article by Alfie Khon about education (Tim and I read that last night) and a short story by Tolkein. The Christian Imagination is a collection of articles by various authors like Tolkein, George MacDonald, Francis Schaeffer about "the relationship between imagination, belief and words." I'll post a very brief synopsis after each chapter. You can see the list of readings they'll be doing on their blog.

The conference is in a couple months. I'm also reading The Lord of the Rings with our local CM mom's group. I've finished the first book, The Fellowship of the Ring, and I'm re-reading it - partly because I want a second look, and partly because we have a six-week schedule for each book and I don't want to get ahead.

My project of proofreading Parents' Review articles has been neglected the last few weeks.