OUR ISLAND STORY
History should be to the child an inexhaustible storehouse of ideas... and should form in him, insensibly, principles whereby he will hereafter judge of the behavior of nations, and rule his own conduct as one of a nation.—C.M. Mason
Charlotte Mason’s philosophy and methods are valuable because founded on a Biblical perspective of humanity that is universal—applicable in all times and places. It is unnecessary and even undesirable to perpetuate a Victorian sensibility when discussing or applying Mason’s principles and methods. We are not bound to study British history, learn French, or use books published no later than the nineteenth century. This is a misunderstanding of Mason, who sought to prepare children to intelligently engage the great ideas of their own time.
American families would do well to study United States history with far greater comprehension than you will find in the PNEU curriculum. Nevertheless, I would like to make a case for beginning the sequential study of history with British history, for those of us that know that island as ‘Motherland.’
The United States is young, and studying only the history of their own nation leaves its people without a sense of place and proportion. The first Americans had a long history behind them, a history that gave them their language, their religion, and their values; I believe an elementary history of Britain would greatly enrich an American child’s understanding and appreciation of her own country. I also believe that her interest in the world would widen with the recognition of her own ties to the ancient Romans, the Vikings, the Normans, and many other historic peoples.
I am writing a Larkrise guide to help teachers use H.E. Marshall’s excellent book Our Island Story to cultivate this vital interest and understanding in their students. It is being written specifically for Americans, though it could be easily adapted for teachers in Britain or elsewhere.
Mason said, ‘Every nation has its heroic age before authentic history begins: there were giants in the land in those days, and the child wants to know about them. He has every right to revel in such classical myths as we possess as a nation.’
And so Marshall tells the legends of Albion and Brutus, King Arthur, and Stone Henge alongside ‘proper history’; and the Larkrise Lessons guide will schedule correlated literature such as Beowulf, St. George and the Dragon and The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. Such songs and stories embody the national spirit as much or more so than the rise and fall of kings.
• ‘The Shore Was Covered with Men Ready for Battle’ by A.S. Forrest from Our Island Story by H.E. Marshall; sample pages from Larkrise guide to Our Island Story •
November 19, 2013