Autumn Kern: The Common Classical Charlotte Mason Mom

Episode Overview

• An introduction to Autumn Kern, her personal journey into homeschooling, and the modern challenge of navigating an overwhelming amount of educational resources.
• A deep dive into Charlotte Mason's educational philosophy, arguing that her emphasis on will-training and virtue formation places her firmly within the classical education tradition.
• A discussion on the practical and personal side of homeschooling, covering the joy of parents learning alongside their children and the importance of marital partnership in creating a shared family culture.
• An exploration of the contrast between engaging with timeless "living ideas" through books and the draining, passive nature of online content consumption.

Key Concepts

• Charlotte Mason's Place in Classical Education: Her philosophy is not a separate movement but is deeply rooted in the classical tradition through its central focus on virtue formation and will-training.
• Will-Training and Virtue: The core of Mason's pedagogy is developing a child's will toward what is good. This is presented as the essential groundwork for a virtuous life, linking her to classical thinkers like Aristotle and St. Augustine.
• Living Ideas vs. Utilitarian Knowledge: Mason championed a "classical culture" centered on engaging with timeless truths, goodness, and beauty through stories and literature, positioning it against the modern "clamor for useful knowledge."
• Authenticity in Tradition: Mason believed that ideas repeated throughout history by various truth-seekers have a "mark of authenticity," and she saw her work as part of this long-standing tradition.
• Parental "Remedial Education": Homeschooling provides a unique opportunity for parents to receive their own "remedial education" by discovering classic literature and foundational ideas for the first time alongside their children.
• Child-Centered Philosophy: The structures and methods of education should be designed to serve the unique needs of the child, rather than forcing the child to conform to a rigid, pre-existing system.
• Marital Partnership in Education: Successfully implementing a shared educational vision requires strong communication, focusing on shared ultimate goals (like family bonding) rather than getting stuck on the specifics of certain practices (like screen time).

Quotes

• At 3:38 - "I found that there was an entire world of study that was not utilitarian in nature, but was actually supposed to do something to me by me studying the past." - Autumn describes her shift in perspective on education during her college years.
• At 6:51 - "But anymore you can look out and and see that there's just a world of resources for homeschool mothers and fathers... but on the other hand... it's also kind of overwhelming." - Trey Bailey contrasts the past scarcity of homeschooling materials with the current abundance, which can be difficult for parents to navigate.
• At 7:16 - "Help me place Charlotte Mason within the classical tradition as you read her and as you've sort of come to know her." - The host poses the central question for the interview, asking Autumn to explain the relationship between Charlotte Mason's philosophy and classical education.
• At 19:39 - "The child must grow a strong will, a will towards what's good." - This is presented as the central point Charlotte Mason "hammers home" regarding character development.
• At 20:00 - "Ultimately, she's talking about the groundwork for virtue. You cannot become a virtuous person...if you do not have a will that can push against everything else pulling you away from that towards what's good." - The speaker directly connects Mason’s philosophy on will-training to the ultimate classical goal of forming a virtuous character.
• At 21:22 - "I think that's the heartbeat of the tradition... if you take that broad spirit, Mason just slides right in from the very beginning with kids younger than six." - The speaker asserts that Mason’s focus on virtue is the core element that makes her a natural fit within the spirit of classical education.
• At 31:42 - "The contention of scholars is that a classical education does more... The press and the hurry of our times and the clamor for useful knowledge are driving classical culture out of the field." - Reading directly from Charlotte Mason, the speaker provides definitive proof that Mason actively defended classical education's value against utilitarian trends.
• At 44:57 - "with your kids, this is an opportunity to really almost get a remedial education and get some good things in your life that you know, maybe you did miss out on." - Jason highlights that parents can fill gaps in their own education while teaching their children.
• At 46:01 - "sitting down with a book and...there's something about that having that book in hand that when you close it, you actually want to get up and do something about it. Versus whatever happens on the internet, which just...totally drains me of any desire to do anything." - Jason contrasts the inspiring nature of reading a physical book with the passive, draining effect of online scrolling.
• At 46:57 - "The school room exists for your children. Your children don't exist for your school room." - Autumn makes a key point that educational structures and methods should serve the unique needs of the child, not the other way around.
• At 47:27 - "living ideas do not die. When you present living ideas to your child, these are the same that have been repeated and studied and loved and treasured by people generation after generation." - Autumn emphasizes the enduring power of the core ideas within classical and Mason education.
• At 55:52 - "what I wasn't hearing was him saying, 'I want to build into the fabric of our family life something we do together'... all I was hearing was 'screen time'." - Autumn uses a personal example to illustrate how she learned to look past a specific practice to understand her husband's deeper desire for a shared family tradition.

Takeaways

• Prioritize developing your child's will toward goodness as the foundational goal of their education, seeing it as the necessary groundwork for virtue.
• Ground your educational choices in a core philosophy to cut through the noise of overwhelming resources and curricula available today.
• Focus on exposing your children to timeless "living ideas" through great books and stories rather than prioritizing the accumulation of merely utilitarian knowledge.
• Embrace your own educational journey alongside your children, viewing it as a second chance to engage with foundational texts and ideas you may have missed.
• Adapt your educational structures and methods to serve your children's individual needs, always remembering the system is for the child, not the other way around.
• In your marriage, foster a true partnership in education by discussing underlying goals and motivations rather than getting bogged down in debates over specific methods.
• Cultivate a home environment that prioritizes deep engagement with books, which inspire action, over the passive and draining consumption of online content.