Creating a Book of Century in Art Class to Support History and Music with Anna-Marie Carter

Episode Overview

• Annamarie Carter shares her journey from disillusionment with fragmented public school curricula to embracing the rich, story-based classical education model inspired by Charlotte Mason.
• The episode centers on the "Book of Centuries," a personalized timeline journal used to integrate art, music, and history into a cohesive, chronological narrative.
• It explores the practical application of this method in a middle school classroom, including adaptations to make it accessible for all students regardless of artistic skill.
• The conversation highlights how this approach fosters deep personal engagement, creativity, and a profound understanding of historical and artistic concepts like the sublime.
• The ultimate goal of this educational philosophy is presented as creating well-rounded, thoughtful citizens whose lives are enriched by a broad "pageant of history."

Key Concepts

• Book of Centuries: A timeline-based learning tool that serves as a spine for integrating art, music, and cultural history, helping students visualize the chronological flow of events and ideas.
• The Pageant of History: A Charlotte Mason concept emphasizing the importance of presenting students with a broad, rich, and interconnected view of history as a grand story, allowing them to discover their interests before specializing.
• Freedom within Structure: The teaching method provides a historical framework but gives students the freedom to personalize their timelines, leading to unique creations that reflect their own interests and perspectives.
• Integrated & Adapted Learning: The project breaks down subject silos by combining history with the arts. The method is adapted for the classroom by providing pre-printed master artworks, ensuring the focus remains on historical connection rather than pure artistic ability.
• Mimesis and Art Appreciation: Students engage with great works of art through imitation (mimesis), either by re-drawing or by carefully placing images, which deepens their observation skills and appreciation for details.
• The Sublime in Art: The discussion uses the Romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich to illustrate how the Book of Centuries can help students grasp complex artistic and philosophical concepts, like the feeling of awe and smallness in the face of nature.

Quotes

• At 6:58 - "We cannot live sanely unless we know that other peoples are as we are, with a difference... that their history is as ours, with a difference." - Carter reads from Charlotte Mason to emphasize the profound importance of a broad historical education for developing personal stability and societal understanding.
• At 32:58 - "...what Charlotte Mason calls the pageant of history... you're getting this broad overview of that pageantry so that then when they're teenagers... they actually know what they like." - The interviewer connects the teacher's method to the core Charlotte Mason principle of providing a wide and rich education.
• At 34:36 - "It doesn't matter what you're going to do. This is going to make your life better." - The teacher articulates the ultimate goal of classical education: to enrich a student's life and foster a love for many things, beyond just preparing them for a job or college.
• At 55:25 - A student's book page is titled "Worst Era" and shows a drawing of a sad, burning Earth with a speech bubble saying, "Is anyone else a little hot???" - This illustrates how the project allows students to express their personal perspectives on different historical periods, including their own.
• At 1:02:40 - "What he did was capture... to me, the religious aspect of the Romantic period... The intent was to sit in it and to feel small and to see the... sublime." - Anna-Marie explains the philosophy behind Caspar David Friedrich's paintings, linking them to the profound Romantic concept of the sublime.

Takeaways

• The "Book of Centuries" is a powerful, hands-on tool for teaching a cohesive historical narrative that integrates art and culture, moving beyond fragmented "social studies."
• Providing students a broad "feast of ideas" through middle school is essential for them to discover their passions before being asked to specialize in high school.
• Adapting educational methods to suit student needs—such as providing images to paste instead of requiring complex drawings—fosters inclusion and keeps the focus on learning.
• True education aims to enrich a person's entire life by cultivating wisdom and an appreciation for beauty, not just to prepare them for a specific career path.