Tuesday, October 26, 2010

52 Weeks Book Challenge

This week's read was Through The Grinder by Cleo Coyle. It is book two in the coffee house mystery series featuring armature "detective" Clare Cosi a.k.a. the manager of the Village Blend coffee house in N.Y.C. In this book, several women are said to have commit suicide but have they? It is up to Clare to find out who is behind these deaths. Things get pretty tense as she thinks her daughter may be next. I personally wasn't a big fan of this one- a bit too macabre for my tastes.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

52 Week Book Challenge

I am dreadfully behind in this challenge with this being my 24th book but I have read more this year than last so I guess that can be counted as a success. This week's read was another by Anne Perry "A Dangerous Mourning". This is the second in the detective Monk series. Mr. Monk is called to the house of Sir Basil Moidore where it is discovered his daughter has been murdered. The family assumes it was an intruder because at first examination of the room the window was ajar and some jewelry was missing, however this does not fool Mr. Monk who concludes that the murder was an inside job. This leaves everyone on edge wondering which servant could have acted in such a horrible manner...or was it a family member? The suspense continues to the last pages where the reader wonders what the crime actually was. Like the other Perry books the character development is slow and deliberate adding to suspense.

The Philosophy of Education Vol. 6 Ch. 10 Sect. 2

The Knowledge of man
Morals and Economics: Citizenship
Children 6 years of age were introduced to “citizenship” by being read tales, fables, or biographies from which they could begin to draw conclusions as to the sense of community and how it runs.
Children 7-9 years old added the subject of Citizenship to their formal education. The book that Charlotte Mason used was Plutarch “Lives”. This was read aloud by the teacher and narrated orally by the students. From these ancient readings the students would then be asked what they knew of the local, nation, or church governments.
Books should not be altered with only examples of good or righteous men. Children should be protected from horrific accounts of happenings, such as found in a newspaper, but should be given examples of people who made wrong choices from accounts like that of Plutarch or the Bible.
For all ages it was of utmost importance to make sure the examples of the lives of the people read about were not drenched in “grossness” or sordid tales. If a biographical reading was of value but did contain undesired portions the teacher would edit out the undesired sections keeping the content accurate.
The lessons should not just focus on government policies or laws of the land but should inspire the students to live exemplary lives themselves as to be of true service to God and their country. They should learn to guard their minds and thoughts. To fill their minds with worthy things to think upon so sin cannot encroach.

Philosophy of Education Vol. 6 Ch. 10 Sect. 2

The Knowledge of Man
Pt. b Literature
Children age six began their literature study with Fairy Tales like Grimm or Anderson. The children are eager to narrate with vivid recall, these types of stories. Charlotte also used Aesop’s fables or Mrs. Gatty’s Parables from Nature with the same success.
Children ages 7-9 would begin having The Pilgrim’s Progress read aloud to them which they would then narrate from. Charlotte used a book called Tales of Troy and Greece which she would introduce at age 7 and continue to use each year through age 9. She would also add Water babies by Kingsly, Alice and Wonderland, and Just So Stories by Kipling. The children began to appreciate the great names of heroes like Ulysses and Achilles in an age that seemed to be breaking away from historical influences. By ages 8-9 the students were reading a great deal of the work for themselves. They individually read their own geography, History, and Poetry. The read alouds at this age consisted of things like Shakespeare’s Twelfth night, Rob Roy by Scott or Gulliver’s’ Travels from which they would narrate. This kind of schedule continued until 10 years of age. Teachers may have also included one or two books along the lines of a book entitled The Heroes of Asgard.
From ages 10-12, students would have more individual reading added to their work as well as a few more additional books.
All children read or were read the same material and took from it according to the individual understanding level. Nothing was “dumbed” down. Children who were bright naturally would take more from the readings than a child who was duller but that was ok. Each understood and took from it what they individually needed.
At age 13, the text, The History of English Literature was introduced. Students would read about 50 pages per term and the material would coincide with their history readings.
The object of literature study was not which author wrote during each time period studies but to read material from broad time spans to appreciate the living pictures authors give us of past time periods.
From ages 15-18, reading is more comprehensive and difficult. It also follows along with the History time periods they are studying. They would read things like: Popes’ “Essay on man” or Thackeray’s “The Virginians”. Narrations were still expected in the higher “grades” or “forms.”