I know that you want a list of books -that is what I wanted. You have these little people (or big teens) looking at you. You are now homeschooling. What do you DO? They are waiting… what do I DO!? DO!!!!???
A book list. Hum…. with the focus of a CM Education on books, you’d think this post would be loooooong and full of suggestions and titles.
But, the right books are only a piece of a CM Education. As you can see from the list of habit-skills and tools, they are 1/8th of the whole-give or take.
Occasionally Charlotte recommended or referred to books in her volumes, but she resisted a list because, contrary to what you might often be told, the books are not the hub around which a CM Education circles. Living Books are not the end-all-be-all of a CM Education.
“The ‘hundred best books for the schoolroom’ may be put down on a list, but not by me.” – Volume 3 p.178
If Living Books were the most important part of being a CMer, Charlotte would have her Volumes full of lists. And wouldn’t we all covet that??! But she doesn’t. Her Volumes are full of… eh… mostly philosophy and a little method.
My disclaimer…..
Book lists are helpful, because there are definitely wrong books (twaddle and sawdust in CM terms). Some books bring growth and some bring death to the mind, to put it brutally.
Throughout this site you will find suggestions for books to use, but these certainly are not all that could be used. Once you figure out what exactly you are looking for, you will discover thousands of Living Books. Maybe I’ll do a comparison of a Living Book and a Dead Book….
I will have lists of EXAMPLES or SUGGESTIONS. I know it was really helpful for me to get titles from people, so I could, in real life and on real pages, understand what I was after. Some concrete examples are helpful. But these are only examples.
I rather teach you what a Living Book IS, and how to find them.
I’d rather teach you how to farm than give you the chickens and corn.
Right?
So you want a farm lifestyle, fresh food, and the farm experience. I could give you some chickens, I could give you the corn. But what would you do with them? How would you care for them and grow them? How would you ensure that you have what you’ll need to continue again the next season? If you don’t, well then, I get you the chickens and corn all over again. And you enjoy it for the spring, summer, and fall. The chickens do their thing, the corn grows, it’s tasty. But the next spring, there you are, open arms waiting for me to bring you corn seed and chickens. I like open arm hugs. It’s a ego booster. But you aren’t learning. You aren’t growing into your own. You aren’t maturing. You are dependent – on me. You could play a farmer like Marie Antoinette, or you could get your hands dirty and take on the slow, grueling process of learning yourself with the advice and guidance of another and mostly a lot of trial and error.
Charlotte has all the advice you need… learn from her.
I will have lists of EXAMPLES or SUGGESTIONS. I know it was really helpful for me to get titles from people, so I could, in real life and on real pages, understand what I was after. Some concrete examples are helpful. But these are only examples.
I rather teach you what a Living Book IS, and how to find them.
I’d rather teach you how to farm than give you the chickens and corn.
Right?
So you want a farm lifestyle, fresh food, and the farm experience. I could give you some chickens, I could give you the corn. But what would you do with them? How would you care for them and grow them? How would you ensure that you have what you’ll need to continue again the next season? If you don’t, well then, I get you the chickens and corn all over again. And you enjoy it for the spring, summer, and fall. The chickens do their thing, the corn grows, it’s tasty. But the next spring, there you are, open arms waiting for me to bring you corn seed and chickens. I like open arm hugs. It’s a ego booster. But you aren’t learning. You aren’t growing into your own. You aren’t maturing. You are dependent – on me. You could play a farmer like Marie Antoinette, or you could get your hands dirty and take on the slow, gruelling process of learning yourself with the advice and guidance of another and mostly a lot of trial and error.
Charlotte has all the advice you need… learn from her.
And our society desperately needs many who know what Living Books are. There is a lot of garbage out there being pumped into the primed system. We need book lookers-finders-rescuers – or we will have a culture of Dead Books producing dead minds and bodies.
So for my purpose. I’d prefer to point you to CM. I’d rather teach you what she says about Living Books so you know what a Living Book IS. Once you know that, you won’t need my suggestions. You’ll be able to find your own.
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