How Classics Help us in Real Life
Last week we found out that my Brother-in-law has cancer, and as we drove home from the hospital everyone was feeling sad and overwhelmed (of course). We were listening to the audio book of the Last Battle with the Chronicles of Narnia, and for me at least, it really helped me to remember to have an eternal perspective! In the book, the children and their friends fight the last battle before the Narnian world ends, but it's so beautifully written as it describes them all another dimension, in a better Narnia, then going through the gates into heaven. I loved the descriptions of how wonderful it is. While listening I was reminded that death really isn't the end, and that it IS a comma instead of a period. Not that my brother-in-law is for sure going to die, but it is a possibility. I was grateful for the change in our family, that we just happened to be listening to a classic book instead of the radio.
For the past year or so I've been searching for a better education for myself and my children, and I'm leaning towards Thomas Jefferson/Leadership Education, and Charlotte Mason, and both promote the use of classic (or living) books to teach instead of dull textbooks. Classics really do help us in hard times, and give us great lessons or things to remember! As we read the writing from the great minds of the past, our lives are enriched, and life lessons are taught in a way that the children don't take as being an annoying sit-down lesson. This reminds me of the time we were listening (audio books in the car have been great for us, the readers are much better at changing voices for different characters and they don't trip over words like I sometimes do) to Farmer Boy and Shawn said, "I can be patient like Almanzo is with the calves!" We didn't have to sit down and say, "Let's do a lesson on patience kids," he learned it by listening to the way other children act and behave- in stories! What a blessing it is to have these great stories and ideas given to us by inspired authors! I like the definition of a classic from Thomas Jefferson Education: a book (or other creative work) that you can read over and over again, learning something new each time. The greatest classics are of course the scriptures, which we can apply to ourselves as in 1 Nephi 19, then there are many other people who were inspired by the spirit to write books for us. I am grateful to all of those who share the light they have found. Thank you artists who share your gifts with the world. They bring beauty and light to some dark times.
For the past year or so I've been searching for a better education for myself and my children, and I'm leaning towards Thomas Jefferson/Leadership Education, and Charlotte Mason, and both promote the use of classic (or living) books to teach instead of dull textbooks. Classics really do help us in hard times, and give us great lessons or things to remember! As we read the writing from the great minds of the past, our lives are enriched, and life lessons are taught in a way that the children don't take as being an annoying sit-down lesson. This reminds me of the time we were listening (audio books in the car have been great for us, the readers are much better at changing voices for different characters and they don't trip over words like I sometimes do) to Farmer Boy and Shawn said, "I can be patient like Almanzo is with the calves!" We didn't have to sit down and say, "Let's do a lesson on patience kids," he learned it by listening to the way other children act and behave- in stories! What a blessing it is to have these great stories and ideas given to us by inspired authors! I like the definition of a classic from Thomas Jefferson Education: a book (or other creative work) that you can read over and over again, learning something new each time. The greatest classics are of course the scriptures, which we can apply to ourselves as in 1 Nephi 19, then there are many other people who were inspired by the spirit to write books for us. I am grateful to all of those who share the light they have found. Thank you artists who share your gifts with the world. They bring beauty and light to some dark times.
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