Ep 15 | We’re Going (Classical) Camping
It’s time to end season three but we’re not leaving the classical world beyond the wardrobe. We’re just going to go camping.
Footnotes
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Hey there. If The Commonplace podcast has been a help to you this season, will you please leave a rating and review on Apple podcasts? It helps other moms find the podcast and bring their families through the classical wardrobe. You’ll find a link in today’s episode notes.
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For the wise men of old, the cardinal problem of human life was how to conform the soul to objective reality, and the solution was wisdom, self-discipline, and virtue. For the modern, the cardinal problem is how to conform reality to the wishes of man, and the solution is a technique.
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Can you hardly believe it’s the end of 2023 and season three of The Commonplace?
I’ve slowly added more to our captain idea from C.S. Lewis as we’ve journeyed through the classical wardrobe. We started with the idea that the men of old were concerned with conforming the soul to reality. After learning about virtue from nine philosophers spanning thousands of years, we added the middle part: the wise men of old considered the solution wisdom, self-discipline, and virtue. Today, I’ve added the final line: For the modern, the cardinal problem is how to conform reality to the wishes of man.
This distinction between conforming to reality and conforming reality to man is one of the greatest between the classical world and ours.
We’ve been together for the better part of this year and still we’ve barely made our way beyond the wardrobe door into the classical world. But we have entered the land of whole-souled persons—those whose minds, chests, and bellies think, love, and move in a world charged with the grandeur of God.
It’s inspiring and nourishing.
But it’s not without it’s battles, lessons, and defeats.
Classical children—and their mother-teachers—are not perfect. They’re persons.
So we know, as we get our bearings here in this land of virtue and wisdom, of truth, goodness, and beauty, it will not be won without labour. We’ll pursue the lovely and the noble, however imperfectly we can.
I hope, after this season, you have more of your bearings and you can see the well-trod path towards virtue and wisdom. As Lewis said, our concern is conforming the souls in our homes to Reality, which is to say, to God.
But as wild as that sounds, we aren’t left alone to figure out what to do. Think back on this season, on the ideas and practices we’ve explored; think about what the wise men of old have shared with us. We need rich atmosphere, disciplines, and living ideas—I know, the phrase made famous by Charlotte Mason is echoed throughout thousands of years and many pens. But this means you have a start; this means your home is the type of place for this formation.
Let the ideas shared in season three shape your inner thought life and the practices you choose for your home.
But as you might have expected, there is still so much to be said.
So, we’re going to go camping in season four, by which I mean, we’re going to stop and get really comfortable in one very important place: the land of the libraries.
Or, you know, story.
We’ve started the conversation around story this season but there are so many questions asked by new classical moms that need to be addressed.
What do I do with the really dark parts of fairy tales?
How do we create a family culture of reading aloud?
Why do some stories last and why do we have to read those?
Shouldn’t we give our children real stories to prepare them for the real world?
How exactly do stories form us?
Why is Autumn so obsessed with C.S. Lewis?
And what does it mean that Christ is the Logos, the Story Incarnate?
These, plus others, are the questions we’ll ask in season four of The Commonplace. To make it even better, I’ve invited my favourite teachers, writers, philosophers, and artists to join me to discuss various angles on story.
So, grab your tea pot’ we’re setting up for a proper stay come February.
In the meantime, you can still learn with me over on YouTube at The Commonplace or in Common House where I teach about all things educational philosophy and classical ideas.
It’s been my honour and privilege to welcome many of you through the classical wardrobe for the first time this season. If’s been my delight to find fellow mother-teachers walking the path and to join together for a few miles.
It’s remarkable to me that through home education, I’m learning to hear, “Come further up, come further in,” and to see the love of God in all things.
I thought I’d just be buying a few workbooks, you know?
I’ll see you in February.
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