The Headgate and Poetic Knowledge

So...right now I am reading more than one book for a blogging book club. It just so happens that, unbeknownst to me, both books compliment each other quite well, so far. Last year, during my ever expanding quest for knowledge I discovered a gem of a blog whilst searching for more information on Charlotte Mason. This blog is called Afterthoughts and she and her followers just started studying a book called Poetic Knowledge: The Recovery of Education by James S. Taylor. (Hosted by Mystie) Can I just say: wonderfully enlightening!?! "But, how does this all relate to The Headgate?" you ask. In the introduction Tibbets says of a classical education, "The most beautiful part of this is that the mother of the classically educated child is no longer part-time teacher, part-time motivator, or part-time nag...In this environment, everybody wins. The children feel free to pursue whatever they wish." A few paragraphs later she speaks of the idea of scheduling "school" time.

"If we were to schedule school time, that would suggest to them that we have in mind some things that they ought to do before they can go do what they want to do; this would hinder the falling in love process...a child knows that their boring 'school work' is something they are 'supposed' to do, they treat it like work, and they get in 'get it done' mode...Now they look at learning with a 'minimum requirement' paradigm, instead of a 'the sky is the limit' paradigm."

Okay, now for the tie in, ooooh! I'm so excited by truth connections! First of all, a quick definition. "Poetic knowledge is not necessarily a knowledge of poetry but rather a poetic (a sensory-emotional) experience of reality...it is not strictly speaking a knowledge of poems, but a spontaneous act of the external and internal senses ..it is...knowledge from the inside out, radically different in this regard from a knowledge about things. In other words, it is the opposite of scientific knowledge." The headgate system depends on the childrens "play turning into learning." Taylor states that all poetic knowledge requires a condition of leisure. Oh, yeah, did you know that, "the Greek word for leisure is skole and, in Latin, scola, which as can easily be seen, becomes school in English"? Something was definitely "lost in translation" with both the words school and leisure! Education is an atmosphere (Charlotte Mason). Free time vs. school time (The Headgate). Love of learning (TJ Ed). Wholesome recreation (Family Proclamation). All these phrases come to mind. Many of the ancients used leisure time to nurture poetic knowledge, to them it was free time and school time. I think we need to revive ancient understanding of certain terms, don't you? A love of learning was there because the atmosphere was there. I know that the principle of, "Wholesome recreation" is given as one ingredient to family happiness and success. That phrase was most likely used because most Americans no longer understand "leisure" as the rejuvenating and carefully guarded time it once was. To me there is something more noble, refreshing, and good about the ancient definition of leisure then todays idea of it. Taylor put it this way, "To be placed at a 45^ angle in a reclining chair, drink in one hand, remote control in the other, in front of the television, is not leisure but something closer to sloth of mind and body." What better way to wisely spend our properly defined leisure time then by learning via poetic knowledge? I know, for most of us, the atmosphere is not up to par but thankfully there will be more of how to go about that as we continue our study of The Headgate. Now, I wanted to keep this post brief so I tried to focus on just one area. I hope you were all able to follow me. Sheepish grin.

Other parts of this section of The Headgate that stood out to me were:

• Our children are like a seed analogy


• "No forcing on the parents part or compliance by the children will aid in their phase progression."


• "worrying...manifests itself in the form of slowed progression."


• Tibbets touched on the roles of males and females, I know that by design each has a vital role and we should nurture those roles rather then try to mix them or subvert them.

Tibbets pointed out that we need "order in the schedule." Although it does not need to be strictly adhered to or perfect it should be "productive and reliable". She goes on to say, "when a family is in survival mode, their schedule is not productive. They exist day to day, but they do not produce much of anything beyond primal needs. " As I read this the second time through I wondered: is this why Satan inspired employers with crazy work hour schedules? Now adays many out there will work a closing shift only to open the next day. My own hubbie works 12 hour shifts bouncing back and forth between night and day. There is NO consistency from week to week, although he is on a 4 wk rotation it is very hard for us to be consistant. This is an area where we could see vast improvement if he could obtain a job with a steady schedule. That may need to wait a few years though. Sigh....