In the first half of this chapter James Taylor continues his apologia for poetic knowledge. As he explains on page 74,"The deliberate treatment of poetic knowledge by Maritain and others becomes necessary only after the 17th century and the ascendancy of science as the preeminent method of learning."
It has become needful in our time to advance this lengthy and deep explanation of poetic knowledge because in our hurried society it is seldom experienced. This is nothing new. As a homeschooling mom I frequently experience what Taylor calls connatural learning. What I believe Miss Mason would call the science of relationships or the habit of attention. But as a child my life was regulated by school schedules and the non-stop presence of the TV. I played outside but I never paid attention to nature. I read books but none that made me think. Certainly, electronic entertainment is even more prevalent today and kids frequently have no time to ponder nor anything interesting to ponder if they had the time.
I first read this book a dozen years ago. I don't remember having trouble understanding or following Taylor's definitions and defenses. I was pregnant with my youngest, my oldest was 16. We were preparing to enter the Catholic church. My recollection of this book is positive. I loved the premise and felt that my homeschool was fairly poetic. The girls memorized a lot of poetry, anyway! But re-reading this I realize I really didn't get the full effect of what Taylor is saying here. I'm sure I related it mostly to homeschooling and not to education in general. I now see that this applies to all education and that all children need to begin their education in a poetic mode. Something human is lost when early education is dissected into subjects and facts. I don't see a major overhaul of the public school system happening on this level but it would be awesome if it did. Something along the lines of when my grandmother attended the little one room school with its body of knowledge to be learned. When you could be in the 4th reader but the beginning math book. When you spent two hours of the school day playing. (This is true! A half hour of play in the morning, an hour for lunch and another half hour of play in the afternoon. How much ADHD do you think this would cure today?) The more I read this book the more I am in awe of Charlotte Mason and what she accomplished with her schools! How I wish I had had such an education myself and could recreate it for our stressed nation of school kids!
