The Centrality of Wonder in a Classical Education
Goodness. Truth. Beauty. By now, these three words are well established as the cornerstone of a classical education. When subjects are infused with all three, students are exposed to true beauty in the paintings and artwork of the masters (both ancient and modern), learn to find goodness in mathematics and literature alike, and find the truth of our existence and its Creator in the sciences, philosophy, and logic class. Where, then, does wonder fit in?
In some realms of “Classical education,” (which has many differing opinions and schools of thought - as education tends to generate passionate and often opposed views on methodology), the path to a rigorous education involves significant memorization, rote learning, and a heavy focus on Latin, perhaps even Greek, and the ancient world. There may even be an exclusive track only for those who can take this material to the highest level. Is that a problem? Isn’t it great when children can recite Bible verses, poems, know their times tables by heart, and can confidently say, “amo, amas, amat”? Of course - this is delightful! However, as in anything that is inherently good, what use is it without a depth of understanding? That Bible verse without context can be misused, the poem without understanding is mere noise, the times tables without implementation and creative use are a parroted sing-song, and the correctly recited Latin conjugation a meaningless “A”. There are, unfortunately, classical programs that focus on this memorization and end there. One I know of never even once engages beyond ensuring that students have indeed memorized their materials and never even checks written work.
The great thinker Plutarch once said, “The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.” When the only role of the student is to passively receive and repeat information, we actually deny the creative curiosity God gave human beings to explore and learn. Practically speaking, we also disable the next generation by providing only the known tools, not the tools to explore the unknown. Many jobs our children will have in the future do not even exist yet.
The missing ingredient is wonder.
We have achieved the extent of our understanding of science today because enough people wondered about the plants, the stars, the microbes, and the weather patterns. We have Shakespeare, Austen, and Dr. Seuss because of writers who wondered and played with words. We have logic, philosophy, and mathematics because of those who contemplated and wondered about ideas, solutions, dimensions, and numbers long enough to develop Calculus and Quantum Physics, and to realize deductive, inductive, and abductive approaches to thinking. We have Michaelangelo, Botticelli, J.S. Bach, Haydn, and Beethoven, because of minds who could wonder, contemplate, create, and make something new.
Wonder is critical to a good education. Charlotte Mason understood this. Mason was a brilliant 19th-century British educator who correctly intuited that “education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life.” Education is not something “done to” a student, but something nurtured and developed. In a Charlotte Mason (CM) Classical education, it is understood that memorizing Bible verses and times tables, Physics formulas, and rules of logic, provides the materials that build the launchpad for thinking. A student cannot wonder about or explore the beauty of mathematics or physics without foundational concepts in place, or realize the profound depth of the Catholic faith without knowing the fundamentals of Scripture and Tradition. A CM education also nurtures a desire to explore and use those tools.
This means that teachers of young children are encouraged to get their charges outdoors as much as possible to look, listen, and learn. Reading about the veins in a leaf, or watching yet another video about the seasons cannot compare to a 2nd grader wading into the leaves herself, drawing the leaf with great care, and noting the differences through the seasons. What if that child had the chance to watch the wind blow leaves while learning about how the weather works to make such motions happen? And if she memorized and recited Rossetti's poem about wind at the same time, and if the whimsical painting by Gaetano Bellei was posted on the Smartboard…and she then wrote down her experiences of seeing the wind or describing the painting? And what if in the peaceful quiet of those moments of observation, in the processing of these ideas of an unseen power that can bend and shake the powerful trees before her very eyes, her understanding of God grows just a little bit more?
Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you:
But when the leaves hang trembling,
The wind is passing through.
Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I:
But when the trees bow down their heads,
The wind is passing by.
Christina Rossetti
Consistently allowing for wonder over time means that an upper school student who is learning about the laws of Physics can wonder about and ask questions about movement in space, discuss the physics of music, diverge into the pros and cons of musical genres (is there such a thing as “wrong” music if it somehow breaks the laws of physics?), and connect that to the historic events and happenings of the 20th century. What if one of those students received the opportunity to physically push a vehicle filled with his classmates, could then calculate Force, Mass, and Acceleration, add in a discussion on the Big Bang and the Creator, and then discuss the trajectory of faith in science between Galileo and Hawking? You help form a student who sees the results of exploring wonder in real time.
Wonder allows for the integration and connection of subjects and materials, and breaks students out of the error of thinking the content of any one subject is only relevant in that class time, for that particular context. All learning is connected, and well-structured teaching opens the doors for students to truly wonder. We read fairy tales out loud, we marvel at creation, and we allow children the time to absorb great music and view beautiful paintings. “Wonder” is not randomly allowing children to just explore without direction or purpose.
True wonder is nurtured when we give our students the tools to explore, fantastical stories that tingle in the imagination, math puzzles to solve, labs to complete, nature to explore, and great books that let the imagination soar.
True wonder leads to a deeper and more profound understanding of God, which is what Charlotte Mason calls primary knowledge, and what I always hope opens the door to the mystery of faith.
This is the wonder that is the hallmark of a CM education, and this is what has been a central vision for me in developing the curriculum at Sacred HEART Academy, at Koinonia Academy, and for any program that has requested my direction. “Wonder is the beginning of Wisdom.” ~ Socrates
Sincerely in profound wonder,
Peach Smith