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Conversations tend to be slow… unless fueled by caffeine! Then they tend to be quick and a bit sweaty!
But the good conversations, the ones with substance - that germinate and produce fruit, either outwardly or inwardly, are the slow ones - at least in my experience.
Narrating is preparation for the Grand Conversation. It is a training ground for proper participation.
“This is what I heard; this is what I think; here is what I can add.”
I have been stuck recently at how Marco Polo™ gives to me, what narrating gives to my children. Its function allows for, and even requires, reflection, sorting and ordering, before my response. Marco Polo™ forces me into slow conversations, similar to narration. As I anticipate recording, I mentally recall my friend’s last words. During the recording, I am sorting - trying to remember what required a response and thinking through the piece I should add. I have even found that in the gap between sessions – my mind is working on thoughts, rehearsing responses.
The conversation in technical minutes and seconds, doesn’t reflect the whole of the conversation. The layers of thought and time not counted on the timer play as vital a role as actual screen time. I wonder if this happens for my children after studies? I hope it is happening. It is the tiny leap of faith I take in choosing this education. It is the goal. Slow conversations with ideas, to prepare them for participation in the Grand Conversation. Outward responses, yes – but more importantly an internal conversation.
And how many times has my response been different after a forced delay? Many. That is what the caffeine driven conversations lack. Inward mulling, reflection. Things get said on the fly – things that sometimes shouldn’t! Half-baked ideas are flung around – and sometime hit and hurt. Of course there is a place for this sort of dialoguing, this external processing - but to my mind, it falls short of grand, is not a good training ground.
The Grand Conversation wasn’t coined by Charlotte Mason. It is simply the recognized give and take among minds, perhaps separated by location and time - but joined by ideas.
And let us remember that this historic goal of education is in fact a conversation - not a lecture, not a debate, not even a degree. It is relational.
The part Ms. Mason brings is a slowness. This is needful. The part she brings to our school day is the same part Marco Polo™ has brought to my conversations:
A piece-by-piece approach (short readings),
Repeatedly coming back to a thought (recalling the previous reading),
Time to reflect and demonstrate that you listened with understanding (narration).
These are the prerequisites for a seat at the table of ideas. This is what I want for my children, relational conversations that qualify as grand.
Sara Timothy 2022
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