Scholé of Intention: I have really been enjoying the connections between the AmblesideOnline books that I have been reading. For instance, Miss A and I have been learning the history of the English common law while reading The Birth of Britain (AO7) and now The New World (AO8). Then in Whatever Happened to Justice, Richard Maybury shows the dangers of replacing common law principles with political law – of viewing judges and politicians as “lawmakers” (a term now ubiquitous) instead of discoverers of a higher law that everyone is responsible to obey, even those in government. And then in Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis reminds us that outward social morality isn’t enough – what goes on in our hearts is even more important. As he puts it:
You cannot make men good by law; and without good men you cannot have a good society.
Scholé of Method: I cannot read all the AO books (I have three kids in three different years!), or even all the Year 8 books. With some I just wing it, with more or less success. But with others, namely a few of the science books, my husband has agreed to read them either to or along with the kids. It really has taken a load off my shoulders, and I think he has enjoyed the books as well. 🙂
Scholé of Outcome: Sometimes wonder comes in rediscovering something that you once enjoyed studying. My sister found the video below which illustrates the use of leitmotifs in movie music. We both learned about the concept when reading about Wagner’s Ring Cycle in our music history textbook, and agree it would have been much more interesting to learn about it via the score for The Lord of the Rings. 😉 I had Miss A watch it as well (she’s interested in movie making), and will show it to the others when they’re ready for the movies.
