The Jesuit Educational Standard, Calvinism and Charlotte Mason... oh my!

I have recently been studying the foundations of what is called the Jesuit Education, as per the Ratio Studiorum.
Throughout history Jesuits have been famous for their educational contributions to the world. They perfected the art of the Classical Education, and like Charlotte Mason rigorously fought against the mind-numbing fact-imbibing techniques of the day.

I came to study it for two reasons. (a) My husband and I are interested in securing a 100 % Catholic education for our children, drawing from the ancients-- not because we are worried that they will stray from the faith if we don't, but because we know and understand  that the ancients were able to do one thing that is sorely lacking in our modern world: they were able to think.
(b) I am particularly interested in what ways the history of Catholic education affected the ideas of Charlotte's that we deem particularly brilliant. For example, how heavily she was influenced by this idea that children are born persons, a Catholic theological point that, if it were truly understood, would serve as a dissolving agent for the prevalent culture of death all around us.

I also find studying the history of the Classical Liberal Arts education very beneficial for putting Charlotte's ideas into context.

In this case, for example,  I was looking for information about how to DO our short periods of recitation in various subjects (math facts, latin, grammar) in the method Charlotte would have been most accustomed to. I knew that she had her students do recitations. I didn't know what they looked like.

Below is a simple breakdown of the Ignatian method.

The foundation of the Ignatian Method is based on the Spiritual Exercises and the Ratio Studiorum of St. Ignatius of Loyola and seeks:

• To focus on formation, not information
• To have the goal of leading the student to the knowledge and love of God
• To help the teacher/parent train the student's memory, understanding and will
• To train the student to speak, write and act well
• To do all things Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, for the greater glory of God

Ignatian education is education with a purpose in mind beyond simply filling heads with data. A proper education should:

• Form children into adults capable of being leaders and effective agents for Christ in the world
• Fashion in the student an intelligent obedience to all duly-constituted authority
• Develop in the student a respect for the contributions of the past
• Create competency in the arts of expression
• Instill in the student the habit of orderly thinking, trained by a thorough grounding in the basics and expanded in a literature-based curriculum

How does this work? The three tools of Ignatian education are:

• Self-activity: forms the habit of independent study and interest in scholarly pursuits
• Mastery: tackling progressively more difficult material through learning, repetition, and memorization builds confidence and motivation to keep learning
• Formation: emphasizes development of the whole person--mind, body and soul--to help the student learn to make wise choices in line with the will of God

(I got this simplified outline from Kolbe Academy - a Catholic classical homeschool curriculum provider that teaches using the Ignatian Method.)

Those of you familiar with Charlotte's Methods will no doubt see so many correlations between her ideas and the traditional Jesuit Education-- a true "Catholic classical education!"
Unlike the Puritan "classical"education, which aims to indoctrinate in order to arrive at truth, the Catholic education seeks to teach ordered thinking and the use of reason to arrive at truth.

I've been thinking about the importance of this a great deal as my family undergoes a very..... a very us kind of trial. My husband and his brother are having a disagreement, because his brother has suddenly become heavily influenced by Calvinist theology, and as such is suddenly rather anti-Catholic. This causes rifts and wounds in our relationships, which is unfortunate. I am confident in the power of Christ to overcome these demonic rifts and bouts of strife, but in the meantime I have also been fascinated as I watched the different ways with which they "make their case."
My brother-in-law's method of argument is to provide walls of scripture. He is a scripture hammer-- for each question that arises he provides ten-twelve different scriptures pulled from various parts of the Bible as "proof texts." There is no real method of interpretation, he simply gives us passages that he has been handed as "proof" of Calvinist/Reformed theology, regardless of the context, or seemingly opposing scriptures that exist elsewhere in the Bible. This is what I call the Puritan Hammer method of debate. I personally feel it's a method reminiscent of a toddler plugging his ears with his fingers and sticking out his tongue.... "Neiner, neiner! itissobecauseisaythebiblesayssoandihavetheholyspirit!" And I'm ashamed to say it's a method I've used many times in the past. :/

My husband's method, on the other hand, is to appeal to his brother's reason and ability to think. "Let's first determine who has the authority to interpret scripture," he argues, and "let's look at how these two scriptures could appear to disagree on the issue, one pointing to predestination and one pointing to free will."

In the car yesterday, on our way home from Church, my husband began to discuss the Catechism with our children. Rather than tell them: "Children, we believe this. Say it with me!" He posed them a question:
"Children," he asked. "Do you believe it's possible that God may have created someone to send them to hell?" "Nooooooooooooo!" They shouted gleefully. "Why not?" He asked them. And they began to reason together.... my kids giving answers and my husband asking questions. Only at the very end did he say: "Very good, children, that is truth. God both predestines us and knows all things AND gives us free will to freely choose Him. "

Honor your childrens' personhood by giving them the ability to think. But guide them in logical thinking, and provide them with ample examples of truth-in-action. This is the Catholic way.

There is no hard proof anywhere I've seen that says CM was influenced by these ideas, but she was no doubt very familiar with them.
Other innovative Catholic educators who were her contemporaries certainly took these ideas into consideration (Maria Montessori among them)-- with CM delivering further, clear instruction as to how to give a truly Classical Liberal Arts Education to a child who is born a person.

Certainly the goals and methods appear to have very much in common.
Both methods teach that formation of the whole person is to be prefered over the fine-tuning of just one aspect of the mind, both methods use self-teaching (vs teachers "telling") and allowing the student to grapple with the ideas themselves. Both methods emphasize mastery over covering a lot of ground. Both methods involve re-telling, and competing with oneself to enjoy the satisfaction of learning well-done. Both methods emphasize using the best possible literature (the "classics") as the foundation for all knowledge and understanding. Both methods had for their chief aim: the knowledge and love of God.

As I grow in my understanding of Charlotte's methods, it has been tremendously beneficial for me to dig into the long and sacred tradition of Catholic education, and to understand that these tried-and-true methods really formed Charlotte's ideas about education, which stemmed from her faith in God and understanding of his nature.

Catholics who are afraid of using Charlotte Mason because she "wasn't Catholic" should be studying her work. They might be surprised to find just how Catholic she actually was!