Ambleside Flourish Podcast

Children Are Born Persons --- Part 1

The first article of a valid educational creed – “children are born persons” – is of a revolutionary character; for what is a revolution but a complete reversal of attitude? - Charlotte Mason

On Beauty

These are harrowing times. A man dies under the knee of a police officer. Such things ought not to be. Crowds erupt in riot, looting, burning and killing. Such things ought not to be. How are we to understand it? What is to be done? read more

“Bringing up” Children in Distressing Times (Part 2)

The story of the principal and Suzie was primarily about recovery from a distressed brain state, but this is only half of the work that is to be accomplished. It is also the responsibility of parents and teachers to build resilience. Resilience is the capacity to absorb adversity without slipping into a dysfunctional, distressed brain state. The greater the resilience, the less likely a child (or anyone for that matter) is to respond adversely, regardless of what is happening in the environs. Eight practices for building resilience will be the topic of this blog. read more

“Bringing up” Children in Distressing Times (Part 1)

These last weeks have been taxing. Routines have been radically altered. Freedoms have been constrained. Normal pleasures have been curtailed. For many, income has been disrupted. And perhaps most trying of all, the future is uncertain. The illusion that we are in control is being challenged. Such testing times can be stressful for parent and child alike. read more

Child Gymnasium or Child Garden

That children should be trained to endure hardness, was a principle of the old regime. "I shall never make a sailor if I can't face the wind and rain," said a little fellow of five who was taken out on a bitter night to see a torchlight procession; and, though, shaking with cold, he declined the shelter of a shed. Nowadays, the shed is everything; the children must not be permitted to suffer from fatigue or exposure.

That children should do as they are bid, mind their books, and take pleasure as it offers when nothing stands in the way, sums up the old theory; now, the pleasures of children are apt to be made more account than their duties. Formerly, they were brought up in subjection; now, the elders give place, and the world is made for the children.[1]

READ MORE

[1] Mason, Charlotte. Home Education. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1989. 7.

Scripture in Community with the Ambleside / Charlotte Mason Method Part 3 Adult Bible Study Example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q-NmpLDZbY&list=PLSyapsJ5Zs5NFrwJLZbT7i-SwQdA6yYpU&index=3 

Scripture in Community with the Ambleside / Charlotte Mason Method Part 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rirUIuadIBo&list=PLSyapsJ5Zs5NFrwJLZbT7i-SwQdA6yYpU&index=2

Scripture in Community with the Ambleside / Charlotte Mason Method Part 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q-NmpLDZbY&list=PLSyapsJ5Zs5NFrwJLZbT7i-SwQdA6yYpU&index=3 

Parenting in a Digital Age Part 3 with Dr. Bill St. Cyr

Modern technologies propagate a value system. Winners win and losers lose but is that a true statement?

Is the purpose of life. To make it to the one percent? Or would I or which would I rather have my child be? A neurotic performance-oriented performance driven member of the one percent. Or totally average in lifestyle but knows how to love his spouse and care for his children enjoys that which is good true and beautiful has a rich relationship with ideas and books as many friends and is a blessing to everyone in the neighborhood a quote winner one rich in the relation of life to set different value systems. Which do you want for your child?

Parenting in a Digital Age Part 2 with Dr. Bill St. Cyr

What's the most formative influence in that child's life. Is it parents? Is it teachers? I promise you it's the screens that's what's shaping the child's character. Every child is born knowing there are things worth having and things worth avoiding but they're absolutely clueless what those are. Their affections are set first by the parents, then by the tribe. What do you desire? Child What do you want?  Those desire we're not random events. They were cultivated. And they were cultivated by somebody or some thing.And. It's a function of quality time. Whoever has the most quality time with the child gets to do the most shaping of the affections. 

Parenting in a Digital Age Part 1 with Dr. Bill St. Cyr

Silicon Valley tech executives and engineers enroll their kids in no tech Waldorf schools. Google founders Sergei Brin and Larry Page went to no tech Montessori schools as did Amazon creator Jeff Bezos and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales many parents intuitively understand that the ubiquitous glowing screens are having a negative effect on kids.

The Pursuit of Maturity with Dr. Bill St. Cyr Part 3.4

Join Dr. Bill St. Cyr for the multi-part series on The Pursuit of Maturity.

The Pursuit of Maturity with Dr. Bill St. Cyr Part 3.3

Join Dr. Bill St. Cyr for the multi-part series on The Pursuit of Maturity.

The Pursuit of Maturity with Dr. Bill St. Cyr Part 3.2

Join Dr. Bill St. Cyr for the multi-part series on The Pursuit of Maturity.

The Pursuit of Maturity with Dr. Bill St. Cyr Part 3.1

Join Dr. Bill St. Cyr for the multi-part series on The Pursuit of Maturity.

The Pursuit of Maturity with Dr. Bill St. Cyr Part 2.2

Join Dr. Bill St. Cyr for the multi-part series on The Pursuit of Maturity.

The Pursuit of Maturity with Dr. Bill St. Cyr Part 2.1

Join Dr. Bill St. Cyr for the multi-part series on The Pursuit of Maturity.

The Pursuit of Maturity with Dr. Bill St. Cyr Part 1.3

Join Dr. Bill St. Cyr for the multi-part series on The Pursuit of Maturity.

The Pursuit of Maturity with Dr. Bill St. Cyr Part 1.2

Join Dr. Bill St. Cyr for the multi-part series on The Pursuit of Maturity.

The Pursuit of Maturity with Dr. Bill St. Cyr Part 1.1

Join Dr. Bill St. Cyr for the multi-part series on The Pursuit of Maturity. 

Educating with the Brain in Mind Seminar Dr. Bill St. Cyr

"To be a teacher you just manipulate their sense experience in such a way as to write on the blank slate of the students mind. We cannot as Christians believe that's all there is to education. As Christians we believe you can know God. And that is not just the processing of sensory information."​ ~Dr. Bill St. Cyr @ Educating With the Brain in Mind Seminar 

Dr. Bill St. Cyr is a gifted educator, counselor, teacher trainer and conference speaker. Since 2001, he has partnered with his wife in giving leadership to Ambleside Schools International. Prior to becoming Executive Director of ASI, Bill taught high school at Ambleside of Fredericksburg and spent ten years in private practice as a pastoral counselor. His professional experience includes serving as a youth minister, providing leadership to a discipleship ministry on Capitol Hill, and serving as assistant to the Chaplain of the United States Senate. Bill's academic degrees include B.A. in political science (Louisiana State University), M.A. in theology with an emphasis in patristics (Catholic University of America), and M.S. and Ph.D. in pastoral counseling (Loyola of Maryland). 

NOTE: The use of "animal brain"or the "reptilian brain" makes reference to the oldest of the three that controls the body's vital functions such as heart rate, breathing, body temperature and balance. The reptilian brain includes the main structures also found in a reptile's brain: the brainstem and the cerebellum.

Video here