Welcome to the Simply Charlotte Mason podcast. I'm Sonia Schaefer. When we think about what a teacher

should be and do, we often base it on the models we've seen, the teachers we've had. It's a very

natural thing to do, and that's why it's easy for us to almost automatically teach the way we were taught.

That's what we're familiar with.

That's the way it's done, isn't it?

And we don't think about questioning that model.

But Charlotte Mason would encourage us to take a step back and question that model.

You see, whatever methods a teacher uses are based on principles.

There are certain guidelines in that teacher's mind that are directing what you see happening

in lesson times. We recently walked through a series on those principles in a Charlotte Mason approach.

If you haven't listened to the core values of Charlotte Mason episodes yet, I encourage

you to do so.

The ideas I'm going to give you today are guided by those principles.

Check the show notes for a link to that series.

We often talk about what is not the teacher's role.

The teacher is not the fountainhead of all knowledge.

It is not the teacher's responsibility to make her students pay attention or to entertain them.

So today, let's talk about what the teacher's role is. I want to give you four key words that summarize your role as the teacher. Are you ready? Here they are. Indicate,

stimulate, direct, constrain. Let's unpack each one. First, indicate. Indicating is all about presenting good ideas.

You indicate where living ideas can be found, whether that's a book to be read or a map to be studied, a picture to be looked at, or a

nature friend to be observed, or a musical piece to listen to, or any of the other wonderful

resources that are included in this generous curriculum that Charlotte Mason laid out. In all of those lessons, you are indicating

...