Courses & certifications
Grow as an educator in the home and/or classroom.
8-week course on Charlotte Mason’s Living ideas
CORE teacher training
Conversations on Relational Education is an 8-week online teacher-training class. You will join a small cohort of educators for a rigorous study of Mason’s ideas and to learn and discuss what they look like in practice. An experienced instructor facilitates virtual discussions, and readings are scheduled from our spine text, When Children Love to Learn. Additional articles, CMI conference lectures, videos, and other resources are all provided. Each week builds on the ideas of relational education, and discussions focus on how to apply it in varied settings. Weekly written responses and attendance at discussion is required.
Course Topics
Week 1: Introduction
Week 2: Personhood
Week 3: Atmosphere
Week 4: Discipline
Week 5: Life, Science of Relations, Curriculum & Lesson Planning
Week 6: Living Books and Narration
Week 7: Language Arts
Week 8: Natural History
- Gain confidence in Mason’s core principles and methods to implement them in your context.
- Grow in understanding the “why” behind Mason’s methods.
- Discuss practical strategies for lesson planning, teacher prep, scheduling, and classroom management.
- Interact with other Mason educators and experts to glean encouragement and insight.
- On completion, receive a certificate for 28 Professional Development hours and fulfill a requirement toward Charlotte Mason Certified™ and Charlotte Mason Trained™ CMI teacher certifications.
Become Charlotte Mason Certified™ (CMC)
Basic and Advanced Teacher Certification
Educators looking for a Charlotte Mason certification can complete either the Basic or Advanced Certificate at their own pace by fulfilling a standard set of qualifications. These include readings, courses, written papers, and observation. Certificates are tailored for the general Mason educator desiring to
learn and apply more deeply the principles and practices of Mason’s relational education in homes and classrooms. Participants also complete overlapping requirements toward Charlotte Mason Trained™ certifications. Click on either of the certificates to read more.
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Dr Jack Beckman about Blue Open Door
Become Charlotte Mason Trained™ (CMT)
Blue Open Door program
Blue Open Door brings a course of study for aspiring and active teachers and educational leaders in Charlotte Mason-based homes and schools. It is an intentional 15-18 month course of study offered in an online format and focused on bringing Charlotte Mason’s principles and practices to bear on two key roles in educational contexts – teachers and school leaders. It is designed to be challenging and rigorous in terms of thinking and pedagogy.
The program consists of seven content-based 6-week courses over 13 months with a Capstone Culmination project lasting approximately 3 months. Studies lead to a CMI renewable Certificate as a Charlotte Mason Trained™ teacher.
Blue Open Door Certification
Program Overview
Because Mason espoused the science of relations as a Captain idea, The Blue Open Door works best as a cohort-based model, so we encourage participants travel to travel together through multiple courses. Educators and school leaders both take the initial three courses as and then differentiate into two mini-cohorts as they move into the specialized tracks. Our hope is to continue to develop a community of learners around Charlotte Mason's ideas as The Blue Open Door unfolds to its culmination.
Fall Term
The Nature of the Learner with Dr. Carroll Smith, Sep 5- Oct 17, class meetings Tuesdays, 6:30-8:30pm EST. Registration Open!
The Nature of Learning (BOD #2): Oct 31 - Dec 19
- Sep - Oct: The Nature of the Learner (BOD #1)
- Oct - Dec: The Nature of Learning (BOD #2)
- Jan - Feb: The Relational School (BOD #3)
- Mar - Apr: Knowledge of God, Design of instruction (TEA #4A or #4B) OR Nature/Role of School Head (EDL #4B)
- May - Jun: Knowledge of Man I (liberal arts – literature, language arts, etc.) (TEA #5) OR Mission, Vision, Values (EDL #5)
- Jun - July: Knowledge of Man II (culture – history, geography, art, music, etc. (#TEA 6) OR Professional Learning and Evaluation of Teachers (EDL #6)
- Aug - Sep: Knowledge of the Universe (Sciences, maths, etc.) (TEA #7) OR School Growth and Improvement (EDL #7)
