“How many observe Christ’s birthday! How few, his precepts! O! tis easier to keep Holidays than Commandments.” – Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1743
I was researching some passages for copywork when I discovered that quote by Benjamin Franklin, and I quickly made a note to turn a portion of it into a meme. Later as I considered the quote, it struck me—copywork and memes have a lot in common. By studying one, we find the purpose for the other.
Dictionary.com has two definitions for a meme:
- cultural item that is transmitted by repetition and replication in a manner analogous to the biological transmission of genes.
- a cultural item in the form of an image, video, phrase, etc., that is spread via the Internet and often altered in a creative or humorous way.
You’ve seen memes all over the Internet. They are shared and re-shared, liked and commented on. They make us pause; they make us smile. They make us look at something in a new way and oftentimes help us remember it. Memes become part of our culture; they also become part of us.
Charlotte Mason would not have been surprised. In the late 1800s, this British educator incorporated copywork into her philosophy of how to teach children. She wasn’t interested in helping them memorize long lists of facts. She wanted children to learn and grow physically, mentally, and spiritually. To accomplish this, she knew that information had to be “transmitted by repetition and replication” as the definition says. It had to become part of the children’s core.
Copywork does this. Whether it is patriotic quotes from founding fathers, beautiful words by famous authors, Scripture passages, or an historic speech, copywork helps children pause, consider, and remember. It also brings history to life. Would you rather read about Lewis and Clark, Sitting Bull, Booker T. Washington, and Benjamin Franklin, or would you like to go deeper and read their words and hear their voices for yourself?
Copywork is a wonderful way to teach grammar, spelling, handwriting, history, writing, and more in one exercise, simplifying your homeschool schedule and allowing time for deeper study, exploration, and just having fun. Do you use copywork in your homeschool? Let me know how you take advantage of this versatile teaching tool. If you haven’t tried it before, won’t you consider using it in the year ahead? Let us know what you think!
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