ncunabulum [in-kyoo-nahb-yoo-lum]. Reconstructed singular of Latin, incunabula, which meant “swaddling clothes” or “cradle”. Technically, the word refers to any book printed before 1501, especially those which used the earliest forms of movable-type technology. Because incunabula were produced before the printing press became widespread, their volumes remaining faithful to the artistic characteristics that appeared in manuscripts, they represent an emerging world of promising new insight, but steeped within ancient, time-honored traditions.
Evoking allegories to infancy, incunabula are the earliest stages or first traces of anything—an archetypal birthplace, new beginnings. This is familiar in imagery called upon by modern phrases such as “the cradle of civilization”. Thus an incunabulum can be likened, as it is used in entomology, to a cocoon, a place for chrysalis.
Detailed information about incunabula, the printed works, may be found here. Also, for more information on what the φ symbol is, check here.
The Incunabulum Learning Space
So much discovery awaits inside an incunabulum,
so many passages to explore.
he Incunabulum, as a learning space, is an idea we hope to share. In fact, sharing is the main idea of our Incunabulum in the first place. So much so that “our”, here, encompasses even those who are reading these lines for the very first time. We are well honored you’ve come.
In these modern times—with the full scope of Human History as our setting—we have been given an unprecedented opportunity to reestablish the relationships we have with the institutions and conceptions that structure our lives. More precisely, we have a renewed chance to investigate ourselves. And now, as everything around seems to be getting exponentially faster, many of us have come to call for a renewed understanding of education. So many of us are looking at education and family values in a new light.
Still Waters Run Deep…
he Incunabulum, as a learning opportunity, was set forward to address an education founded on patience, trust and almost infinite flexibility. It could be called, for lack of better term, the “slow-school” movement.?Though the moving will be “slow” only in relationship to stacking outcomes or delineating curricula. Still waters run deep, they say. What we want is a place of comfort in which to settle back within our natural states of self-driven interest and internal motivation, all in the context of an Internet Age.
There are many pedagogical reasons for all of this that will be explored elsewhere in this site, should you care to seek them out; but suffice to say, there are certain things that cannot be rushed. Primary among them—precisely the quality we now entrust to our children—is love, the flame and forge of a personal relationship with education they are tempering. We call this the Incunabulum Learning Space. But the “space” we are talking about is, ultimately, not a physical. Rather, we find—fertile to be cultivated—that the level field of education rests inside of each student. In this way, the “Prepared Environment” will become wherever he or she or we will go.
What Do We Do?
hat we do is up to you:
• We could gather together at the library, in your home, at a local park, at the small Incunabulum space in Westbrook, out for a hike, etc.
• We could arrange to meet via any web-conferencing solutions.
• If you need help with curriculum outlines, lesson planning or inspiration, that’s something we could work on together.
• If, say, an unschooling student has an interest in any subject at all, we would love to help him or her find the way to answer questions and swap ideas to suit the purpose.
• We could run through pedagogical models and discuss schooling choices that best suit you and your family
• We could work on projects together in any medium: woodwork; electrical; computer programming; script, story or song writing; deep studies into mathematics, a historical topic of interest, or any other subject; tailoring our own clothes; learning a new language; finely investigating the wonders and great possibilities of English syntax, grammar and style; and so, so, so many others…
• It would be great to get out for a hike, bike ride or ski
• We could meet regularly for Book Club, bringing hand-made treats to share and using literature as a entryway to strengthen our platform to the rest of the world.
For, truly, that last point (though far from the end of the endless list of things we could do together in this burgeoning “Incunabulum” space) is central to the mark of Human Understanding. FROM ANY SINGLE POINT, EVERY OTHER SUBJECT, FIELD OR DIRECTION IS ACCESSIBLE. This cannot be stated strongly enough: Everything is connected. What is left to us is to find that path In this way, any single field of the student’s interest will be a passport to the entire world of education. And the interest that was there initially will accompany us everywhere we go.
Where Does Education Go From Here?
eally, it’s a
The Incunabulum is an idea that we hope to expand on. Based on the classical academics of Aristotle and Plato, honed under the direct experience of Montessori, focused in the light of Steiner, elevated through the gates of “extension” programs, and inspired by the Forest School movement, Incunabulum education is, above all, a pedagogy of trust in the love parents have for their children, the supportive environment of the home, and the natural state of children as self-driven learners.
There are many way to get involved. Please reach out to let us know how we can begin to collaborate.
