Adrienne, thank you for engaging with our work. We refer to narration as a teaching tool or practice when viewing it from the perspective of the teacher. When Charlotte Mason calls narration an art, she is viewing it from the perspective of the student as artist. I (Jason) have shown narration’s connection to the liberal arts of language in A Classical Guide to Narration and A Short History of Narration, so I very much affirm that narration is a teaching practice that helps a student develop in his/her artistry with language. But for the teacher, it is a tool or practice by which the work of teaching is carried out, and in this context, it would be confusing to call narration an art, since it does not display the teacher’s artistry but the student’s. While I understand that the term ‘tool’ might connote to some parents the idea that it can be abandoned if it’s “not working,” that might depend on the nature of the tool. If you need to drive nails in, you don’t stop using a hammer because you are missing the nail. I find the term “tool” helpful, in addition to terms like “teaching practice,” because “tool” implies the need for the teacher to use it with skill. It also points toward pedagogy itself as a craft. Hopefully that helps you understand our reasoning!

Thank you for your consideration. This matters greatly to the work I do with parents and teachers