A Bit More About Charlotte Mason

So, who was Charlotte Mason and what is her philosophy of education? Here is a very brief bio and overview of the Charlotte Mason (CM) method, along with comparisons with other educational methods.

Charlotte wrote down 20 principles for education, which I will list here in her own words, but I recommend going to Ambleside Online to read them (along with a modern interpretation/commentary which is easier to read):

1. Children are born persons.

2. They are not born either good or bad, but with possibilities for good and for evil.

3. The principles of authority on the one hand, and of obedience on the other, are natural, necessary and fundamental; but––

4. These principles are limited by the respect due to the personality of children, which must not be encroached upon whether by the direct use of fear or love, suggestion or influence, or by undue play upon any one natural desire.

5. Therefore, we are limited to three educational instruments––the atmosphere of environment, the discipline of habit, and the presentation of living ideas. The P.N.E.U. Motto is: "Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life."

6. When we say that "education is an atmosphere," we do not mean that a child should be isolated in what may be called a 'child-environment' especially adapted and prepared, but that we should take into account the educational value of his natural home atmosphere, both as regards persons and things, and should let him live freely among his proper conditions. It stultifies a child to bring down his world to the child's' level.

7. By "education is a discipline," we mean the discipline of habits, formed definitely and thoughtfully, whether habits of mind or body. Physiologists tell us of the adaptation of brain structures to habitual lines of thought, i.e., to our habits.

8. In saying that "education is a life," the need of intellectual and moral as well as of physical sustenance is implied. The mind feeds on ideas, and therefore children should have a generous curriculum.

9. We hold that the child's mind is no mere sac to hold ideas; but is rather, if the figure may be allowed, a spiritual organism, with an appetite for all knowledge. This is its proper diet, with which it is prepared to deal; and which it can digest and assimilate as the body does foodstuffs.

10. Such a doctrine as e.g. the Herbartian, that the mind is a receptacle, lays the stress of education (the preparation of knowledge in enticing morsels duly ordered) upon the teacher. Children taught on this principle are in danger of receiving much teaching with little knowledge; and the teacher's axiom is,' what a child learns matters less than how he learns it."

11. But we, believing that the normal child has powers of mind which fit him to deal with all knowledge proper to him, give him a full and generous curriculum; taking care only that all knowledge offered him is vital, that is, that facts are not presented without their informing ideas. Out of this conception comes our principle that,––

12. "Education is the Science of Relations"; that is, that a child has natural relations with a vast number of things and thoughts: so we train him upon physical exercises, nature lore, handicrafts, science and art, and upon many living books, for we know that our business is not to teach him all about anything, but to help him to make valid as many as may be of––

"Those first-born affinities

"That fit our new existence to existing things."

13. In devising a SYLLABUS for a normal child, of whatever social class, three points must be considered:

(a) He requires much knowledge, for the mind needs sufficient food as much as does the body.

(b) The knowledge should be various, for sameness in mental diet does not create appetite (i.e., curiosity)

(c) Knowledge should be communicated in well-chosen language, because his attention responds naturally to what is conveyed in literary form.

14. As knowledge is not assimilated until it is reproduced, children should 'tell back' after a single reading or hearing: or should write on some part of what they have read.

15. A single reading is insisted on, because children have naturally great power of attention; but this force is dissipated by the re-reading of passages, and also, by questioning, summarising. and the like. Acting upon these and some other points in the behaviour of mind, we find that the educability of children is enormously greater than has hitherto been supposed, and is but little dependent on such circumstances as heredity and environment. Nor is the accuracy of this statement limited to clever children or to children of the educated classes: thousands of children in Elementary Schools respond freely to this method, which is based on the behaviour of mind.

16. There are two guides to moral and intellectual self-management to offer to children, which we may call 'the way of the will' and 'the way of the reason.'

17. The way of the will: Children should be taught,

(a) to distinguish between 'I want' and 'I will.'

(b) That the way to will effectively is to turn our thoughts from that which we desire but do not will.

(c) That the best way to turn our thoughts is to think of or do some quite different thing, entertaining or interesting.

(d) That after a little rest in this way, the will returns to its work with new vigour. (This adjunct of the will is familiar to us as diversion, whose office it is to ease us for a time from will effort, that we may 'will' again with added power. The use of suggestion as an aid to the will is to be deprecated, as tending to stultify and stereotype character, It would seem that spontaneity is a condition of development, and that human nature needs the discipline of failure as well as of success.)

18. The way of reason: We teach children, too, not to 'lean (too confidently) to their own understanding'; because the function of reason is to give logical demonstration (a) of mathematical truth, (b) of an initial idea, accepted by the will. In the former case, reason is, practically, an infallible guide, but in the latter, it is not always a safe one; for, whether that idea be right or wrong, reason will confirm it by irrefragable proofs.

19. Therefore, children should be taught, as they become mature enough to understand such teaching, that the chief responsibility which rests on them as persons is the acceptance or rejection of ideas. To help them in this choice we give them principles of conduct, and a wide range of the knowledge fitted to them. These principles should save children from some of the loose thinking and heedless action which cause most of us to live at a lower level than we need.

20. We allow no separation to grow up between the intellectual and 'spiritual' life of children, but teach them that the Divine Spirit has constant access to their spirits, and is their Continual Helper in all the interests, duties and joys of life.

I really like her respect for the personhood of children, that they are not merely blank slates to be written on, but persons who have likes and dislikes, strengths and weakness, and triumphs and failures each their own.

This fits very much with my parenting philosophy--that our children are not mere animals to be trained like you would train a stubborn mule, but they are each an image (or icon) of Christ to be respected, loved, and guided. Their wills are given to them by God, not for us to dominate, but for us to appreciate and gently guide. And the children of Christians are not, as many do, to be treated as little heathens, but rather as members, already, of Christ's body.

On of Charlotte's ideas was that if you gave a child good habits, it was like laying down the rails for a train because therein you would give the child a path to follow, a structure for their life, a set of morals to follow "on default" if you will.

Well, more on CM and Classical Ed and our own curriculum later. If you'd like you can see a few projects I've done with my kids recently (listed on our family blog):

Butterflies, Part I
Butterflies, Part II
A Walk in the Park
Father's Day Craft

To Homeschool, or Not to Homeschool, That is the Question!

So, here is the first post on my new homeschooling blog! I have discussed some of my developing thoughts on homeschooling on my family blog here. I will keep posting family things on that blog, but I wanted to have a separate place to be able to organize, record, and discuss my children's schooling.

After a bit of research, I have decided that I really like the Charlotte Mason (CM) method/philosophy as well as the Classical method. And, as it turns out, they are very easy to combine.

I will post more later about the specifics of the CM and Classical methods and where I agree/disagree with them, but for now I want to elaborate on why we've chosen to homeschool.

Many people think of homeschoolers as fringe, government-despising, Christian fundamentalists who wish to isolate their children from the evils of society and indoctrinate them in bizarre beliefs incompatible with mainstream culture. While I think that all kids need some protection from the very real evils that are in any society, I think that this stereotype is a shame. I don't know how it breaks down statistically, but there are many people who choose to homeschool who are not of the fundamentalist ilk, and many who are not even Christian (it isn't as if we have a monopoly on the idea of home education!). For most I think it comes down to very personal, individual reasons, as it does for us.

We are taking our children's education one year at a time. This year Sean will turn five December 12, which is ten days after the enrollment cut-off for public school Kindergarten in our state. This means that he cannot enroll this year. I believe, however, that he is more than ready. In the subject of Language Arts, he either meets or exceeds every single state achievement standard (and these are goals to be reached at the end of Kindergarten). So, what do you do with an eager learner who isn't allowed in school yet? (And private school is too expensive, too far away, etc.) Well, it looks like homeschooling is not only the best option for Sean this year, but it is the only one!!

I've also looked into local charter schools, but they won't take him until he turns five (basically for second semester) because they are funded through the public system. So, hopefully this Spring he can enroll at River Springs Charter School. This would still allow me to homeschool, but I would have a supervising teacher to ensure he's meeting state standards (although I am a credentialed teacher!), access to fieldtrips, group activities, and on-site classes, as well as a large yearly stipend to buy curriculum (obviously non-religious). In this school he can also go at his own pace (i.e. he can move above-grade in his work or linger on subjects/areas he needs help in). I'm very grateful we have such resources and choices available within the public system, and I intend to take full advantage of my tax dollars!! :)

After some long years of just doing home and mommy stuff, I am finally beginning to feel like I'm using my education and expertise!! I am enjoying lesson planning, organizing our supplies, ordering curriculum (!!expensive!!), researching educational methodologies, and, of course, teaching! I will soon post such things as our daily schedule and our curriculum.

I hope you enjoy reading this blog about our family school, and please leave any comments or questions! Thank you!


~ Heather