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Transcript of Home Education in Modern English
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Home Education in Modern English
Volume 1 of Charlotte Mason's Series
by Leslie Noelani Laurio
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2005, Leslie Noelani Laurio
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VIII. Reading For Older Children . . . pg. 226
IX. The Art Of Narrating . . . pg. 231
X. Writing . . . pg. 233
XI. Transcription . . . pg. 238XII. Spelling And Dictation . . . pg. 240
XIII. Composition . . . pg. 243
XIV. Bible Lessons . . . pg. 247
XV. Arithmetic . . . pg. 253XVI. Natural Philosophy . . . pg. 264XVII. Geography . . . pg. 271
XVIII.History . . . pg. 279
XIX. Grammar . . . pg. 295
XX. French . . . pg. 300XXI. Pictorial Art . . . pg. 307
Part VI The Will -- The Conscience -- The Divine Life In The Child
I. The Will . . . pg. 317
II. The Conscience . . . pg. 329
III. The Divine Life In The Child . . . pg. 341Appendix (study questions) . . . pg. 353
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Charlotte Mason in Modern English
Charlotte Mason's ideas are too important not to be understood and implemented in the
21st century, but her Victorian style of writing sometimes prevents parents from
attempting to read her books. This is an imperfect attempt to make Charlotte's words
accessible to modern parents.
~L. N. Laurio
Home Education
Preface to the Home Education Series
The future of education looks rather bleak both at home [in England]and overseas.Experts say that, in order to make education more effective, we should focus on science.
Foreign language and math need major reform. Nature and vocational skills should be
used as ways of training the eye and hands. Literature and history should be used to
teach students how to do their own writing. Experts say that education should be more
technical, and should be a means of preparing students for the workplace. But there is no
one unifying goal, no specific aim, no real philosophy of education. A river can't rise
any higher than the source it comes from. In the same way, education can't rise any
higher than the foundational thought behind it. This may be the reason why our
educational system is such an utter failure.
Those of us who have spent years studying the vague, elusive vision of Education see
that there is a law behind education, but that we haven't yet fully grasped that law. We
sense the vague outlines of that law, but that's it. We know that it touches every part of a
child's life at home and at school, and, like an illuminating light, that law has a way of
showing what the value system is behind our educational systems and plans. Besides
being like a light, that law is also like a yardstick, setting the standard by which our
educational efforts must be measured. The law is not strict, it admits whatever things are
true and good without limit, except where too much would be harmful. The law seems to
lay a path out before us that goes on like a continuous and progressive road through life,with no set lines marking where childhood stops and adulthood begins except that the
student begins to walk the path independently when his training makes him more
mature. When we look into this law, we find that the Germans Kant, Herbart, Lotze and
Froebel were right when they said that knowing God is the most important thing a child
should learn. There is something else we'll recognize when we finally see this law of
educational freedom clearly for what it is--it is so true and wise that it will pass every
test we can think of to give it in every area of life.
Since as yet we don't have a clear print-out of this law to read, we'll have to rely onFroebel or Herbart, or, if we subscribe to another theory of education, on Locke or
Spencer. But we still aren't fully satisfied. We are discontented with our system of
education. It could be that our discontent is from God, but it is there and any workable
solution would be hailed as a great deliverance from our confusion. But before a great
solution is found, we will probably encounter many attempts that focus on part of the
problem and seem like an educational philosophy, having a central idea with programs
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putting that idea into effect.
Such an attempt would necessarily need to go along with the worldview of the age. It
would also have to relate to every facet of life, not segmented off from real life, but as
much a part of the cycle as birth, marriage and career. And it must result in the student
being attached to the world at many different points of contact by having interests in
many things. It's true that educationalists are determined to cement students' interests intheir own pet areas, but there is no one line of thought to make it applicable to all of life.
The naive sometimes rush in with their own solution, unconscious of the complexity of
the problem. Many suggestions have been offered that have gotten us closer to a full
understanding of the nature of education, and that gives me courage to offer my own
suggestion. The central idea on which my suggestion is based is this: that children are as
fully and completely persons as we are, with all the possibilities and potential for what
they might become already in them. Some of the educational notions and practices that
stem from this idea have been used in other educational methods, and have their roots in
plain common sense. One resulting notion that might be new is that "education is thescience of relations." This idea, that everything is connected, seems to solve the question
of a curriculum since it means that children need to be in touch with as many things as
possible in nature and in thought. If you add a key or two to a child's knowledge of his
own human condition, the educated student will go forth in the world with an idea of
how to control himself, some practical skills and many life-enriching interests. I have
two reasons for offering my own educational suggestion, however humble and fleeting
that suggestion may be. First of all, I have worked ceaselessly for 30-40 years to
establish a working, philosophical theory of education. And, second, every practice that
I have tried as a result of my educational theory has come from a step-by-step process ofinductive reasoning and has had success that has been verified with various tests. I
humbly offer my suggestion because I know that many others more qualified than I have
worked hard and still not arrived at any solutions, so why should I feel that I have a
solution of my own?
I am including a short summary of my theory, which is detailed more fully in the six
volumes of the Home Education Series.
My educational method is not a system of rigid steps, but just a bit here and there. This
seems more useful to parents and teachers. The essays included in my books were
written over the years for the National Parents Education Union in hopes of presenting a
coherent body of thought to members.
Whichcote said that the end result of truth is so great that we must be careful to make
sure that what we live by is, indeed, the truth.
1. Children are born persons - they are not blank slates or embryonic oysters who have
the potential of becoming persons. They already are persons.
2. Although children are born with a sin nature, they are neither all bad, nor all good.
Children from all walks of life and backgrounds may make choices for good or evil.
3. The concepts of authority and obedience are true for all people whether they accept it
or not. Submission to authority is necessary for any society or group or family to run
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smoothly.
4. Authority is not a license to abuse children, or to play upon their emotions or other
desires, and adults are not free to limit a child's education or use fear, love, power of
suggestion, or their own influence over a child to make a child learn.
5. The only three means a teacher may use to educate children are the child's naturalenvironment, the training of good habits and exposure to living ideas and concepts. This
is what CM's motto "Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life" means.
6. "Education is an atmosphere" doesn't mean that we should create an artificial
environment for children, but that we use the opportunities in the environment he
already lives in to educate him. Children learn from real things in the real world.
7. "Education is a discipline" means that we train a child to have good habits and self-
control, both in actions and in thought.
8. "Education is a life" means that education should apply to body, soul and spirit. The
mind needs ideas of all kinds, so the child's curriculum should be varied and generous
with many subjects included.
9. The child's mind is not a bucket to be filled with facts that bunch up into thought-
groups, as Herbart said.
10. The child's mind is also not a bag for holding knowledge. It is a living thing and
needs knowledge to grow. As the stomach was designed to digest food, the mind isdesigned to digest knowledge and needs no special training or exercises to make it ready
to learn.
11. This is not just splitting hairs; Herbart's philosophy that the mind is like an empty
stage waiting for bits of information to be inserted puts too much responsibility on the
teacher to prepare detailed lessons. Students taught this way have lots of knowledge
taught atthem, without getting much out of it.
12. Instead, we believe that children's' minds are capable of digesting real knowledge, so
we provide a rich, generous curriculum that exposes children to many interesting, living
ideas and concepts. From this principle, we can deduce that--
13. "Education is the science of relations," which means that children have minds
capable of making their own connections with knowledge and experiences, so we make
sure the child learns about nature, science and art, knows how to make things, reads
many living books and that they are physically fit. Our job isn't to teach everything
about everything, but to inspire interests that will help children make connections with
the world around him.
14. Children have two guides to help them in their moral and intellectual growth - "the
way of the will," and "the way of reason."
15. Children must learn the difference between "I want" and "I will." They must learn to
distract their thoughts when tempted to do what they may want but know is not right,
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Much of this book was given as "Lectures to Ladies" in 1885, and published in a book of
that name in 1886.
Lectures VII and VIII and the original appendix have been transferred to other volumes
in this series. The whole series has been carefully revised and new material has been
added, especially in Part V, "Lessons as Instruments of Education." That section is nowa nearly complete introduction to methods of teaching children ages 6-9.
The remaining sections of this volume deal with education from birth to 9 years.
C. MasonScale How, Ambleside, 1905
End of Preface
Home Education
pg 1
Part I
Some Preliminary Considerations
One sign that women have gained more status in the world is the desire to use their
education by going to work. [Remember that Charlotte was writing around the turn ofthe century, before the women's rights/equality movement.] The world needs the
contributions of women who are educated, and, as education becomes more common
among all classes of people, more and more women will be entering the work force
having regular hours and getting wages. Even those women who don't work out of
financial need will find pleasure in doing something useful.
Children are a Public Trust
The work that is the most important in society is raising and teaching children. Thatmakes school teachers important, but, even more, those who care for and teach children
at home are important, because it is the influence of home life that has the greatest
impact on a child's character and future. Being a parent is the most important job and the
greatest honor a person can have. Even those raising just one child don't know whether
their cherished pride and joy may be the one person who finds the cure for cancer. But
being trusted with such an important task
pg 2
means that parents are not free to raise their children however they want. Really, theirchildren are not their personal property, but sort of a public trust, and parents must raise
them in such a way that they are a blessing to society. And this important job isn't
divided equally between both parents; it falls mostly to the mother because she is usually
the one at home with the children in their earliest, most impressionable years. That's why
great men often credit their mothers for their success, for taking their responsibility
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seriously and not giving the job of raising their children to others, such as daycare
workers and nannies.
Mothers Owe an Educated Love to Their Children
Pestalozzi said that mothers were qualified by God Himself to be the greatest influence
in her child's early life. The mother owes it to her child, and to God who entrusted her,to have a 'thinking love.' God gave children the same kind of hands, heart and mind as
ours and mothers must ask themselves, "How shall I train my child to use those gifts?
For whose benefits shall those gifts be used?" The answers to those questions may
determine the future of her beloved child, whether his life is one of misery or happiness.
A loving mother is the most important part of what a child will become.
As mothers become more educated and read more, they will understand the importance
of their task and feel like such a grand mission can't be left to anyone but themselves.
And mothers will take up their duty seriously,
pg 3
with the same care for detail and commitment they would give an outside, paying job.
In order to understand more about her role in raising her children, mothers should have
more than popular notions about educational theory and the underlying understanding of
the nature of children that those theories rest on.
The Training of Children is Defective
Herbert Spencer, in his book "Education," said that the way children are brought up is
terribly lacking physically, morally and intellectually. Mostly, that's due to parents not
having the knowledge they need to do the job correctly. What can you expect when
those who are entrusted with the most important job of raising the next generation have
barely considered the foundational principles upon which child-rearing techniques are
based? To make shoes or manage a ship, one must go to school. A child, a living person,
is so much more complex than shoes or ships, so why shouldn't parents undergo some
kind of training? Since the process of teaching and raising a human being is morecomplicated, it's crazy not to prepare oneself for the job. It would be better to sacrifice
the satisfaction of being accomplished at one's career to get this training. Parents need to
understand the basics of child psychology to understand how to bring up children.
Childhood development follows specific laws, and unless those laws
pg 4
are followed at least a little, the child will die. ['Babies need to eat regularly' might be
the most basic law.] If the laws aren't followed to a great degree, the child's development
will be stunted [neglecting to show affection will cause emotional problems]. Only whenthe laws are followed completely will the child mature fully. So you can see how
important it is for parents to know what those laws are.
How Parents Usually Proceed
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Parents generally begin by thinking of their newborn as a blank slate and resolve to
make grand designs about what to write on those slates [in-utero classical music,
phonics flashcards, politeness in role models, exposure to a second language...] But then
the child begins to show his own individuality, and his little displays of personality are a
delight to his parents. His joy at greeting Daddy and his sympathy when Mommy is sad
are rightfully wonderful for us to see. But parents soon begin to take their child'sindividuality for granted and are not so astounded when their child later shows a
preference for books or sports and has his own tastes and desires. Parents naturally stop
doing every little thing for their child as they see that he can feed and dress himself, and
they encourage him to do more for himself as he is able. The parents are delighted to
watch their child's personality develop, but the more a child begins to do for himself, the
less the parents feel the need to do for him beyond feeding him, clothing him, and
showing affection.
pg 5
With these things the parents only need to provide them. The child can eat and dress
himself; the parent's main concern is that what they provide should be nourishing and
wholesome, whether it's books, school lessons, the influence of friends, nutrition, or
discipline. This is how most parents understand education--focusing more on nutrition,
discipline, culture, depending on their own understanding. For the most part, they let
their children develop in their own way according to their own environment and
hereditary traits.
This leaving alone, or what Charlotte Mason calls 'Masterly Inactivity', is a good thingfor the most part. Children should be allowed to develop according to their own nature,
and as long as parents don't allow the child to become spoiled, this masterly inactivity
can be fine. But this philosophy of letting children becovers only a part of raising
children. It does not cover the most serious task of the parents, which includes the
continual guidance and guarding of influences according to their understanding of the
laws of child psychology so that their child grows up to be the best he can be.
Nothing that concerns a child is trivial. Even his offhand words have underlying
meaning if we listen. Children don't always express themselves accurately, and it's up to
parents to try to understand what children are thinking behind what they communicate.
Being able to interpret our own children's personalities[and learning styles] by working
to understand them will help us to know how best to educate them.
A great teacher in Charlotte Mason's day always said, 'the family is the unit of the
nation.' It's not about the individual but the family. An individual is no greater than the
family that he is part of, and, in this same way,
pg 6
the child's actions will contribute to society, for better or worse. It's the parents'
responsibility to raise their children to be a blessing to their society; they must not raise
them any way they want. Legally, parents have a lot of leeway in choosing how to raise
their own children, but they must remember that children are a national trust. Raising
children should concern everyone, even those who are single or childless.
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I.--A Method of Education
Traditional Methods of Education
Now more than ever, parents need to consider education and all it includes. In the past,
parents simply did what had always been done, raising their children the same way their
parents and grandparents did. Tradition tends to form the basis of child training for mostpeople.
But science is causing a revolution in the way we understand education. The old ways
have been proven less effective. We don't yet fully understand what is the very best way
scientifically, so, for now, parents must read and learn and find the best method for
themselves.
For example, a mother might have done as her own mother did and occasionally used
her slipper to discipline her child with success. But current opinion, which may or may
not be correct, holds that the child is sacred
pg 7
and hitting or spanking is abusive.
Another example is that parents used to think that plain food was best and hunger was
all that was needed to make a child eat. But now, parents are expected to provide a
variety of foods prepared in temping dishes and, within reason, the child's own
preference and cravings are allowed to dictate his diet. In previous times, children wereexpected to repress their personal food desires.
It used to be that children were taught to endure discomfort. One little boy, watching a
torchlight procession in wet, freezing weather, turned down an offer to watch from a
warmer shed. He said he'd never be a good sailor if he couldn't endure wind and rain.
But these days, parents take diligent care so that their children stay warm and don't get
over-tired.
In the past, children were expected to quietly obey, study their lessons dutifully, and
play only when there was no work to be done. Now, parents are more concerned about
whether their children are happy than how much work they do.
Before, children had no rights. They were seen and not heard. Today, adults bend over
backwards to provide just the right environment for their children.
English parents rarely go so far as to arrive late for a dinner party as one couple in a
magazine did because their three-year-old didn't want them to go, so they had to pretend
to undress and go to bed and then sneak out after she was asleep. But that extreme is
where parents are headed. Whether our new theories of child psychology are wise
pg 8
and kind, whether science proves them true, and whether they cause child-worship rather
than sound practice, are questions that should be taken seriously.
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At any rate, a parent who does not consider carefully the goal of his child's education
and the necessary steps to get to that goal will fail to fully fulfill his obligation to raise
his child properly.
A Method is a Means to an End
A method has two parts: a goal and a way to get there. The method is the steps you take
to get to the end. To follow a method implies that you have some set goal, or end, in
sight. What is the goal you have foryourchild's education? Once you see the end
clearly, you will find unexpected ways to naturally use those things around you to
accomplish your goal. This will happen almost effortlessly because, with the end in
sight, everything becomes a tool to be used in attaining that goal almost without you
even realizing it. Without even thinking about it, everything your child does--eat, play,
work--will be seen as a way to get closer to your goal. But those steps, that method, can
become mindless steps that are no more than an empty system if the focus of the goal is
lost. The Kindergarten
pg 9
Method, for example, was conceived by teachers who had a wonderful vision of
enlarging the lives of little persons, but when practiced by those who don't understand
that goal, it becomes nothing more than an artificial system of lessons and busywork.
A Rigid System Is Easier than a Method
A 'system' sounds impressive. A system of education with all its steps and rules may
sound more scientific than a method because each step has measurable results that can
be used to calculate progress. It can be tested. Systems can be used successfully to learn
skills such as dancing, shorthand, or accounting.
A system that uses separate steps to achieve a goal is so good at getting measurable
results that it's tempting to confine all of education to a scientific system.
If people were machines, systems would be fine for educating them. The teacher couldsimply set a system in place, follow the steps, and the result would be predictable and
successful.
But people are not machines. The teacher has to deal with a real, unpredictable child
with an individual personality and his job is to minimize the bad tendencies in that child,
make the most of every good tendency, and prepare that small person to be the best he
can be before he takes his place in the world.
A system may be very useful as one tool in education,
pg 10
but as the entire basis of education, it merely produces outward behaviors rather than
real growth in a person.
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It is important to understand the difference between a system and a method, because
parents all too often become enamored of a system that promises development in one
area--but which misses the overall growth of the entire person. A system is easier
because you just follow the prescribed steps, like a recipe. But a method requires
constant watchfulness over the whole being of the child, it demands more of the teacher.
Who is qualified for such a mammoth task? Even the most loving, committed parent
isn't physically able to be on the alert to make the most of every educable moment 24hours a day. But education may not require a 24-hour effort; the child is learning all the
time and a few basic principles put into effect will cover the whole of the child's
education. Once the parent understands these principles, he will find it natural and easy
to let circumstances fall into place to fit these principles. In the next chapters, I
[Charlotte Mason is speaking] will explain these principles, but first, let's consider a
couple of questions.
pg 11
II--The Child's Estate
The Child in the Midst
First, let's think about the child who is entrusted to his parents. Is he a blank slate to be
written on? A twig to be bent, or wax to be molded? Maybe, but he is so much more. He
is a living, breathing person in a higher place than we adults, like a prince entrusted to
mere peasants. Wordsworth wrote a poem [Intimiations of Immortality from Reflections
of Early Childhood] about the child's estate that says we were in heaven before we were
born, and our birth is like forgetting that wonderful place. But a newborn still has someof that heavenly aroma still around him. His body may be small and unimpressive, but
inside is a soul newly arrived from heaven with some heavenly atmosphere still hanging
around him. Wordsworth's poem shows almost as much insight into
pg 12
the special innocence and wonder of children as the Bible does. Jesus also had a special
place in His heart for children: 'Of such is the kingdom of heaven.' 'Except ye become as
little children ye shall in no case enter the kingdom of heaven.' 'Who is the greatest in
the kingdom of heaven?' 'And He called a little child, and set him in the midst.'Such is
God's opinion of children. Parents should consider every scripture in the gospels that
talks about children. Jesus was not talking primarily about adults who became as
innocent as children, He was talking about literal children. Exactly what Jesus meant is
too complex to discuss here, but He meant more than even Wordsworth did when he
talked about children 'trailing clouds of glory. . . from God, who is our home.'
Biblical Reference to Our Code of Education
Parents may be surprised that Jesus laid down a code of education in the gospels. It canbe summed up in three commands telling adults what notto do to harm children: Be
careful that you don't offend, despiseor hindereven one little child.
These three educational laws, taken separately, cover everything we adults should do
and should not do in the training of our children. We can first consider what these
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commands
pg 13
tell us notto do in order to start our educational considerations with a clean, blank slate.
Once we understand what notto do, we can then see more clearly what we cando, and
what we must do. Although, actually, what we cando is included in these laws aboutwhat we can'tdo because we are obligated to actively do what we can to avoid hurting
children.
III.--Offending the Children
How We Offend Children
The first two commandments seem to cover what we do tochildren, and what we don't
doforchildren. We offend them by doing what we shouldn't, and we despise them by
not doing what we should for them. An offense is literally a stumbling block. Mothersknow to clear the floor of obstacles that may make a toddler fall. A piece of furniture, or
a toy mislaid on the floor makes a newly-walking infant fall and cry and we kick
ourselves for not removing it from the baby's path. But a young child going out into the
world is like a newly toddling baby going in all directions. There are obstacles out in the
big world that are not as easy to move out of the way as a footstool, but must be moved
to keep the child from stumbling.
Children are Born Understanding the Concept of Right and Wrong
When a mother chides her baby with, 'Bad boy!', the baby looks sad and guilty. Some
people
pg 14
think it's cute or funny and will tease and say 'Bad boy!' when the child isn't doing
anything wrong, just for the amusement of seeing the baby look guilty and viewing the
pure soul of the child. What does the child's display of guilt show us? Even before he is
old enough to have been taught right from wrong from his parents, he displays aconscience. This proves that a sense of right and wrong is borninto the child. That is
why Jesus warned us not to offend children. We all know older children who have not
yet learned that there are duties they are obligated to do; the only rule they know is 'I
want' or 'I like.' Pity the parent and child who are like that!
How can a baby who was born with a sense of right and wrong before it can even speak
come to have a lawless heart that only knows the rules of 'I want' and 'I like'? It happens
little by little, as all good or bad character happens gradually. The mother says, 'No, no!'
when her two-year-old is caught red-handed taking a cookie from the cookie jar. His
little eyes search her face to see how far his mother will let him go. When the mother istaken in by how cute he is and laughs and lets the child off, she has unwittingly taught
her child a lesson. She has put a stumbling block in the child's path, an offense: he has
learned that something he knows is wrong may be done
pg 15
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without punishment, and he builds onto this knowledge. And thus begins the process
whereby a mother's 'No!' is disregarded and her rules challenged until she yields. The
child learns that everythings is as allowable as his mother lets him get away with. And if
every act is merely up to the mother to decide on, then why shouldn't she be worked on
to decide in the child's favor? And if Mother can decide what's okay to do based on her
own whims or her child's persuasion, then why shouldn't he be able to decide what'sokay to do, too, so long as he can get away with it? And from then on, the child's life is a
struggle to get his own way; in this struggle, the mother is sure to lose because she has
lots of responsibilities to think about, but her child has time to be persistent in wearing
her down to get what he wants.
Children Must Understand That Those Over Them Are Also Under a Law
Where does this break-down have its source? It begins because the mother lacks a sense
of duty--she thinks she is free to choose for herself what her child can and can't do, as if
the child were hers alone to do with as she likes. The child never comes to realize thathis mother is bound to a higher law than her own whims--he never learns that she can't
lethim break his sister's toys, or stuff himself with cake, or make everyone around him
miserable, because it isn't right. The child needs to see that his parents are bound by the
same codes of right and wrong that he is. Their 'no' isn't to please their own whims but
because they cannot allow him to do wrong. When children understand that, they
generally comply willingly. To have to reason with a child to win his compliance is
usually a bad idea and compromises
pg 16
the parent's dignity. If a child understands from his mother's tone and facial expression
that she cannot allow a thing as a matter of principle of right/wrong, he will sense that
her mind can't be changed and he won't try to challenge or persuade her.
Parents may Offend their Children by Disregarding:
A. The Laws of Health
Allowing a child to get away with doing wrong is only one way that loving mothers
offend their children. When a mother doesn't know any better, or, worse, doesn't care,
she may do her child the disservice of compromising his health by feeding him a diet of
junk food, letting him sleep and live in poorly ventilated rooms, and disregarding other
simple rules of healthy living. Really, in an age when science is making all kinds of
discoveries and information is readily available, ignorance is no excuse for letting a
child's health go.
B. The Laws of Intellectual Life
Almost as bad is the way children's minds are allowed to develop a distaste for learning
with dry, tedious school lessons where real learning isn't expected. Many girls [in
Charlotte Mason's day, girls didn't have the educational equality that they do now] learn
nothing more from their school lessons than that learning is boring, and mental
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challenges are to be avoided. So a girl grows up and reads nothing more than trashy
novels and chatters incessantly about clothes.
C. The Laws of Moral Life
What about the affections of the child? Most parents raise their children to love and be
loyal to family, but what about outsiders?
pg 17
Is popular thought allowed to discourage our children from reaching out to strangers?
Even worse is when a child is less favored in her own family because she isn't pretty, or
as smart as her sister. She is ignored while her parents lavish affection on the other
children. Who can blame her for feeling no love for her siblings who got the share of the
affection she was entitled to? And who can blame her for resenting her parents? So
many children suffer hurt from this kind of neglect, and many lives become bitter as a
result. One woman talked about how her childhood was made unbearable because hermother doted on her little brother, but ignored her. She could never get over her feelings
of rejection. Although her mother was kinder to her after she had grown, she never could
feel natural with her mother. And it affected her relationship with her brother, with
whom she might have been close if not for her hurt feelings.
IV.--Despising the Children
Children Deserve the Best of Their Mothers
How is it possible that a mother can despise her own child? Despise means to
undervalue. As much as adults may delight in children, we do tend to have a low opinion
of them. How else is it possible for a mother to leave
pg 18
her precious child in the care of unconscientious care-givers during their most crucial
years? Every act a child sees, or word he hears, leaves an impression in his mind in the
same way that light leaves a permanent image on a roll of film. It isn't that a nurse [ordaycare or babysitter?] is totally bad for a child; it is not always good for educated
people to have their children around constantly. That might be too stimulating for the
child, and the mother is more refreshed if she can enjoy time with other people,
discussing things unrelated to children from time to time. But children should have their
mother's best; her freshest, most alert time of day. The mother should also choose care-
givers carefully, train them herself, and be vigilant about knowing what goes on while
her children are in the care of someone else.
Caregivers
A harsh, rude caregiver causes permanent damage to sensitive children. Many children
in the care of others lose their sharp moral sense of right and wrong and pick up a
feeling of distance from God that they never get over. Children are born with a keen
sense of justice and pick up the slightest hint of unfairness or deception. If his caregiver
says, 'Be a good boy and I won't tell,' then the child learns that his mother, with whom
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After the child has eaten dinner, the heaviest meal of the day [ in CM's day, this would
have been the midday meal],
pg 23
his blood is diverted to his digestion for 2 or 3 hours. If the child goes for a walk rightafter dinner, his blood is diverted to his legs and half his food is left undigested. If this
becomes a regular habit, the child will be plagued with digestion problems. Sending a
child to do his homework right after dinner is just as bad: all the blood that should have
gone to digesting his meal will go to his brain.
So it makes sense that lessons should be scheduled carefully after periods of mental rest,
such as after sleeping or playing, when the blood is not engaged in working on some
major activity. Since breakfast is usually a light meal and requires less energy to digest,
the time after breakfast is a good time to plan lessons. If the whole afternoon can't be
spared for play, then constructive light tasks can be done, such as sewing, drawing orpracticing music. Children's minds are fresh enough to do mental work in the evening,
but that can interfere with sleep if his mind gets too alert and excited from his work, and
it can cause him to have restless dreams and a fitful night's sleep. If there is no way to
avoid homework at night, then there should be an hour or two right before bedtime for
pleasant socializing. Best of all is not to have any homework at all in the evenings.
A Change of Occupation
Huxley said that there was no clear proof that
pg 24
certain parts of the brain were responsible for specific activities--no part of the brain
specifically for exercising caution, or for playing music [remember, CM wrote this back
in the 1800's before x-rays and MRI scans!]. But anyone knows that, if you work too
hard at some mental task, your brain becomes tired. If a child does very challenging
math, his mind will get fatigued and he will start to have trouble and make silly
mistakes. But if you switch activities and let him read some history, his mind is fine for
that task. Using his imagination to picture history apparently uses a different part of the
brain than doing math and, since it was dormant during the math, it is well-rested and
ready to work for history. Schools often schedule lessons to mix up types of brain
activities during the day, but parents often don't know that it's important to do this.
Nourishment
The brain can't do its work without nourishment. Someone once calculated how many
ounces of brain activity it took to do a certain activity, such as writing Paradise Lost, or
writing music. We don't need to know the exact calculations to know that any kind ofthinking uses up some energy in the brain tissue. The blood works to bring energy to that
area for nourishment. The blood must be healthy and well-fed if it's going to provide
energy effectively to the brain. The brain is only going to as well-nourished as the
quantity and quality of the blood.
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pg 25
What Affects the Quality of the Blood
There are three or four things that can affect the quality of the blood. Food that is
healthy and easy to digest will make the blood more vital and life-giving. The dietshould be varied so that all the various micro-nutrients are included. Children are never
still and all their comings and goings and even their chattering expends energy little by
little. It's healthy for them to move and exercise, but it means they lose energy that must
be made up for by eating. Children are more active than grown-ups, and their minds are
all a-flutter and busy all the time. The human brain takes up only a fortieth of the weight
of the body, but it expends a fourth or fifth part of the blood's energy to function. And
not only does the child use energy moving and thinking, but his young body is also
growing and needs building material for this growth.
About Meals
Therefore, children must be well-fed. Half the people who complain of low energy were
not adequately fed during their childhood, and that was usually
pg 26
because their parents didn't understand what their child's nutritional needs were rather
than because of poverty. Regular meals at regular intervals is a good, common-sense
practice. A midday dinner should be no more than five hours after breakfast, and animalprotein once a day or twice if one of them is a light form. It isn't how much food is
eaten, but how much gets digested that counts as far as nourishing the body and brain.
There are so many aspects of digestion; we'll just name a couple of the most obvious.
Everybody knows[at least, they did in CM's day!] that children should not eat pastry,
pork, fried meat, cheese, rich food, highly flavored food, sauces and spices such as
pepper, mustard, vinegar, new bread, rich cake, and jam that still has leathery skins.
Milk that is not too warm and which may be mixed with water, or cocoa, is the best
drink for children. They should learn not to drink during meals, but only after meals. A
good breakfast might be fresh fruit, oatmeal with molasses, and the fat of toasted bacon[but not the bacon itself??]. A glass of water first thing in the morning and last thing at
night helps promote regularity[but might not be the best idea if you have a bed-wetter!]
Mealtime Conversation
It isn't just rules of nutrition that affect how much of the meal is actually digested.
Emotional
pg 27
considerations must also be taken into account. Digestive juices are only secreted freely
when the mind is content and unstressed. If a child dislikes his meal, he may swallow it,
but it won't digest very well. If the meal is strained with uncomfortable silence, the meal
likewise won't digest very well. So, meals provided in pleasant surroundings isn't a
matter of pampering and spoiling, but a matter of health. And too much excitement is
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also bad for the digestion. Every effort should be made to make mealtimes around the
family table the happiest times of the day. If possible, children should sit at the table
with their parents [in CM's day, children sometimes ate in the nursery or in the kitchen]
unless the parents are having a late supper. Mealtime is an excellent opportunity to teach
children proper manners and morals, to have family bonding, and to teach healthy eating
habits such as thorough chewing.
A Variety of Foods
Pleasant environment and high quality food isn't enough, children's food should be plain,
but it should also be varied. Mutton served as leftovers all week won't adequately
nourish the child if
pg 28
he gets so tired of mutton that he loses his appetite. The mother should plan a meal
rotation so that no dinner is repeated more than once every two weeks. Fish as the maindish is an excellent change of pace because it is rich in phosphorus, which is good for
the brain. Their puddings can be a good choice because they don't often like fatty foods,
but they will eat sweet, starchy puddings. But even their puddings shouldn't always be
the same kind--think variety. A wise mother should never say, 'I always give my
children such and such for tea.' There should be no 'always' when it comes to children's
meals, every meal should have something different. But won't this make children overly
concerned about what they eat and drink? No. It isn't well-fed children who are greedy,
but underfed children who can't be trusted with special treats.
Air as Important as Food
The quality of the blood depends on good, fresh air as well as good, varied food. Every
two or three minutes, all of the blood circulates entirely around its circuit in the body,
returning to the heart to be re-oxygenated by the lungs. The change that oxygen makes
in the short time it's in contact with the lungs is so drastic that even the blood's color
undergoes a dramatic change. It enters the lungs spoiled and unable to sustain life, but
leaves as life-giving fluid. But blood is only fully oxygenated when the air
pg 29
contains plenty of oxygen. In a room, every living being and flame takes some oxygen
from the air, depleting it. So it's very important that children spend time every day out in
the fresh air exercising their limbs and lungs in fresh, pure, fully oxygenated air.
Children Should be Outside Every Day
A mother brags that her children are outside for a walk at least one hour a day. Perhaps
that's better than nothing. A little girl uses her lunch money to buy aniseed candy drops;we might say that's better than nothing, too. But children can't thrive on candy and they
can't thrive on just an hour outside every day. The human animal wasn't meant to survive
in an artificial environment of walls any more than plants were designed to live in glass
houses. Countries such as France, Germany, Italy have an advantage in that their people
practically live out-of-doors and are happier, simpler and healthier for it. Charles II said
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England had the best climate for being outside. Man can't live on food and drink alone.
It's true that you can't
pg 30
live on air, but if we had to choose between air, food or drink, air would sustain us
longer. You can survive days or weeks without food and water, but only a few minuteswithout air. We are so used to that knowledge that it no longer holds our interest. Every
schoolboy knows how the blood circulates and is brought to the lungs for oxygen.
Oxygenation has its Limitations
We're so familiar with our knowledge of oxygen that we don't even think about it
anymore, but even the miracles oxygen can do are limited. It can only work where it is--
if the air has been depleted by fire and candle and others breathing in the room, how
vital can it be? Air should be 23 parts oxygen per hundred parts, but with all those things
taking oxygen out of the air,
pg 31
and the air in a room not vented or circulating, the air gets stagnate and has little life-
giving oxygen left. And then imagine how many fires and candles and pets and people
are in a city, taking oxygen from the air, and what do you think is the result? People only
feel fully alive when their blood is well-oxygenated by breathing fully oxygenated air.
Those who live cooped up in poorly ventilated houses can't possibly be as alive as those
who live mostly outside in the open air. In cities where the air is depleted, people subsistat low levels of health and energy, their growth is stunted, and they get respiratory
diseases that kill them before their time. Yes, we need shelter from the weather and a
place to sleep at night, but we lose when we make our homes so comfortable that we
never want to leave them to go outside.
Unchanged Air
Pale city children who spend too much of their days cooped up inside are not as healthy
in one way as street children who scavenge for food in the garbage--at least they get lotsof the most essential element: fresh air. Even a city street in the slums has better air than
a closed-up home. But even city air
pg 32
isn't the best. What's even better is delicious country air. It's even more important for
children than adults to breath country air because they move and play and breath more
air, and they are also growing and developing new tissue. The body needs high-quality
blood to keep up with all of this activity. A child's brain, too, is growing and needs the
best material it can have to make new tissue.
'I feed Alice on beef tea.'
A parent might go out of the way to research the healthiest diet and spare no expense or
effort to provide it for their dear child, but if the child spends most of the day cooped up
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in the house, they may still be starving for oxygen. The nutritionally superior food isn't
being converted into energy as well as it should be because the body isn't working as
efficiently as it should and has inferior blood to work with.
And if the child's body is listless and pale as a result of being in the house, imagine how
the alert, curious mind of the child must be stifled without real things from nature to
handle. Children can't fully grasp the words--mere symbols of things--until they havesomething real in their mind to relate it to; therefore, mere lessons without the
experience of being out in the real world with real things will be largely wasted.
pg 33
The Wordsworth poem "Three Years She Grew" is quoted in which a girl grows up
close to nature and nature herself smiles on the girl and blesses her with the "silence and
the calm of mute, insensate things." The girl finds peace among the beauties of nature
and the peace of nature adds its own beauty to her face.
Indoor Airings
Out-door airings will be discussed later, but indoor airings are just as important. The
damage of hours spent inside with depleted air can't be undone by spending a couple
hours outside. With a couple of people, a fire and other things using air in a room, it
becomes de-oxygenated pretty quickly unless the room is well-vented. We've all
experienced the stuffiness of entering a closed room after being outside, but after a few
minutes, we don't even notice the stuffiness anymore. Thus, we can't depend on our
senses to tell us when a room needs ventilation.
Ventilation
Therefore, we need to have a plan to keep the room ventilated regardless of
pg 34
whether anyone in the room thinks the room needs it or not. Windows must be kept open
at least one inch at the top day and night. That will allow enough air to circulate becauselight, depleted air rises and will escape out the top of the open window, while fresh air
can seep in from cracks around doors, windows and floors. An open chimney is not
enough ventilation, but stopping up the chimney in a bedroom is "suicidal." Children
should get used to sleeping with the window open an inch or two all year, and even more
than that in summer.
Night Air Wholesome
Some people think night air is unhealthy, but it actually contains as much oxygen as day
air. In fact, since there are less things going on to use up oxygen (fires are put out atnight), night air is actually healthier. When children are away from their room is a great
opportunity to throw open the doors and windows and give it a thorough airing.
Sunshine
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like it sometimes does after sweating. We'd all be better off if we slept in light wool
sheets instead of cotton or linen.
There is much more that might be said about the various aspects of nourishing the brain,but it is enough if the awareness of one or two rules of health are made so plain and
clear that one can't help implementing them.
These may seem like the least interesting details of education, but the foundation of
good nutrition and health is the ground on which everything else rests. Every part of our
being--our thinking, our mood, even our spiritual life--is affected by our physical
condition, by how healthy and alert we are. This doesn't mean that a person with a toned
body is necessarily brilliant and good, but a brilliant and good person has necessarily
invested years of reasonably sound health practices to enable him the health to develop
his wisdom and morality. If you doubt whether physical health affects your mind, askyourself, is it easier to be friendly, kind and outgoing with or without a headache or
acute, painful nerve spasms?
VII--'The Reign of Law' in Education
Common Sense and Good Intentions
Even though all these physical considerations are just the groundwork, the sameprinciples can be applied
pg 38
to all of education--the principles of orderly, regular progress under a specified law. The
reason that education has so much less effect on the person than it should is because 90
percent of parents rely on their own 'common sense' and good intentions. But common
sense must be well-informed, and good intentions must be according to actual laws of
nature, which are divine laws that are found more often in life than in the scriptures.
A Person who Lives Ethically May Be More Successful than a Religious Person
It is really pitiful that many people who pride themselves on notknowing God live purer
lives with less character flaws and selfishness than many professing Christians! Our
children won't be able to escape notice of that fact and we will need to be prepared with
some explanation of that phenomena. If the secular person they see should happen to be
a beloved, respected person in their lives, it will speak more to them than years of
doctrinal teaching. The biggest threat to religion isn't all the wickedness around us, but
good that comes from a source refusing to acknowledge God.
That is the reason why I say the little I do about religion, because I sense the danger and
I know that educated parents need to be aware, since they are
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