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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. You may read these, print them out, share them freely--but they are copyrighted to me, so please don't post or publish them without asking.
~L. N. Laurio
pg 29
Chapter 4 - Parents As Inspirers: The Life
of the Mind Grows on Ideas
'Sow an act, reap a habit. Sow a
habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny.'
Summary
of the Last Chapter
The last chapter ended with an incomplete summary of what we might call
the parents' educational jobs. We determined that it's up to the
parents to decide for the adult their child will become the ways he'll
think, work, feel and act. They'll determine his disposition, his
particular talent, what kinds of things he'll think about. Who can set
a limit on what's in the parents' power? Parents rule the destiny of
their child because they have the fallow field of the child's nature
all to themselves. They take care of the first sowing, or else they
choose someone else to sow those first seeds.
Educational
Concepts of the Past
What is it that parents sow? Ideas.
It's imperative that we recognize what the only educational seed we
have is, and how to distribute this seed. But our thoughts about
education are so radically wrong! We can't even use the right words
because we aren't thinking the right thing. Maybe we've finally gotten
over the mistaken educational notion that the child is a blank slate. No
pg 30
one thinks of a child's soul as a blank tablet just waiting for the
teacher's skilled art. But the notion that's replaced that traditional
heresy rests on the same false foundation of the dignified job and
infallible wisdom of the teacher. Here's how it's expressed in its
cruder form:
Pestalozzi's
Theory
'Pestalozzi focused more on developing the faculties harmoniously than
on using them to get knowledge. He worked on making the vase ready
instead of filling it.'
Froebel's
Theory
With Froebel, the concept becomes bolder and more beautiful. The soul
is no longer a vase that needs to be shaped by a skilled potter. It's a
flower--perhaps a perfect rose that needs to be delicately and
painstakingly built petal by petal, every curve and curl. If the
teacher does her part to assemble the flower properly, the perfume and
living glow will come. With patience, sunshine and rain, space and room
for the flower to grow, the blossom will open and expand. So the
teacher works hard to add a touch of 'imagination' here, or 'judgment'
there, working first on the 'perceptive faculties,' and then the
'conceptive faculties' in their turn. All this time, the goal is to
affect the moral and intellectual nature of the child. With positive
influences, encouraging looks and cheerful moods, the teacher seeks to
touch the flower of a perfect life into being, one petal at a time.
Kindergarten
is a Vital Concept
Reading about the meaning and work of education is fascinating, and it
inspires a special enthusiasm and devotion from those 'gardeners' who
see their children as plants. In fact, it may be that the concept of
Kindergarten is the educational concept we've had up til now.
pg 31
But
Science is Changing From the Foundations Up
But, in these days of revolutionary thinking, all of science is
changing its most basic precepts-- geology, anthropology, chemistry,
philology and
biology. We need to consider whether we should change our concept of
Education.
Changes
in How We Think of Heredity
For example, we're learning that 'heredity' isn't the simple and
direct means of transmitting ability, inclination, strengths and faults
from
parent or distant ancestor to child that we thought it was. That makes
us less anxious,
because we were starting to suspect that, if heredity was all that
counted, then most of us would have inherited exaggerated defects, such
as stupidity, insanity, birth defects, and diseases. All of us have
some of that in our ancestry.
Does
Education Have Any Influence?
So, we start to wonder if education has as much influence as we
thought. Can it directly form character at all? How much truth is there
in
the appealing, easy concept that education consists of drawing out,
strengthening and guiding the various mental 'faculties'? Parents are
very protective of their children's individuality. They're suspicious
of any attempt to make all children develop on the same plan. And their
instinctive protectiveness is right. What if education really was
nothing more than systematic schemes to draw out every ability we have?
We'd all develop identically, as alike as two peas in a pod. And then
we'd be bored to death with each other. Some people have an uneasy
feeling that the world is heading towards this kind of sameness, but
there's no need to fear that--it will never happen.
We can have faith that the individual personality of each of us is just
as precious to God, and
pg 32
necessary for humanity to be complete. Our individuality won't be left
at the mercy of speculative critics. We're completely safe. Even the
most vulnerable child is protected against the forces of educational
theories.
The
Word 'Education' is Inadequate
The issue of education is more complex than it looks at first glance,
and it's a good thing for us and for the world that that's the case.
Education is a life; you can neglect and starve and abuse the life, or
you can
value and nurture it. Either way, the beating of the heart, the
breathing
of the lungs, the development of the faculties (if there's any such
thing) are only indirectly under our care. Our lack of knowledge about
education is manifest by the fact that we have no word to express the
sustaining of a life. The
word education, which comes from e,
meaning out, and ducere, to
lead or draw, is very inadequate. It only covers the occasional mental
exercises that correspond to the exercises we use to train the muscles.
In fact, the word train, which comes from trahere, is almost synonymous. The
misconception that the goal of education is to develop and exercise the
mental faculties rests on these two words. Unfortunately, there is no
other word, so we'll have to use the word education.
The
Term 'Bringing Up'
The humble Saxon term 'bringing up' is closer to the truth, maybe
because it's so vague. At any rate, 'up' implies a progressive goal,
and 'bringing' implies some effort.
The fortunate phrasing of Matthew Arnold is probably the most complete
and adequate definition of education that we have: 'Education is an
atmosphere, a discipline, a life.' (I haven't been able to track down
the quote, but I'm pretty sure it was Matthew Arnold who said it.) It
shows greatness in a person to have come up with the phrase. Wiser
generations who come after us might come to see
pg 33
the accomplishment of a lifetime of urgent effort in that 'profound and
exquisite remark.'
An
Adequate Definition
Look at how the phrase covers the issue from three conceivable
perspectives. Subjectively, as it applies to the child, education is a
life. Objectively, as it affects the child, education is a discipline.
Relatively, regarding the child's environment, education is an
atmosphere.
We'll take a closer look at these three aspects later. For now, we'll
only clear the ground a little as it relates to the title of this
chapter--Parents as Inspirers. Note that, in this case, parents are
inspirers, not modelers.
A
Method is a Way to Reach a Desired End
Our work only becomes effective when we recognize our limitations. When
we clearly see what we have to do, what we can do, and what we can't
do, we're able to set to work with confidence and courage. We have an
end in view, and we're able to make our way towards that end in an
intelligent manner. A way towards an
end is a method. It's up to parents, not just to bring their
children into a life of intelligence and moral ability, but to sustain
the higher life that they've brought into being.
The
Life of the Mind Needs Ideas to Grow
That intelligent, moral life that we call education can only survive on
one kind of diet: it lives and grows on ideas.
A person can go through years of schooling without ever getting a
single vital idea. That's why so many well-fed bodies carry around a
weak, starved mind--and yet, there's no 'society for the prevention of
cruelty to children' crying out against parents for this. A few
years ago I heard about a fifteen year old girl who spent two years at
a school, and never once took part in
pg 34
a single lesson. That's because that's what her mother wanted. She
wanted all of her daughter's time and effort to be spent practicing
'fancy needlework.' Needlework is undoubtedly a survival skill
(although not quite survival of the fittest!) but it's possible to pass
even a University Local Exam without ever experiencing the vital
stirring of the mind that signifies the birth of an idea. If we've been
successful at avoiding the disturbing influence of a life-changing
idea, then we feel proud about 'finishing our education' when we
graduate, and we close our books and close our minds and remain as
ignorant as pygmies within the dark, dim forest of our own thoughts and
feelings.
What
is an Idea?
'A living thing of the mind,' according to past philosophers from Plato
to Bacon to Coleridge. We say that an idea strikes us, or impresses us,
or seizes us, or takes possession of us, or rules us. As it turns out,
our common terms are closer to the truth than the conscious thought
being expressed, which is usually the case. It's no exaggeration to
credit this kind of action and power to an idea. We form an ideal--which is to say, an embodied
idea--and our ideal exerts the strongest formative influence on us. Why
do you devote yourself to a particular pursuit or cause? 'Because,
twenty years ago, such and such an idea struck me,' is a common response to
every kind of life with purpose, every life devoted to working out a
particular idea. Isn't it amazing that, when we recognize how powerful
an idea is, both the word and the concept seldom enters into our
concept of education? Samuel Taylor Coleridge has successfully brought
the concept of an 'idea' into the sphere of today's scientific thought.
I'm not talking about the kind of scientific thought that's expressed
in the science of psychology.
Coleridge launched that term on the world himself,
pg 35
although, in his book Method,
he apologized for the use of such an arrogant term. I'm talking about
the science of how the mind and brain relate to each other and
interact. Currently, this science is clumsily termed 'mental
physiology' or 'psycho-physiology.'
In his book Method, Coleridge
gives us the following illustration of how an idea rises and progresses:
The
Rise and Progress of an Idea
'We can't think of any incident in human history that makes a more
profound impression on the mind than the moment when Christopher
Columbus, sailing on an unknown ocean, first noticed the startling
change of the magnetic needle. Many more of these kinds of incidences
happen when ideas from Nature are presented to minds that God chooses,
and they unfold in prophetic succession. God destined these orderly
glimpses to produce the most important revolutions in the state of man!
Above all else, Columbus's clear spirit was methodical. He saw the great
leading idea very distinctly that authorized him, poor pilot that he
was, to become a 'promiser of kingdoms.''
The
Beginning of an Idea
Notice the beginning of such ideas. They're 'presented to minds that
God
chooses.' This view of ideas fits accurately with what we know about
the history of great inventions and discoveries, and even with ideas
that rule our own lives. It corresponds well with the key we see in
Isaiah about where 'practical' ideas that we see elsewhere come from:
'Does the plowman continue to plow and open and break up clods of
earth? No, when he's finished clearing his land, doesn't he
pg 36
cast his caraway seed and scatter the cumin, and plant wheat in rows,
and barley in the most suitable place, and the spelt along the borders?
It's God who teaches him the right way to do it and instructs him . . .
He grinds cornmeal because he can't keep on threshing it . . . this
knowledge is also from the Lord of hosts, Who is wonderful in counsel,
and excellent in wisdom.' [Isaiah 28]
An
Idea Can Exist as a Vague Appetite
Sometimes ideas permeate the atmosphere instead of striking like a
weapon. 'The idea might exist in a straightforward, distinct, definite
form, like a clear circle in the mind of a mathematician. Or it might
only be an instinct, a vague yearning for something, like an impulse
that fills a young poet's eyes with tears, but he can't put his finger
on why. To inspire this 'yearning for something'--for things that are
lovely, honest and noble, is an educator's earliest and most important
task. How can these kinds of ideas that are perceived as an indefinite
longing be imparted to students? They can't be handed out as the
teacher determines, or dispensed on a set schedule. They dwell in the
thought-environment that surrounds the child like an atmosphere that he
takes in in the same way that he takes in every breath. This atmosphere
inspires a child's unconscious ideas of the right way to live--and it
comes from his parents. Every gentle look, every reverent tone of
voice, every kind word, every helpful act, pervades the
thought-environment that's around him like the air he breathes. He
doesn't think about these things. They may never enter his conscious
thought. But throughout his entire life, they inspire a 'vague appetite
towards something,' and his actions spring from this yearning. Parents,
you're
pg 37
an awesome and crucially serious presence in the life of the little
child
in your midst!
Children
Draw Inspiration from the Everyday Life Around Them
Knowing that children get direction and inspiration from things going
on casually around them makes us hold our breath--to think that our
careless words and actions are the starting-point and direction in
which they develop. There's no escape for parents. Like it or not,
parents are the ones who inspire their children because the
thought-environment of their children hangs around them like an
atmosphere around a planet. Children absorb the enduring ideas that
become those life-long yearning appetites from that atmosphere,
appetites towards things that might be lovely or sordid, worldly or
spiritual.
The
Order and Progress of Definite Ideas
Let's hear what Coleridge has to say about definite ideas that aren't
inhaled like air, but are conveyed to the mind in the same way that
food is conveyed to the physical body. This is from his book Method:
'More ideas are born from the first, originating idea, in the same way
that seeds germinate from a plant.'
'Events and images are the lively, spirit-stirring machinery of the
external world. They sustain the seed of the mind in the same way that
seeds without light, air and moisture would rot and die.'
'There are many paths we can take to pursue a methodical course. At the
head of each path is its own individual, guiding idea.'
As varied and eccentric as the paths are, the ideas they came from have
a logical order, and the paths progress in a rational sequence from
them. In modern times, the world has
suffered because we've subverted the natural
pg 38
and necessary order of Science by trying to test reason and faith with
the limited physical experience of science. But, by the true laws or
method, reason and faith don't owe any obedience to scientific process.'
Progress goes along the same path of the idea that it starts out from.
But it requires a constant mental diligence to stay on the path.
Therefore, the orbits of thought must be different from each other in
the same way that original ideas are different from each other.'
Plato's
Doctrine of Ideas
And this is the corollary and explanation for the law of unconscious
thought that results in the 'way we think,' which is what ultimately
shapes our character and rules our destiny. Thoughtful people see the
way that biological science is shedding new light on the laws of the
mind, and they see that these new discoveries are once again bringing
us back to Plato's doctrine. He said that 'an idea is a distinguishable
power. It affirms itself, and is in unity with the Eternal Essence.'
Nothing
But Ideas Matter in Education
This whole subject is profound, but it's also practical. We need to get
rid of the theory that education's function is mostly physical exercise
of the mental muscle. Perhaps in the early years it doesn't make much
apparent difference whether the parents see education as filling a
bucket, writing on a blank slate, molding soft clay, or nourishing a
life. But in the end, we'll discover that the child has only taken into
his being those ideas that
have fed his life. Everything else is thrown away, or, even worse,
becomes like dust that clogs the system and injures the vital
processes.
What
Our Educational Formula Should Be
Maybe this is the way the educational formula should
pg 39
go: Education is a life. That life is kept alive with ideas. Ideas
originate from a spiritual source, and
'God has made us in such a way'
that the most common way we get ideas is by passing them to each other.
The parents' duty is to sustain the child's inner life with ideas in
the same way that his physical body is sustained with food. Children
are eclectic. They might choose this, or they might choose that.
Therefore, 'sow your seed in the morning, and don't stop sowing in the
evening, because you don't know which seed will grow, this one or that
one--or maybe they'll both do well.'
Children are drawn to evil as well as to good, so we need to shelter
them from any evil ideas that might lodge in their minds by chance.
The initial idea spawns subsequent ideas. For that reason, we need to
be careful that children get the right initial ideas about the
important relationships and duties of life.
Every subject and every trail of thinking has its own 'guiding idea.'
Therefore, whatever a child studies will be living education depending
on how much the study is energized by the initial guiding idea at its
head.
What
is 'Infallible Reason'?
We boast a lot about 'infallible reason.' But infallible reason is
nothing more than the involuntary thought process following an initial
idea to its logical conclusion. If you have the initial starting idea,
the conclusion can be predicted with almost guaranteed certainty. We
get used to thinking certain kind of thoughts, and coming to certain
kinds of conclusions that are further and further removed from the
initial idea, but still follow along the same lines. There's a physical
change made in the brain tissue to accommodate the kind of thoughts we
think, like a rut for them to roll along in. And this shows how a life's
pg 40
destiny is shaped in the nursery. It's shaped by reverently speaking
God's name, or by flippantly scoffing at holy things, or by the thought
of duty that a little child gets when his mother makes him
conscientiously finish a task, or by the hardness of heart a child gets
when he hears the sorrows or faults of other people spoken of lightly.
Paraphrased by L. N. Laurio
Please direct any comments or questions to me by emailing me at cmseries-owner at yahoogroups dot com.
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