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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 69
Chapter 8 - The Culture Of Character
Parents
as Trainers
'What did I get from my father?
Lusty life and a strong will.
What from my gentle mother?
Cheerful days and a talent for
poetry,'
wrote Goethe. After all, poets, like anyone else, are born with a gift,
not made with practice. They inherit most of what they are from their
parents. But it doesn't take a poet or modern scientist to realize
this. People have always known it. Like father, like son, they said,
and
that was enough for them. Back then, they didn't spend time trying to
work out the great questions of life.
How
Much Does Heredity Count?
But that's not the case in our own day. We talk on and on about it. We
even have a name for it: we call it heredity,
and factor it into our practice, or at least into our notions. Everyone
who
writes a biography these days tries to find the earliest seed of
ancestry and environment that made him the great person he became. The
issue of heredity is very much at the forefront of the public's mind.
Before long, it will influence the casual
pg 70
notions that people have about education. Here's an example: 'Hayden is
a bright little boy, but he just can't pay attention!'
'I know, he can't. But the poor boy can't help it. As they say, it's in
the blood, and there are some pretty dull wits on both sides of our
family.'
The practical question about education is this--Can he help it? or, can his parents
help it? or, Is the child merely a victim at the mercy of whatever
faults he's inherited? Too many of us professional teachers haven't
been aiming at the right target. We talk as if the main purpose of
education is to develop certain mental faculties. And we point to the
intellectual, moral, aesthetic or physical results of our teaching and
say, 'Look how
much the right environment can do!'
When
it Comes to Education, the Thing Children Need Most is Opportunity
But we forget that, apart from all we give to children, they have their
own cravings. They were born with them. In the same way that a normal,
healthy child needs his dinner and sleep, children also need and crave
knowledge, perfection, beauty, power and the company of others. All
they need is opportunity. If they have opportunities to love and learn,
then they'll love and learn because that's the way they were created.
Anyone who has noticed the sweet reasonableness of a child, or quick
intelligence, or creative imagination, will wonder why we make such a
fuss about finding the right lessons for developing these faculties.
It's like trying to think of the right method to make a hungry man eat
a dinner that's set in front of him.
Many people developed a love for natural science because they lived in
the country as a child and had a chance to observe living things and
what they do. Nobody worked hard to find the right method to develop
that particular faculty. All it took
pg 71
was opportunity. But if a child's mind is kept too busy with other
matters, he won't have the opportunity. There are very cultured,
well-educated people who have lived most of their lives in the country,
yet they don't know a thrush from a blackbird. I know of a woman who
developed an affinity for metaphysics and literature simply because,
when she was ten, she was allowed to browse through old volumes of the Spectator magazine. She thinks that
was the most influential part of her education.
An
Experiment in Art Education
As another example, one opportunity led to an extraordinary educational
result that I was able to observe. A friend was interested in a
'Working Boys Club' [presumably
a recreation club for boys who have
jobs] and decided to teach a class in clay modeling to some
mill-boys. There were no special requirements or qualifications for who
could take the class. They had no special gifts, but they also hadn't
been spoiled, as their teacher said, by learning to draw using the
ordinary methods. She gave them some clay, a model, a tool or two, and,
as an artist herself, she also explained the feeling of the model that they were
supposed to copy. After only six lessons, what these boys were
producing was qualified to be called works of art. It was delightful
to see the eagerness and enthusiasm they worked with and the artistic
instinct that caught the feeling of the object. They included even
little details like the creases of a child's shoe to make it look like
a beloved item to kiss. This teacher insists that all she did was to let out what was already in the
boys. But she did more than that. Her own passion for art forced
artistic effort from them. Even if we take her enthusiasm into
account--if only we could always rely on the teacher's enthusiasm--this
is still a good example to prove our point. The point is that if
children have opportunity and direction, they will take care of most of
their own education, whether it's intellectual, aesthetic or moral.
This is true because
pg 72
of the wonderfully balanced desires, abilities and affections that are
part of human nature. This is good news, and should cause more
unemployment [because fewer teachers
would be needed?] If we provide an outlet for their energy, a
little direction, and a little control, then we can sit back with our
hands folded and watch them do the rest. But there are two requirements
that must be met. Their abilities need to be developed, and a little of
our help goes a long way here. And their character needs to be formed.
In this respect, children are like clay in the hands of a potter.
They're absolutely dependent on their parents for this.
But
Character is an Achievement
Temperament, intellect, and genius are pretty much inherited, but
character is an achievement. It's the one practical achievement that's
possible for every one of us, both us as parents, and our children. Any
real progressive growth in a family or an individual is due to force of
character. Great people are great for no other reason than their force
of character. It's because of character, more than literary success,
that Carlyle and Johnson are remembered. Boswell's Life of Johnson is probably
as deserving of being a literary success as anything that Johnson ever
wrote. But, after all, look at who was he writing about.
Two
Ways to Preserve Sanity
Greatness and littleness are aspects of a person's character. Life
would be pretty boring if everyone was created exactly alike. But how
do we all come to be so different? It's the result of the qualities
that we inherit. Our hereditary tendencies are responsible for our
character. A person who's generous, stubborn, hot-headed, devout, is
that way because that tendency runs in his family. Someone way back in
his ancestry acquired a bent that way as either a fault or
virtue because of circumstances, and that bent gets passed down,
repeating itself from generation to generation. In order to prevent
that
pg 73
quality from being so concentrated that it gets exaggerated in future
generations and ruins the balance of qualities that make us sane, there
are two counter-forces. They are marriage outside the family [to increase the gene pool], and
education.
Developing
Character is the Bulk of Education's Work
And now we're back to the point we started from. If developing
character rather than developing mental faculties is education's main
work, and if people are born already prewired with all the building
blocks of their future character, and that character is already
destined for them with enough time and circumstances, then what's left
for education to do?
Justifiable
Reasons to Do Nothing
Often, the course of action that's chosen is to do nothing. That plan
of action is
usually justified in three or four ways.
First, 'What's the use?' If the fathers ate sour grapes, the children's
teeth are doomed to be set on edge. Maybe Thomas is as stubborn as a
little mule, but what can you expect? So is his father. All of the
Joneses have been that way for generations. Therefore, Thomas's
stubbornness is accepted as an unalterable fact of life that can't be
helped or avoided.
Second, Maile might be as flighty as a butterfly, never still for five
minutes to follow through on anything. Her mother says, 'She's just
like I was, but a little time and maturity will steady her.' Or,
perhaps Felicia sings herself to sleep with the Sicilian Vesper Hymn
that her babysitter taught her before she's even old enough to talk.
Her parents comment, 'It's strange how an ear for music seems to run in
our family!' but no effort is made to develop her talent.
Another child asks bizarre questions, tends to joke about sacred
things, calls his father 'Tom,' and is prone to show a lack of
reverence in general. His parents are sincere, earnest-minded people
and cringe to remember Uncle Harry's flippant opinions. Fearing their
child will take after Uncle Harry, they decide to nip this in the bud
with a strict
pg 74
policy of repression. 'Do as you're told and don't say a word' becomes
the rule at home, so he finds outlets elsewhere that his parents never
even suspect.
In another case, the thinking is closer to current science. A tendency
for lung problems runs in the family. The doctors deal with the
situation by not allowing a habit
of delicacy to get started. The necessary precautions are taken, and
the child has every reason to look forward to a long, healthy life.
And here's one more example. Some parents are aware of the advances
that science has made in the field of education, but they don't think
it's valid to expect science to help them in developing character. They
see the faults that their children have inherited, but they consider
them 'the natural fault and corruption that every person's nature has
suffered because of the sin of Adam.' They don't believe that it's
their
role to deal with sin, unless, that is, the child's sin happens to be
one that's inconvenient or disturbing, such as a violent temper. In
that case, the mother thinks there's nothing wrong with beating the sin
out of him.
But
Science Has Revealed the Laws that Make the Body, Mind and Moral Sense
Flourish
We believe with assurance that the laws of spiritual life have been
revealed to us. We can have just as much assurance, although not as
much sanctity, that the laws that make the physical body, mind and
moral nature thrive or wither have also been revealed to us. We would
do well to acquaint ourselves with these laws. Any Christian parent
who's intimidated by science and prefers to raise their children by the
ways of Nature when there's no authoritative knowledge, will cause his
child irreparable loss.
pg 75
The
Human Race is Advancing
If the human race is making any progress, it's due to the influence of
character, because each new generation inherits and adds to the best
traits that were inherited from previous generations. The people we
have today ought to be the fruition and flower of all that's been
prepared through long lines of ancestry. Children have been beautiful
and charming since before the days when Jesus took a little child from
the streets of Jerusalem and set him in the midst to illustrate what
kind of person would be in God's kingdom to come:
'In the Kingdom are the children--
You can see it in their eyes;
All the freedom of the Kingdom
In their carefree laughter lies.'
What mother hasn't adored the princely heart of innocence within her
own little child? But, besides living in the actual presence of Jesus'
face, our own children are even 'more so' than those children of
Jerusalem. It wasn't until recent days that 'Jackanapes'
was written, or the 'Story of a Short Life' [both by Juliana Horatia Gatty Ewing].
Shakespeare never made a child. Neither did Sir Walter Scott, or
Charles Dickens, although he often tried. Is it that we're waking up to
what's always been in children, or are children advancing with the
times, lightly holding onto what was gained in the past and the
possibilities for the future? This is the age of child-worship. It's no
wonder when we see the lovely well-brought-up children of cultured,
Christian parents. And yet, we so often degrade the very thing we love.
Think of all the multitudes of innocent children ready to be set free
in the world who are already spiritually and morally mutilated by their
doting parents.
The
Duty of Cherishing Certain Family Traits
But the dutiful father and mother aren't like that.
pg 76
When they recognize any positive family trait in one of their children,
they set to work to nourish and cherish it like a gardener nurturing
the peaches he wants to exhibit at the fair. Benjamin West's mother was
so thrilled with a sketch he made of his baby sister that she kissed
him, and he later claimed, 'that kiss made me a painter.' Her
encouragement
warmed whatever artistic ability he had and set it to life. Gardeners
say that rare, more valuable plants require more painstaking attention.
Some of the most beautiful, affectionate natures that the world has
ever seen have been lost and wasted because they lacked the kind of
care that their delicate, sensitive systems needed. Think how Shelley
was left to himself. These are embarrassing times. We beg God, 'Give us
more light--clearer and more thorough understanding,' but what if the
new lights reveals a maze of intricate, tedious obligations that we
need to fulfill?
Distinctive
Qualities Require Culture
At first glance, it's overwhelming to realize that, for whatever
distinctive moral or intellectual quality we discern in our children,
it will take a special set of conditions to develop. But, as it turns
out, our obligation towards each special quality actually works out to
these four things: exercise, nourishment, change and rest.
Four
Conditions of Culture:
1.
Exercise
Perhaps a little boy is disposed towards languages. (No great surprise,
since his grandfather was fluent in nine languages.) He lisps out
phrases in Latin, learns his mensa
from his nanny, and knows declensions before he's even five years old.
What should a mother do when she sees this kind of gift in her child?
First of all, she should let him use it. Let him learn declensions and
whatever else he wants to pick up and can learn without the least sign
of effort. Latin case-endings probably come as easily and pleasantly to
him as 'see-saw, Margery Daw' does to ordinary children, although
'Margery Daw' is healthier.
pg 77
2.
Nourishment
Let him do as much as he wants to of his own accord. But never urge
him, or applaud, or show him off. Next, let words convey ideas as he's
able to handle them. Buttercup, primrose, dandelion, magpie each carry
their own image. A daisy is a 'day's eye;' it opens when the sun rises
and closes when the sun sets.
'That may very well be why men say
The daisy, or the eye of day.'
Let him feel like the common words that we use daily and take for
granted are beautiful, full of story and interest. It's wonderful for a
child to get the kinds of ideas that are appropriate for his own
individual inborn qualities. The right idea at the right time is taken
in without any effort. And, once ideas are in the child's mind, they
behave like living creatures. They feed, and grow and multiply.
3.
Change
Provide him with one appealing change of thought, giving him some kind
of task or concept totally unrelated to languages. For instance, let
him know in a friendly, approachable way, about objects from the
natural world that he sees--the thrush, rose beetle, what a caddis-worm
does, forest trees, wildflowers--all natural objects, whether common or
curious, within his environment. There's no knowledge as delightful
as a familiarity with natural objects.
Or perhaps you hear a comment that all great inventors handled material
resources as children--clay, wood, iron, brass, paint. Let him work
with materials. Providing a child with fun resources in areas unrelated
to his natural interests is a good way to provide balance and preserve
mental health in a mind that's absorbed with some interest.
pg 78
4.
Rest
But changing activities isn't rest. If a man pushes a machine with his
foot, and then with his hand, his foot or hand has a turn to rest, but
the man himself doesn't. Free romping outside (which is more restful
than organized games with rules and competitive sports), silly talk, a
fairy tale, or simply lying on his back in the sun, should rest the
child. He should have as much of these kinds of things as he needs.
Working and Wasting Brain Tissue is
Necessary
In a sense, here's how this works: in the same way that we write or sew
using the hand as a tool to do those things, the child learns, thinks
and feels with a physical tool. That tool is the delicate nerve tissue
of the brain. This tissue is constantly and rapidly wearing away. The
more
it's used, whether in mental effort or emotional excitement, the more
it wears away. But, fortunately, new tissue grows to replace the worn
away tissue. The work that wears away the tissue is necessary and
healthy to stimulate this new growth. But if more is wasted than can be
replaced, there can be permanent damage. A child's mental work should
never exceed his ability to repair and replace brain tissue, whether
that work comes in the form of school lessons that are too difficult,
or too much stimulating activity. Rest makes sense, because Nature's
rule seems to be to do one thing at a time, and to do it well. The
hours that a child rests and plays are the hours when he grows
physically. Children who live in a whirl of entertaining activity tend
to look stunted.
It's also necessary to change the
thought of a child who has an obsessive interest. Brain tissue
doesn't just waste from work in general. It also wastes in local areas.
We all know how worn out
pg 79
we feel after devoting our minds for a few hours or days to any
specific subject, whether that subject is stressful or pleasant. We're
relieved to finally be able to escape from the engrossing thought, and
we find it tedious when we have to return to it. It seems like, when we
constantly work over the same ideas, that a certain spot in the brain
is worn out and weakened from the constant traffic. This is an even
bigger concern when the ideas are more moral than intellectual.
Hamlet's thoughts continually revolve around a few distressing facts.
He becomes morbid and loses his grip on reality. In other words, he
becomes eccentric.
The
Danger of Being Eccentric
Eccentricity is probably more of a concern for children of
well-descended families. These children tend to be born with strong
tendencies to have certain qualities and ways of thinking. The way
they're brought up can accentuate these qualities and neglect others so
that there's no balance, and the child becomes eccentric. Matthew
Arnold says that the life and work of a great poet is ineffective. Unfortunately, this is
all too often true of eccentric people. No matter how much genius or
charisma they have, no matter how many glowing moral strengths, the
world won't use them to guide them into good unless they do what other
people do in lawful and prudent matters. The opportunity for
originality is a lot broader for those who deviate from what
everyone else is doing in unlawful and useless matters.
Causes
for Weirdness in Children
What should a mother do if she notices that her most promising child is
showing little signs of being weird? He doesn't like to play games,
doesn't get along
pg 80
with the others, likes to hide out in his own room. Poor little guy!
He's desperate for a confidante. He's probably tried his caregiver,
brothers and sisters, with no success. If this continues, he'll grow up
with the idea that nobody wants him, and nobody understands him. He'll
take his slice of life and eat it all by himself resentfully. But if
his mother is able to get him to open up tactfully, she'll do the world
a favor by saving someone who will be a credit to society. You can be
sure that there's something within such a child--genius, compassion,
poetry, ambition, family pride. What he needs is an outlet and a way to
put to use the inherited trait that's almost too big for his immature
soul. Rosa Bonheur
was noted to be a restless child who didn't seem to fit in. She didn't
like school, she didn't like play. Then her father had the idea of easing her
discontent by apprenticing her to a needlewoman! Happily, she found her
freedom, and we have her wildlife pictures
to enjoy. When the child is bothered by a family pride, the best thing
to do is to bring him face to face and heart to heart with Jesus,
who perfectly models humility. Once that's done, the child's sense of
family distinction can be a great motivator to raise his nature. He'll
have a sense of noble obligation that will create a desire to honor the
distinguished family name, never to dishonor it. I know a little boy
descended from two distinguished families. His last name is something
like Browning-Newton. He attends a prep school where the names of
students who are in trouble are listed on the blackboard. When his
little brother started going to the same school, he initiated him by
saying, 'We'll never let two
names like ours be stuck up on that blackboard!'
pg 81
The
Dreariness of a Life Without Motive
One of the most immediate causes of eccentricity is the tediousness of
daily life. We all sense this from time to time, but it's felt more
often by
those who are more finely strung or highly gifted. 'I wish I was on
Jupiter!' sighed one small child who felt like he had already had
enough of this planet. It's up to parents to make sure that the
dreariness of a life with no motive doesn't settle on any of their
children sooner or later. We were created with a yearning for the
'fearful joy' of passion. If we don't find it in lawful ways, we'll
look for it in eccentric ways, or even immoral ones. The mother,
whose child is like an open book to her, will have to find some kind of
vent for his restless nature. He's more apt to be troubled by,
'The burden of the mystery,
The heavy, weary weight
Of this world that makes no sense.'
when he's created more finely. Fill him with an enthusiasm for
humanity. Let whatever gifts and talents he has be used to bless
others. Recently, a thinker who has since died said, 'The best thing
worth living for is to be of use.'
A child whose life includes that concept won't grow up bored with too
much time on his hands. A life blessed with enthusiasm won't be dull,
but remember that even the noblest enthusiasm needs to be balanced with
some unrelated activity or interest. As I said before, expose him to
the world of nature, or teach him some kind of skilled craft. If you
give him an
absorbing pursuit and a fascinating hobby, then you won't need to worry
about him developing eccentric or unworthy interests.
pg 82
We
Need To Save our 'Splendid Failures'
It seems like a good idea to spend a lot of time on this subject of
eccentricity, because the world loses so much as a result of its
splendid failures--the beautiful human beings who become totally
useless to anyone and unable to elevate any of us because they develop
one eccentricity or another.
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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