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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 79
Chapter
8 - Certain Relationships that are Proper for Children
Geology, mineralogy, physical geography, botany, nature, biology,
astronomy--the entire realm of science is like a beautiful fenced green
field and we need to bring the child to the gate and leave it open for
him. He doesn't need a thorough collection of facts. He needs what
Huxley calls 'common information' so that he'll feel some connection
with things on the earth and in the heavens. He'll feel as interested
as if he owned it all--the same way that a man does when his parents
die and he inherits their old house with its reminiscent heirlooms.
We expect more than the Jesuits did. They wanted to have a child until
he was seven to educate him. But we want a child until he's twelve or
fourteen, if not longer. After that, it hardly matters what anyone does
with him--with this time to establish relationships, we'll be able to
turn him out as a capable man, enthusiastic, energetic, full of living
interests, available and able to be of service to the world. I think
he'll even be able to pass his SAT's, since his education will teach
him how to find interest in even the most boring tasks.
Dynamic
Relationships
But we aren't done with his relationships with the earth yet. We still
have to establish what I call dynamic relationships. He needs to stand
and walk and run and jump
pg 80
easily and gracefully. He needs to skate and swim and ride and throw
and dance and row and sail. He should feel free on the earth to do
whatever gravity will let him do. This relationship between him and his
environment is foundational, and nothing can compensate for it if he
doesn't get it.
Power
Over Material Resources
Another foundational relationship that every child should learn and be
encouraged in is the power to handle materials. All children make sand
castles, mud pies and paper boats. They should also experience working
with clay, wood, brass, iron, leather, fabric, food, and furniture.
They should be able to make things with their hands, and this should be
a fun and satisfying experience for them.
Intimacy
with Animals
The fourth relationship is between them and the animal kingdom. This
relationship should be one of intelligent understanding and kindness.
We should all be on friendly terms with the 'inmates of our house and
garden.' Every child wants to be friends with the creatures around him,
and,
'The one who prays best is the one who best loves
All things, both big and small;
Because the wonderful God who loves us,
Has made and loves them all.'
The
Great Human Relationships
Perhaps the major part of a child's education should be concerned with
the great human relationships--relationships that consist of love and
service, authority and obedience, reverence and pity and kindness,
relationships with family, friends, neighbors, causes, country,
like-minds, people in the past, and people in the present. In one way
or another, history, literature, archaeology, art, ancient and modern
languages, travel, adventurous journeys all record or
pg 81
express the feelings and thoughts of real people. Because we're human,
we're interested in all other people. After all, we're all one flesh,
and of one spirit. Anything that one of us does or experiences is
interesting to the rest of us. There are thousands of children in our
schools today who could become apostles, evangelists, missionaries to
Asia who could unite east and west, great archaeologists who might make
us aware of people who lived thousands of years ago. But we need to
approach these children with living thought and living books in order
to awaken in them a sense of a personal bond with others in the world.
The
Awakening Idea
It's up to us to expose them to the awakening idea, and then to help
them form a habit of thinking and living. Here's an example of what a
young person could do. Quoting from the Academy: 'From the beginning of
his career, young Henry Rawlinson was interested in the history and
antiquities of Persia. He attributed his interest to his conversations
with Sir John Malcolm the first time he had come to India, and when he
had happened to be stationed in Kirmanshah, in Persian Kurdistan. The
Rock of Behistun stands near there. It has an inscription carved on its
face in three different languages. Now we know that the inscription is
from Darius Hystaspes, who restored Cyrus' Empire. The wedge-shaped
cuneiform letters it was written in had baffled all attempts to
decipher the inscription. Risking life and injury, Rawlinson tried to
climb the rock, which is almost inaccessible, so he could copy the
easiest of the three inscriptions. After studying it for a long time,
he figured out that it was Persian. Two years later he had discovered
how Persian words were translated
pg 82
into cuneiform characters.' And what was the result? 'Now we can access
the chronicles of empires that were more highly organized than any of
the states in Greece, going back to dates much earlier than science had
said man first appeared on the earth. The changes in our thinking as a
result of this new information, can't even be estimated.' And it's all
because Rawlinson climbed up the Behistun Rock, which was due to his
interest sparked by talking with Sir John Malcolm.
Human
Intelligence is Limited to Human Interests
We can't all be like Henry Rawlinson. But it does seem probable that
the only thing that limits our intelligence is lack of interest. What I
mean is that we don't establish enough personal connections with
humanity itself--with those we love, those who we owe duty to, those
we're responsible for, and, most of all, we fail to make real, living
relationships with those who are near or far off in time and place. Our
scholars work away at the drudgery of learning one or two foreign
languages, and at the end of ten to twelve years, they still don't know
them very well. But if you give him a motive by introducing him to
people
he longs to know but can only communicate with in that language, then
he could probably be like Sir Richard Burton and speak in almost any
known language.
The
Full Human Life
I think we could have a great revolution in education if we stopped
thinking of people as a collection of assorted 'faculties' and realized
that we are people whose mission is to get in touch with other people
of all kinds
pg 83
and in all conditions, from all countries and climates, and from all
times, both past and present. If we realized that, then history would
seem fascinating. Literature would be like a magic mirror, showing us
other people's minds. Anthropology would become a duty and a delight.
We
would tend to become responsive, wise, humble and reverent people,
recognizing the responsibilities and joys of the full, abundant human
experience. Of course, it isn't realistic to accomplish all of that in
a student's education, but we can look to that as our goal.
Every life is shaped by the ideal it sets for itself. We hear
discussion about lost ideals, but maybe they're not really lost, just
changed. When the ideal we focus on for ourselves and our children
becomes prosperity and comfort, we may get it, but that's all we get,
and nothing more.
Duty
is Not Within the Scope of Current Psychology
Current psychology has had an odd effect on our sense of duty. If
humans are nothing but 'states of consciousness,' then they can hardly
be expected to live up to moral responsibilities, except the ones that
sound appealing at the moment. Duty that's imposed from a higher
authority or due to our fellow man out of brotherly love, has no place
in current psychology. It would be interesting to see how many ten year
olds could recite the Ten Commandments, and if they knew what the 'duty
to God and my neighbor' means. Or, if they're not members of the Church
of England, if they knew how their own denomination interprets the duty
of man. Children used to get a pretty thorough Biblically-based ethics
education using the Ten Commandments as a foundation. They knew St.
Paul's commands to 'love your brother,' 'Fear God,' 'Honor the king,'
pg 84
'Honor all men.' 'Seek to live a quiet life.' They understood that
having thoughts of hatred and contempt were related to murder. They
knew what King Solomon said about virtuous women, sluggards and fools.
They didn't just know the precepts. They could show examples of
spiritual laws from both Biblical and secular history. We English may
not have the treasure of moral teaching carved in wood and stone, like
some countries are proud of. But, up until this generation, our moral
teaching has still been systematic and thorough enough.
Casual
Ethical Teaching
Look at common experience to see if this is true. We reject all stories
with morals for our children (and usually for good reason). We want
their books to be entertaining, and that's about all we ask. We prefer
that they be literary and maybe somewhat educational. But we don't look
for a moral stimulus 'fitly given.' It's not that we totally neglect
teaching ethics, but our teaching is hit or miss. If we happen to
stumble onto a story that's heroic or displays self-denial, we're happy
to point that out to our children. But they rarely learn that there's a
specific ethical system that rests on the foundation of the universal
brotherhood of mankind. We're impressed if a child can merely parrot
the words, 'My duty towards my neighbor is to love him as myself, and
to do unto him what I'd want him to do unto me.' A lot of wonderful
things are written these days about the brotherhood of man and the
solidarity of the race, but nothing that gets to the heart of the
matter like the simple Biblical command.
The
Moral Relationship of One Person to Another
If we accept that the priority of education should be
pg 85
establishing relationships, then the relationships between our fellow
human beings should be the most important ones to establish. Any
relationships that aren't founded on the duty to our neighbor--such as
relationships founded on common likes in art or literature--are likely
to degenerate into sentimental attachments. And, oddly enough, the
ability to think independently seems to vanish when moral insight
disappears. You might wonder, 'how are we supposed to get a systematic
plan to teach our children ethics?' I really don't know how to do it if
we choose to forego the Ten Commandments and old-fashioned expositional
teaching illustrated with examples. There are thousands of
supplementary ways to teach ethics, but they need to rest on a solid
foundation of awareness of the duty God placed on us and our
responsibility to others, whether we accept it or not. Without that
foundation, supplementary teaching will probably be casual and not very
binding. The moral responsibility of one person to another is the
foundation of all other relationships. We have an obligation to past
generations to make use of what they discovered, and to advance mankind
from where they left off. We owe it to those who will come after us
to prepare the next generation to be better than we are. And we owe it
to the present generation to live full lives, to enlarge our hearts and
broaden our souls. We all need to come out of ourselves and reach out
to all the relationships we're meant to have.
Our
Sense of Responsibility Doesn't Come Instinctively
We're responsible for bringing knowledge to the ignorant, comfort to
people who are distressed, healing to those who are sick, and
reverence, courtesy and kindness to everyone, especially the people who
we're connected with because they're in our family or neighborhood.
This sense of duty doesn't come naturally. All of us know shallow young
men and women who don't care about any of these things. But do we wonder
pg 86
why that's the case? And do we ask ourselves how many children today
are growing up in decent homes, yet just as untrained about their moral
obligations concerning relationships as those shallow youths that we
revile and blame? Yet maybe they don't deserve all the blame, because
they were neglected children in their upbringing.
A
Person's Relationship With Himself
There's another way in which we need to prepare a young person for his
relationships in life. He needs to be familiar with a working
psychology/philosophy that will help him as he relates to himself and
others. Maybe the world isn't ready for a true science of life, but,
unfortunately, we're more limited than the ancient world. They took
full advantage of what they had, and the result was that they produced
men like Marcus Aerelius, Epictetus the Stoic and Socrates. They didn't
think
their youth were ready for their futures until they had learned
philosophy. Modern science has added a lot of knowledge that will help
us relate to our own individual selves in such areas as
self-management, self-control, self-respect, self-love, self-help,
self-denial, and so on. This knowledge is even more important because
our ability to handle our relationships with others is dependent on our
relation to ourselves. Every person carries the key to human nature
within himself. The more we're able to use this key, the more tolerant,
gentle, helpful, wise and reverent we'll be. A person who has 'given up
on expecting anything' from his servants, his children, his
employees
or other workers is displaying how ignorant he is about the wellspring
of conduct within each of us.
pg 87
I think our own Parents' National Educational Union can claim some
progress in this area. Most of the people who are associated with us
are familiar with our perspective on the five senses, how the will
works, how to handle our temper, the concept of attention, the desires
and affections that are where conduct springs from, and other practical
aspects of managing one's own self. We've heard that some people are
using that great old children's method of 'changing your thoughts' with
angry, delirious, or even depressed patients--and it's working! We (of
the PNEU) feel like we have a wonderful tool in our hands, and we know
how to make it work. At any rate, the principle seems right. If
we blunder in applying the principle, we don't give up, we try again,
both for ourselves and for our children. We know that 'one good habit
can replace a bad one,' and that one idea can displace another one. We
don't give up and abandon a child to his selfishness, greed, or
laziness. These are faults that can be treated. A child who has
experienced a bad habit cured with his mother's help will be more
likely to believe in the possibility that others can be reformed, and
that simple, practical methods can be effective.
Intimacy
With People From All Walks of Life
Sociology is a long word, but it implies a practical relationship with
people that children need, and it gives them one kind of knowledge that
they're ready for. The carpenter, the gardener, the butcher, the baker,
the candlestick maker are all fascinating people. It's surprising how
much a child at a port can get to know about boats and sails and
fishermen's lives that adults totally miss because they aren't
observant. Most working men will be upfront with a child and answer his
questions. The child is able to notice the men and their craft behind
their veil of words. In his 'Book of Trades,' which is like a Who's Who
for the common people, he'll look up names in the Recreation section,
shoemaker section, tailor section, factory section, as much as he'll
look up famous authors or a member of Parliament. There's nothing as
good as early intimacy to help a child get to know different kinds of
people. Abraham Lincoln knew how to get along with everybody because he
had been intimate with all kinds of people in all kinds of situations
ever since he was little.
Being
a Capable Citizen
We are realizing more and more how valuable clubs and committees and
debate societies for youth that are governed by their own members are.
Organizing skills, business habits and some ability to speak in public
should be something that every citizen knows how to do. To teach public
speaking, I think it would be a good idea to encourage more narration
instead of written compositions. For the most part, it's better to be
able to speak than write. A person who can speak well can usually write
well, too.
Relationships
With Each Other
The topic of human relationships with one another is inexhaustible.
I'll just bring up a few points and repeat my conviction that a system
of education should make it its focus to establish children's
relationships in as many varied directions as possible--rather than
mastery of certain 'subjects.'
pg 89
The
Relationship with Almighty God
I've tried to show that human beings don't come into the world to
develop their faculties or to acquire knowledge or even to earn a
living. They're here to establish relationships, and these
relationships provide immeasurable broadening of the human experience
and fullness of life. We've already discussed two kinds of these
relationships--the physical universe, and mankind. To complete his
education, one more relationship needs to be considered--the
relationship
with Almighty God. How many children today learn as toddlers from their
mother to say in all the fullness of its meaning, every day and every
hour, 'My duty towards God is to believe in Him, to fear Him, and to
love Him with all my heart, all my mind, all my soul and all my
strength; to worship Him, to thank Him, to fully trust Him, to call
upon Him, to honor His holy name and His word, and to serve Him all the
days of my life'? The exact wording that children learn about their
duty to God isn't what's important. But most of us will agree that the
wording I quoted doesn't ask any more of us than yielding to
our duty. Unfortunately, many children never even learn this minimum
requirement. The concept of duty isn't woven into the very fiber of
their beings as it should be, and their duty to God, which ought to be
the very foundation of their lives, is the most neglected of all.
Children are growing up with religious sentiments and religious
feelings, and they say quaint and surprising things, which shows that
they have an insight of their own into their spiritual life.
pg 90
Sentiment
is Not the Same as Duty
But duty and sentiment are two different things. Sentiment is optional.
Young people grow up thinking that belief in God, fear of God and love
for God is an option. They don't learn that these are things that must be done. There's no free
choice about loving and serving God, that's their duty. Loving God with
their whole heart, mind, soul and strength is what they owe to God, but
that's rarely taught or understood properly these days. Even if we have
tender religious sentiments, our doctrines are often vague and lax.
Children even of kind, religious parents grow up without having an
intimate, always open, always friendly, continual communicative
relationship with Almighty God. That relationship is the very
fulfillment of life. Whoever has it, has eternal life. Whoever doesn't
have that relationship is ice-cold and dead in their heart, like
Coleridge's 'lovely Lady Geraldine,' no matter how much they strive for
success in all their other relationships.
'I want, I'm made for, I must have a God
Before I can be anything or do anything.
I don't want merely a Name.
I want the real thing, and everything that
proves it.
In other words, I want a relationship between
that Thing and me,
Touching everything from my head to my toes,
And when I feel this Touch,
I gain everything else--I gain life itself!'
[loosely paraphrased from Browning]
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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