Charlotte Mason’s first principle of education is that “Children are born persons.” This sounds simple, but Emily, Nicole, and Liz examine the complexity of this view and why it is unique in existing educational models and practices. They each share personal and practical examples of the difference such a concept makes for a child being educated in Mason’s method.
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“In a word, we are very tenacious of the dignity and individuality of our children. We recognise steady, regular growth with no transition stage…put the first thing foremost, do not take too much upon ourselves, but leave time and scope for the workings of Nature and of a higher Power than Nature herself.” (Parents and Children, pg. 232)
“The question is not,–how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education–but how much does he care? and about how many orders of things does he care? In fact, how large is the room in which he finds his feet set? and, therefore, how full is the life he has before him?” (School Education, pgs. 170-71)
If you would like to study along with us, here are some passages from The Home Education Series and other Parent’s Review articles that would be helpful for this episode’s topic. You may also read the series online here, or get the free Kindle version from Fisher Academy.
Home Education (Volume 1), Part I, Chapters 1-7
School Education (Volume 3), Chapters 4 and 8
Towards a Philosophy of Education (Volume 6), Chapters 2 and 5
Thanks so much! Loved listening and am thinking on those two CM quotes deeper today! 🙂
Love your work!
I'm so glad you are doing this–I listened last week and left a lengthy comment (you know how loquacious I can sometimes be!) which got deleted when I tried to publish it. Probably just as well. Still, I wanted you to know I'm listening, engaging, and enjoying your podcast.
Thank you so much for these podcasts! You have encouraged me to dig deeper, past mere methods, but to have a vision of Ms Mason's rich philosophies! Keep them coming!!
Great job! I loved this one and found it inspiring.
Is your podcast on Stitched? How can we find it if so?
You can now find our podcast on stitched!
Your podcast is sooo hard for me to hear. Do you have a transcript. I wear hearing aids and am hard of hearing. Thanks.
Katherine,
We know the first few episodes, when we were learning what audio requirements were needed, were not the best quality. I am sorry to say we don't have time to do transcripts as well as produce the podcast and teach our own children. This may be made available in the future. Try listening to episodes after 20 and see if things improve for you.
Liz