Charlotte Mason had two essential tools to offer children to help them regulate their own behavior. This podcast thoroughly addresses the subject that most matters in the classroom: guiding our children in acting and thinking rightly. Nicole, Liz, and Emily unfold Mason’s principles of self-control, self-management, and right reasoning.
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“There are two guides to moral and intellectual self-management to offer to children, which we may call ‘the way of the will’ and ‘the way of the reason.'” (Principle 16)
“The way of the will: Children should be taught, (a) to distinguish between ‘I want’ and ‘I will.’ (b) That the way to will effectively is to turn our thoughts from that which we desire but do not will. (c) That the best way to turn our thoughts is to think of or do some quite different thing, entertaining or interesting. (d) That after a little rest in this way, the will returns to its work with new vigour. (This adjunct of the will is familiar to us as diversion, whose office it is to ease us for a time from will effort, that we may ‘will’ again with added power. The use of suggestion as an aid to the will is to be deprecated, as tending to stultify and stereotype character, It would seem that spontaneity is a condition of development, and that human nature needs the discipline of failure as well as of success.)” (Principle 17)
“But there are few subjects on which those who have the education of children in their hands make more injurious mistakes [than training the will].” (Vol. 1, p. 318)
““Your arrival at a right destination does not depend upon your choice of a good road, or upon your journeying at a good pace, but entirely upon your starting in the right direction.” (Vol. 4, p. 64)
“The way of reason: We teach children, too, not to ‘lean (too confidently) to their own understanding’; because the function of reason is to give logical demonstration (a) of mathematical truth, (b) of an initial idea, accepted by the will. In the former case, reason is, practically, an infallible guide, but in the latter, it is not always a safe one; for, whether that idea be right or wrong, reason will confirm it by irrefragable proofs.” (Principle 18)
“Reason, like all other properties of a person, is subject to habit and works upon the material it is accustomed to handle.” (Vol. 6, p. 147)
“Perhaps we shall best use this wonderful power of reasoning, commonly called our Reason, by giving it plenty of work to do, by asking ourselves what is the cause of this and that; why do people and animals do certain things. Reason which is not worked grows sluggish; and there are persons who never wonder nor ask themselves questions about anything they see.” (Vol. 4, p. 65)
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.
Ourselves, Volume 4
Formation of Character, Volume 5, Part I, section I
An Essay Towards a Philosophy of Education, Volume 6, Book I, chapter 8-9
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| Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery | Little Britches, Ralph Moody | The Living Page |
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This was FANTASTIC, gals. This REALLY helped me with just the practical application of these concepts. Thank you so much for your time. 🙂 Amy
Amy,
Wonderful. Mason included them in her main principles for a reason–very practical.
-Liz
Yes,sometimes its hard to know what the philosophy "looks" like in the flesh. In the day to day life of a family. I like that you all share how these things occasionally play out in your families. How you slowly work on these things in your own life and facilitate them in your children's?
Amy,
Hopefully you will never get the impression that we know exactly what we're doing and have it all together at all times!
-Liz
Oh wow. Paradigm shift. I've never liked the term "strong-willed child," and now you've given a good reason for this! What a different way to look at the child and what's going on–rather, a weak will and untrained ability to choose the right/good. I need to chew on this some more. Another wonderful and helpful podcast!
Hi JWM,
Yes, it was a relief to me too when I first read this in Mason. Another listener mentioned that rather than "strong-willed" we might say "defiant," but again, defiance is lack of submission to authority and self-control. Mason does make our minds work, doesn't she?
-Liz
Hi ladies,
Thank you SO much for this podcast! I'm a fairly new, but keen, learner of the CM method. I'm just trying to soak up as much as I can (and then laughing when I think about how I'm not exactly practicing short lessons with myself!). I've been listening to these episodes all out of order, according to what catches my eye. They've all been wonderful, but this episode especially rang so true to me! I found myself pausing it and sharing with my husband a quote or idea every few minutes throughout the episode. Just wonderful. Thank you for making CM's ideas so accessible and providing a lovely discussion.
Thank you for your message, Paulina. Aren't we mom's the worst for blowing off the short lessons admonition? I don't think there is any problem with listening to them out of order, other than the issue of keeping track. I would only advise that you don't avoid topics that you think you don't need to know about or already know about. We've had more feedback on our copywork episode than we could have ever imaged!
~Nicole
This was very thought-provoking. I’m going to have to chew on this and probably listen to it again, especially the will part. I totally agree about the “strong-willed” child being weak willed. I also have a child who lets the winds blow his will all over the place. I like the idea of talking to him about this more. I know we’ve corrected him many times when he’s blamed something else as though something else made him do a thing when in fact he has control over that. I will keep talking to him about that. Hopefully it sinks in someday! I liked the part when, I think it was Liz, shared about serving others. I was challenged recently to view my housework, not as a list of tasks to be completed, but simply as acts of service and love to my family. It really has made it easier to go from “I ought” to “I will” with that little paradigm shift. I have to be careful though with service because I tend to put others before myself to a point of neglecting myself. It’s a false humility and a temptation for me. I obviously need to mull this all over more. Also, I didn’t see the link in the show notes for the story about the family that dealt with training the will with their child. Did I miss that or is it missing? Thank you so much for these podcasts. I’m learning so much and really enjoy them.
Rachel,
Remember the ultimate obedience is to will ourselves to do God’s will (first command to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength?) and that even housework is service to our Maker who has given us all things to care for. It also helps me to remember I mop floors for Him. I believe you might be referring to the story in Formation of Character, volume V of the HE Series?
-Liz