Who was Charlotte Mason?
EDUCATION IS AN ATMOSPHERE, A DISCIPLINE, & A LIFE
About Charlotte Mason
Charlotte Mason was a Christian educator who lived in England during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Her love for the Lord and others led her to develop a philosophy and method of education based on Scripture.
Her Books
Charlotte Mason wrote six volumes about education during her life. Each volume begins with her twenty principles, summarizing her main ideas about education. Each of her six volumes fleshes out different facets of her philosophy and method through direct instruction and stories.
For a quick synopsis, see CM’s 20 Principles for a modern rewording of each of her 20 educational principles.
Read her books for yourself!
We love both the printed editions and the amazing audiobook recordings of Charlotte Mason’s books found at Living Book Press.
“Take heed that ye
OFFEND not
— DESPISE not
— HINDER not
— one of these little ones.”
Her Code of Education
In her first book, Charlotte Mason lays out a code of education for training children. This code of education is based on Jesus’ three commands about children in the gospels. It forms the foundation of her philosophy. She says,
It may surprise parents who have not given much attention to the subject to discover also a code of education in the Gospels, expressly laid down by Christ. It is summed up in three commandments, and all three have a negative character, as if the chief thing required of grown-up people is that they should do no sort of injury to the children: Take heed that ye OFFEND not––DESPISE not––HINDER not––one of these little ones.
So run the three educational laws of the New Testament, which, when separately examined, appear to me to cover all the help we can give the children and all the harm we can save them from––that is, whatever is included in training up a child in the way he should go. (Home Education 12)
See “The Code of Education” on pp. 12-20 in Home Education for further reading.
The Science of Relations
Charlotte Mason claims that “we are educated by our intimacies,” which are the things we have a personal relationship with (School Education 182). This idea is called “The science of relations,” and it is another vital component of her philosophy. She says,
What we are concerned with is the fact that we personally have relations with all that there is in the present, all that there has been in the past, and all that there will be in the future––with all above us and all about us––and that fulness of living, expansion, expression, and serviceableness, for each of us, depend upon how far we apprehend these relationships and how many of them we lay hold of. (School Education 185-186)
The child’s relation to the Lord is of utmost importance in Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education. Speaking about the Holy Spirit, she says,
But once the intimate relation, the relation of Teacher and taught in all things of the mind and spirit, be fully recognised, our feet are set in a large room; there is space for free development in all directions, and this free and joyous development, whether of intellect or heart, is recognised as a Godward movement. (Parents and Children 275)
The outflow of this conviction is that the child is given a broad education to allow him to build relationships in a myriad of directions. The concern “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 170-171)
The Three Tools of Education
Charlotte Mason’s method is the application of her educational philosophy. She says, “We want an education which shall nourish the mind while not neglecting either physical or vocational training; in short, we want a working philosophy of education” (Towards a Philosophy of Education 6).
Charlotte Mason’s motto for the teachers she trained was, “Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life.”
“Education is
an atmosphere,
a discipline,
and a life.
Parents and teachers are to use these three tools as they educate their students. In School Education, Charlotte Mason summarily says that,
These three [tools] we believe to be the only instruments of which we may make lawful use in the upbringing of children; and any short cut we take by trading on their sensibilities emotions, desires, passions, will bring us and our children to grief. The reason is plain; habits, ideas, and circumstances are external, and we may all help each other to get the best that is to be had of these; but we may not meddle directly with the personality of child or man. We may not work upon his vanity, his fears, his love, his emulation, or any thing that is his by very right, anything that goes to make him a person. (School Education 182-183)
Charlotte Mason recognized the unique personhood of each teacher and child. As such, she does not provide a one-size-fits-all education. Instead, her method provides a framework to follow. This framework seeks to equip students for the whole of living, beginning with the Holy Spirit’s work.
The Role of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit plays a vital role in education. Charlotte Mason says,
This idea of all education springing from and resting upon our relation to Almighty God is one which we have ever laboured to enforce. We take a very distinct stand upon this point. We do not merely give a religious education, because that would seem to imply the possibility of some other education, a secular education, for example. But we hold that all education is divine, that every good gift of knowledge and insight comes from above, that the Lord the Holy Spirit is the supreme educator of mankind, and that the culmination of all education (which may, at the same time, be reached by a little child) is that personal knowledge of and intimacy with God in which our being finds its fullest perfection. (School Education 95)
In Charlotte Mason’s philosophy, the Holy Spirit is the Supreme Educator. God is the Creator and Sustainer of all things, whether or not mankind acknowledges it. As such, He is the one who instructs all people. See Isaiah 28:26. The practical implications of this foundational truth show up in each of the three instruments of education.
Education is an Atmosphere
The first instrument of education is the atmosphere. Atmosphere refers to the emotional, spiritual, moral, and intellectual environment we live in. These formative values shape how we relate to everyone and everything. She says, “Parents and teachers should know how to make sensible use of a child’s circumstances (atmosphere) to forward his sound education” (School Education 182).
As teachers cooperate with the Holy Spirit, they will
- Teach with reverence, knowing that all things were created by and for Christ. See Colossians 1:15-17.
- Delight in learning about everything God has done and created as pointers back to Him.
- Live dependent on the Lord for wisdom in all decision-making.
- Encourage themselves and their students with the truth that the Lord is with and for them.
- Learn from non-Christians without fear since all truth is God’s truth.
- Rest in the knowledge that the Holy Spirit meets their students where they are at.
- Treat the students with dignity and respect, valuing their thoughts as fellow image bearers of God.
- Be vigilant in guarding the student’s natural desire to learn.
- Teach students with real things in their natural environment.
Education is a Discipline
The second instrument of education is discipline. Discipline refers to habit training as the God-ordained means of helping form character. Mason says that parents and teachers “should train him in the discipline of the habits of the good life” (School Education 182).
The formation of habits is always occurring. The question is whether the habits will make it easier for the students to enjoy loving God and others. The teachers can cooperate with the Holy Spirit by cultivating habits of
- Attention – by never repeating instructions or the material covered.
- Excellence – through utilizing short lessons and a timetable.
- Truthfulness – by requiring accurate communication.
- Self-education – by having students restate what they learned.
- Discernment – through discussion and having students evaluate ideas.
Education is a Life
The final instrument of education is life. Life implies the need for moral, physical, and intellectual sustenance. This need translates to a broad education of living ideas—food for the mind. Charlotte Mason says teachers must nourish the student’s “life with ideas, the food upon which personality waxes strong” (School Education 182).
Collaborating with the Holy Spirit, teachers provide an educational feast for students that includes
- A broad curriculum, covering over twenty subjects in a school year
- Engagement with ideas through narration and discussion
- Respecting the unique dignity of each student by allowing students to take what they need and are capable of handling
- Confidence for the student and teacher that the children are spiritual beings capable of receiving and constantly enjoying God’s truth through the work of the Holy Spirit
- Recognition and submission to God’s authority and tender love
In a Charlotte Mason education, the student works hard to understand and connect ideas, primarily through narration (telling back what was learned). The Holy Spirit is the ultimate teacher, meeting the student where he is at with the appropriate living ideas. The parent or teacher facilitates learning by presenting living ideas in their context. It is not the teacher’s job to make connections for the student.
For Further Reading
- The Science of Relations: Chapter 17 in School Education
- The Holy Spirit’s Role in Education: Chapter 25 in Parents and Children
- The Role of the Holy Spirit and Parents: Chapter 25 in Parents and Children
- The Student’s Role: Chapter 1 in Towards a Philosophy of Education
- A Summary of Mason’s Method: Preface in Home Education
- The Atmosphere of Education: Chapter 6 in Towards a Philosophy of Education
- Discipline and Habits: Parts III and IV in Home Education
- Education as a Life: Chapter 10 in Towards a Philosophy of Education