My Charlotte Mason "Testimony"

My friend, Melanie, asked me to write something about my Charlotte Mason "testimony".  I could write and talk and think for days about Charlotte Mason in particular and education in general.  But, I'll try to be concise.  I'm sure I'll write about this again, but here is why we began a journey using Charlotte Mason principles to raise and educate our kids and some of the fruit I've seen along the way.

In my mind, when it came to educating our children, there were two possible choices:  public school or homeschool, using Charlotte Mason's ideas.  Over my children's education we've done both and we've experienced private, Christian school too.  All have been good in their way, and all have had faults.


Long before we began homeschooling, we starting "living" Charlotte Mason. Charlotte Mason said, "Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life."  Because of that, I try to create an environment at home that encourages slowing down, and appreciating the best - in books, food, art, nature.    

Atmosphere isn't just about what your home looks like, it's about what your home feels like.  It's the people in it and the ideas you share.  It's laughter and fun, and comfort and security.  Education is not about making a good grade, it's about living a good life.  Thus, it includes all things and continues throughout life, beginning with the earliest memories and only ending when we do.

I know some people who homeschool because they are afraid of public school.  Not me.  I'm a product of it.  I was awesome at school.  I could memorize and regurgitate almost anything for a test and, as a result, was Salutatorian of my graduating class.  But, ask me to tell you what was really happening in a poem or the deeper meaning of a book and I was hopeless, much to the amusement and delight of my friends.   

Part of my problem was that I was never really asked to form an opinion on anything.  So, I just assumed I was supposed to like everything.  I'm naturally agreeable and this missing piece in my educational puzzle took advantage of that fact.

While living in Fort Worth, when my children were in about 5th grade, the Kimball Art Museum acquired the first known painting by Michelangelo, "The Torment of Saint Anthony."  It's believed that Michelangelo painted this "masterpiece" when he was just 12 or 13 years old.  It is a picture of ghastly demons and fire, dark colors and wickedness.  We didn't like it at all, but it IS a Michelangelo.

We visited this painting several times to see if it would ever grow on us.  It didn't.  So, is it OK to say, out loud, that you don't like the first ever painting by Michelangelo?  Is it OK to say you're not crazy about Beethoven's 5th Symphony?  Is it OK to say that the Grand Canyon just doesn't do it for you?  When I was younger, I would have thought "No!  You HAVE to like these things.  They HAVE to move you deeply."  But, my children aren't afraid to have their own opinions.  I think that can only help them as they grow and explore and learn what really makes them tick.

Though I don't believe either of my boys will turn into a great and profound artist, I'm glad they've been exposed to great art.  I'm glad they've had to make their way through many an art museum and that we've hung beautiful pictures on our walls at home.  I'm also thankful their world has been broadened by wonderful music and by nature study.  All these "subjects" have this in common:  they serve to develop a habit of attention in people who might otherwise rush through life attentive only to their "to-do" list or their cell phone.  Believe me, I know that of which I speak.

Our boys were leaving to catch the school bus one morning when my husband, Bobby, noticed Davis bent over on the front walk with his hands on his knees.  Thinking Davis was sick, Bobby hurried outside only to find Davis looking at a caterpillar. While I swell with pride and think how wonderful it is that this young man is so attentive and curious and adorable, it's really all Charlotte Mason's fault.  She told me to go outside and let my children NOTICE and I did.

Another time during our life in Fort Worth, we were driving on the interstate when we saw a billboard advertising an upcoming exhibit at the Kimball.  On the billboard was a painting of a woman.  We had recently studied that very painting in artist study at home.  One of my children saw the huge painting on the billboard and said, "Hey!  We know her!"

I'm sure there are many children out there who would notice the same things - caterpillars and art.  But, I believe it's a characteristic that MOST "Charlotte Mason kids" share.  It's a part of who they are and how they embrace the world.  When they begin to notice, they begin to connect what they notice with what they've read and studied and heard which makes a greater and deeper and more interesting education. 

I'm having to learn those things now.  The habit of attention is hard, especially when you didn't cultivate it while growing up.  But, it's enriching and addictive and lovely.  It leads to a deep, beautiful, meaningful life.  And, that's what I really want for my children, myself and for your children too.

In addition to NOTICING and easily forming their own opinions, my children have developed a love of learning.  They read for pleasure and don't wait until the last minute to complete assignments.  The down side of this (if you can call it that) is that they have very little patience for what Ms. Mason calls "twaddle" - anything that has little redeeming value, books that are trite and silly.  You know, twaddle!  They also have little patience for others who don't value learning.

In his book, Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire, Rafe Esquith says the "danger" of public education (or any education!) is the tendency to a "systemic conspiracy of mediocrity."  He says that to combat this, children need to learn to love to read.  He says, "If a child is going to grow into a truly special adult – someone who thinks, considers other points of view, has an open mind, and possesses the ability to discuss great ideas with other people – a love of reading is an essential foundation."


Reading is definitely a discipline.  I continue to learn about education being a discipline.  Whether it's reading a book on my own, making time for fresh air and exercise or making sure my children actually study for a test, it all takes discipline.  If I'm honest, it takes a bit of discipline to make the bed and floss my teeth too, but those things also make my life better.

Education is a life, it's appreciating more than what might come naturally, it's being challenged to try something new.  It's reaching out to someone else and taking time to make yourself a cup of tea.  Education is ALL of life.

I felt a tremendous freedom in homeschooling as Charlotte Mason suggested.  Offer a wonderful "feast" for the mind and imagination, set the children's feet in a "wide room" with many options, and let God guide them to what they need.  Let them take in whatever is most "nutritious" and beneficial to them at the time and leave the rest.  The Lord will show them what they need.  It's up to Him to move and educate, and open their eyes.  Just like in the kitchen, I need only prepare the feast in the schoolroom and lead the children to it.

While I'm thankful for the academic knowledge my children are developing and the varied insights and experiences their Charlotte Mason education has provided them, what I pray for most is for them to be the kind of men that you want to have living next door, coaching your kids' little league team or marrying your daughter.  I want their lives to be enriched by "little" things like appreciating a beautiful sunset, knowing when the space station will pass overhead and running outside to see it, or noticing when the daffodils bloom.  I want them to be men who love and serve the Lord with everything they have in them, whether that's in a pulpit or a bank or a gym.  I want them to recognize beauty and truth and holiness and seek after those things.  I believe Charlotte Mason has given them a great start to get there.