Charlotte Mason’s Education is a Discipline

Principle #7: By “education is a discipline,” we mean the discipline of habits, formed definitely and thoughtfully, whether habits of mind or body. Physiologists tell us of the adaptation of brain structures to habitual lines of thought, i.e., to our habits. (Charlotte Mason’s Home Education Vol 6 Introduction)

Charlotte Mason advocates the use of three instruments of education, namely, atmosphere, discipline, and life. In this post, we will talk about the principle, education is a discipline. 

What does it mean to say, “Education is a Discipline”?

Let’s take a look at how Miss Mason herself explains it: 

Education is not after all to either teacher or child the fine careless rapture we appear to have figured it. We who teach and they who learn are alike constrained; there is always effort to be made in certain directions; yet we face our tasks from a new point of view. We need not labour to get children to learn their lessons; that, if we would believe it, is a matter which nature takes care of.

(Vol 6 Page 99)

Isn’t it interesting? She says that we don’t need to labor to get children to learn their lessons, but that, instead, it’s a matter that happens naturally. How? 

Let the lessons be of the right sort and children will learn them with delight. The call for strenuousness comes with the necessity of forming habits; but here again we are relieved. The intellectual habits of the good life form themselves in the following out of the due curriculum in the right way. As we have already urged, there is but one right way, that is, children must do the work for themselves. They must read the given pages and tell what they have read, they must perform, that is, what we may call the act of knowing.

(Vol 6 Page 99)

She describes that when our lessons are of “the right sort,” children will learn them naturally with delight. But there is some effort required: the necessity of forming habits. 

Yet again again, she explains that the forming of good intellectual habits “form themselves” when we follow a recommended “curriculum in the right way.” And what is this right way? That “children must do the work for themselves.” 

So in essence, when we say that education is a discipline, we commit ourselves to the forming of good habits, which begins with this conviction: that our children do the work of self-education.

A Chief Function of Education 

When we think about the main goal of education, we probably have images of things that our children can do and achieve. Miss Mason describes the chief function of education as: 

a chief function of education is the establishment of such ways of thinking in children as shall issue in good and useful living, clear thinking, aesthetic enjoyment, and, above all, in the religious life…  habit is like fire, a bad master but an indispensable servant.  

(Vol 6 Page 100)

Here we can see that she believes the chief function of education as forming good habits of thought. She describes these as resulting in: 

• Good and useful living 
• Clear thinking
• Aesthetic enjoyment
• The religious life 

How Habit Relates to Education 

Habits can make life more fixed and delightful

Consider how laborious life would be were its wheels not greased by habits of cleanliness, neatness, order, courtesy; had we to make the effort of decision about every detail of dressing and eating, coming and going, life would not be worth living. Every cottage mother knows that she must train her child in habits of decency, and a whole code of habits of propriety get themselves formed just because a breach in any such habit causes a shock to others which few children have courage to face. Physical fitness, morals and manners, are very largely the outcome of habit; and not only so, but the habits of the religious life also become fixed and delightful and give us due support in the effort to live a godly, righteous and sober life.

(Vol 6 Page 103) 

As human beings, our brains are wired in a way that habits become almost second nature. This makes life go so much more easily: we don’t need to make conscious decision for every little thing we do throughout our day, because most of them have become habits.

The habit of attention is a foundation of all true learning.

…’habit is ten natures,’ and we can all imagine how our work would be eased if our subordinates listened to instructions with the full attention which implies recollection––Attention is not the only habit that follows due self-education. The habits of fitting and ready expression, of obedience, of good-will, and of an impersonal outlook are spontaneous bye-products of education in this sort. So, too, are the habits of right thinking and right judging; while physical habits of neatness and order attend upon the self-respect which follows an education which respects the personality of children.

(Vol 6 Page 100) 

In the Charlotte Mason method, students can read massive numbers of pages of text, and learn from them; a lot of this is owing to the habit of attention. We train them to read lessons only once, securing the habit of attention that allows them to read so much more “with the full attention which implies recollection.” 

Self-education done right results in many other good habits. 

Do you know that the habit of attention is not the only habit we work on as we go through the years of self-education in the Charlotte Mason method? 

According to Miss Mason, in the quote above, here are some of the other habits that follows due self-education: 

• Attention
• Fitting and ready expression
• Obedience
• Goodwill
• An impersonal outlook
• Right thinking and right judging 
• Neatness and order (follow an education that respects the personality of children) 

5 Important Things Charlotte Mason Says About Habits

Let’s take a look at some of the things that Miss mason says about habits:

1. Habit is inevitable 

More, habit is inevitable. If we fail to ease life by laying down habits of right thinking and right acting, habits of wrong thinking and wrong acting fix themselves of their own accord. We avoid decision and indecision brings its own delays, “and days are lost lamenting o’er lost days.”

(Vol 6 Page 101)

When we don’t intentionally form good habits, our lives don’t just stay as they are; other habits will form unintentionally, and if they are bad habits, it will require so much more effort to correct them! 

2. We sow the idea before we sow an act 

‘Sow an act,’ we are told, ‘reap a habit.’ ‘Sow a habit, reap a character.’ But we must go a step further back, we must sow the idea or notion which makes the act worth while…  (Vol 6 Page 102) 

(Vol 6 Page 102) 

Habits are formed by doing something repeatedly. But Miss Mason gives us an important concept: that before we can build any good habit, we need to “so the idea or notion which makes the act worthwhile.” 

What does this look like? If we want a child to learn the habit of being hardworking, he or she needs ideas to make learning the habit worth his effort. For example, the story of Laura in Little House on the Prairie where she helps her father with preparing hay for winter may serve as good inspiration. 

3. We need to be wise in the sowing of ideas to inspire a good habit. 

It is possible to sow a great idea lightly and casually and perhaps this sort of sowing should be rare and casual because if a child detect a definite purpose in his mentor he is apt to stiffen himself against it. 

(Vol 6 Page 102) 

But a caveat is in place. We don’t use these ideas as something to hammer over our child’s head; Miss Mason encourages us to sow these great ideas “lightly,” “casually,” and “rarely.” We need to be wise in doing so, because once the child detects our intention of spurring him on to a certain action, he might resist our efforts! 

4. We can train our children in the wise thoughts of many great minds. 

We have seen the value of habit in mind and morals, religion and physical development. It is as we have seen disastrous when child or man learns to think in a groove, and shivers like an unaccustomed bather on the steps of a new notion. This danger is perhaps averted by giving children as their daily diet the wise thoughts of great minds, and of many great minds; so that they may gradually and unconsciously get the courage of their opinions. If we fail in this duty, so soon as the young people get their ‘liberty’ they will run after the first fad that presents itself; try it for a while and then take up another to be discarded in its turn, and remain uncertain and ill-guided for the rest of their days.

(Vol 6 Page 104) 

This training may be better linked to the next instrument of education, education is a life. But Miss Mason talks about this in the section on habit, perhaps as a precaution for us to know that it’s our role to develop the habit of wise thoughts in our children. 

Education is a Discipline: Developing Good Habits 

In essence, saying that education is a discipline means that we commit ourselves to the cultivation of good habits. As we work on building these good habits, know that we are actually ‘laying down the rails’ for a lifetime of pleasure and delight, not just in schoolwork but in life as a whole.