Charlotte Mason was Deeply Spiritual
I wish I had understood this during all those years of homeschooling. Why? Because knowing her philosophy and understanding the spiritual depths of her teaching would have helped me keep the focus on what's truly important. It would have strengthened the purpose for my children’s education.
If you’re familiar with the Charlotte Mason philosophy of education, you’ve likely heard the adage, “Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life.”
When I first heard this phrase, I thought…well, that’s very poetical. But what does it mean exactly? Because I was so busy implementing the Charlotte Mason method, I honestly didn’t have time to study the depths of her philosophy. It wasn’t until my years of homeschooling began to wind down that I truly dove into the later books in Charlotte Mason’s Original Homeschool Series. And that’s when I discovered the profound wisdom and spiritual depth of that phrase. It wasn’t what I thought. Oh! How I wish I fully understood this when my children were young!
As I learned, education is an atmosphere of reverence and faith, a discipline of making each moment measured and meaningful, a life that sees the Divine in Creation, appreciates the beauty of God-inspired ideas, seeks to satisfy the Divine curiosity, and results in the pursuit of God’s purpose and path, that which He prepared in advance for us to walk in.
In truth, this is the opposite of what happens in the modern educational system—where God’s Truth and God’s Light is not given room to guide and direct each child’s education individually.
Education is an Atmosphere
Our home atmosphere emanates from our personal beliefs—our thoughts about God, ourselves, our family, and others. These beliefs are reflected in our words and deeds and create an atmosphere. Charlotte Mason contends that an atmosphere of reverence and faith naturally inspires a child to develop wholesomeness in character.
When my children were young, my parents—who were not yet believers—came to visit for a week. At the end of that week, my mother said to me, “There’s something about your house…it just feels so peaceful here.” What she was experiencing was a strong sense of the Holy Spirit, an atmosphere cultivated through faith, prayer, and a focus on the Word of God.
Although, at that time, I had been diagnosed with a rare and malignant form of cancer—one that was not considered survivable—I believed and taught my children the truth of Philippians 4:6-7:
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Despite our struggles, we let the peace of God rule in our hearts. (Col 3:15)
Charlotte Mason tells us that the atmosphere that “inspires the child’s unconscious ideas of right living emanates from his parents.” She says that we must nurture in our children the desire for “things lovely, honest, and of good report” (Philippians 4:8) and that this “is the earliest and most important ministry of the educator.”
Oftentimes, we forget this truth and focus more on the academic pursuit of knowledge over an atmosphere of reverence and submission to God. Part of our homeschool journey is the sanctification that comes from realigning our will to His will for our family.
But how do we do this? By cultivating our own walk with the Lord. As we draw near to Him, His thoughts become our thoughts. Every word we speak are words He gives us, and His love and kindness flow through us to our children and others.
Charlotte Mason says,
“Every look of gentleness and tone of reverence, every word of kindness and act of help, passes into the thought-environment, the very atmosphere which the child breathes; he does not think of these things, may never think of them, but all his life long they excite that 'vague [appetite] towards something' out of which most of his actions spring.”
Education is an atmosphere. Create a beautiful home atmosphere where the Holy Spirit reigns in your thoughts, your attitude, your beliefs, your words, and your actions.
Education is a Discipline
The word discipline usually carries negative connotations. However, Charlotte Mason’s meaning conveys the idea of making each moment in your day measured and meaningful. She encourages us to be mindful, to think about our daily choices and the habits that are formed from those choices.
Almost everything we do in our daily life is a habit. Many habits are rote, such as brushing our teeth, making coffee, reading our email. Charlotte Mason says,
“We are all mere creatures of habit. We think our accustomed thoughts, make our usual small talk, go through the trivial round, the common task, without any self-determining effort of will at all.”
She encourages us to build good habits in our children that will strengthen their future selves, such as cleanliness, order, gratitude, honesty, and most importantly the habits of prayer, Bible reading, praise, and thoughts of God.
Imparting a love for God is one of the most natural things we can help our children develop. Again and again, Charlotte Mason reminds us that our children’s hearts instinctively cry out for communion with the Living God. Their fresh and tender souls long for His guidance, His victory in the battles of the flesh, the daily joys and happinesses that He alone bestows.
Even if you feel ill-equipped, open the Word of God for your children. By example, teach them to pray for others, with one another, and on their own. Give the Lord credit for joyful moments and special days. Point them to Him for comfort when they have done wrong or are hurting. A continual focus on the Lord will develop the habit of thoughts of God and a heart that belongs to Him.
Charlotte Mason writes,
“The mother who takes pains to endow her children with good habits secures for herself smooth and easy days; while she who lets their habits take care of themselves has a weary life of endless friction with the children.”
As homeschool moms, we also must develop good habits. First and foremost, we must conquer the habit of the negative thoughts that beset us. These thoughts are often the result of believing lies our mind (or the enemy) conjures up in our imagination—spiraling into anxiety and worry. Fear undermines our joy and rattles the peace of our home atmosphere. We must conquer negative thoughts by acknowledging the lie, choosing to believe the God’s Word and promises, speaking and repeating His Truth, and refusing to entertain tormenting imaginations. (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)
As we practice the discipline of mastering wrong thinking patterns, we will find joy in making each moment of our child’s day measured and meaningful.
Education is a Life
Education should impart life. That life springs directly from the Author of life. That’s the meaning of the phrase “living education.” Ideas and knowledge emanate from the Living God. All knowledge, all beauty, every good idea and ideal comes from Him—and to pursue knowledge, whether we realized it or not, is a spiritual work that sheds light on the Lord and His work in both nature and mankind.
Charlotte Mason tells us,
“How easy… to understand the never-ceasing, ever-inspiring intercourse of the Divine Spirit with the Spirit of man… how His inspiration and instruction come in the direction and in the degree, in which the man is capable of receiving them.”
This is what a living education is all about—knowledge of the Living God and all He has accomplished in creation, in human history, and through individual people. It’s keeping our focus upward, Godward, as we learn, explore, and discover.
A living education nurtures a child’s innate love for learning and thirst for knowledge.
Charlotte Mason says,
We hold that the child’s mind is no mere sac to hold ideas but is rather…a spiritual organism with an appetite for all knowledge.
A living education includes but is not limited to living books (well-written books by an author with a passion for their work). It involves observing and learning about God’s creation. It means traveling the realm of intellectual culture (works of art, poetry, music, theatre, architecture, pottery, furniture, handicraft, and all the creative endeavors of mankind throughout time). It calls us to encourage creativity in our children, to make art, to build, and develop new skills.
Science and research reveal that a focus on nature, poetry, music, art, crafts, and the like improves brain functioning, intellectual development, emotional regulation, and academic performance. A living education is a better education. It’s the education most of us were denied. Thankfully, homeschooling remediates our lack of education. Now, we get to experience this amazing and fulfilling education along with our children. It’s one of the things that makes homeschooling so rewarding for us as parents.
One of the greatest aspects of a living education is that it can be tailored to our child. Every child is unique. Thus, their education should strengthen their gifts and talents.
Ephesians 2:10 tells us that our children are “God’s workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that [they] should walk in them.”
Charlotte Mason teaches us that God leads our children through divine curiosity. Divine curiosity is that internal spark that ignites our children to ask questions, to want to know, to pursue a subject or skill, develop a talent, and find knowledge. It’s the key factor in a living education because it is truly the Living God, the Divine Spirit, that ignites that curiosity so they can follow the path He has set for them. We, as educators, must allow our child time to pursue the interests God places on their hearts. Our plans, agenda and schedule are important guidelines but should be subordinate to the Divine Spirit and the pursuit of divine curiosity.
Charlotte Mason believed that
“we should teach our children that the divine Spirit has constant access to their spirits and is their continual helper in all the interests, duties and joys of life.”
Let us give our children the gift of knowing that God cares about and is guiding their education because He created them for a purpose. Teach them that they will find joy in learning what they must to pursue God’s plan for their lives.
Our job as educators is to impart an atmosphere led by the Holy Spirit, the Prince of Peace, to model and inspire habits that make both our lives and our children’s lives happier and healthier—mentally, physically and spiritually. As homeschoolers, it’s our unique privilege to impart the beauty of living, the joy of learning, and experiences that bring life and light to their world. Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life—all of which proceed from Jesus—the Way, the Truth, and the Life.