Habits in Charlotte Mason Education
How we help students develop essential academic habits and relational habits
“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.” (Charlotte Mason, A Philosophy of Education, 101)
Attention: The habit of attention is the hallmark of the educated person. Charlotte Mason's approach secures attention by reading engaging books, by keeping lessons short, and by applying the moral lever of narration. All of us need a bit of a nudge and narration provides this moral lever by requiring students to tell back what they have read. Narrating on a daily basis develops the habit of attention. The brain adapts itself to the need to pay close attention since a lack of attentiveness shows up immediately in an inability to narrate with accuracy and thoroughness.
Excellence: Excellence means putting forth one’s best effort and truly caring about the subject matter. Charlotte Mason once said the real question is "not how much does the student know, but how much does he care about what he knows?" We help our students to care by placing before them "a great feast of ideas" and challenging them to respond in discussion and narration. We do not distract them with external rewards (no stickers, stars, prizes, or privileges), so that growing in knowledge remains the focus of their work. See: Brain Study on Internal vs. External Rewards
Humility: Humility is self knowledge and the willingness to honor our strengths while facing our weaknesses. As a foundation to our academic work, we introduce our students to Howard Gardiner’s concept of Multiple Intelligences. Gardiner teaches there are at least seven ways of being smart: mathematical, linguistic, artistic, musical, kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. At the beginning of the year, our students take Gardiner’s Multiple Intelligences test which reveals their strengths, areas for growth, and learning styles. Students are encouraged to know their strengths, pursue their interests, and develop a self understanding based on the truth that “we have gifts that differ according to the favor bestowed on us” (Romans 12:6). Students also learn to face and work through their weaknesses, and to humbly ask for the assistance they need. We help our students understand that mistakes are nothing to be ashamed of, but a part of life and a starting point for growth.
Curiosity: Curiosity is the fuel of all sound academic work. Curiosity asks: why? how? and what if? How does that air plane lift off the ground? How does this animal survive in the dead of winter? Why did those people act in that way? What if the opposite happened? If properly cultivated, it leads from egocentrism to engagement with the world. We support the development of this habit by encouraging our students to pose questions about all they read, and observe. We also provide time and space for students to pursue their own interests down many diverse paths.
Accountability: Accountability means responsible living. Students at Plumfield are responsible for their own work, and must learn to manage their own attention, time, and productivity. We help them towards this goal by teaching planning strategies and holding them accountable for work completed. At the beginning of the week, students receive a weekly calendar. They are responsible for figuring out when their work is to be done: during skills hour, personal time, or at home. By Friday afternoon, their work for the week must be put into the blue folder. Any work not completed by Monday morning of the following week, must be completed that Monday during the student’s personal time. Fortunately, we seldom have to apply this consequence.
Order: Order entails the management of one's own things. At Plumfield, each student is assigned an open cubby with color coded binders for each subject. Students are responsible for keeping these binders labeled and in order. Papers must be properly filed in sheet protectors. Students who struggle with order need much friendly supervision until they acquire this habit. Order also refers to coming to class with the materials needed for work. At the end of the day, students participate in keeping the school in order by doing assigned clean up jobs. Some parents happily report that these skills of order translate into helpfulness in the home.
