On Charlotte Mason

I'm attending a Charlotte Mason seminar this weekend. Charlotte Mason lived in the 1800's and had a "revolutionary" philosophy of education that continues to make waves in educational circles and bring people back to the heart of learning/teaching. I was wondering today if she had any clue when she wrote her 6 volumes on education that her work would still be speaking to people nearly 100 years later.

So, here's quote of hers that I heard today on the importance of forming good habits in ourselves and our children:

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 children.

Habits, good ones, that is, are an investment that pay huge dividends on down the road. It is not easy to establish them, and it may seem "easier" to just let habits form themselves. But "easier" today spells lots and lots of hard, hard work later on down the road that could be avoided by taking the pains to form good habits today.

And that, ladies and gentleman, is my main take-away from today's seminar. Tune in tomorrow for another Charlotte Mason update.