Paying Full Attention
CHARLOTTE MASON VOLUME 5 : Formation Of Character: CHAPTER 2, PART 5
Every so often, teachers, parents, and other stakeholders propose new subjects that ‘should’ be included in the school curriculum. It’s as if we have this vision of what the perfect education should entail and we are constantly striving to achieve it by adding or subtracting elements.
How do we know our children are educated though? What’s the benchmark? !
Tell us, gentlemen both, what you mean by education?"
"Mean by education, Doctor? I should not have thought our united wisdoms need be called on to answer that! A boy is educated when he knows what every gentleman should know, and when he is trained to take his place in the world."
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Charlotte Mason Volume 5, page 162
Simply put, we want our children to be able to navigate the world effectively. On one hand, we’ve experienced our children master things they haven’t been taught. Our children seem to be able to effortlessly master complex tasks in minutes. How do toddlers navigate devices without formal instruction?
The answer lies in their ability to pay full attention. If parents nurture this habit in the early years, children can learn even faster. It's pretty straightforward: when we're fully present, with our minds focused and not wandering, we spend less time accomplishing the task at hand.
If the goal of Education is to help our children find their place in the world, the habit of attention will help them get there even faster.
Yes, there are so many habits that our children need to work on. However, if you focus on one habit at a time, the items on the list will grow shorter with time.
Have a great week.
I love this so much! I have a foot in both the homeschooling world and the public school world. I teach first grade and I can tell you right now that paying attention is somthing most of the children I see cannot do. It's unfortunate that our curriculum doesn't really allow for it either. I wonder how I might do better as an educator at teaching those children within the constraints of our curriculum.