Why Child Light?


There is a bewildering loss of identity in the west today. Nowhere is it more apparent than in education. What educational unity there once was has been shattered. Not only is there no longer a coherent educational philosophy to apply within society, but society itself has become deranged. It has in fact become like a child's Lego set, to be pulled to pieces and reassembled at will. Structures from the past, some of which have endured for centuries if not millennia, have been discarded.

Within the confusion, Christians have rightly sensed that their God-given authority, the Bible, provides a rock on which all of life, education included, can be securely founded. The result has been a veritable explosion of interest and commitment to what is generally called "Christian Education".

Susan and Ranald Macaulay of L'Abri Fellowship, recognised the need for a coherent educational philosophy for their own children. In their search they came across the work of Charlotte Mason, whose ideas they found helpful. They were urged to share these ideas with others and Child Light is the result.


Who is Charlotte Mason?


Charlotte Mason, 1842-1923, was a British educator who founded the system of education which included schools, home study courses and a teacher training college. She also authored a number of books on education. Her ideas were revolutionary for the time in which she lived. She saw herself standing resolutely against the spread of materialistic ideas within the culture, particularly as these were being applied to children's education.

The basis on which her philosophy rests is God's truth. Yet this affirmation of truth and its necessity for an adequate and universal philosophy of education did not make for a narrowness of application within her teaching - as if education were best served by a recital of religious stories and a reading exclusively of the sacred page. Far from it. In fact it was a "liberal education for all" at which she aimed; an education which included the whole realm of human experience without separation between secular and spiritual. The period of history in which she lived took for granted the fact of God's existence and the reality of creation and which, for that reason, saw no conflict in principle between an appreciation of both spirit and body, of religion and culture, of art and nature. All of reality was seen to be under God and to be valued and enjoyed...


What is Child Light?


Child Light is an organisation seeking to apply Christian principles to education and to relate them to many contexts - family, church, private and public schools, inner-city work, day care centers and camps. The aim is to prepare children to live in contemporary society, to develop their relationship with God, His world, and people, and to cultivate an appreciation of culture and ideas. This includes the necessity of being able to think for themselves, to ask questions, and to form their own opinions.

In order to fulfil this aim, Child Light operates on the principle that it is essential to have a broad based curriculum which applies a literary and verbal approach to teaching. Some resources that are helpful about the use of classical and contemporary literature, fine arts, narration (children telling back in their own words), nature study through observation, use of time, and discipline are listed in the resources section.

A basic premise of Child Light is that parents are responsible for their children's education and that parents must be helped to understand what this means. Education goes on as much in the home as it does at school. Therefore, parents need to provide their children with good books, to read them and to encourage the discussion of ideas and to take an active part in all aspects of their life.


Principles of Charlotte Mason's Educational Theory


Children are born persons. They are made in the image of God.

Authority on the one hand and docility on the other are natural, necessary and fundamental. If authority is too rigid on the one hand or teachableness lacking on the other, the result is chaos.

Education is an atmosphere. It is the atmosphere of respect and understanding created in the home where the child knows he is wanted and in the classroom where he can do what he is able to do.

Education is a discipline. The discipline of habits formed definitely and thoughtfully, whether habits of mind or body.

Education is a life. The need of intellectual and moral as well as of physical sustenance is implied. The mind feeds on ideas.

A child needs a full and generous curriculum that presents facts with their informing ideas.

Education is the science of relations. A child has natural relations with a vast number of things and thoughts; so we must train him upon physical exercises, nature, handicrafts, science, art, music, drama, and upon many "living" books.

The Way of the Will and the Way of Reason are two secrets of moral and intellectual self-management that children should learn. The Way of the Will - children need to distinguish between "I want" and "I will" while in The Way of Reason - children should be taught not to "lean unto their own understanding" because the function of reason is to give logical demonstration of i) of mathematical truth and ii) of an initial idea, accepted by the will.

Children should learn that the chief responsibility that rests on them as persons is the acceptance or rejection of initial ideas.

There should be no separation between the intellectual and spiritual life of children.