Authority and Docility
By: Olga Robbins, Teacher Training Coordinator at Charlotte Mason Institute
Principle 3 states: The principles of Authority on the one hand and Docility on the other are natural, necessary and fundamental.
Principle 3 is the principle of Authority and Docility (obedience). Charlotte Mason speaks about this principle as the glue that holds society together, and without it, societies “cease to cohere”. Due to the fact that authority can often be abused, it is not an uncommon view for all authority to be viewed as tyrannical. This can result in parents, as authority figures, allowing children to do as they please, when the truth of the matter is that proper authority is the condition without which “liberty does not exist” (vol. 6 p. 69). Mason compares this principle with the law that holds celestial bodies in their places, when she says,
“The two principles of authority and docility act in every life precisely as do those two elemental principles which enable the earth to maintain its orbit, the one drawing it towards the sun, the other as constantly driving it into space; between the two, the earth maintains a more or less middle course and the days go on” (vol. 6 p. 69).
This is an excellent metaphor of the gentle balance between forces. Just as the earth is located in what is called “the Goldilocks zone” - the place with the perfect conditions for life to thrive, every parent and educator has to figure out the “Goldilocks zone” of the principle of authority to obedience. Just as the earth would be too hot if it were closer to Venus, the parent who leans all the way into authority can become authoritarian, having high expectations of the children with little or no support. An authoritarian parent expects obedience without any questions asked “because I said so”. On the other hand, just as the Earth would be too cold for life if it were any closer to Mars, the parent who is afraid of taking their authority seriously may become permissive or even neglectful, allowing the child to do whatever he or she wants. So, how does one strike this perfect balance?
Let’s look a little more into volume 6 to see what Charlotte Mason suggested.
“Two conditions are necessary to secure all proper docility and obedience and, given these two, there is seldom a conflict of wills between teacher and pupils. The conditions are,––the teacher, or other head may not be arbitrary but must act so evidently as one under authority… The children, quick to discern, see that he too must do the things he ought; and therefore that regulations are not made for his convenience…The other condition is that children should have a fine sense of the freedom which comes of knowledge which they are allowed to appropriate as they choose, freely given with little intervention from the teacher. They do choose and are happy in their work, so there is little opportunity for coercion or for deadening, hortatory talk. (Vol. 6, p. 74, 75).
It seems that the balance comes when the adult submits to the same moral rules as he or she expects from the child. For example, a child who sees that the mother, who expects him to apologize and restore the relationship with his brother after a fight, apologized to the father after a disagreement sees that the mother herself is under the moral authority of God, who teaches us to live restoratively. This knowledge that every adult lives in the balance of authority and obedience teaches the child that his own obedience is not arbitrary, but part of the natural law of life.
Similarly, when it comes to learning, the parent who can say, “I do not know this, but I will learn alongside you” models the example of humility and obedience. This authentic modeling of being under authority invites the child into a relationship with adults and God that is safe, good, and joyful.
As adults, we are continually on the journey of figuring out this balance and adjusting the course, striving to be authoritative but not authoritarian, and creating the environment of great freedom within boundaries of God’s moral and spiritual law, where both “authority” and “obedience” are powers of goodness that hold the universe of family or a learning community together.
Join the Conversation! We’re continuing our exploration of Charlotte Mason’s principles in Office Hours with Principle 3: Authority and Docility on November 13 at 3:30 PM (ET). We’d love for you to join us!
Notes
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