Charlotte Mason’s 7th Principle
By Dr. Shannon Whiteside
We are working our way through Charlotte Mason’s 20 principles. If you want to check out our past discussions, you can find those here. We are in the middle of Mason’s motto, “Education is an atmosphere, a discipline and a life.” Principle 7 states, By "education is a discipline," we mean the discipline of habits, formed definitely and thoughtfully, whether habits of mind or body. Physiologists tell us of the adaptation of brain structures to habitual lines of thought, i.e., to our habits.”
Why are the formation of habits such an important part of education?
Mason states, “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 the children. All day she is crying out, 'Do this!' and they do it not; 'Do that!' and they do the other' (Home Education, p.137)
Taking the time to set up good habits will help our days run more smoothly and give students the tools to build good habits for the rest of their lives. 40% of the choices we make each day are deeply unconscious. We don’t stop and think about it, but we just do it automatically. Imagine if some of the habits we have were not automatic, and we had to make conscious choices about how to walk, how to drive, or whether we should brush our teeth. We just do it with our brain on cruise control.
A habit is a specific recurring thought behavior or set of behaviors that have become so automatic that we can repeat them without thinking. A habit is a default setting. It becomes an integral part of who we are. Habits reduce cognitive load and frees up mental capacity so we can focus on other things.
We can see why helping our students form habits can be very important for them in all areas of life. However, an important part of this discussion is to value the personhood of the child and not to allow this idea of habits to become a stumbling block or a point of contention. How can we help students form habits that are life-giving, rewarding and motivated by their own accord? Can there be an overemphasis on habits? We hope you will join us at Office Hours Thursday, March 19th as we discuss this important topic. We also suggest the book Atomic Habits by James Clear which is part of our 10th grade Citizenship course.
Notes:
- 2026 CMI Conference: We are so excited for the Faithfully Present conference coming up this summer. There are some exciting pre-conference events planned, like “A Morning of Relational Lessons” that you can learn more about here. We hope you’ll join us in July!
- Office Hours: Join us for an Office Hours on Thursday, January 22nd at 3:30 pm EST to discuss Charlotte Mason's seventh principle. RSVP here.
- Classical Learning Test: Alveary families can now receive a discount on the Classical Learning Test (CLT) - perfect for those in states that require testing for homeschool students. Use code CMI25 when purchasing assessments online. This code will activate 25% off all assessments including lower grade (CLT3-8), CLT10 and CLT.
- In the Company of Ideas: During March, we will be discussing The Fool and the Heretic over in the Hive. We would love for you to join the conversation!
- Student Showcase: Creating is a big part of a Charlotte Mason education, from handicrafts and poems to artwork, compositions, and lab reports. If your student would like to share their work with the CM community, please upload it here and watch for CMI blogs featuring collections of work over the coming months!
