The Educated Mother

I've not said this to many people so you may not know. In January I will be attempting my Master's Degree. It will be fro Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning. And let me tell you- I have a lot to learn! I know that learning is never done. Never. 

I am actually not looking forward to going back to school. Learning for the sake of learning I like and do. Learning to be certified in something, well, that stresses me out more. I generally like to know a little bit of this and a little bit of that. As time goes on though, I realize I need a little more {okay fine- a lot} knowledge in a more specific area to be of use in 'society'. Oh, don't get me started on the worth of mothers, and stay at home mothers at that. I already agree. However, we all make choices and those choices influence other aspects of our lives. I made choices that I must literally pay for; that requires paying employment. 

The plan: to continue to homeschool my teens, perhaps get a substitute teacher position {easier said than done, I'm sure}, and pursue my MEd. I've recently checked out two books from the awesome Ohio library system {love Ohio!}: Educational Psychology and Applying Educational Research. There is one other book that will be required for my two classes that start in January, but so far, I cannot locate the book. It is called Walking with God in the Classroom: Christian Approaches to Learning and Teaching. I'd like to read that book much more than the others; especially more than the first book. 

I would really really like to attend a school that is specifically geared toward Charlotte Mason method. The last 4 years, that's what I've been focusing on in terms of teaching and learning. I'm going to have to learn about other methods and systems. Not that that is a bad thing; I am sure I will take away much good from it. I just worry that it will seep into my brain and I'll stray from CM. I love CM. Truly. 

When I started this post, I had a different direction it was going to go. Apparently it wasn't set in stone. I'm sure that the preceding paragraphs are because that's what's most on my mind. What I wanted to write about stems from reading the CM PR articles lately. The most recent titled "The Influence and Teaching of the Educated Mother." I've read it twice now and as much as CM and CMers might disapprove, I will read it again. It was a good article. 

This was written at a time when education for girls was not as well established as it is today. The focus was different also for girls than boys. It had made large strides from the beginnings of public education but it still was not as it is today.

"What is education?...I should venture to say its first and prime object ought to be to make women think, and that all education which does not tend to make thinking easy and natural fails of its object and is not educaiton.
True education should train the intellect, establish principles, and regulate the heart.
Who, then, is the educated mother? The educated mother is pre-eminently a woman who thinks, and the results of her regulated thought will be seen in the daily administration of her home."

This article, I think, really puts the educated mother into focus. 

"The educated mother should have some plain ideas of life as it really is. Reality, not ideality, should be the watchword with which she starts her life-work...Happy the mother who can herself superintend the home life of her infant children, but if not able to do this, let her take great pains in the choice of nurse and companions."

What drew me to the article in the first place were the words 'Educated Mother' because I think it is important to be an educated mother, homeschooling or not. 

"The educated mother must, however, be much more than a nursery machine and a technical instructress. Realising that the children of to-day will rapidly develop into individuals keen to learn and be taught, she will always be alive to the necessity of cultivating her own mind, and the work of self-education and improvement will go on for her while life lasts...It is a painful spectacle, that of a mother who has allowed her children to outstrip her as thinking beings, and can no longer keep pace with them in their pursuits and interests."

The last sentence there has pricked my mind and stayed with me since I first read it. There've been times when I tell others that my kids are above me in one subject area or another {most often and likely math} and it only somewhat bothered me. It bothered me more than I cared to admit to myself! I've gone through the same areas that they are now, and I did well enough with them at one time. Why not now as well? I am not beneath my kids in intelligence or knowledge, why should I pretend {or allow myself?} to be? Here is another thought on that:

"She recognises she can keep her children's confidence, some of whom are probably cleverer then herself, only by habits of thoughtful interest in all which concerns humanity."

There are a few other good points in the article, if you'd like to read it. She talks of habits and practicality, and at the end modesty. Another that I appreciated is on keeping our children's confidence in 'intimate' matters so that they will not be led to their peers for guidance and/or advice.