 "Reading a Letter," Nikolay Bogdanov-Belsky “I am anxious that this work should be tried in the poorest school by the poorest teachers, at first--these will work mechanically on a convenient routine but teachers, as well as children, develop amazingly.” ~ Charlotte Mason As we practice the art of teaching with 19th century British educator, Charlotte Mason, we realize the truth of the Zen master’s saying, “If you walk in the mist, you will get wet.” Consistent engagement with the best books and Mason’s inspired timetable does change us, along with our students. Malcolm Gladwell made this idea of steady growth through repetition popular recently by asserting expertise to be a matter of practicing for at least 10,000 hours. Left in the Mason classroom, teachers do develop amazingly, but Mason’s heart is always searching for ways to make “definite,” to expedite our study beyond the incidental misting. “It is only those who have read who do read,” she observes enigmatically. James Clear, who analyzes the relationship between habits and change, confirms that those who attain the distinction of “World-class” in their fields have discovered a secret beyond showing up for the practice of a particular skill or profession; we humans can avail ourselves of the leverage of being “deliberate.” “I like the 10,000 Hour Rule,” Clear writes, “because it is a reminder that you have to put in your reps. But it’s not as simple as working for a long time. It has to be vigilant work. And in many ways, you have to be continually obsessed with building upon your current skill set in small ways.” He offers the example of his father helping him learn to throw a baseball. The youngster could have simply thrown the ball hour after hour in the backyard hoping to improve or, as it happened, a knowing person could have stood by for a few weeks, noticing his position, and saying, “Elbow up, Elbow up, Elbow up,” until an unconscious competence grew, and mastery was achieved. This standing by is the gift Charlotte Mason offers us. She discovers the one inflection point at which every other thing will begin to change and whispers: meditate, meditate, meditate. On our way to becoming substantial teachers, we will still want and need our 10,000 hours but our proficiency will begin to increase incrementally each day as we consider with care the many “small things” of our stance. It is a profound and life-changing invitation because Mason’s unrelenting Christ-centeredness leads her to posit nothing less than an educational revolution. What appears a simple Christian orthodoxy on the surface, is a complex and nuanced reading of that “unique philosophy” which reveals just how many of our ideas about teaching are unexamined, often resting on the latest fad or technique contrived in the rush to accomplish curricular objectives. Though we are without malice, many of our handed-down classroom practices are seeded in behaviorism, utilitarianism, and the residues of Enlightenment thinking. How they are antithetical to our faith is awaiting our recognition. Although circling this invitation for more than thirty years, since the publication of Studying to Be Quiet I have undertaken a cross-volume search for Mason’s principles and their outworking for these standing-aside nuances to highlight the “education written into the nature of things.” These are some of my study notes. Each day in this collection of meditations underlines a growing hope that under her mentorship, particularly in the Church, our method can become inseparable from our message. Honoring persons by walking out the revolutionary ways of Jesus, Mason illuminates a comprehensive, viable, and fruitful practice which is nourishing to children and fully grown people alike. In studying her distinctive work on human flourishing not only do our classroom undertakings come into sharper focus, but we also rediscover the treasures of our ancient faith for an education that is a way of reading the world and in its very essence, a practice of the presence of God. “If anyone does study....” Does she waver momentarily? Mason is imploring us, not only to learn to speak this language fluently, word by word if necessary, but to protect it, and to pass it on. I have provided the first one hundred standing aside words. There are myriads more. Are you ready to take up this Vigilant Work? ~~~~~~~ I am anxious that: Essex Cholmondley, The Story of Charlotte Mason, New e. edition (Child Light Ltd, 2000). If you walk: Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones “Expanded Edition with a Preface and Interview with the Author,” n.d. Malcolm Gladwell made: James Clear, “How Experts Practice Better Than the Rest,” James Clear (blog), November 4, 2014, https://jamesclear.com/deliberate-practice-strategy. Mason’s heart is: Cholmondley, The Story of Charlotte Mason, 45. It is only those: Charlotte M. Mason, School Education: Developing a Curriculum, vol. 3, The Original Homeschooling Series (Wheaton, Ill: Tyndale House Pub, 1989), 234. James Clear, who: Clear, “How Experts Practice Better Than the Rest.” She discovers the one: Charlotte M. Mason, Scale How Meditations, null edition (lulu.com, 2011), 11. What appears a: Charlotte M. Mason, The Revival: The Saviour of the World - Volume VI, 1st edition (Routledge, 2018), Preface. Although circling this: Charlotte M. Mason, Towards A Philosophy of Education, vol. 6, The Original Homeschooling Series (Wheaton, Ill: Tyndale House Pub, 1989), 14,157 etc. If anyone does: Essex Cholmondley, The Story of Charlotte Mason, 110. Mason is imploring: Cholmondley, The Story of Charlotte Mason, 143–44. 100 Words Invitation copyright Laurie Bestvater 2025
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