Principle #18: “The way of reason: We teach children, too, not to 'lean (too confidently) to their own understanding'; because the function of reason is to give logical demonstration (a) of mathematical truth, (b) of an initial idea, accepted by the will. In the former case, reason is, practically, an infallible guide, but in the latter, it is not always a safe one; for, whether that idea be right or wrong, reason will confirm it by irrefragable proofs.” Vol 6, Mason
Evening meals are sacred times, aren’t they?—chairs thump and slide as we settle in. We share the stories from the day. Dad offers news from the wide world. It’s here that a little voice pipes up: “How did God make everything out of nothing?” We pause, all smiles directed at the speaker. I can’t give a satisfying answer. (Who can?) This is the beginning of something profound—our children’s growing ability to reason, to seek truth, and to discern right from wrong. But like all gifts, reason must be cultivated and tethered to wisdom. Reason stirs here, a quiet gift—helping each child discern truth over tangle, right from wrong. It's a power we nurture so each child can govern themselves well.
Wondering about God at supper uses the same power of reason to sort toys, play with puzzles, and put words to big feelings. Reason also helps a child control her impulse and direct her will to choose wisely. She makes sense of things. She brings order to chaos right there in her little mind. And this is the gift. God shares a bit of himself with us as we sort and organize things and ideas. He puts his mark in us, but the power needs to be handled with care lest the tail wags the dog and reason is allowed to rule the roost.
Reason has Limits
While reason is a powerful tool for sorting, organizing, and making sense of the world, it is not infallible. Left unguided by wisdom, it can justify folly rather than lead to truth. This is why scripture urges us to acknowledge God in all our ways—so that our reasoning does not stray. A child hits his sibling for taking his toy and reasons that he was justified because the toy is his. Doing right in his own little eye, he is being ruled by his own sense of justice. But God’s ways are not our ways. Hitting is naughty. We tell him so. Scripture tells us, “be kind to one another. Tenderhearted and forgiving one another even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.” We have a better way to solve our problems than hitting siblings. This is the way of folly that Proverbs warns us against. We can get peace and forgiveness even in the midst of conflict. So reason is a helpful tool as a compass, but it must be informed by God's wisdom.
Reason’s Role in the Child’s Growth
The homeschool days bring folly and wisdom to the fore. Children must learn to recognize wisdom. Wisdom would not encourage you to yell at your mother when it is time to practice the piano or do chores. That is the voice of Folly. She wants to destroy you, so best tell her to be quiet. Stop yelling and get to work. (It’s hard, isn’t it?) You are helping him to align his thoughts with God‘s goodness. And right now God‘s goodness looks like obeying mother and practicing piano.
The work of reason really begins to bloom between the ages of 6 to 8. The “age of reason" marks a big shift in the child's awareness of the world. A foundation in good habits and obedience sets the stage for a child to come into this power ready to use reason well. But, we don’t leave them to themselves—parents help children develop their reason—which is also connected to the conscience.
Before we explore specific ways to nurture reason, let’s consider how children first begin to distinguish right from wrong and how their reasoning matures over time.
Nurturing the Way of Reason When our children are very young, they use us as their gauge for right and wrong. In general, they want to avoid disapproval, so naughtiness is discouraged. They come to find that obedience brings freedom and smiles. It’s simple enough. (I didn’t say easy.)
But, around the dawn of reason—as we said, around the age of seven—things take a step up. This is why most of us with second and third graders wonder if we should enroll our children in the school down the street because they test their boundaries—which at this point we reestablish. Their newly budding reason needs to be educated more deeply. Let’s look at aspects of this (there are many).
Nurturing by Informing Their Growing Reason
Children are marvelous mimics. They copy what we do, how we speak, and who we are without our explicit instruction. Which (as you know) is not always to their benefit. But, this is the primary way our children learn to reason and to align their wills with God‘s ways. They imitate what we do and take on our attitudes about the world. Their reason develops through watching us use this power throughout the day. (Eek! I know!) Our children learn how to live for God by watching us live for God. So, here’s to the refining fire of parenting to teach our kids, however imperfectly, about God’s goodness. But daily life is not going to carry all the weight of informing our children’s reason—there must be some telling. Explicit instruction is necessary and helps fill in the holes that modeling inevitably will leave.
In the home, reading through the Scriptures and using a catechism offer direct access to the word of God and the synthesis of its doctrine so that our children will become intimately familiar with the ways of God through His word. Reading through the scriptures daily together—even with wiggly toddlers and fussy babies—reminds us of who we are and our place in it all. There’s no prescription for every family. We simply share what we know with our children using the tools available. God’s word and our church’s catechism are a solid foundation. We can start here.
Direct instruction is important for a child to develop his reason in a way that aligns with God’s goodness, but he also needs to use his imagination to apply his reason rightly. Let’s take a look at how offering choice and telling stories nurture our children’s growing power of reason.
Nurturing by Supporting Their Growing Reason
Children need opportunities to make choices so that they can exercise their choice-making muscles which is the outpouring of their growing ability to reason. (Remember that right thinking leads to right acting from Principle #2?) This helps them to practice using the power of reason many times each day. Making choices strengthens children for the work of governing themselves. We can offer boundaries for their choices to help them make the decisions which support their developing reason because they learn how to apply it “in the wild” so to speak.
Some examples of opportunities for older children to make choices for themselves include:
Choosing which song to learn to play on the piano, whether it’s a movie theme song or folk song, lets them choose to activate their energy to practice.
Selecting which knight from King Arthur’s round table is the bravest.
Picking which country to add to the map after a history or geography reading.
Choosing a meal to make for the family one night for dinner.
Helping pick out school clothes (within the family's stated dress code).
Each of these choices will depend on the age of the child. For very young children, remember that this faculty won’t develop until they are closer to the age of seven. Before that time the child needs to learn to obey respectfully. That’s all. I promise.
The Use of Imagination to Apply Reason Rightly
In modern education, we are more concerned with what a child can do. We fuss over his reading, writing, and math, but we aren’t concerned with how he develops these so long as he can do these basic skills. But we ought to be concerned with who he becomes and not only what he can do. Because if you are concerned with the soul of the boy, that he can use his faculties to their greatest powers, then the list of things he can do will grow beyond any list you could make for him. It is in the realm of soul-work that cultivating the imagination in the hearts and minds of each child informs how and why we teach reading, writing, and math which in turn supports the child’s ability to use his reason well.
Notice each of the three R’s require the use of the imagination. You can’t read without imagining the ideas and stories floating off the page. You can’t do abstract math without being able to imagine the gaps in your knowledge and work out how you might be able to close the gap. The child needs his imagination to discern meaning, to comprehend abstract concepts, and to have empathy with his neighbor. Stories are the best means to cultivate the imagination because they speak the language of the heart and help a child create images in his mind. How can a child discern the spiritual forces of evil that are at work in this world without his powers of imagination being informed about good and evil? Or, when reading anything, the child’s imagination must have a rich foundation of personal connection with the outside world through his senses and not just through a screen. The power of reason depends upon a well-furnished imagination full of lived experiences in God’s creation and stories that help us expand our experience beyond our homes.
The child asking a question at supper is coming into his power to perceive the world through his growing reason. We want to help our children develop their reason to align with God’s goodness and hinder Folly and her beckoning call towards evil. We do this through our home life complete with chores, freedom, and storytime. Reason itself is a power to cultivate, but it is limited and needs to be connected to God’s Word which is the way of wisdom.
I’ll leave you with the wisdom of scripture from Proverbs to encourage you as you cultivate the power of reason in your home to be aligned with God’s will.
My son, do not forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep my commandments,
for length of days and years of life
and peace they will add to you.
Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;
bind them around your neck;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
So you will find favor and good success[a]
in the sight of God and man.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones.
Proverbs 3:1-8
“For they set up Reason as the sole directress of man; they think that she is exclusively to be attended to; in short, to her alone they assign the government of the conduct. But the Christian philosophy commands her to give place and submit to the Holy Spirit; so that now the man himself lives not, but carries about Christ living and reigning within him.”1828
Calvin’s Institutes Chapter VII. Summary Of The Christian Life. Self-Denial. Section I
Reflection Questions:
1. How do I respond when my child asks difficult questions?
3. How do I balance direct instruction with allowing my child to reason things out for himself?
4. Am I too quick to correct, or do I give them space to wrestle with ideas?
5. What role does Scripture play in shaping my child’s reasoning?
6. How consistently am I guiding them to seek God’s wisdom in their decision-making?
7. Are there areas where I let my own reasoning stray from God’s wisdom?
8. How can I strengthen my own foundation in God’s truth so I can better guide my children?
9. How do I help my child recognize the difference between wisdom and folly?
10. Am I providing my child with enough opportunities to make choices and learn from them?
**If you want to be effective with your Nature Study work, join the Screen Free Kids Get Outside Challenge. Head over to HoweverImperfectly.com/ScreenFreeChallenge to download your free packet!**
20 Principles of a Liberating Education:
#2 The Good and Evil Nature of Children
#3 Parents are in Charge and Children Must Obey
#4 Limits to Our Authority as Parents and Educators
#5 Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life| a primer
#9 Feeding the Hungry Mind
#10 From Bucket Heads to Bright Minds| The True Role of Teacher & Learner
#11 Drop the Timeline Song| Education is Cultivating Wisdom Through Nourishing Ideas
#13 The Curriculum i.e. The Living Library
#16a and 17 The Way of the Will
#16b and #18 The Way of Reason (You are here)
Bibliography for further reading:
Know and Tell by Karen Glass
Start Here, a Journey through Mason’s 20 Principles by Brandy Vencel
Philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason
Home Education by Charlotte Mason
Laying Down the Rails by Simply Charlotte Mason (This book explains the habits and gives excerpts of Mason’s own words on each habit to be cultivated)
Laying Down the Rails for Children by Simply Charlotte Mason (This book has lessons on habit training to do with your family)
The Whole Brained Child by Daniel J. Siegel M.D. and Tina Payne Bryson
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