Now that we have thought about the nature of God and our relationship to Him, let's think about who we are as human beings.
Mason's Anthropology: The Child As a Person (3 min.)
Taking Mason's principle that the child is born a person seriously means radically rethinking the structure of education.
Video Transcript
Mason begins each of her volumes with a set of principles, the very first one of which reads, “The child is born a person.” This statement can seem trite when first heard, but it is profound. Fully grasping this truth means accepting that adults and children are on equal footing in many ways. Both were created in God’s image, with common needs and desires, such as love, acceptance, and dominion. Both are under the same sovereign authority, with any authority an adult has over a child being deputed, limited, and temporary. Both have the potential for good and evil in thought and deed. They are fellow pilgrims on the same journey.
Out of this viewpoint come several important implications. The first is that while children need for us to set boundaries, we adults are not allowed to be arbitrary, self-serving, or manipulative in our authority. All of our directives should be aimed at helping the child develop character that will serve him throughout his life. Secondly, we are limited in how we accomplish this. It has been proven time and again in research that rewards and punishments do not succeed in building character. In fact, they often breed resentment and a tendency toward deception. We want to give children the tools they need in order to be able to take themselves in hand--to teach them self-discipline. We do this through the three educational tools that Mason says are available to us: creating an atmosphere of openness, broad-mindedness, curiosity, and wonder, cultivating the discipline of habits of thought and behavior that will take much of the effort out of self-regulation, and showing them how to live with intention so that each action they take brings them closer to God and closer to the person they were created to be. When we do these things, education becomes about supporting the child in the development of deep, meaningful relationships with God, people, places, ideas, and things--about acquainting him with the things that were here before him and that will, with good stewardship, be here after him.
Reflection
Respond to the following in the comments or in your journal:
1) How has your understanding of the nature of children changed since encountering Mason's idea of children as persons?
2) What implications does this idea have on educating your students?
3) What are you wondering?
In Mason's Own Words
Let's look at what Mason said about the child's personhood and then narrate together.
Read Philosophy of Education ch.2 in its original text and/or in modern English.
Respond to the following in the comments or in your journal:
1) Tell what you are thinking about after reading.
2) What implications does the nature of the child as a person have on our curriculum choices?
In Mason's Own Words
In this module, we we wrestle with the ideas of good and evil in our children.
Read Philosophy of Education ch.3 in its original text and/or in modern English.
Respond to the following in the comments or in your journal:
1) Explain Mason's idea of good and evil in children in your own words.
2) What are the implications for the idea that we are not free to think as we like?
3) What are you wondering?
In Mason's Own Words
In shifting to the Mason paradigm, parents, teachers, and school leaders must rethink the idea of authority.
Read Philosophy of Education ch.4 in its original text and/or in modern English.
Respond to the following in the comments or in your journal:
1) What disciplinary practices are you thinking about after reading? Which ones are supported by the reading? Which ones are not?
2) How do you feel about this shift in the idea of authority?
3) What are you wondering?
In Mason's Own Words
Now we will look at some ways that adults manipulate children's behavior so that we can be sure to avoid doing so.
Read Philosophy of Education ch.5 in its original text and/or in modern English.
Respond to the following in the comments or in your journal:
1) What surprised or challenged you in this chapter?
2) List some of the ways Mason says adults overstep with children.
3) What are you wondering?
In Mason's Own Words
Read what Mason says about discipline.
Read Parents and Children ch.16 in its original text and/or in modern English.
Respond to the following in the comments or in your journal:
1) What are you thinking about after reading this chapter?
2) How might you better align your discipline practices with Mason's philosophy?
Further Reading
Much research has been done that supports Mason's ideas about authority and discipline. Here are a few voices that are echoing her today:
Unconditional Parenting by Alfie Kohn
Punished By Rewards by Alfie Kohn
Beyond Discipline by Alfie Kohn
Teasing, Tattling, Defiance, and More by Margaret Berry Wilson
