Charlotte Mason

I was just reading up on the Charlotte Mason method of education and came across this little tidbit:

"Education should deal with character issues, not just acquiring a certain amount of knowledge."

I believe this to be a true statement.  While I'm not keen on the religious aspect infused into the Charlotte Mason method, I do appreciate the main points I've been reading about on it:

"Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life"

Atmosphere in this case is the environment, both immediate and macroscopically.  This can mean the home environment, the school environment, the world at large, etc.  It can include the emotional overtones of the student's surroundings or the state of cleanliness or cluttered-ness thereof, for example.

The Discipline aspect seems to tie back into what a lot of people now refer to as Self-Regulation or Executive Function.  It all boils down to instilling an internal discipline in the student.  The student learns good habits, self-motivation, self-restraint, and logical decision-making skills.

The Life part is a bit harder to put to words.  The examples I've read describe, for example, a liveliness of character.  The books the student experiences in the learning process are not dry and dull but written by someone who has an interest and a passion for the subject of study.  The concepts are "living ideas" and, moreover, are considered in the Charlotte Mason method to be only 1/3 of the scope of education.

The information for this was culled primarily from this site:  http://simplycharlottemason.com/