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Mason is discouraged that despite teaching for decades, she has found no complete philosophy or theory of education. So she is going to try her hand creating one based on her experience. She calls this potential philosophy, "the law".
The law should apply to a person's education from cradle to grave except that mature people should be self-directed.
Mason begins with this statement about the divine nature of education:
the knowledge of God is the principal knowledge, and the chief end of education vol 1 pg 2
Mason's first central idea is about personhood:
the child is a person with all the possibilities and powers included in personality vol 1 pg 4
Mason's 18 initial principles are listed: vol 1 pg 5
Mason respects mothers as innately able to understand and teach their children. But still she feels there is value in attempting to frame a theory of education that will apply to all children. She does not think this will just come magically to anyone because:
we do not often receive as a gift that which we have the means of getting by our own efforts vol 1 pg 10
Goal of Ages 6-9:
- lay basis of liberal education
- gain habit of reading for instruction
- learn through varied modalities but in a consecutive way
- (not typical lectures)
Purpose of this volume:
- show how habit impacts education
- why specific habits are assets
- how to help form them
Mason ends by saying the purpose of the volume is to describe education from ages 0-9.
Bookmark vol 1 pg 1