It is, of course, not just one of Charlotte Mason’s educational principles that education is the “science of relations,” but it is also true that those relationships are part of our everyday lives, interwoven into the things we do, and say, and read, and ponder. Sometimes we stumble across a relation that is truly delightful, and that happened for me not long ago, when someone shared Joy Shannon’s blog post about the science of relations.
I wrote about the same topic not long ago, and it was a delight find Joy’s thoughts resonating with mine. I wrote:
What is the science of relations? This principle is similar to Charlotte Mason’s first principle, “Children are born persons,” in that there are are layers of meaning and multiple applications. It’s a principle, not a rule, and it has broad implications, which grow more complex as the children themselves grow.
And Joy said:
Like many truly wonderful ideas, I have come to believe that the Science of Relations is incredibly simple while also infinitely complex and far-reaching.
The principle “education is the science of relations” is what lies at the heart of what I call “synthetic thinking” in Consider This. This relational understanding of knowledge is what motivates us to reach out, in sympathy and love, to those around us. It’s closely tied to what we call “virtue”—taking action upon our knowledge.
When we truly grasp that all knowledge is connected, comprising one great, wholeness of understanding that is forever beyond our complete comprehension, and remember that we may know, but we do not yet know all, we will retain that humility which is essential to further learning. It is only this synthetic, relational thinking that will motivate us to act and to make virtue of our knowledge. (From Consider This, ch. 12)
Only within the past few months have I seen that Charlotte Mason explicitly links this principle to wisdom as well, and Joy has perceived this as well.
I get a glimpse of how the seemingly confined principle number twelve actually intertwines among the other aspects of Charlotte Mason’s philosophy. I begin to see how far-reaching and influential these relationships can be, how these relations weave together, and how they change the way we fit into the larger world. They leave their mark upon us, impacting and touching even the farthest corners of our lives, while also tinting the lives of those around us.
That’s all I have to say, but I hope you’ll read her post for yourself. And then I hope you’ll keep your eyes and your mind open for the relations that are waiting for you.