Education is Sacred

In the Christian faith tradition, we hold that children, as all human beings, are created in the imago Dei, the image of God—a divine spark from the Source of Light. Desert father Abba Joseph said, “If you would, you could become all flame.” In other words, we have the potential to be transformed from a divine spark into the full reflection of God or what blessed Thomas Merton calls our ‘true self’. As humans we are created and enabled to walk this path of transformation due to our unique ability to embody the highest expressions of moral, spiritual, and intellectual life.

The path of Christ is the archetypal journey in which we find a model to embark on this road of becoming fully human and fully divine. From his miraculous birth to his ascension, the life of Jesus shows the way of transformation. As parents and educators invested in the formation of children we are particularly interested in the training and preparation Jesus received as a boy in the years before his ministry. Just what kind of unique teaching and experience developed this child into becoming the full revelation of God?

During Jesus’ formative years in Egypt and Nazareth, Scripture tells us, “when he was twelve years old…they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.” Here we find Jesus on the brink of adulthood having already gained a depth of knowledge that even the most learned Jewish men of his day were amazed. While little detail is revealed in Scripture, it is obvious Jesus received spiritual and intellectual training during the first twelve years of his life. His time in Egypt and Nazareth laid the foundation for who he would become.

Looking to this model, the formation of children is that which not only leads to one’s unique outward vocation, but more importantly, that which leads to the transformation into the fullnesss of the imago Dei. With this as the aim, education, in all its expressions, is a sacred endeavor. A sacred education is concerned with far more than simply intellectual knowledge, rather it centers on guiding children toward a deep experiential knowledge of God. In other words, a sacred education develops the heart, soul, and mind toward divine truth, wisdom, beauty and compassion all of which are virtues of a transformed life.

But how do we achieve this goal? What educational approach best fulfills this purpose? Where, in history, do we find a model for a sacred education? We find an answer in a 19th century educator whose philosophy continues to shape students around the world.

Charlotte Mason was a revolutionary educator, lecturer, and writer who gifted the world with what can be considered a divinely inspired approach to education. Her philosophy is rooted in the pursuit of Truth, Beauty, Wisdom, and Compassion. Her life’s work dismantled the very notion of secular education. “We hold that all education is divine, that every good gift of knowledge and insight comes from above,” Mason wrote in her six volume work, The Original Home Schooling Series. It is her model of sacred education to which we look—a model that continues to impact schools across the world.

To begin, Miss Mason understood children to be created in the imago Dei. In fact, her first principle of educational philosophy states, “Children are born persons.” She explains that children come into this world complete with all their potentiality within their possession and among this their natural, God-given desire for knowing, more specifically, knowing God. From this we can conclude that a Mason education supports the idea that children come into this world created for the quest of being formed into the likeness of Christ.

Secondly, Miss Mason believed that the true educator is the Divine: “God, the Holy Spirit, is the supreme Educator of mankind.” She viewed this as the great recognition—that true knowledge comes from the Holy Spirit who is one’s continual helper in discerning divine truth. And so, she viewed the duty and high calling of parents and educators to be in divine co-operation with the Holy Spirit in the direction, teaching, and training of the child. Dr. Jack Beckman agrees when he states, “When we are led by the Spirit we come to an understanding of the spiritual nature of children: beings capable of reflecting such divine attributes as stewarding the created order, being relational, rational, creative, moral, and expressing mercy and love.”

Additionally, Miss Mason put forth that educators should foster an atmosphere where this ‘great recognition’ of the Holy Spirit as supreme educator is realized by the children themselves: “We allow no separation to grow up between the intellectual and spiritual life of children, but teach them that the Divine Spirit has constant access to their spirits, and is their Continual Helper in all the interests, duties and joys of life.” With this realization the unfoldment of transformation begins and aspects of the imago Dei are reflected in the child. Dr. Beckman writes,“The child is not passive in his education; he experiences, understands, and acts upon that understanding in ways that show the image of God in him—creating, exploring, making choices, building relationships.”  

Finally, Charlotte Mason believed that the purpose of education is to know God. She wholeheartedly states, “The culmination of all education is that personal knowledge of and intimacy with God in which our being finds its fullest perfection.” In her view, to help gain this knowledge a child must experience the best of literature, science, mathematics, art, music, the natural world, as well as many other beautiful things. By ‘experience’ she meant that true knowing is birthed from cultivating relationships. Thus we see that her methods were developed to foster the building of deep, meaningful relationships as one might have with a friend or loved one. “Education is the Science of Relations” became the guiding force in building her broad and varied curriculum full of opportunities for children to learn and cultivate relationships with many things. She believed that this approach would eventually lead children to the realization that all knowledge gained is a unified knowledge of God. But, as has been mentioned before, this is not just an intellectual knowledge of God, but an intimate and personal knowing that transcends the intellect.

Just as a flower gently comes into bloom, so too is the slow unfoldment of coming into our ‘true self’. But this does not come by itself. The soil must be prepared and tended for such growth to occur. And here is where education plays a vital role. These formative years provide the great opportunity for parents and educators to cultivate rich soil from which children can bloom into the fullness of the imago Dei. Indeed, let us give an education that is sacred—one which leads us toward unity with God where we find our ‘fullest perfection’.

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