The Way of the Will Chart

"He...measures Esau with a considering eye, finds him more attractive than Jacob who yet wins higher approval; perceives that Esau is wilful but that Jacob has a strong will, and through this and many other examples, recognises that a strong will is not synonymous with 'being good,' nor with a determination to have your own way." Vol. 6, p. 132

Last Tuesday at our PMEU meeting, a group of about twenty adults met to discuss our reading of Charlotte Mason's Towards a Philosophy of Education, Chapter 8, "The Way of the Will".  For those of you who are interested in really learning more about her philosophy, I cannot tell you how beneficial these meetings can be!  I heard many times that evening, "Now I get it - it's so helpful to work through this with others."  I agree, and another way I work through her works is by writing about our discussions here on the blog.

The role of the parent and teacher in this discussion of the will was what most impressed me.  We are to have a pro-active role in educating and guiding our children in the understanding of this way of the will. This chapter is a parenting manual, a teaching manual and a discipleship manual all in one. Here are some key points:

"the part of the teacher is to afford to each child a full reservoir of the right thought of the world to draw from." (p. 130)

"The ordering of the will is not an affair of sudden resolve; it is the outcome of a slow and ordered education in which precept and example flow in from the lives and thoughts of other men, men of antiquity and men of the hour, as unconsciously and spontaneously as the air we breathe." (p. 137)

 "The simple rectified will, what our Lord calls 'the single eye,' would appear to be the one thing needful for straight living and serviceableness." (p. 133)

 " Its function is to choose, to decide..." (p. 128)

  "Choose ye this day," is the command that comes to each of us in every affair and on every day of our lives, and the business of the will is to choose." (p. 133)

" 'Choose ye this day,' applies to the thoughts which we allow ourselves to receive." (p. 137)

Of course, everyone wants something practical, something to apply right away, something to use. My mind kept going back to this quote by Mason, "He learns to distribute the characters he comes across in his reading on either side of a line, those who are wilful and those who are governed by will; and this line by no means separates between the bad and the good."  I remembered that Laurie Bestvater referred to such a chart in one of her CLUSA lectures, "Paper Trails, CM's Ways with Student Work".  I contacted her and she graciously agreed to share it with you.  So, here it is!  Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.  A few notes on the chart:

-we don't know whether Mason used a literal chart or not
-used for history or literature readings
-student could work out for himself what being willful and willing might look like
-leads to awareness and discussions about the will
-for further understanding, please read entire chapter - "The Way of the Will"

Way of the Will Chart LB 2009