CMP Review 2026-03-05

March 5, 2026

Many times I have read chapter 11 of Parents and Children in which Charlotte Mason engages at length with Felix Adler’s The Moral Instruction of Children. Many times I have read Mason’s concluding remark: “I commend the work to the perusal of parents.” But only recently have I taken up her advice.

It was with mixed feelings that I began Adler’s book. Mason clearly stated her main caveat about it, and I thought that might be a showstopper for me. I have been pleasantly surprised. I am finding the book to be thought-provoking and engaging. A page-turner, in fact.

One paragraph particularly struck me: “The directness with which [pupils between twelve and fifteen years of age] pronounce their verdict on fine questions of right and wrong often has in it something almost startling to older persons, whose contact with the world has reconciled them to a somewhat less exacting standard.”

I know what Mr. Adler is talking about. Like it or not, the world has slowly reconciled me to a less exacting standard. The world has not yet had time to do the same to my children. That is why I find it so valuable when they rebuke me, correct me from time to time, and point out my hypocrisies.

Some might find such remarks from their young-adult children to be disrespectful. Some might find it undermines their authority. I don’t see it that way at all. The church at Ephesus needed someone to tell them, “You have forsaken your first love.” The task was given to an angel. Angels bring that message to me too. I call those angels my children.

@artmiddlekauff