CMP Review 2026-09-24

September 24, 2026

The last chapter of Formation of Character is entitled “A Modern Educator: Thomas Godolphin Rooper,” and it captures Charlotte Mason’s heartfelt appreciation of “a great Educator” who died in 1903. She mentions two books written by him, and I am currently reading the first.

(I’m reading it with a group of Idyll Challenge participants. If you are part of or a graduate of any Idyll Challenge group and would like to join this supplementary group, please reply with a comment.)

Rooper’s perspectives in the book are very similar to Mason’s, but with a difference. He was writing in the early days of the PNEU, and it has been hard for me to discern just who was influencing whom. Either way, I am finding the book interesting and thought-provoking.

For example, Rooper writes, “The difference between technical instruction and general instruction lies not in the subject, but in the method and purpose of the course of study.”

He explains that French, math, handicrafts, and even Latin, can all be taught in a utilitarian way. “As soon as a subject is taught at any school, if that subject has an almost exclusive bearing on the child’s money-earning power, and is not of general application, the school becomes a Technical School.”

It is a challenging question for any homeschooler. Is your home school a “Technical School”? The answer cannot be determined just by looking at the list of subjects in your program. The answer is determined by how the subjects are taught and learned. Is it for the utility of the future? Or knowledge for its own sake?

@artmiddlekauff