Status Updates From Charlotte Mason's Parents a...

Chapter 14: The Heroic Impulse, tells how heroic literature shapes young minds, using Beowulf as the pinnacle of English heroism. Courage, prudence, patience, and loyalty are highlighted as virtues to inspire children. By connecting youth to noble deeds and ancestral ideals, heroic tales cultivate moral character, honor, and a love for the past. Stories of valor and wisdom remain essential for shaping virtuous lives.

In Chapter 13: Faith and Duty—Man lives by Faith, Godward and Manward, Mason argues that faith is the natural posture of persons before God, dissolving the sacred–secular divide. All of life rests on trust, yet true faith is Godward, grounded in His sovereign nearness. When we see every idea and duty under Christ’s rule, communion with God becomes not mystical escape but daily dependence.

Chapter 12: Faith and Duty–Claims of Philosophy as an Instrument of Education, is making one big argument: You cannot have a sound system of education unless you first have a sound philosophy of human nature. And: Every educational approach is rooted in some philosophy—whether we notice it or not. Mason engages Alfred Fouillée who says ideas shape the world, linking science and literature through philosophy.

In Chapter 11: Faith and Duty–Parents as Teachers of Morals, Mason reviews Felix Adler’s The Moral Instruction of Children, praising his structure but arguing that morality cannot stand without divine authority. She defends the Bible as essential, warns against diluted storytelling, and urges parents to give children rich narratives, clear ethical teaching, and a foundation of “ought” rooted in God.