Formation of Character: Final post (and a surprise)

Karen Glass and I have come to the end of our posts on Charlotte Mason’s fifth volume, Formation of Character. You can read Karen’s closing thoughts on her blog.

I was glad to have this opportunity to explore the book again. In spite of its long chapters and sometimes esoteric subject matter, it’s an unexpectedly practical book that seems to ask one question: what sort of life are you shaping? If you’re a parent, how can you guide your child’s growth without stepping over the limits? If you’re looking at your own life, how do you want to be remembered? Nobody is without hope for change: as Charlotte Mason said, we’re all born with possibilities. And as the late poet Mary Oliver asked,

Tell me, what else should I have done?

Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

from Mary Oliver, “The Summer Day”

Karen and I have a surprise to wind things up. We took some time last week for an out-loud, inter-continental chat about Volume 5, and you are welcome to listen in.