A Letter of Sir Thomas More to His Children's Tutor

Today (well, when I started this post it was 'today,' now it is 'yesterday') is the Feast Day for Sir Thomas More in the Roman Catholic church. More was a man of high integrity. In 1518 he wrote this letter and I had printed it up a while back to post on my fridge. Because of the day and because it was time to clean off the fridge, I decided to post it. It impresses me for several reasons.

Firstly, it shows that Sir Thomas More had his daughters educated in a time when girls were not. More saw to it that all of his children and his wife were educated in his home 'Academy.' His wisdom and honor go up in my estimation because of this. :-)

Secondly, he doesn't say that virtue comes *through* learning, but must be *joined* to it. This is very Charlotte Mason (and not very Classical). He rightly points out that learning not joined with virtue is "nothing else than splendid and notorious infamy."

Also, according to some other reading I did, More, like Charlotte Mason, and unlike the Latin-centered curriculum proponents, believed in a wide and varied curriculum for his 'Academy.'

He was devoted to his children. In a separate letter to his daughter, he wrote, "I assure you that rather than allow my children to grow up ignorant and idle I would sacrifice all and bid farewell to business in order to attend them..."

Seven Reasons Why a Charlotte Mason Education is Superior to Classical

1. Her views on the child’s mind -- actually on the whole child 
2. Her views on the sacredness of personality
3. Her views on authority and habits
4. Her views on curriculum 
5. Her views on reason and logic, and the will 
6. Her views on the motives for learning 
7. Her views on the role of the teacher