“educated.” Perhaps today the necessity to use manners is seen as infringing on the “freedom to express oneself” without constraint. Are manners the hollow tactfulness some use on the selling floor - a kind of manipulating flattery? No, our children can have worthier reasons for exhibiting manners. Good manners can be another term for duty, for righteousness, for morality. True politeness simply consists in treating others just as you like to be treated yourself. This polite treatment comes from direct teaching, but also results from a caring home atmosphere where a child will acquire a servant’s heart like that of our Savior’s.
Home educators know Karen Andreola by her groundbreaking book A Charlotte Mason Companion. Karen taught her three children through high school--studying with them all the many wonderful things her own education was missing. The entire Andreola family writes product reviews for Rainbow Resource Center. Knitting mittens and sweaters and cross-stitching historic samplers are activities enjoyed in Karen’s leisure. For encouraging ideas, visit her blog: www.momentswithmotherculture.blogspot.com. Article used with permission. All rights reserved by author. Originally appeared in The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, the family education magazine. Read the magazine free at www.TOSMagazine.com or read it on the go and download the free apps at www.TOSApps.com to read the magazine on your mobile devices.