# A Child — Some Thoughts Concerning Education character guide

> A Child in Some Thoughts Concerning Education by John Locke.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** a child, its, A child, it

**First appearance:** 0001-some-thoughts-concerning-education

## Snapshot

The anonymous pupil Locke summons to test his methods — taught minerals, plants, geography, and anatomy, but never clogged with too much at once.

## Who they are

This child stands in for every young learner whose curiosity might be fed with useful knowledge of the sensible world rather than stuffed with grammatical scraps. Locke warns that whatever you teach, you must not make anything his business but virtue, nor reprove him for anything but vice. The child matters because he embodies the treatise's central wager: that learning can be made easy and pleasant, and that the alternative is a mind disgusted before it has begun.

## Relationships

### [Children](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/characters/children)

_social_

A child is part of the larger group of children, sharing similar experiences and learning environment.

### [People Strangers to Business](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/characters/people_strangers_to_business)

_social_

A child is contrasted with inexperienced adults to emphasize the importance of practical knowledge.

### [The Great Masters](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/characters/the_great_masters)

_professional_

A child is subject to the instruction and authority of the great masters in educational settings.

### [His Son](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/characters/his_son)

_family_

A child is referenced as someone's son, emphasizing the parental relationship and responsibility.

### [Your Son](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/characters/your_son)

_family_

A child is compared or contrasted with your son to illustrate general principles of child-rearing.

### [Children](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/characters/children)

_social_

A child is part of the larger group of children, sharing similar experiences and learning environment.

### [People Strangers to Business](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/characters/people_strangers_to_business)

_social_

A child is contrasted with inexperienced adults to emphasize the importance of practical knowledge.

### [The Great Masters](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/characters/the_great_masters)

_professional_

A child is subject to the instruction and authority of the great masters in educational settings.

### [The Great Masters](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/characters/the_great_masters)

_professional_

A child is subject to the instruction and authority of the great masters in educational settings.

### [Children](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/characters/children)

_social_

A child is part of the larger group of children, sharing similar experiences and learning environment.

### [His Son](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/characters/his_son)

_family_

A child is referenced as someone's son, emphasizing the parental relationship and responsibility.

### [Your Son](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/characters/your_son)

_family_

A child is compared or contrasted with your son to illustrate general principles of child-rearing.

## In the story

### [Some Thoughts Concerning Education](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/chapters/some-thoughts-concerning-education)

Locke describes how a child's will should be shaped early through steady parental authority, and warns against breaking a child's spirit through excessive punishment.

### [When Grammar Should Be Taught?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/chapters/when-grammar-should-be-taught)

A child is mentioned as being taught virtue by practice and habit, and as being capable of telling stories and writing English.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/characters/a_child
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/characters