Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff In the second year of The Parents’ Review, the first issue (March 1891) included an article by Mrs. James Ward entitled “GRIT.”[1] The title was in all capital letters and enclosed in quotation marks. I like to think of the article as a detailed meditation on Charlotte Mason’s statement that …
Today marks a major milestone for the Charlotte Mason Poetry podcast: our 500th episode! For this special episode we gathered together several members of our core and volunteer teams to have a roundtable discussion about the podcast. How did it start? How did these key volunteers get involved? What were some major events along the …
Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff In June of 1915, the PNEU held its 19th annual conference. This conference promised an interesting feature: The morning of June 15th will be devoted to classes of children who live in or near London and who are members of the Parents’ Union School. These classes will be taught by …
Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff W. H. D. Rouse (1863–1950) was a classical scholar and educational reformer whose fascinating story is told in The Living Word by Christopher Stray. Rouse is best-known today as a pioneer of the “direct method” of teaching Latin and Greek. His approach emphasized oral and conversational use of classical languages …
G. K. Chesterton said: Fairy tales do not give the child his first idea of bogey. What fairy tales give the child is his first clear idea of the possible defeat of bogey. The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the fairy tale provides for him is a …
Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff In 2024, a leading educationist posited an ideological link between Charlotte Mason and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. “Her ideas about children,” he said, “are … from Émile, by Rousseau, but she probably never read it.”[1] Now, Mason’s 1910 article “Two Educational Ideals” proves beyond doubt that Mason not only read but carefully …
Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff Laura Faunce was a House of Education graduate who spoke on the topic of citizenship at the 17th annual PNEU Conference in 1913. Eight years later, at the 9th annual Conference of Educational Associations in London, she was called on to revisit the topic, this time to an audience that …
Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff In the Western tradition, August 24 is the feast day of St. Bartholomew. In 1924, that date fell on a Sunday. The Rev. Francis Lewis evidently chose this as the theme for his sermon that day, presumably preached at St. Mary’s Church in Ambleside. At that time Elsie Kitching had …
Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff The 23rd annual conference of the PNEU was held in London in June of 1921. The report from the conference stated: Although Miss Mason was so far away at the moment, she was ever with them in spirit, her activities unceasing, and her interest as keen as ever, and thousands …