The CMP Review — Week of August 12

August 12, 2024

“…We have recommenced our night school and have a few fresh pupils. I have as usual been making wonderful resolutions as to what I shall do when we begin school again. I mean to be so firm, so kind, so loving, so altogether admirable; I really feel half inclined to fall down at the feet of what I mean to be and say to it: ‘Stand there and be my admiration and my praise.’ Alas, I may do so, but what I mean to be is the only part of myself that I shall ever be able to admire.”

— Charlotte Mason (The Story of Charlotte Mason, p. 7)

@tessakeath

August 13, 2024

“Education is the Science of Relations.” What a mysterious phrase.

We know what the individual words mean: education, science, relations. But what do they mean when they are all strung together? And what insight could this phrase possibly bring to lighten the load of the homeschool parent facing duties and lessons every single day?

In the early 1970s, Joan Molyneux became concerned that phrases like “Education is the Science of Relations” when used “slogan-fashion” were in danger of being misunderstood by modern audiences. She sought to explain these phrases and ideas in modern language to make Mason’s timeless ideas accessible to a new generation.

Her efforts culminated in a monumental series on “The Educational Philosophy of Charlotte Mason” published in six parts in 1971. Her second installment explored the question of curriculum — and in the process demystified the phrase “Education is the Science of Relations.”

Her explanation for modern audiences drew on illustrations new and old. She did not hesitate to call attention to a famous fresco in Florence — known to express an “educational creed.” But she also drew from the work of a more recent mind. Sadly, Charlotte Mason could never read the writings of C. S. Lewis. But Joan Molyneux could. And her arrangement of treasures new and old is breathtaking. Read or hear Part 2 here.

@artmiddlekauff

August 14, 2024

“Children should be encouraged to watch, patiently and quietly, until they learn something of the habits and history of bee, ant, wasp, spider, hairy caterpillar, dragon-fly, and whatever of larger growth comes in their way.”

Home Education, p. 57

@rbaburina

August 15, 2024

“I am, I ought, I can, I will.”

It’s right there on page 330 of Home Education.

“I am, I can, I ought, I will.”

It’s right there on page 29 of Towards a Philosophy of Education.

Something happened to the order of the verbs when a sentence from Home Education became the motto of the Parents’ Union School. But who changed it, and why?

In 1957, a graduate of the House of Education brought this question to the rest of the alumnae. Another graduate stepped up to answer. Not just any graduate, but the one who would become Charlotte Mason’s biographer.

We’ve been able to locate the article and transcribe it for you. Follow this link to read the 1957 question. And then keep reading to find Essex Cholmondeley’s answer.

@artmiddlekauff

August 16, 2024

What can I say? Serafina is an old soul!

If you enjoy typing, too, you might want to join the Charlotte Mason Poetry Transcription Team!

We are always looking for willing hands to help transcribe the joys and wonders that are just waiting to be shared from the Parents’ Review and other Charlotte Mason resources. You’d be joining a wonderful group of volunteers from around the globe.

We do require you to use a computer, however. Our transcription process just won’t work with a typewriter! 🙃 👩🏻‍💻 👩🏼‍💻

Send us an email and we’d be glad to chat more about it!

@antonella.f.greco

August 17, 2024

Charlotte Mason cats: a special breed known for their love of books, poetry, nature journals, and rearranging library bookshelves.

Do you have a Charlotte Mason cat?

@rbaburina

When John Wesley wanted to describe the state of Adam before the Fall, his meditation led him to one word: love. “Love filled the whole expansion of [man’s] soul; it possessed him without a rival. Every movement of his heart was love.”

We were created to love. So when Jesus asked a lawyer, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” His answer was similar: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”

But Adam fell. And so, explained Wesley, “Love itself, that ray of the Godhead, that balm of life, now became a torment.”

The lawyer knew that love was the ray of the Godhead. But he was fallen. And so to justify himself, he asked, “And who is my neighbor?”

Read or listen to Charlotte Mason’s poem as she explores the prologue to one of the greatest parables ever told. Find it here.

@artmiddlekauff