Editor’s Note, by Dawn Tull In 1949 Henrietta Franklin spoke on the history of the PNEU during the Diamond Jubilee celebration. She reflected on the various lectures heard over the years. Moreover, it was not only the great and learned ones of the time who gave lectures, ‘simple mothers’ if one may call them so …
What is scaffolding? Does it mean one thing in some educational circles and something else in Charlotte Mason educational circles? Is there anything wrong with scaffolding “the Charlotte Mason way”? Does the concept affect how we approach lessons in a living education? Join me as I weigh in on the scaffolding debate in a detailed discussion with Ashley Olander. …
Editor’s Note: In 1924, H.W. Household visited several PNEU schools and found that narration was not being conducted the Charlotte Mason way. To correct this, he wrote a memorandum to the staff of each school for them to read and discuss. His memorandum offered several clarifications on how narration lessons should be done. But more than …
From time to time, people ask, “What happened to the PNEU?” There is usually more than just idle curiosity behind the question. The asker is often wondering, “If the Charlotte Mason method is so great, why didn’t the PNEU just keep growing and growing?” Or some wonder if there is an active PNEU somewhere in the …
Editor’s Note: In July of 1931, educators from around the world converged on Belford, England to discuss the topic of “Education in a Changing Empire.” Representatives from Canada, South Africa, and Australia all expected to hear about educational problems due to differences of nationality and climate. One speaker, however, came with a different agenda. He was …
Editor’s Note: In 1887, the year after the publication of Home Education, Charlotte Mason was invited to lecture at a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. According to Elsie Kitching, Mason’s topic was “Home Education in its bearing on Technical Education.” Kitching found the summary of the lecture in the British Association …
Editor’s Note: In 1913, Agnes Drury was in charge of the scientific work at the House of Education, and Alfred Thornley was the inspector of nature notebooks. Drury gave a lecture to the students of the House of Education on the topic of nature study, and it was published in the March issue of The Parents’ Review. This early predecessor …
Editor’s Note: Mary Hardcastle (1901-1964) spent her entire life under the umbrella of the PNEU. As a child, she attended a PNEU class taught by R.A. Pennethorne, and then at age 17 she entered the House of Education. She graduated in 1921, and by 1925 she was serving as the Secretary of the school. She …
“Teaching is not a technique exercised by the skilled on behalf of the unskilled. It is a sharing of the effort to know, using all that is best in the world of books, of music, of pictures, all that can be observed and cherished out of doors, all that hand and eye can make; all …