In the summer of 2010, I had the privilege of meeting Jason Fletcher, who is the director of a Charlotte Mason school in Cambridge, England. Jason is personally connected to the Charlotte Mason story in that his wife Fiona is the daughter of Susan Schaeffer Macaulay, author of For the Children’s Sake. I remember very …
Author’s note: I wrote this article on July 3, 2008 in response to an article I read by a classical educator who wrote, “After studying Charlotte Mason’s six volumes, a Christian should conclude that her educational philosophy is not for the children’s sake.” Recently someone shared with me an article by Aimee Natal entitled, “Charlotte Mason: …
“And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:3, RSV2CE) In Jesus’ High Priestly prayer, He reveals for all time the true nature of life. It is to know God, in all his Triune glory. Centuries later, Thomas Aquinas would comment on …
Yesterday I had the privilege of conducting a “conversation” at the l’HaRMaS Charlotte Mason gathering in Canada. My topic was “Charlotte Mason’s Tabernacle.” When describing the human person, Charlotte Mason employed an analogy to the Old Testament “tabernacle in the wilderness.” In my conversation, we explored how this analogy helps us better understand certain themes …
El artículo está disponible en español. I remember very clearly the first day I grasped the basic concept of what Charlotte Mason refers to as “the Great Recognition required of parents.” It was about ten years ago, and I was walking along a path at the Broad River Greenway in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. In …
In 1914, Mason’s close associate Agnes Drury wrote, “[Mason] has herself told us that she has drawn her philosophy from the Gospels, where we may study and note ‘the development of that consummate philosophy which meets every occasion of our lives, all demands of the intellect, every uneasiness of the soul.’” This testimony from a member …
Charlotte Mason’s second principle is that “[children] are not born either good or bad, but with possibilities for good and for evil” (VI: p. xxix). Since this is a statement by a Christian writer about good and evil, we must assume the author is making a theological statement. In fact, Mason’s exposition of her second …
Over the years perhaps the most frequently asked question by conservative Christians about Charlotte Mason is, “Did Charlotte Mason reject the doctrine of original sin?” Many essays, articles, and chapters have been written about this question. Most of these compositions begin with an attempt to interpret Mason’s second principle. This article takes a different starting point. By …
Several months ago I talked to the Deacon of my Anglican church about the theology of Charlotte Mason. I told him that Charlotte Mason said that children “are not born either good or bad, but with possibilities for good and for evil.” He instantly replied that Mason was wrong and that her statement was untrue. …