CMP Review 2023-10-10

October 10, 2023

In 1931, the readers of the prestigious Times Educational Supplement wanted some answers. This “Charlotte Mason method” they had all heard about: was it really only for young children? And secondly, these “Charlotte Mason educators”: did they really detest public examinations?

Someone needed to settle these questions once and for all on the national stage. Rev. H. Costley-White answered the call. He was Chairman of the PNEU, co-author of the Old Testament History volumes, and colleague of the late Miss Mason. His reply set the record straight for the readers of The Times.

His important letter was also published in The Parents’ Review, along with additional notes by Elsie Kitching. Their answers to these questions were clear and emphatic, but interestingly enough, they had been foreshadowed by the words of Miss Mason herself.

Just four years before her death, in a rare communiqué published in 1919, Charlotte Mason shared her perspective on upper forms, school certificates, and university matriculation. Her words set the stage for the later declarations and explanations of Costley-White and Kitching.

Nearly one hundred years later, educators in America (and around the world) are once again asking the same questions. “Is the Charlotte Mason method only for children?” And “What do young adults need to prepare themselves for college and career?” Before we answer these questions ourselves, let’s sit back and hear what Costley-White, Kitching, and Mason herself had to say. Find it all here.

@artmiddlekauff