CMP Review 2024-05-21

May 21, 2024

In January we ran a series of vintage articles by Olive Norton, a homeschool mother of the 1950s and ’60s who became the headmistress of a PNEU School. She had a special connection with history because it was her school that the daughters of Susan Schaeffer Macaulay attended, and thus it was through Mrs. Norton that Susan Schaeffer Macaulay first learned about Charlotte Mason. This historic connection ultimately prompted the 1984 book For the Children’s Sake, which effectively launched the modern Charlotte Mason movement.

After that series of episodes, one of our listeners reached out to me and said that she knows modern-day Olive Norton and suggested that I interview her. This 21st-century Mrs. Norton is Melanie Walker-Malone, the founder of Red Mountain Community School in Birmingham, Alabama. So I reached out to Melanie, and she kindly offered her time for an in-depth interview about Charlotte Mason, homeschooling, and her school. Listen in as we discuss the fruitfulness of Miss Mason’s ideas and how we can share those riches with our families, our communities, and the world. Perhaps Melanie’s story may inspire you to become a next-generation Olive Norton too. Find it here.

@artmiddlekauff