Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff Last week we shared the remarkable story of Olive Norton, the homeschool mother. Her testimony as a mother-teacher was reported in the 1962 issue of The Parents’ Review, soon after her daughter had left the “home-schoolroom … at the age of sixteen and a half years.” As with many parents …
Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff In December 1962, an extraordinary article appeared in The Parents’ Review. Entitled “A P.U.S. Home-Schoolroom,” it was written by a veteran homeschool mother named Olive Norton. Mrs. Norton wrote the article at the end of her homeschooling journey; she had educated her children for more than twelve years. On this …
Twenty-two years ago I was a young father with a little boy, my first child, aged two. My father-in-law called me aside. “How are you going to educate your son?” he asked. I had no idea. I had hopes and fears for the future, but I had no vision. I wanted the best for this …
Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff Frances Blogg (1869–1938) served as the Organising Secretary of the PNEU from 1896–1901.[1] During this time she was courted by and then engaged to the celebrated writer and philosopher G. K. Chesterton. After their marriage in 1901, Frances Chesterton moved on from her formal role in the PNEU, but she …
Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff In April 1890, the third issue of a fledgling periodical entitled The Parents’ Review was delivered to subscribers. Under the standard subtitle “A Monthly Magazine of Home-Training and Culture,” this third issue included yet another heading: “Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life.”—Matthew Arnold.[1] The next and following issues …
Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff Back in March we shared a 1961 article entitled “Joy to be Shared” by a schoolteacher named Donald Beswick. He was writing at a time when the popular conception of music was undergoing rapid and radical change, and he offered a bold and compelling case for the enduring value of …
Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff “Many interesting letters from all parts of the world have been received at the Office,” stated the annual report of the PNEU in 1936. For example, “a letter of enquiry was received from Vancouver, the writer having been encouraged to write by reading of Mrs. Egerton Evans’ experiences in her …
In July 2019 I had the privilege of attending the CiRCE National Conference. The topic that year was “A Contemplation of Form,” and the event was nothing less than a celebration of absolutes in a world of relativism. The conference opened with a panel discussion designed to “set the tone for the conference,”[1] and set …
Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff Merriam-Webster defines an idyll as “a simple descriptive work in poetry or prose that deals with rustic life or pastoral scenes or suggests a mood of peace and contentment.”[1] In November 1912, Charlotte Mason observed that three educational idylls had emerged on the world scene. The first idyll was described …