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 …

Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff On November 23, 1897, the Rev. Herbert Spenser Swithinbank (1853–1937) gave an address to the Dulwich Branch of the PNEU. His text was Luke 2:43 from the English Revised Version: “the boy Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem.” By contrast, the King James Version reads, “the child Jesus tarried behind in …

Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff Readers of Charlotte Mason’s Home Education know the name Arthur Burrell from the chapter on recitation: “On this subject,” writes Charlotte Mason, “I cannot do better than refer the reader to Mr Arthur Burrell’s [book] Recitation.”[1] It is hard to imagine a stronger endorsement of Burrell’s1891 Recitation: A Handbook for …

Editor’s Note by Richele Baburina Little could Charlotte Mason imagine that one day the Annual Conference of the PNEU would be held at the House of Parliament. There, surrounded by portraits of England’s kings and queens, William Dyce’s oils of King Arthur and his court, along with mosaics, friezes, and sculptures depicting important moments in …

Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff Charlotte Mason’s most obvious link to John Ruskin is found in her lengthy quotation from Mornings in Florence in Parents and Children. Less obvious is the link from Ruskin to the practice of picture study in the House of Education, the Parents’ Union School, and homeschools today. This fascinating piece …

Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff Mary Gillies began her studies at Charlotte Mason’s House of Education in 1914. Six years later she joined the staff of the Burgess Hill PNEU School, serving as assistant mistress.[1] Burgess Hill had been founded in 1906 by Beatrice Goode and was notable for teaching girls through all six forms, …

Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff Madeline C. M. Lambert (1892–1965) arrived at the House of Education in 1912 where she learned the art of living and teaching from Charlotte Mason herself. Miss Lambert then cared for her “widowed father until she was free to teach.” Then in 1919, she was invited to help Laura Faunce …

Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff As Charlotte Mason’s ideas become more and more popular in homeschools and other kinds of schools, an increasingly common question is whether her philosophy can be applied within the church context, such as in Sunday school. At Charlotte Mason Poetry, we have shared two accounts from people who have introduced …