Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff The first annual meeting of the Melbourne, Australia branch of the PNEU was held in 1905. One of the speakers had just arrived from England, and she riveted the audience with a detailed account of the House of Education in Ambleside. Then the vice-president of the branch “said that though …

Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff Agnes Drury (1874–1958) was “brought up … on lines very similar to those advised by Charlotte Mason.” We are told this about her mother: She loved flowers and out-of-door things; she was skilful with her hands, teaching the children to bind their books and encouraging a sense of colour which …

Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff When H. W. Household first introduced the Charlotte Mason method to the schools of Gloucestershire, he began with five schools in 1917. Miss F. M. Clark was a teacher at one of those schools. She spoke briefly about her experiences at a teacher conference in 1920, and her words may …

Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff On a fateful January day in the early 1970s, two girls visited a school. Their names were Margaret and Kirsteen. Their mother recalled that it “was a small PNEU school, run in a classroom built onto the back of someone’s private home, looking into an English country garden.”[1] The mother …

Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff The June 1918 Parents’ Review shared some good news: “The generosity of members has enabled the Committee to engage Miss Wix, ex-student of the House of Education, as an additional Organising Secretary, and with her help they look forward to an even more successful year’s work.”[1] A letter from Henrietta …

Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff Today we continue our Helen Wix series. Last week we saw that Miss Wix was widely recognized for her ability to teach the Charlotte Mason method to professional teachers. This was no easy task, as Wix herself pointed out in a 1927 letter: Indeed, the training of a [university] graduate …

Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff One of the most dramatic chapters in the story of Charlotte Mason’s life is the adoption of her methods by a large number of state schools. The logistical challenge alone must have been staggering. Imagine trying to convince hundreds of teachers to teach in a new way and then finding …

Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff The “Books” section of the 1909 Parents’ Review contains a brief notice by Miss Mason of a new book: The Training of Children, by Mrs. H. C. Cradock (Bell, 2/–). Contains many useful hints, carefully arranged.[1] An earlier notice that year indicated that Mrs. Cradock’s first book, The Care of …

Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff The first time a visitor enters St. Mary’s Church in Ambleside, the first thing she notices is the beautiful and intriguing mural on the back wall. Everything about it is unusual, including its history. Gordon Ransom was a student at London’s Royal College of Art, but during World War II …

Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff The Table of Contents of the 1921 Parents’ Review lists an article entitled “To What Extent Obedience may be Considered as a Vice”[1] By Mrs. Dermod O’Brien. Mrs. O’Brien was memorialized in the 1943 Parents’ Review with these words: Once again we have to mourn the passing of a most …