Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff Essex Cholmondeley (1892–1985) is known to many as the first biographer of Charlotte Mason. In fact, she spent most of her adult life advancing Charlotte Mason’s ideas. Cholmondeley studied under Charlotte Mason at the House of Education and received her certificate in 1919. On February 15, 1923, she gave a …

Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff In 1902, George F. Husband left Stockton-on-Tees to work for the school system of neighboring Middlesbrough. There he eventually found himself headmaster of an elementary school. But it was no ordinary elementary school. It was a school “where the children came from among the poorest and most disreputable part of slumland, familiarized with …

Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff At the Living Education Retreat this past summer, I introduced what I call the Fundamental Law of Scheduling: scope = pace × time Scope is how much content is covered. For example, how many chapters are in your algebra book. Pace is how fast the material is presented. For example, …

Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff In 1931, House of Education graduate Geraldine Downton wrote, “Special time is allowed for Nature Books on the time tables of all forms in the P.U.S.”[1] This remark puzzled me for several years, since I had never seen a PNEU time table that scheduled time for nature notebooks. From time …

Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff “I am quite sure that those who have gathered here this evening have come here full of anticipation because of the treat which is in store for us when we have the privilege of listening to Miss Evelyn Underhill,” announced Bishop Boyd Carpenter in 1916.[1] It was the first week …

Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff In the summer of 1966, the name of The Parents’ Review was changed to The PNEU Journal. Joan Molyneux was editor at that time, and though the name of the periodical had changed, its purpose and philosophy had not. Parents and teachers were still filling its pages with articles that …

Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff The 21st Annual Conference of the PNEU featured an impressive lineup of speakers. Henrietta Franklin, Honorary Secretary of the PNEU, gave a keynote address in which she insisted that “children must not be deprived of their simplicity of mind and the liberty that comes from wise authority.”[1] A doctor spoke …

Charlotte Mason put a heavy emphasis on meditation for the parent and the child. This talk explores what she meant by meditation and looks deeply at this neglected Christian practice. There is a not-surprising correlation between how we read Scripture and our school books! And the phrase, “read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest” might come …

Editor’s Note, by Nancy Kelly Some years ago, while meandering through the hushed archives of the Armitt Museum where so many of Charlotte Mason’s treasures are kept, I happened upon a little leaflet tucked into a plain box. Its title caught my eye immediately: Our Three-Fold Cord. I paused, heart stirred, and snapped a few quick …

Editor’s Note, by Art Middlekauff The PNEU Notes section at the back of the March 1924 Parents’ Review contained a fascinating account of a conference on the topic of “A Liberal Education for All.” Although we only have a synopsis of the messages delivered, even these short paragraphs tell us much about what is meant …