Who was Charlotte Manson

Charlotte Mason

Miss Charlotte Mason, nineteenth century English educator and founder of the Parents National Education Union, was “rediscovered’ in the 1970’s by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay, daughter of Francis Schaeffer. Mrs. Macaulay first exposed twentieth century Christians to Miss Mason’s ideas through her book, For the Children’s Sake. Today Miss Mason’s philosophies and pedagogies are most commonly practiced among homeschoolers, a movement which many cite Miss Mason as having promoted in her own lifetime. In addition, a significant number of Christian classical schools such as Cornerstone are utilizing some of the ideas of this grand lady with great profit.

The particular practices of Cornerstone which most reflect the Charlotte Mason methodology are narration, copybooks, the reading of “living books,” short lessons, nature notebooks, and habit training.

Narration is the process by which students “retell” stories or lectures they have listened to in class. While younger students must narrate orally, older students may narrate in writing. Emphasizing what the student knows over what he does not know, this method has already proved to be an effective comprehension builder among young listeners.

Students write and illustrate the units they are studying in copybooks. Recent copybook exercises in our school have include the book on glaciers, icebergs, and icecaps made by third graders and the “How to Make a Pyramid” books made in fourth grade.

“Living books” are those which are well-written and engaging. They absorb the reader. The narrative and characters “come alive.” Present day educators contrast them to cold, dry textbooks. Miss Mason herself contrasted living books with frivolous or boring writing which she called “twaddle.”

Miss Mason believed that short lessons were necessary as a means of keeping a child’s attention from wandering. She believed that children do best when they know there is a definite amount of work to be completed in a definite amount of time. This was a preventative against one of Miss Mason’s dreaded bad habits, that of “dawdling.”

Mr. Ben Schwartz presents a gila monster in "Sonoran Desert from the Ground Up"

Along with regular trips outdoors, Miss Mason believed in the keeping of a Nature Notebook, where the child records accurately what he sees in nature. This tool is designed to train the powers of observation, helping the child to see fully and in detail. Some of the outstanding Nature Notebook entries at Cornerstone are printed in our “Child Spaces” each month.

The “habits of the heart” which we seek to train here at Cornerstone are attentiveness, respect, and responsibility. Miss Mason believed that while children were born naturally curious, they need adult help in developing disciplines such as these three. At Cornerstone we believe this heart training is best accomplished when home and school are working together in close communication.

Charlotte Mason taught that even elementary age children can enjoy the "banquet that is Shakespeare"