August 7, 2023
Charlotte Mason Centenary Series
A new set of monographs now available
By Deani Van Pelt, Series Editor
One of the distinctives of the Charlotte Mason Institute is a commitment to connect the educational insights of Charlotte Mason (1842-1923) with current research and practice. This task is becoming increasingly possible as more researchers in diverse fields are aware of and interested in Mason’s works. It’s a task that is also more pressing than ever, as so many educational practitioners, educators, and parents across the globe are landing with interest on Mason’s ideas.
Does Mason indeed offer a coherent philosophy of education with applicability today? Which of Mason’s ideas for education continue to hold relevance and promise for education in our times? In what ways does her biography offer inspiration for leaders today? These are just a few of the pressing questions worthy of sustained attention.
In anticipation of the occasion of the Charlotte Mason centenary, 24 scholars from three countries came together, and collectively authored 18 individual monographs—short books, if you will—analyzing aspects of the continued relevance of Charlotte Mason’s educational philosophy, practice, life, and leadership. They differ in tone, content, and length; the authors come from an array of perspectives and experiences with varying education credentials; the topics range from broad, rich, introductory overviews to precise, subject-specific, focused ones; some authors share Mason’s faith, some do not. Some write with a warm literary style, delicious to read from beginning to end, brimming over with ideas for teaching and learning; some contain careful descriptive analysis and thoughtfully prepared charts. Together they provide a take on Mason’s relevance for education and educational leadership in schools and home schools today.
The Charlotte Mason Centenary Series is a publication collaboration between the Charlotte Mason Institute, the University of Cumbria (whose Ambleside campus was originally founded by Mason), and the Armitt Museum, Gallery, and Library (which sits at the base of the Ambleside campus and houses the Charlotte Mason Collection, a popular haunt for Mason researchers from across the world).
You can purchase copies of one or all monographs. Together they make an attractive set which we hope will serve as inspiration for more and continued engagement—both scholarly and in K-12 education—with the relational design for education proposed and first lived out over a century ago.
