Charlotte Mason was a British educator who lived from 1842 to 1923. She invested her life in helping improve education for children. Although she remained single until her death, she began with observing other people’s children. 

Some of her revolutionary ideas included emphasizing the importance of teaching parents and educators how the mind learns, and these findings are compiled the books called the Home Education series. (Thankfully, these books are now in the public domain, and we also link to them here.) The first book was actually a compilation of a series of lectures she gave, which also eventually resulted in the forming of the Parents’ Educational Union (PEU). This same group eventually launched a periodical called “Parents’ Review,” as a way of keeping members of the PEU connected. 

During Charlotte’s time in England, the general belief was that educated children can only come from educated parents (a mindset that is, sadly, still prevalent in the Philippines today). She advocated for “a liberal education for all,” believing that her methods could apply to children from any social class. 

To prove her convictions, she applied her findings to a group of children in a mining community, all ragtag, with little hope of ever achieving anything in life. To the surprise of the superintendent, her methods awakened the minds of these children, resulting in their carrying themselves with dignity and narrating back long pieces of literature with ease and confidence! 

In 1891, Charlotte founded called House of Education in Ambleside, England, which focused on training governesses and other people who worked with young children. Around that time, the PEU added the word “national” to its organization name, making it the Parents’ National Educational Union (PNEU). Soon, a Parents’ Review School was put up, applying Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education. 

Eventually, more schools sprang up applying her philosophy and methods, with Ambleside being the training college for the teachers, all with the hopes of making a liberal education available to all.