Home Educating Family Magazine is a blessing to receive in my mail box. Please check it out if you home school and do not already subscribe. It is filled with thought provoking articles by John Piper, Cyndy Shearer, Todd Wilson, Kay Arthur, Karen Andreola, Joni Erikson, and the list goes on.
This month's issue included an article by someone I greatly admire, Susan Schaeffer Macaulay. She is the author of For the Children's Sake, a book that completely helped me as a young homeschooling mom (at the time) develop my own education philosophy for homeschooling my children. Coming from a background of a public school teacher's training, having a degree in secondary education, it was truly a life changing book for me. Susan's search for help with her own children's education led her to Charlotte Mason and her books, The Original Homeschooling Series, written in England during the early 1900's. She was considered a reformer of education at that time, and her unique styled lessons truly opened young minds to the adventure and joy of learning. As I too began seeking direction in my homeschooling journey, I think that my passion for igniting a love and curiosity for knowledge in my classroom students is what really struck a chord with me about Miss Mason. Many goals I had as an educator seemed to coincide with all the books I devoured on Charlotte Mason's teaching philosophies. I had a mentor to lead me into homeschooling.
Most in the homeschooling community are familiar with Charlotte's methods of narration, copy work, nature walks, composer/art study, reading of Shakespeare and Plutarch, living books, poetry study, and so forth. So I do not wish to describe those here. My thought was to express to you the joy I've found in the connection between two of my family's heroes. Did you know that Charlotte Mason lived at the same time as Sir General Robert Baden Powell, the founder of Boys Scouts of America? Not only were they aware of each other way back then they actually knew one another. In the article titled, "Walking with my Father: Francis Schaeffer," Susan's article reminded me of something I had come across a while back, that Charlotte Mason used General Sir Baden- Powell's original scouting booklet Aids to Scouting, in which Susan says, "was used to train young soldiers," as part of her curriculum sent out to homeschoolers all over England. Miss Mason saw the potential in it to instruct young people. Mrs. Macauley goes on to tell us that it was Sir Baden-Powell that credited a governess trained from Miss Mason's PNEU school and Miss Mason herself for the idea of the usefulness of that scouting book to be used to train young boys. Sir Baden-Powell tributes Charlotte Mason's reputation as an exceptional educator as one of the influences for the idea to begin boy scouts.
You can read his own words on the subject here:
In Memoriam: Charlotte Mason, published in 1923 titled "A Field Marshall's Governess." (I found it in the article from Home Educating Family Magazine) You can also find it on the Ambleside website.
"How did the boys scouts start?
Oh Well! I believe it was largely due to--whom shall we say?--A Field Marshal's Governess.
It was this way; the Brigadier General, as he was at that time, was riding to his home after a field day when from the branches of a tree over-head his little son called to him "Father, you are shot; I am in ambush and you have passed under me without seeing me. Remember you should always look upwards as well as around you."
So the general looked upward and saw not only his small son above him but also, near the top of the tree, the new governess lately imported from Miss Charlotte Mason's training College at Ambleside.
Her explanation of the situation was that a vital point in up to date education was the inculcation of observation and deduction and that the practical steps to this were given in the little handbook for soldiers of "Aids to Scouting." The present incident was merely one among the various field stunts from that book which might be put into practice by her pupils and herself.
For example, they might as another exercise creep about unseen but seeing all the time, and noting down everything that the general did; they might lead him off on some wild chase while they purloined some tangible proof of their having invaded his sanctum. Taken as a warning of what he might expect I daresay the governess's explanation opened the general's eye pretty widely, if only in regard to his own future security against ambuscades and false alarms.
But it certainly opened mine to the fact that there could be an educative value underlying the principles of scout training; and since it had been thought worthy of utilisation by such and authority as Miss Mason I realised that there might be something in it.
This encouraged me in the direction of adapting the training for the use of boys and girls.
Oh Well! I believe it was largely due to--whom shall we say?--A Field Marshal's Governess.
It was this way; the Brigadier General, as he was at that time, was riding to his home after a field day when from the branches of a tree over-head his little son called to him "Father, you are shot; I am in ambush and you have passed under me without seeing me. Remember you should always look upwards as well as around you."
So the general looked upward and saw not only his small son above him but also, near the top of the tree, the new governess lately imported from Miss Charlotte Mason's training College at Ambleside.
Her explanation of the situation was that a vital point in up to date education was the inculcation of observation and deduction and that the practical steps to this were given in the little handbook for soldiers of "Aids to Scouting." The present incident was merely one among the various field stunts from that book which might be put into practice by her pupils and herself.
For example, they might as another exercise creep about unseen but seeing all the time, and noting down everything that the general did; they might lead him off on some wild chase while they purloined some tangible proof of their having invaded his sanctum. Taken as a warning of what he might expect I daresay the governess's explanation opened the general's eye pretty widely, if only in regard to his own future security against ambuscades and false alarms.
But it certainly opened mine to the fact that there could be an educative value underlying the principles of scout training; and since it had been thought worthy of utilisation by such and authority as Miss Mason I realised that there might be something in it.
This encouraged me in the direction of adapting the training for the use of boys and girls.
From this acorn grew the tree which is now spreading its branches
across the world.
The Boy Scout of yesterday--(reduced alas by some ten thousand who gave their young lives in the war)--is already becoming the citizen of to-day--(and none too soon)--largely thanks to the Field Marshal's governess."
The Boy Scout of yesterday--(reduced alas by some ten thousand who gave their young lives in the war)--is already becoming the citizen of to-day--(and none too soon)--largely thanks to the Field Marshal's governess."
Very cool!!! Exciting to find this link between the two. Their actions over a century ago and desire to impact children then are still influencing kiddos today. My boys have been involved with scouting for 7 years and I have been using Charlotte Mason's methods since the boys began homeschooling (9 years ago). Two wonderful heroes to children!!! Oh, to continue spreading a love for learning and the curiosity for discovering nature!!!
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