My Pilgrimage to Ambleside

I said, “Thank you.”

“Thank you for your faithfulness to study, to think, and to write. And thank you, heavenly Father, for leading me to her work.”

“Thank you, Lord, for the impact she had upon my parenting and the education of my children.”

It was all I could say as I laid flowers on Charlotte Mason’s grave. But now I am ready to say more, to give thanks for the people and circumstances that led to my interest and involvement in living education.

I am grateful for…

• Susan Schaeffer Macauley, who published For the Children’s Sake in 1984. When I found it in ’85, I devoured it. She spoke to my heart, and I knew I would never be the same. She introduced me to the work of Charlotte Mason.

• Dean and Karen Andreola, because they saw the value of Miss Mason’s work and republished the Original Homeschooling Series in 1989.

• Nannette Mueller and Sandy Fairchild, who read the Series with me during the 1990s – 2013.We worked together, discussing the ideas and endeavoring to understand the philosophy and method Miss Mason expounded.

• the early CM series email group, founded in 1999, and the dedicated work of the ladies of amblesideonline.org.

• Karen Glass, who inspired me through her writing in Magnanimity and her input in the CM series email group.

• the research and writing of Dr. Carroll Smith.

• the moms who have studied The Original Homeschooling Series with me over the years and the younger moms who ardently study them with me now.

Thank you, Lord God, for leading me to the work of Charlotte Mason and a living education, not only for my children’s sake, but for mine as well.

………………………………………………

The birth of my seventh grandchild brought me to Europe. After spending a couple of weeks with my son, daughter-in-law, and their new baby boy, my husband and I flew to Luton Airport and took a car for the four-hour trip to Ambleside. I had heard of the natural beauty of the Lake District and wondered what nature hikes would have been like for Miss Mason and her students at Scale How. I was not disappointed. The natural beauty was breathtaking.

I visited the Armitt Museum in Ambleside and spent a few hours researching the Charlotte Mason archives with the kind assistance of the museum archivist.

We walked to Scale How, and as I stood envisioning how it might have looked when Miss Mason’s school was there, I met a couple who were educated in the Charlotte Mason College of the University of Cumbria. They are currently teaching her methods at a school in Cambridge. We spoke only briefly, but a “science of relations” was the main topic of our conversation. We then walked to the grave site of Miss Mason. Humbly and very gratefully I left flowers as a token of my high esteem and appreciation for her influence in my life and the lives of my children.

My intent in this post is to give you a glimpse of my philosophical journey as an educator and the fulfillment of a desire I have had for many years.

With kindest regard,
Susan