V is for Volumes
Why should you read Charlotte Mason’s original volumes? They are dated and wordy. They reference current events that are no longer current, elements of culture that are no longer common knowledge, and they sometimes argue for points generally accepted today. Why should you trudge through six volumes that, in our time, have been pre-digested for you, itemized and distilled into compendiums and charts, have had the language dumbed down and consolidated? Why should you read an author who has middlemen and showmen abroad to stand between you and the original and vitalizing thought? Well… when you put it that way!
All kidding aside, why should we read the volumes? Because we can’t lead where we won’t go, and if I truly believe that an educational method that advocates putting the child into direct contact with the ideas themselves, a philosophy that asks me to stand aside, an approach that values advanced wording and phrases and eschews “twaddle” is what I want for my children… then I must find the courage (and time!) to lead the way.
Any of the “middlemen” out there (of which I am one!) will tell you- read the volumes for yourself! All we are working to do is pique interest for the new folks and create discussion around assimilated ideas for those who know. If you have read something here or on the internet that has sparked within you – go to the volumes, go to the source itself.
In approaching the volumes, it is helpful to know that Charlotte Mason didn’t write them all at once, didn’t sit down and attempt to write a how-to manual that progresses neatly from inception to culmination. Rather, what we have in the volumes is a look at her thoughts throughout the stages of her life. She was no armchair philosopher, spouting ideas in a vacuum, but was actively and vitally engaged with the people and spaces immediately around her and was continually integrating thought with practice in meaningful ways.
In volume one, Home Education, we find her a young woman, optimistically proposing and carefully articulating a new approach to education, in truth, a new way to think of children and parents. We hear her empowering mothers to be the leading person in the raising of their children. With historical perspective and hindsight, we can see her pushing back against the norm of boarding schools and stilted governesses and “authorities” who supposedly knew best. She is rallying a generation of mothers to take their God-given position back from those who would belittle them and cause them to doubt themselves.
By volume six, Towards a Philosophy of Education, we get one last glimpse of Miss Mason as the matron of a flourishing movement, arguing confidently, giving specific examples, still full of vim and vigor. The ideas she believed were inspired had taken root and were producing fruit, and her tone is one of confidence and persuasion directed towards leaders of schools and academia.
In each book, and in all of the times and books in between, we see a unity of thought and purpose that is often not the case with some thinkers and their movements. Each title was meant for a specific purpose; each book has some overlap, but also crucial development of thought and application. Each uniquely builds on the other, but amazingly, each can also stand alone. The general agreement is to start with volume 1 and read them chronologically, but many have started and read in random order – and it works!
As you decide where to begin, here is a little bit of context for each:
Volume 1 – Home Education
This book is a collection of lectures that Miss Mason gave as a young woman for a church fundraiser. In it, she focuses on mothers and their role in the education of their children. While her focus is on younger children, the foundations she lays are crucial for even HS students. There is practical how-to information on specific subjects, and later books assume a working knowledge of Volume 1 and do not recover certain elements of understanding.
Volume 2 – Parents & Children
Again, directed to parents and the unique role that they hold in the lives of their children. To guide and lead well, the moral, societal, and spiritual obligations and opportunities inherent in the position.
Volume 3 – School Education
This book specifically addresses what we would understand as the Academic parts of a child’s education. It covers past educational thought, roots Miss Mason’s approach firmly in a Christian understanding of personhood, describes the posture and role of the parent/teacher, makes the case for living books, and details how to use them. This book includes actual schedules and samples of exams and questions from the PNEU schools.
Volume 4 – Ourselves
This is the only book that Miss Mason wrote directly to the student, and this book was part of the curriculum in the PNEU schools under citizenship. (See – O is for Ourselves in this series!) It is all of the inspiring ideas of the philosophy in a conversational tone.
Volume 5 – Formation of Character
How is character formed? If you have read through the volumes chronologically to this point, then you know that it is not through drill and lecture, but via inspiring ideas and an activation of will. In this book, we get a glimpse of Miss Mason as a writer of fiction. She creates short vignettes to show common problems and ways to remedy them. This book has the most possibility to feel dated due to the setting and details of the stories – but don’t be fooled! The truths are as timeless as her other volumes, and we see ourselves and our circumstances in each as if it were a mirror.
Volume 6 – Towards a Philosophy of Education
This book was published after Miss Mason’s death. It contains her final writings, her final defenses, and clarifications of her life’s work. It is assertive and concise; it is a push for what has been proven to be successful in homes and local schools to be accepted at a national level. It is an appeal to the universality of the method for all people and all times.
So, which should you read first? I’ll not step into that hole! But wherever you start, do start. Do practice what you preach! There is no need to finish them all before you begin implementing her ideas with your family – we don’t read them for utility, we read for the inspiring idea. Even one chapter has the potent force to motivate. Read them slowly if you need to. Read them again if you haven’t in a while. Read them over the summer, but don’t neglect them in the flow of lessons and life; it is here that they often have just that nugget at the needed time.
It is my practice to keep one continually on my nightstand for a quick read. And I have had the satisfaction of feeling like I am reading each for the first time again and again. I think this must speak to their vitality of thought. I see my previous marks and know I must have been here, and yet – the newness and freshness of it all strikes me again and again.
Sara Timothy 2025
Are you new to our ABCs of a Charlotte Mason Education series?
You can start with A by clicking below. Happy Reading!
For Reading the Volumes
CM Series - Charlotte Mason Poetry
