Education for All Never Goes Out of Style

Below are the goals and principles of the PNEU as stated in volume 1 of the Parents' Review, published in 1890/91:

Isn't that an inspiring sort of vision statement?  This is really very much where AmblesideOnline is coming from- all classes, religious basis of work, education for all, to help parents, to include all parts of the person- physical, mental, moral, and spiritual.  Our email list and now our forum and our facebook page are there to stimulate enthusiasm, to give parents opportunities for cooperation and to make known the best information and experiences on the subject.

Pay no mind to the Victorian style imagery- I use that primarily because it's in the public domain and easy for me to find (and I do think it's cute).

But make no mistake- this kind of education never goes out of style.

It's not old-fashioned just because it relies heavily on the great books that have been part of the great conversation since books were written.  In volume six, Mason is giving a sort of general overview of the literature she uses.  She explains that the reading for high school "is more comprehensive and more difficult. Like that in the earlier Forms, it follows the lines of the history they are reading, touching current literature in the occasional use of modern books; but young people who have been brought up on this sort of work may, we find, be trusted to keep themselves au fait (editor's note: that is, current) with the best that is being produced in their own days. 

It is a modern education and a classical and old fashioned education in the very best sense of each of those terms.  There's nothing out of date about it.