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The Problem with Classical Education Part 1: Are Classical Educators Proud and Elitist?
Some of you may have read the recent (9/19) cover article by Dr. Louis Markos published in Christianity Today entitled “The Rise of the Bible-Teaching, Plato-Loving, Homeschool Elitists.” The title certainly piques one’s interest, as does the subtitle: “How...
Cutting School: Why Classical Schools Fragment Education and Turn Learning into Subjects
In a previous article, I argued that classical schools, like their progressive counterparts, “pile it on” or have too many periods and teach too many subjects. In this article, I argue that classical schools also "cut up" the classical curriculum into too many...
Piling It On: Why Classical Schools Have Too Many Periods and Teach Too Many Subjects
Piling it on . . . Over the years, a question has continued to rise before me like a puppy on alert after hearing a strange sound. Why do we organize a school day over eight periods, and why do we teach up to twelve subjects to students—sometimes all in one year? Like...
A Restful Return to School
I have various memories of returning to school. I was not homeschooled (virtually no one my age was), so school was a matter of returning to a bricks and mortar building, year by year, sometimes facing the prospect of a new school, with new teachers and scores of...
John Henry Newman and Classical Education
Some of you have heard of John Henry Newman, or Cardinal Newman as he is often called. Those of you seeking to renew the classical tradition of education, no doubt have come across Newman's name, and some of you have read through at least parts of his famous book, The...
Let’s Pause a Moment
It won't surprise many of you to hear that I am continuing to read, think, and write about . . . restful learning. I am working on a new book, likely to be titled Learning from Rest, which will follow and complement Sarah Mackenzie's Teaching from Rest. The more we...
Dreaming Wisdom at St. Johns College
When we were newly married, Christine and I took a trip to Annapolis and walked around the campus of St. Johns College. I fell in love. "What if we could go to the Graduate Institute here?" I dreamed. "What if we both became tutors and taught here?" I dreamed further....
Playing and Learning
I have been thinking a good deal about playing and learning. At two back-to-back conferences, I have spoken on this topic, so my musing continues. Plato was perhaps the first to say that children should learn by playing. By compulsion you might make a child move...
Online Writing Instructor Needed!
Scholé Academy, Classical Academic Press’s live, online academy, is seeking a part-time writing instructor for 5–8th grade Writing & Rhetoric courses for the 2016-17 school year. Qualified candidates should be excellent writers and have previous experience...
Students Should Argue…but Not Quarrel
Those of us seeking to classically educate our children know that they have a built-in capacity to bicker and quarrel. Bickering comes naturally to all children, and is only disguised by refined adults. When it is time for students to learn dialectic, however, we want...
Treating Your Brain Well in a Digital Age
Our brains are responsive, adaptable organs—more adaptable than we ever imagined. Our brains serve us like faithful dogs that want very much to please. If we read lots of great books and novels on paper, our brains become optimized for this behavior. If we spend seven...
The Five-Sense Inventory: Seeking a Fully Embodied Education
As I consult with classical school and homeschool communities, I find myself talking more and more about our five senses. This is because many in the classical education renewal are rediscovering the importance of embodiment. Our educational ideals (such as wisdom,...
Online Upper-School Latin Teacher Needed!
Scholé Academy, Classical Academic Press's live, online academy, is seeking a part-time Latin teacher for upper-school Latin courses for the 2016-17 school year, with possible teaching opportunities beginning in January 2016. Qualified candidates should have studied...
Running Around the Curriculum
Just last night I hosted a webinar with author Sarah Mackenzie, who wrote Teaching from Rest. The topic for the webinar was “Curriculum Is Not Something You Buy.” The conversation went well. Clearly, like traditional-school parents, homeschool and private-school...
I Would Like to Order… an Education
The Christian tradition speaks regularly about the importance of ordering one’s affections or desires. Augustine, for example, speaks about an ordo amoris (an order of love) in The City of God. Ignatius speaks of “disordered affections” that cloud our judgment. C. S....
Flying around the Classroom
Teaching is a serious affair, as we are seeking to shape the soul of a child. We know of Christ’s warning that to lead a child astray brings quite serious consequences for the deceiver. We also know that educating children is the future of our families, the church, of...
Plato and Play
As a classical educator and consultant to classical schools for about 20 years now, I have often been amused and sometimes gratified by the ways scientific research rediscovers what classical educators have known (or at least believed) for centuries. For example,...
Classical Education–The Best Preparation for STEM
For some reason, the last month has featured a flurry of articles about the importance of STEM education and the relevance of the liberal arts. No doubt the country has become increasingly aware of the “global marketplace” and we continue to wince over our math scores...
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Classical Education!
The Liberal Arts Tradition
Introduction to
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Classical Education
Teaching from Rest
Latin for Children
Greek Alphabet Code Cracker
