By Carrie Eben, Guest Author Hospitality might not be the first word for many to describe a posture of teaching. My first understanding of the word hospitality was limited to the act of entertaining guests, and if this is one’s only understanding of the word then a negative response is warranted—the role of the teacher is not to entertain her students. However, this is not … Continue reading Teaching as Hospitality
By Christine Norvell, Guest Author I confess. I have asked students to make revisions to their essays. In fact, I may have casually said, “You just have some light revision work,” or “This needs heavy revision.” It sounds flippant to my ears now. Trite. But those comments all beg the same question—what does it really mean to revise our writing? One of my former students … Continue reading Re-Visioning Our Writing
By Albert Cheng, Guest Author Albert Cheng is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Education Reform in the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas, where he teaches courses in education policy and philosophy. He is the director of the Classical Education Research Lab, where he conducts research on the effects of classical education on character formation. He is a Senior Fellow at … Continue reading You Should Teach Poetry: Science Demonstrates It
By Jenna Carey, Guest Author We are immersed with grammatical concepts from the moment we are born to the moment we take our last breath. Our parents bombard us as babies with, “can you say da-da; can you say ma-ma,” then we grow up, leaving “da-da” and “ma-ma” behind, shouting “I love you, I’ll see you at Christmas” on the way out the door. Not … Continue reading Intentional Grammatical Mistakes: Miriam Joseph and Martianus Capella on Bad Grammar (Explorations in the Art of Grammar Series #4)
By Lindsey Scholl, Trinity Classical School One day, author Dorothy L. Sayers received a letter from an admirer of her play, The Zeal of Thy House. Like almost all of her plays, this production had depicted supernatural creatures on stage: four archangels, each eleven-feet high and draped in gorgeous gold robes. The admirer asked if Sayers had selected the angel-actors “for the excellence of their … Continue reading Competent Christianity
Book Review By Christine Norvell Experience humbles us. So does sin. In My Divine Comedy: A Mother’s Homeschooling Journey, Missy Andrews not only presents an educator’s memoir but also a spiritual trek, one reminiscent of Petrarch’s “Ascent of Mount Ventoux.” Andrews details the failures of relying on ourselves as parents and educators. Those failures spoke to me as a mother and as a teacher because … Continue reading Book Review – My Divine Comedy: A Mother’s Homeschooling Journey
By Jarrod Richey There is a saying, “those who can, do, and those who can’t, teach.” The music educator might be tempted to think that he/she is missing out on the “real” work of music. But we know in the classical movement that education is more about formation than simply imparting information.[1] The honorable place of power and influence is in teaching and mentoring students. … Continue reading Joyful Music Literacy & the Classical Christian School Music Teacher
By Ian August Mosley, Latin Teacher at School of the Ozarks Most movies are not about teachers. They are not as popular a subject as criminals, warriors, or lovers. Nor do movies about teachers include many scenes of actual teaching. Films cover teaching itself with a demure veil that calls to mind the strict propriety of the golden age of Hollywood. In the old movies, … Continue reading Teaching, Oblivion, and the Mortification of the Self
By Kevin Thames You are standing in the hallway, outside your classroom door, saying goodbye to your students as the school day has come to a close. Your students are on their way to their lockers as parents are entering the school to pick up their children. You happen to see one of your students’ parents. You throw out a, “How are you doing this … Continue reading Relational Communication: A Battle Between Time and Cultivation
Unhurried Wonder By Nathan Carr, The Academy of Classical Christian Studies A favorite scene in the Gospels: “Then he (Jesus) rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing’” (Luke 4:20-21). Followed by: “All the people … Continue reading Unhurried Wonder
Thank God I still read because I want to read. I’m sure it’s the best kind of pressure—the pressure to read, that is. But if ‘positive’ peer pressure had its way, I fear I would drown in leadership books about how to accomplish more by doing less (or some such). My own ideas for books on leadership 14 school-years later are closer to: Launching a … Continue reading My Top Five Books of 2019 (Nathan Carr)
By Christine Norvell This time of year seems to both sadden me and lighten my heart. In the school year, I grow sad because I realize that my time of influence with my students is even shorter. Only months remain, not an entire school year. Yet I’m grateful for a two-week reprieve. Not seeing each other for a time does help us appreciate each other … Continue reading Halfway: Moments That Sadden and Gladden
The Classical Thistle 