A Review of Gene Edward Veith’s Loving God with All Your Mind
By Jessica Burke Veith, Gene Edward, Jr. Loving God with All Your Mind: Thinking as a Christian in a Postmodern World. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2003. When I graduated from college, a sense of finality and relief washed over me. That stage of life was finally over. My education was done. Except, by the grace of God, it wasn’t. Shortly after my graduation, my husband started … Continue reading A Review of Gene Edward Veith’s Loving God with All Your Mind
Paideia
By Nathan Carr Conversion being a central tenant of the Christian understanding of salvation, Plato’s description of the “repentance” of the darkened eye of the soul leading to its intended ability to later discern the world outside of the cave has the overtones that make for easy employment in the service of the church. The paideia kyriou (“instruction of the Lord”)[1] places Christ as the … Continue reading Paideia
Faithful Learning (Reflections on B. B. Warfield’s The Religious Life of Theological Students #3)
In the previous post in this series (The Character of the Teacher) we considered the high calling of the classical Christian educator. In this post we focus on the character of the student. Many students at classical Christian schools still struggle with the sacred and secular distinctions that are so stark in government education. Despite being told that their faith informs every aspect of their … Continue reading Faithful Learning (Reflections on B. B. Warfield’s The Religious Life of Theological Students #3)
What a Rubik’s Cube Taught Me About Teaching
My son received a Rubik’s Cube this last Christmas, but it wasn’t the first one he had received. We had given him one the year before, but it ended up slipping through a worm hole shortly thereafter. This year a second cube appeared around Christmas (whether it be a new one or the old one re-emerging from the alternate dimension, I cannot say for certain). … Continue reading What a Rubik’s Cube Taught Me About Teaching
The Character of the Teacher (Reflections on B. B. Warfield’s The Religious Life of Theological Students #2)
Classical Christian education is, and ought to be, a rigorous endeavor. And not just for the student. Teachers, too, have a high calling to be learned. I remember when we first started our school nearly seven years ago—I was halfway through my PhD in Old Testament, and one of my first realizations was how much I didn’t know. The more that I learn, the more … Continue reading The Character of the Teacher (Reflections on B. B. Warfield’s The Religious Life of Theological Students #2)
Walking with James Schall
By Christine Norvell James V. Schall, S.J. “The Metaphysics of Walking.” The Life of the Mind: On the Joys and Travails of Thinking. Wilmington: ISI Books, 2006. Our society is completely dependent upon not only technology, but also the quickness and ease with which we get what we want —information, entertainment, things. Within most of us, the natural consequence is a pervasive impatience, a quickness … Continue reading Walking with James Schall
A Few More Thoughts on Classical Pedagogy: A Response to Ian Mosley and Joshua Gibbs
In response to Ian Mosely’s recent blog post, I agree that with older students, question-asking and roundtable discussion are indispensable methods for learning and important preparation for what lies ahead. As a college writing instructor, I often lament the inability (or disinterest) of students to participate in discussion of the main ideas and key questions of a text. They simply want me to disseminate the … Continue reading A Few More Thoughts on Classical Pedagogy: A Response to Ian Mosley and Joshua Gibbs
Worthwhile Questions
As a new parent of a child who is attending school, I have noticed that I ask my child the same questions everyday in pursuit of how things went. I tend to ask similar questions at school of the students I sit around the lunch table with or pass in the hallway. Questions can reveal quickly what we value as parents, and unfortunately in my … Continue reading Worthwhile Questions
B. B. Warfield on Theological Education (Reflections on B. B. Warfield’s The Religious Life of Theological Students #1)
In his excellent short essay, The Religious Life of Theological Students, B. B. Warfield gives advice to the theological student about the kind of person he or she should be. Too often our focus on theological education is merely the information to be learned. But Warfield argues it is just as, or more important, that the proper formation is happening in the student. As I … Continue reading B. B. Warfield on Theological Education (Reflections on B. B. Warfield’s The Religious Life of Theological Students #1)
Classroom as Greenhouse: A Response to Joshua Gibbs’ “Harkness Cautions”
By Ian August Mosley Editor’s Note: On October 10, Joshua Gibbs wrote a piece for Circe Institute entitled, “Harkness Cautions: You Need a Sage on the Stage.” On November 16, Circe Institute published a response to that piece by Bill Zimmerman entitled, “The Sage at the Table: A Response to Gibbs.” We highly recommend both articles and the excellent conversation regarding pedagogy that arises out … Continue reading Classroom as Greenhouse: A Response to Joshua Gibbs’ “Harkness Cautions”
Stuff and Nonsense: What Mary Poppins Taught Me
“Stuff and nonsense can be fun,” says Mary Poppins in the new Mary Poppins Returns, and I couldn’t agree more. More and more as I grow older, I feel the weight of worldly responsibility. Bills to pay, meetings to schedule and attend, a family to care for, and a feeling of inadequacy for all of it. I sympathize with Michael Banks in the movie because … Continue reading Stuff and Nonsense: What Mary Poppins Taught Me
Teach Them to Climb
By Cheryl Swope, M.Ed.[1] Even if we fail, those who make an effort to get to the top will climb higher than those who from the start despair of emerging where they want to be, and stop right at the foot of the hill. – ancient Roman orator Quintilian, Institutio Oratoria, Book 1 Special education began nearly five hundred years ago when a Benedictine … Continue reading Teach Them to Climb
The Classical Thistle 