The Greatest Showmanalive
I recently took my children to the theater to see The Greatest Showman. It was so good that I took them a second time, this time with a group of college students. My point here, however, is not to review the movie. Instead, I want to consider briefly how the film led to my own introspection and repentance, and how G. K. Chesterton’s Manalive provided … Continue reading The Greatest Showmanalive
Classical Roundup – January 26th, 2018
The Classical Roundup is a group of worthwhile articles, videos, and podcasts that I have found helpful on our journey of exploring classical Christian education in the 21stcentury. Socrates In The City – Malcolm Gladwell Interview – Eric Metaxes interviews author Malcolm Gladwell in his YouTube series entitled Socrates in the City. Gladwell talks briefly about his book David and Goliath among other fascinating topics … Continue reading Classical Roundup – January 26th, 2018
Showing, Telling, and Teaching
By Ian Mosley, Instructor of Latin, School of the Ozarks Some of my favorite courses in college were creative writing courses. My major, however, wasn’t English, and I had no interest in becoming an author. The reason I kept taking them was because I loved the way they challenged me to view the world differently. The untrained are apt to record their daily experiences as … Continue reading Showing, Telling, and Teaching
An Interview with Jacob Russell (Portrait of a Graduate Series)
I had the opportunity to interview Jacob Russell, a 2015 graduate of School of the Ozarks, about the impact classical Christian education had on his life. SM: What was the most impactful book, project, or paper that you experienced at school and why was that? JR: In Christian Worldview II we read a book called Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton and wrote a series of … Continue reading An Interview with Jacob Russell (Portrait of a Graduate Series)
Why We Should See Live Performances
By Christine Norvell Recently our entire high school of 125 students and a handful of teachers saw Thornton Wilder’s play Our Town at a local university, free I might add. For a play written in 1938, it was indeed a snapshot of its time approaching mid-century America post World War I and the Great Depression. After a country had seen so much loss of life … Continue reading Why We Should See Live Performances
The Teacher, Like the Historian,… (Landscape of History Series #2)
In chapter 2 of his book, The Landscape of History, John Lewis Gaddis addresses the topic of time and space. Gaddis argues that historians have “the capacity for selectivity, simultaneity, and the shifting of scale: they can select from a cacophony of events what they think is really important; they can be in several times and places at once; and they can zoom in and … Continue reading The Teacher, Like the Historian,… (Landscape of History Series #2)
What is the Liturgy of Your School? (And What Is It Teaching Your Students to Love?)
By now school is back in session for the spring semester and many teachers and administrators may be looking at the schedule and wondering how the curriculum is going to be covered before the end of the year. Certainly we should not ignore the importance of covering important material in our classes with our students, nor should we go into the semester without a plan … Continue reading What is the Liturgy of Your School? (And What Is It Teaching Your Students to Love?)
The Purpose of Studying History and the Method of the Historian (Landscape of History Series #1)
Recently I have been reading John Lewis Gaddis’ excellent work, The Landscape of History, and Gaddis helpfully addresses both the purpose of studying history and the method of the historian. The responsibility of each subject to justify itself in the curriculum is perhaps inevitable, but history seems often to be one that requires the most questioning, even in classical Christian education. The justifying answer most … Continue reading The Purpose of Studying History and the Method of the Historian (Landscape of History Series #1)
Refrigerator Art: The Lost Art of Grammar
By Craig McElvain GRAMMAR: Merriam-Webster defines it as- “the principles or rules of an art, science, or technique” What is grammar? Every discipline has a grammar; a structure, a set of principles or rules that define the discipline. Baseball has hitting, throwing, and fielding. Painting has light/shadow, perspective, and color. English has nouns, verbs, pronouns, and participles. Music has bass and treble clefs, quarter notes, … Continue reading Refrigerator Art: The Lost Art of Grammar
Building a Foundation (King, Kingdom, and Kingdom People Series #1)
In recent years, the Christian faith in America has seemed like little more than an enormous episode of Survivor. Far from attempting to build a society of justice, peace, welfare, and human flourishing (what the Hebrew authors called shalom), Christians have all too often seemed to hide in defensive positions, shutting themselves in metaphorical (and sometimes literal) bomb shelters as they await the end of … Continue reading Building a Foundation (King, Kingdom, and Kingdom People Series #1)
In Response to Two Grievances Against Water (Mundane Meditations Series)
By Christian Lingner Prefatory Note: Some portions of the following are a truthful fiction, meaning they communicate truths without necessarily corresponding with historical happenings. The exact opposite of most of modern journalism, now that I think of it…anyway. Near the end of the semester, people often emanate their true nature, momentarily abandoning or accidentally forgetting their usually pedicured exoskeleton, giving rise to revealing results from … Continue reading In Response to Two Grievances Against Water (Mundane Meditations Series)
Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood Book Review
By Christine Norvell “I fancy I have never written a book in which I did not quote from him. But it has not seemed to me that those who have received my books kindly take even now sufficient notice of the affiliation. Honesty drives me to emphasize it.”—C.S. Lewis I can’t explain it as well as I’d like, but there’s something to George MacDonald’s preachy … Continue reading Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood Book Review
The Classical Thistle 