Monday Musings (October 30, 2017): Education, the Path to True Humanity?
“Education is our path to true humanity and wisdom”[1] ~Stratford Caldecott, Beauty for Truth’s Sake, 11 One of the more difficult challenges with classical Christian education is clarifying our end goal. I wrote on this recently in my post “Is Repairing the Ruins our Goal?”, and I suggested that we have the two-fold goal of excellent education and Christian discipleship. In Beauty for Truth’s Sake, … Continue reading Monday Musings (October 30, 2017): Education, the Path to True Humanity?
A Francis Option?
By Craig McElvain Why “Benedict” ? Being a student of history, I find myself in total harmony with author Rod Dreher’s sense that the church must pull back from our current cultural milieu if it is to survive in post-modern America. This isn’t the first time that the church has been swallowed up into the culture (the first being the Constantinian church of … Continue reading A Francis Option?
Knowledge Crawling Over My Skin (The Regime #3)
“I seemed to have wandered my way back to the beginning—not just of the book, but of the world—and all the rest was yet to come. I felt knowledge crawl over my skin.”[1] Thus says Wendell Berry’s title character in his meandering reflection on life in the midwest in the mid-20th century, Jayber Crow. Jayber had come to reject the Christian teaching of the seminary … Continue reading Knowledge Crawling Over My Skin (The Regime #3)
The Cave as the Model of Education: A Satire (The Regime #2)
A satire written in the vein of Anthony Esolen’s 10 Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child or perhaps C. S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters. Recently, in clearing the books out of our school library, I came across a book by Plato called The Republic. I was about to throw the book away with the others, when I noticed a tab at the beginning of … Continue reading The Cave as the Model of Education: A Satire (The Regime #2)
Monday Musings (October 23, 2017): Education, the Church, and the Old Testament
I recently participated in a conference at fbcBranson entitled “Christianity and the Death of the Old Testament.” You can check out the excellent presentations here. As part of this conference, I was giving a presentation on how the Old Testament is dying. I relied heavily on the work of Brent Strawn in his book, The Old Testament is Dying, in which he argues that the … Continue reading Monday Musings (October 23, 2017): Education, the Church, and the Old Testament
“I’m Bored” vs. the Cultivation of Wonder
“I’m bored!” The words have barely left the lips of my seven year old son and I’m already lecturing him against such profanity. I’m by no means a legalistic parent, but those words are anathema to me, and I have specifically forbidden them from our home. I loathe this treacherous phrase, believing it to be a destructive deception of the Evil One. In my position … Continue reading “I’m Bored” vs. the Cultivation of Wonder
On the Shoulders of Hobbits (Book Blurbs)
Louis Markos is an excellent writer (perhaps an even better speaker if you get the chance to hear him) and has fantastic insight into both Tolkien and Lewis. The structure of the book is easy to follow and is centered around the four cardinal and three theological virtues. For each virtue, Markos demonstrates with examples from Tolkien and Lewis’s stories how each writer develops these … Continue reading On the Shoulders of Hobbits (Book Blurbs)
The Abolition of Education: A Warning from C.S. Lewis
By Steve Turley, Tall Oaks Classical School and Eastern University TurleyTalks.com There is no doubt that the 1940s constituted a most historically formidable decade: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, WWII, the advent of the Atomic bomb, the transformation of the U.S. into a global super power, the establishment of NATO, and the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Yet among these notable events … Continue reading The Abolition of Education: A Warning from C.S. Lewis
Monday Musings (October 16, 2017): Start Searching Today
This year I have begun occasionally giving my students writing prompts before class begins and allowing the first 5-6 minutes of class to be a time of reflection. I have found that in the midst of busy lives, loads of work, and everything else with which the teenage mind is occupied, it is absolutely necessary to remind them frequently why we do what we do. … Continue reading Monday Musings (October 16, 2017): Start Searching Today
Nexus Notes–October 13, 2017
A nexus is a series of connections linking two or more things. These notes are dedicated to linking us to great content elsewhere out on the web. Socratic Teaching – Dr. Grant Horner displays a great example of Socratic teaching within the classroom. The Power of Story: Perfect for Children, Dangerous for Adults – Matt Bianco on the power of storytelling. Geronimo, Amen – … Continue reading Nexus Notes–October 13, 2017
Create! Contest Winners
Twenty-three students from the School of the Ozarks Lower School participated in the Create! contest sponsored by the Classical Thistle this summer. In order to enter a submission, students were asked to create a project in response to a summer read, exploration, or journey. Students’ submissions were plentiful and varied; projects took the form of journals, posters, sculptures, paintings, mobiles, and more! In addition to … Continue reading Create! Contest Winners
How to Walk Upside Down, Sideways, and at an Angle (Tread the Dawn Series)
This is the launch of a news series of blogs called “Tread the Dawn”. The blogs in this series are inspired by C.S. Lewis’ Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Have you ever hung upside down with your feet attached to the floor? What about straight sideways, yet maintaining a standing position? What about an angle somewhere between upside down and straight out? These may sound … Continue reading How to Walk Upside Down, Sideways, and at an Angle (Tread the Dawn Series)
The Classical Thistle 