Why is it so difficult to rank the top books of the year? First, I have to remember which books I actually read this last year. In reflecting on the question, I realized that some books that I thought I had just read, I actually read in 2015 or 2016. How time flies! Second, upon what basis are they being ranked? Are they being ranked … Continue reading My Top 5 Books of 2017 (Josh Dyson)
“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)
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)
This blog will serve as the introduction to a new series of blogs that I will be producing over the next several weeks. The series is called The Regime[1]. It will be focused on applying the dialectic of Socrates in Plato’s Republic to classical Christian education. For those familiar with the Republic, you may see how the below relates to the allegory of the cave. … Continue reading Burn Before Reading (and Other Activities to do with History Textbooks)
The Classical Thistle 