The Lost Tools of Birthing

Between Geoffrey Chaucer, the author of The Canterbury Tales who died in 1400, and Edmund Spenser, who published The Sheapherd’s Calendar in 1576, you will scan your anthologies of English verse in vain for a renowned poet. Why did English literature blossom in the 14th century only to enter an aesthetic dark age until Spenser? [...]

Firstfruits

How do you teach a group of 7th grade students the meaning of “firstfruits” in relation to the resurrection? At the beginning of each year I like to take my students through a simple overview of the biblical narrative with something I have put together under the title of “God’s Redemptive Story.” Outlined in this [...]

The Sack of Truth: A Fairytale at the Heart of Redemption and Classical Education

Ruth Sawyer’s classic fairytale “A Sack of Truth” saved the lives of my sophomores and redeemed mine. Not only is the title brilliant and amped for discussion, but the tale smacks paradigmatic for classical education. It contains that which is really real and true. I am now even more convinced of the power of fables [...]

Could William Faulkner Write?

I don’t like to travel without an interesting compelling time-filling book, and I’m driving up to PA tomorrow in what is still called a car because that is what the people over at Hertz call it – a bright cool air-conditioned chamber with the windows all closed because as a man I realize that hot [...]

“Teaching Attentiveness” – chatting today @ 3pm ET.

Teaching Attentiveness

How to Cultivate Wisdom Through Writing (Part V)

Part 1 In my previous post, I argued, with David Hicks, that wisdom can be cultivated through writing when you move from the whole to the part, rather than from the part to the whole, or when you approach the task synthetically first rather than analytically. I’m guessing that requires a bit of clarification. The [...]

How to Cultivate Wisdom Through Writing (part IV)

Here is: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 I have vigorously defended contextual learning in my book because I believe that it is the key to how we learn as well as to the delight we find in learning. Children learn to speak by hearing words used in context, not by memorizing their definitions or [...]

Perversion and Ignorance of Classical Education

Every now and then I am tempted to think I know something. When that happens (and it happens less frequently as I age), I have the perfect cure. Pick up David Hicks Norms and Nobility and start reading. What typically happens is that some great new insight on which I’ve spent years questing, will be [...]

How To Cultivate Wisdom Through Writing (Pt. 3)

Part 1 is here and part 2 is here Given the earlier, practical, description of wisdom, the question arises, “How do we get wisdom?” There are four essential acts that we must perform to gain wisdom, and each grows in importance as we climb to the more advanced forms of wisdom. First, we must believe [...]

Why History Class Must Die!

By Brian Philips Currently, the Peanuts comic by the late Charles Shulz strip stands out as a source of great wisdom and insight in our culture. I say this with partial sarcasm, only partial. One particular strip showed Sally in Sunday School class, her teacher before her. He began, “Today we are going to discuss [...]