by Martin Cothran
From my new article, “How to Teach Logic” in the Late Summer edition of the Classical Teacher:
When should students begin to learn logic? The answer, of course, is: “When they are ready.” This can happen as early as seventh grade. It is at this age (about 12-13) that many children begin to seriously think about the reasons for things. They are no longer satisfied with the concrete, but are beginning to understand and appreciate abstract ideas.
Concerned about the deterioration of ideas and values on college entrance exams? A new college entrance test is fast gaining a substantial following. The Classic Learning Test (CLT) refocuses the goal of testing toward the great ideas and values of Western Christian civilization and promises to offer home and private students an excellent alternative to increasingly politicized college entrance exams.
David Wright’s article from the most recent Classical Teacher:
Shakespeare’s literary genius is unparalleled in the long history of English literature. He holds the number one position as the greatest writer of English literature. T. S. Eliot, one of the finest poets (and critics) of the twentieth century, said, “Dante and Shakespeare divide the world between them, there is no third.”
From “Traditional vs. Progressive Education,” in the most recent Classical Teacher magazine: “Although almost everyone agrees that education is good, there is wide disagreement on what education is”: (more…)
by Martin Cothran
I visited The Last Bookstore when I was in Los Angeles last year, and wow. What a place. If you are book lover, it will blow your mind. I knew there must be an interesting story behind it, so I was excited to see a short documentary video about owner Chad Howitt. It’s an inspiring story of someone defying the increasing hostile business trends that militate against retail bookstores.
Teachers from all over the country take part in CLSA teacher training for the Classical Core Curriculum. Speakers included Louis Markos from Houston Baptist University, Andrew Pudewa from the Institutes for Excellence in Writing, and Martin Cothran, direct of CLSA, as well as Highlands Latin School teachers too numerous to Read more…
by Martin Cothran
The common wisdom is that the more technical and vocational education you offer students, the better they will do in business and technical professions. This view has long been contested by those who point to a large and growing body of evidence that a narrow education produces narrow human beings whose job prospects are correspondingly narrowed, not expanded, by short-sighted educational policymakers.
Louisiana is among a growing number of states who are requiring public schools to teach cursive. From Education Week: (more…)
If you are familiar at all with classic children’s literature, you will know the name Garth Williams. Williams illustrated Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little, Cricket in Times Square, and Little House on the Prairie. For those of us who grew up on his illustrations, they constitute a montage of our childhood. (more…)
If you haven’t read Charles Cochrane’s Christianity and Classical Culture, then you should, and if you have, you know how hard it is to get through. (more…)