The Before Exercises

From the Late Summer edition of The Classical Teacher: The progymnasmata, a Greek word that translates as “the before exercises,” encompassed the pre-rhetoric study of all the educated West from ancient Greece to Paul, from Quintilian, Aphthonius, Augustine, and Aquinas up until Lewis and Tolkien. Because our Christian philosophy and expression are so steeped in this tradition, it might be better to ask “Why not?” instead of “Why?” study the progymnasmata. In addition to its tradition, there are two absolutely critical reasons why the progymnasmata holds a Read more…

What the Liberal Arts Have To Do With Science

In his now out of print book Great Ideas from the Great Books, Mortimer Adler, late editor of The Encyclopedia Britannica and the The Great Books of the Western World, points out that, contrary to common opinion, the liberal arts have quite a lot to do with science and innovation. In fact, he says, they are essential. Liberal education, including all the traditional arts as well as the newer sciences, is essential for the development Read more…

Where the Nonsense Comes From

Jacques Barzun was one of the great humanities scholars of the 20th century. Among his many achievements were several classic books on education and teaching, books such as Teacher in America (1945) and Begin Here: The Forgotten Conditions of Teaching and Learning (1991). In Begin Here, Barzun discusses where educational nonsense comes from by identifying three common but mistaken assumptions about teaching children. The first is ignoring the fact that schooling involves teaching in groups: Thus Read more…

What’s on YOUR list? Do you have a “personal canon” of books that informs your thinking and actions?

In an article published just last month, Hillsdale College’s E. J. Hutchinson discusses William Hazlitt’s great essay “On Reading Old Books.” As Hutchinson points out, many Christians are familiar with C. S. Lewis’ “On the Reading of Old Books” (and those who aren’t should be). But although the titles are similar, the two writers each take a different approach: Where Lewis focuses on the dangers of contemporary prejudice and the atmospheric contamination, as it were, Read more…

Angry Greeks don’t want their Latin taken away

The Greek government, in an attempt to reform education, has decided to drop Latin and replace it with sociology, and a few people are not very happy about it. But the interesting thing is the reason critics are giving for keeping it. According to the account at ekathimerini.com: Education Minister Costas Gavroglou faced a barrage of criticism Tuesday after announcing his intention on Monday to scrap Latin from the Greek school curriculum as part of his Read more…

Education vs. Instruction

One of the great American classical scholars was Basil Gildersleeve (1831-1924) of South Carolina. E.J. Hutchinson, associate professor of Classics and director of the Collegiate Scholars Program at Hillsdale College, writes in The American Conservative of how Gildersleeve, writing around the turn of the century, had already anticipated the contest between “practical” learning and “classical” learning: “[M]uch comes down,” says Hutchinson, “to the crucial question, ‘What is education?’ To answer it, Gildersleeve insists on ‘distinguishing sharply between Read more…

More on the Villa of the Papyri

In the spring issue of the Classical Teacher magazine, in the Letter from the Editor, I wrote about the Villa of the Papyri, the home of Julius Caesar’s father, Calpurnius Piso. The villa had been buried underneath the ashes of the erupting Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D., and with it the fabled ancient library it contained. In my article, I mentioned that new digital imaging techniques were enabling scholars finally to read some of the Read more…

J. R. R. Tolkien and the Five Dimensions of a Story

Every story, long or short, has five dimensions. They are usually called its 1) plot, 2) characters, 3) setting, 4) style, and 5) theme. We could call them respectively, the story’s 1) work, 2) workers, 3) world, 4) words, and 5) wisdom. “Philosophy” means “the love of wisdom.” So a story’s philosophy is one of its five basic dimensions. Which “dimension” sold The Lord of the Rings? All five. That’s from Peter Kreeft’s latest article in Read more…

September CLT10 Deadline Approaching

If you are interested in the Classic Learning Test’s CLT10, the deadline for registering for the Sept. 18 test date is Sept. 14. The CLT10 is a preparatory exam available to 9th and 10th grades and offers scholarship opportunities through the National Association of Scholars. The Classical Latin School Association is an official supporter of the CLT. For information on all CLT test dates and to register, click here.  

Do you use too many exclamation marks? Stop it!!!

In yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, Katherine Bindley writes of the debate over whether exclamation marks are overused. It is an issue teachers in particular should read, they being among the most cavalier of exclamation mark users. How many times have you seen a note from a teacher that reads, “You did a great job!!!” or “It’s so good to have you in the class!!!” “Awesome!!!” Let’s admit it: There are some teachers who end literally Read more…

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