First essay from Grace's reading of Democracy in America by Alexis DeTocqueville. This is from her week's reading of Volume 1, this first half of part 1. In the early years of America, the maiden country was vastly different from Europe. In America there were different ideals, resources, and outlooks that astounded and bewildered the Europeans. De Toqueville was sent… Read more »
Everyone should understand music. Not that everyone is called to be a musician, but understanding the basic structure of music and its place in history and society is crucial. By age 14-16, your students should understand enough history and culture to be able to appreciate the importance of music throughout the ages. Or, if you’re a middle-aged adult like me,… Read more »
The Association of Classical Christian Schools annual conference was a wonderful feast of insight and wisdom. The conference fulfilled its theme of “Truth, Goodness, and Beauty”. As homeschoolers, attending this conference aimed at private school teachers was a good sanity check of our methods and ideals. By and large, our family’s approach was confirmed. As with any great conference, a few… Read more »
Several of the ACCS Conference speakers remarked that their greatest joy is in seeing some of their former students return to their schools – as teachers. The movement is maturing and the second generation is emerging. Teachers who early on were not sure they were making an impact are thrilled to see that many of their students did actually learn… Read more »
I attended a workshop by Chris Schlect in which he present results of a recent survey of longtime teachers and administrators in the ACCS. As we homeschool, I’m not in the classical school movement directly. It was fascinating to hear the inside scoop on where educators see the movement as succeeding, making progress, or struggling. There were 114 respondents, all… Read more »
Nathan Wilson spoke on “Story and Rhetoric”. Rhetoric is the final stage of classical education, in which the student learns to present their knowledge and wisdom persuasively and beautifully. The talk focused on the idea of “proof”. Nathan presented “proof” not as mathematical certainty but as “that which obligates belief”. You may prove your point even if folks don’t agree…. Read more »
The Association of Classical and Christian Schools is holding their 2008 Annual Conference in Austin this year. While I am becoming less and less interested in the "school" model, I am interested in the classical methods. I discourage "school" when it is defined as a daily classroom environment with a single expert teaching 15 to 30 children. There are benefits… Read more »
A great overview of the Old Testament in narrative form. Dr. Leithart pulls together many of the pervasive biblical themes that we may miss if we read the Old Testament too slowly. Discusses themes common to the OT and reveals how Christ is found throughout. Review questions in each section reinforce and generate discussions. The 6th Grade Plan uses this book as the… Read more »
