Posts on Classical Christian Education - Page 49

Apr 03, 2013

Learning from a Simple Melody: Scarborough Fair (Excerpted from The Neglected Muse: Why Music Is an Essential Liberal Art [Part IV*])

Music education that aims at real knowledge requires careful attention to the elements of music: tones, time-values, intervals, etc. Students must learn to read music and correctly identify notes on a staff. Soon after this “basic training,” they should look closely at how the elements conspire to form significant...

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Apr 02, 2013

Spontaneous Integration: Jazz Music, Playwrights, and the Cold War

What do Shakespeare, actors, newspapers, jazz, and communism all have in common? Continue reading this article to discover how one Challenge III class threaded these disparate ideas together. Last week in my Challenge III class, we had some spontaneous moments for subject integration. We began the morning talking about...

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Apr 01, 2013

What If the Art Teacher Taught Math?

My thirteen-year-old daughter is in Challenge B this year, and she is preparing for Mock Trial, so we took a field trip, along with several moms and teenagers, to visit a courthouse and watch a real trial. As we waited for the trial to begin, the sheriff talked with...

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Mar 29, 2013

Skills versus Subjects

Classical education is a “curious thing,” viewed from the perspective of a traditional educator. Traditional education emphasizes acquiring knowledge of a host of subjects through the passing of a multitude of classes en route to receiving a diploma. Classical education emphasizes the skills of learning and the acquisition of...

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Mar 28, 2013

“Education is to train the heart to love that which deserves loving.”

This quote from John Hodges’ first lecture at the Toward the Quadrivium event struck a chord with me. It invoked a desire to act! I realized there are many more good things I should love. So many, in fact, that it would require more than a million lifetimes of...

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Mar 25, 2013

Protocol, Served Just As You Like It

I marked my twelfth protocol, with a small group of students and a fellow mom, by experiencing Gioachino Rossini’s opera, The Barber of Seville. We, a happy bunch dressed in regalia, ventured out on a weekday to enjoy fine dining and to feast our senses on delectable artistry. However, many...

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Mar 22, 2013

Fables, Myths, and Fairy Tales

Our world isn’t clear regarding the differences between fables, myths, and fairy tales. We tend to lump them together into anthologies based on the characteristics they have in common: all of them contain fantastical elements, magic, talking animals, and so on, and all of them seem to focus on...

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Mar 18, 2013

The Mathematical Difference between Wisdom and Science

One of the disturbing trends of the modern era is the blind delegation of all reality-focused ideas to science. The presumption is that if something is real—if one can taste it, touch it, or smell it—then science is the best approach to dealing with that subject. This is the...

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Mar 16, 2013

Reflections on Tutor Humility [by a Recovering Engineer]

What is the most important attribute of a classical, Christian tutor? Mastery of academic material, expertise in classical pedagogy, and the expression of natural charm or charisma in the classroom characterize a desirable tutor to some parents. Extraordinary biblical knowledge, administrative excellence, and clear communication skills define a highly...

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Mar 15, 2013

Music: An Essential Liberal Art

Is music a liberal art? Liberal education is under attack today, just as it has been during economic downturns in the past. Yet some of the most strident voices calling for a “bottom-line” evaluation of the liberal arts also espouse “traditional values.” For some reason, they don’t understand the...

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Mar 14, 2013

“American Culture” Is an Oxymoron

I suggested to my wife that “American culture” is an oxymoron. I was contemplating making a list of thought provoking oxymorons; “modern education” and “liberal enlightenment” would be on the list. Deanna disagreed with my claim that there is no such thing as American culture, so I had to...

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Mar 13, 2013

What Every College Should Know about Homeschoolers

In addition to the work I perform for www.homeschoolcounselor.com, I also provide consulting for college admissions departments. One of the more common questions I am asked by admissions leaders is, “How can we be more successful in matriculating homeschoolers?” Pardon my cynicism, but when I hear this question, I feel...

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