Posts on Classical Christian Education - Page 52

Feb 04, 2013

Music’s Connection to Math and Nature (Excerpted from The Neglected Muse: Why Music Is an Essential Liberal Art [Part II*])

Music, amazing in its power over our emotions and character, is even more amazing because it is eminently capable of being studied. Traditionally, music is one of the seven so-called “liberal arts.” Liberal, here, has nothing to do with its current, political usage. It is not a synonym for...

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Feb 01, 2013

The Passionate Voice (How and Why We Teach Passive Voice)

During week fourteen of Essentials class, we learn about passive voice. We practice taking a sentence in active voice and making it passive, and we take some passive voice sentences and make them active voice. From this point on, Essentials students will be rewriting sentences in passive voice for...

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Does Anyone Know How to Think Anymore?

One of my favorite scenes in C.S. Lewis’s novel, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, takes place when Peter and Susan have become concerned about the fantasy world of Narnia that their sister Lucy claims to have entered. They meet with Professor Kirke to get some advice. Here is a...

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Jan 30, 2013

Four Benefits of Saxon Math

Math is not scary. Say it with me: “Math is not scary.” Perhaps you might tell me you grew up believing your sister to be a math oriented person and believing yourself to be a language oriented person (and this is the reason you think math is scary). This...

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Jan 29, 2013

What “Should” One Do?

he ethical question “What should one do?”…elicits not only knowledge, but wisdom, and it draws the interest of the student into any subject, no matter how obscure or far removed from his day-to-day concerns. It challenges the imagination and makes life the laboratory it ought to be for testing...

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Jan 21, 2013

The Neglected Muse: Why Music Is an Essential Liberal Art (Part I)

Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul.      –Plato Music transcends the classroom, the concert stage, and professional recordings. It pervades life. Mankind has long used music in all sorts of ways, to celebrate, to lament, to dance, to pray, to soothe...

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Jan 10, 2013

Why Study Mathematics? It Is the Language of Creation

Mathematics: Is God Silent? answers the question posed in its title with a resounding “No! God is by no means silent!” As we are told in Romans 1:20, God is manifestly visible in His creation: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have...

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The “Secret” of the Homeschooling Father

This is a message to fathers who are homeschooling. The question I want to answer is: Does Christianity provide much guidance to fathers about homeschooling? I am going to say yes, but first I want to back up a bit.   You and your wife are in it together,...

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The Purpose of Education

What is the purpose of education? To what end are children taught? These are questions that have been asked throughout the “classical conver­sation” of history, and they are questions that must continue to be asked. Classically, the answer about the purpose of education has been very specific. In fact,...

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Teaching Math Conversationally

For many homeschooling families, math is the most intimidating—perhaps even frightening—subject. Many feel ill-equipped to teach high school math courses. Some may even feel nervous about teaching math during the grammar years. In Classical Conversations, we emphasize skills over subjects. As parents, we need to change our thinking so...

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Jan 09, 2013

Happy New Year

The New Year is a good time to make changes in your life, because you have just experienced a time of rest and reflection. Nevertheless, it seems to be a tradition in America to make New Year resolutions and then break them before the second month begins. The reason...

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Jan 07, 2013

Be Transformed

January is the best time to curl up with a good book and a cup of hot cocoa. I’m using these cold winter nights to read the Challenge II literature because my oldest will be reading those books next year. I read the Challenge literature ahead of time so...

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