Apr 08, 2014

Should We Teach Students that Science Studies Only Material Causes?

In my previous article discussing Phillip Johnson and Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds, I made a strong case for why a Christian should reject materialism in very strong terms. One issue, however, that is often brought forward regarding science is the question of methodological materialism (also called methodological naturalism)—the idea that we can,...

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Apr 07, 2014

Why One Pagan Ruler Forbid Christians from Teaching Pagan Classics

I need to tell a story, a true story from our own history. This story will help us to answer some questions we have about the content which we use to educate our children. It may also shed some light on the decisions that our government makes with regard...

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Apr 03, 2014

Divided Responsibility

To me, a professor asking a question is a professor expecting a response. In my Classical Conversations seminars, students rarely failed to provide some kind of comment when asked. More often, in fact, tutors had to help choreograph the admittance of so many eager answers. I remember innumerable occasions on which...

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Apr 02, 2014

Latin from High School to College: How Challenge Prepares Students for the Next Level

Latin is alive and well at the college level, and Challenge III and IV (equivalent to junior and senior years of high school in the traditional education system) will prepare your student to join the conversation. In fact, the conversation could turn out to be a lot more familiar...

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Mar 31, 2014

What’s Your Big Hairy Monster?

Chapters Six through Eight – Math, Geography, and Logic What’s Your Big Hairy Monster? by Cara McLauchlan “Teach your student to use these resources to find information about a concept he does not understand. Parents can model this habit for their students simply by being willing to say, ‘I...

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Mar 28, 2014

What I Love Most about Checklists

What I love most about checklists is the moment when I mark the last item complete. There are few things as satisfying as the sight of that ink-blackened paper, demonstrating to the world that I have met all expectations for the day. I am convinced that checklists make me...

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Mar 26, 2014

All Out for Pleasure

The Little Red Hen understood the real world. She asked for help as she planted, nurtured, harvested, milled, and baked. No one cared about helping with the work. Everyone wanted to enjoy the freshly baked bread. She rightly allowed only those who worked for the bread to enjoy it....

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The Blessings of Essentials

Think about the word “essence.” What does it evoke? To me, it calls to mind the idea of spirit. That is, when I consider the essence of something, I think of its central nature—the permanent characteristics of a thing, its fundamental and principal foundations and the elements that make...

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“The Wood where Things have no Names”: A Story of Latin and the Essentials Program, with Apologies to Dorothy Sayers

“. . . if I were asked what, of all the things I was ever taught, has been of the greatest practical use to me, I should have to answer: the Latin Grammar. An early grounding in the Latin Grammar has these advantages: 1. It is the quickest and...

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Essentials isn’t just for writing!

“Men’s natures are alike; it is their habits that carry them far apart.” Confucius (551–479 BC) Habits are not set in an instant. Instead they take weeks, months, or years to form. Taking the time to develop excellent habits of the mind blesses the thinker both personally and publically....

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Mar 25, 2014

Reading Phillip Johnson

One of the ideas behind Challenge B is introducing students to the relationship between science and faith, represented by the books The Soul of Science and Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds. Unfortunately, Phillip Johnson’s Defeating Darwinism is often misunderstood by both his supporters and his critics. Therefore, I want to take this opportunity to...

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Mar 24, 2014

Why Latin for Multiple Years? From Caesar to Cicero, Here’s Why!

Why take Latin for multiple years of Challenge? The answer is not just that it looks good on a college application. Although that is certainly one very real benefit, the principles of learning Latin are much more important. Why Authentic Latin Matters I few years ago, I heard people...

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