University of Oklahoma Provost and classical school parent, Kyle Harper, explains why Plato's aim in education was to shape affections and not merely position students for politics and wealth. Read here.
Raphael's The School of Athens
Is your school suited to serve your son?
American culture has grown increasingly hostile to boys. Recently, Allison Hull has wondered why Disney hates boys so much. But Disney's dearth of admirable male characters is part a larger problem for boys.
Christina Hoff Sommers, writing in Time, argues that school has become hostile to boys. Albert Mohler summarizes the article and considers evidence that documents a growing gap between male and female academic performance, with boys performance suffering (click here; the discussion begins at the 8:00 mark).
Classical Christian education takes seriously the differences between boys and girls, and seeks to cultivate the best of each sex. In my own involvement in classical Christian education, we spend considerable time discussing how we best serve boys in age increasingly hostile to them.
Gregory the Great Academy in PA is giving attention to what a good education for boys looks like ("boys need adventure!"):
I'm curious, how does your school create an environment well-suited to boys?
Christian education should look backward and forward
A Christian education must simultaneously look backward and forward. That is, Christian education must grapple with both the realities of the Fall (looking backward) and the realities of the New Creation (looking forward).
Without an awareness of the Fall and sin, a school's education can grow mushy, churning out students armed with sentimentality, not faithful compassion.
The schools who recognize the pinch of sin will best prepare students to "pollute the shadows," as N.D. Wilson puts it. The following video from Jonathan Edwards Classical Academy underscores the point:
But schools can't just look backwards, for students may grow crusty and cynical. In order to avoid the drift toward disillusionment, schools must look forward, to the hope of Christ's redemptive work. The Academy of Classical Christian Studies has developed a video that emphasizes the gaze forward, to the realities of the New Creation:
A balanced Christian education keeps both the Fall and redemption in view; teachers and administrators should bear in mind both Adam and Christ; students should have a keen memory of the Garden and at the same time expectant anticipation for the Garden-City, the New Jerusalem. When these bookends of Scripture frame the educational task - echoing in every class, hallway and cafeteria - students will be well-equipped to lovingly serve a world in need.
What's in a video?
The Academy's Todd Wedel provides sharp analysis on how the educational vision of a Mindhenge video differs from a that of a video explaining the Common Core. Read the article here.
The Smartest Kids in the World
Albert Mohler interviews Amanda Ripley about the smartest kids in the world.
Is your school more Finnish or S. Korean in its approach?
The Little Mermaid and Parental Authority
Hans Christian Andersen’s 1837 classic, The Little Mermaid, tells the story of a young and beautiful (but melancholy) mermaid princess who longs for the love of a human prince. Only there is a problem, no matter how attractive a mermaid’s top half might be, humans consider fish tails “quite ugly,” the mermaid’s grandmother explains, making it unlikely any human prince would ever reciprocate the mermaid’s love. Ignoring grandma’s warning and “forsaking…kindred and home,” the little mermaid through the help of the sea witch becomes human but tragically fails to win the prince’s love. Having lost her beautiful voice, her loving family and home, and the prince she adores, the little mermaid turns to sea foam.
Disney’s The Little Mermaid diverges from Andersen’s in a number of telling ways. Read the rest here.
Post-Election College Paper Grading Rubric
This is fantastic. It would be a helpful exercise to walk through this rubric with a high school class and discuss it as an example of what not to do. My favorite line: A "winner" paper's organization "Displays absolute rhetorical flexibility and is unshackled by internal consistency."
On the staggering growth of classical Christian education
A helpful article explaining the growth of classical Christian education.
Classical Schools: Authorities on Education
Nicholas Kardaras, author of Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction is Hijacking Our Kids – and How to Break the Trance, warns of the problems associated with too much screen time. In a recent Time article, Kardaras notes how screen technologies have spawned a “seismic shift” in education. The underlying assumption in this shift is that technology always benefits schooling. “This,” says Kardaras, “is a lie.” As Karadaras claims, “[t]ech in the classroom not only leads to worse educational outcomes for kids…it can also clinically hurt them.”
As many of you know, the latest Mindhenge video takes up the technology and education topic. Like the other Mindhenge videos, this latest video addresses a topic I find myself having to regularly discuss in my role as headmaster. Classical Christian schools take a unique position on technology and education, setting them apart within the educational landscape.
My goal with these videos is to help classical schools become known as purveyors of education in their communities; professionals who offer a distinct approach to education - an approach that has stood the test of time. I believe these videos can help communities view their local classical school as an authority on education.
Next month, I plan to share why I believe your school’s use of these videos is an effective recruiting and educational tool.