Blog | Memoria Press

Three Blind Mice

They all went after the farmer’s wife, Who cut off their tails with a carving knife … Not any more, it seems. Apparently, in today’s politically correct world, toddlers aren’t supposed to hear about tails being cut off with carving knives. (At least so it appears, based on a doctored rendition of “Three Blind Mice” …

By Carol Reynolds April 5, 2018 Music, Spring 2018, The Classical Teacher No Comments

The Four Causes of Classical Education

When do you really know what something is?” When your philosophy teacher asks this, your gut reaction is to roll your eyes and say, “Here we go again.” Or you get up and walk out. Or—and this is the best option—you say, “Hmm. I’ve never thought about that.” Thinking deeply about thinking is what philosophers …

By Paul Schaeffer April 5, 2018 Classical Education, Spring 2018, The Classical Teacher No Comments

A Long Day’s Journey Into Paradise

In the Winter 2018 issue of The Classical Teacher, I wrote about the notion of the journey, suggesting that how we get to any worthy destination may in fact be the most important part of the experience. The journey is not always about the future destination; sometimes it is about the inner growth that takes …

By David M. Wright April 3, 2018 Literature, Spring 2018, The Classical Teacher No Comments

Spelling: The Meticulous Twin

Spelling is the meticulous twin sister of Reading. Reading may receive all the adulation, but Spelling accomplishes the work. Spelling is where students of Reading come to master their lessons. The Role of Spelling Hard-working, durable, and orderly, Spelling holds a respected role in education. Early in the first century, Quintilian wrote: As regards syllables, …

By Cheryl Swope April 2, 2018 Special Needs, Spring 2018, The Classical Teacher No Comments

A Homeschool is Still a School

I recently conducted a webinar for administrators of classical schools, in which the guidelines for the classical classroom were addressed. Having been involved in home education for a number of years educating our own six children prior to entering the classical school arena, first as a teacher and then as an administrator, I find myself …

By Kathy Becker April 2, 2018 Homeschooling, Spring 2018, The Classical Teacher No Comments

Classical Education is More Than a Method

If you were to ask most classical educators what classical education is, you would find them hard-pressed to give a short, coherent answer. That is the way with a lot of movements: It’s easy to get swept up in the enthusiasm, but when asked to formulate what it is that excites you, it’s hard to …

By Martin Cothran April 1, 2018 Classical Education, Spring 2018, The Classical Teacher No Comments

The Four Questions You Can Ask About Anything

The most basic thing we can ask about anything is “What is it?” Young children explicitly ask this question all the time. But even adults do it, although they may not do it explicitly, or even think about doing it at all. We ask this about words we don’t know, and things we encounter for …

By Martin Cothran March 30, 2018 Logic, Spring 2018, The Classical Teacher No Comments

Caveat Emptor: What to Look for in a Latin Program

With the rise in popularity of classical education, more and more parents are considering adding Latin to their curriculum. But many times parents are too quick to pick up any Latin program that promises easy results or to improve SAT scores. Here are a few considerations in choosing a Latin program for your student. 1. …

By Leigh Lowe March 29, 2018 Latin, Spring 2018, The Classical Teacher No Comments

Letter from the Editor: Spring 2018

In 79 A.D., the catastrophic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in eastern Italy covered nearby towns in ash and completely buried many of them. Accounts of the ancient eruption paint a horrific scene: Volcanic pumice rained from the skies and waves of searing hot gas and debris swept over the nearby landscape. Thousands died where they …

By Martin Cothran March 6, 2018 Letter from the Editor, Spring 2018, The Classical Teacher No Comments

Memoria, Memoriae

Training the Memory with a Classical Education In the Dickens novel Great Expectations, Estella admits, “There was a long hard time when I kept far from me the remembrance of what I had thrown away when I was quite ignorant of its worth.” So it is today with the lost art of training the memory …

By Cheryl Swope January 10, 2018 Special Needs, Winter 2018 No Comments