In a world dominated by science and technology, the value of legible cursive penmanship must be defended. Why indeed spend time on developing a beautiful cursive hand today? Training in Accuracy and Discipline Penmanship, both manuscript and cursive, is an important part of education. Neat, legible penmanship is an important factor in the development of […]
Many who are attracted to the idea of a classical education don’t know exactly why, nor do they understand the necessity for Latin, or at least so much of it. A little bit of Latin is a good thing, they say, but every year? Spinach is a good thing, but every day? In classical education, […]
There are a lot of good reasons for thinking that Latin should be restored to its former place of honor as the basic subject in the elementary years. In previous issues of The Classical Teacher, I talked about some of these. But knowing that you should teach it and knowing how to teach it are […]
Because of the education meltdown in the twentieth century, the art of teaching Latin—and nearly everything else—has essentially been lost. As we work to restore the content of the classical curriculum, we must also strive to resurrect the art of teaching it. Latin, as it was taught in the second half of the twentieth century, was a two-year ordeal—grammar in the […]
In two previous articles, we have explored the question: What is the classical approach to phonics? I have shown that Orton-Gillingham phonics, which is designed for students with dyslexia, is in every respect a classic traditional phonics program. I have also shown that Romalda Spalding, in The Writing Road to Reading (WRTR), though she used the Orton phonograms, created a totally different […]
In the Summer 2014 Classical Teacher, I wrote an extensive article exploring the question, “What is the Classical Approach to Phonics?” The contention of that article was that there are two basic approaches to phonics in the classical education world: the traditional method and the Spalding method. The Spalding method is based on the book The Writing Road to Reading (WRTR), […]
In his 1911 book The Teaching of Latin and Greek, Charles Bennett listed the central principles of Latin instruction. Although this book has long been out of print, it contains what I believe to be the most helpful explanation of how Latin should be taught. It is these principles which underlie Memoria Press’ Forms series. […]
When you ask a fellow teacher or homeschool parent what classical education is, you’re likely to get a different answer every time. To one person it is the study of history chronologically, to another it is simply a challenging academic curriculum. To many, particularly in recent decades, classical education is seen as the application of […]
I started learning Latin many years ago with an old “Jenney” text that I picked up in a used bookstore. I made it about halfway through the text before I broke down in frustration. When I discovered the Henle Latin series, I was thrilled to find a text with which I could really learn Latin. […]
Reason #10: Literature What is literature, and what is it for anyway? Have you ever wondered that? It’s not practical like science and math, so what is its purpose? Why do we include literature in our curriculum, how do we choose it, and what do we hope to achieve by reading literature? These are some […]