How we approach a book can parallel the way we approach life itself. We can spend our time merely in pursuit of pleasure or we can strive toward a higher goal—the pursuit of what John Henry Newman calls the “philosophical habit of mind.” We would never dismiss the pleasure that reading can bring, but we […]
Herman Melville’s (very) short story, “The Lightning-Rod Man,” should be required reading for anyone who consumes the daily news. It rings with modern relevance despite being published in 1854. In the story, we meet a homeowner who lives in a mountain region in Albania known since ancient times as Cape Thunder. He is enjoying a […]
Children’s literature could save the world. I believe that. Stories and books are the primary means of passing culture on to children and have been for countless generations. If we claim to want authority over our children’s education we should refuse to relinquish the privilege of educating them to technology in our homes, cars, and […]
In Aesop’s well-known fable, “The Ant and the Grasshopper,” the lazy Grasshopper fails to prepare for the future, choosing instead to sing away autumn days in the sun. The industrious Ant, by contrast, works hard collecting grain and preparing for the upcoming winter. The story tells us that when winter finally comes, the hungry Grasshopper […]
Memorization is the cornerstone of a traditional education. At Memoria Press, we use repetition, memorization, and formal recitations to create a comprehensive, connected, and consistent experience for students from junior kindergarten through twelfth grade. Naturally, if memorization is the goal, repetition and recitation are the complements—repetition as the preparation and recitation as the proof and […]
Charlotte’s Web, written by E. B. White in 1952, is a quintessential book for children. While conveying important truths about the nature of people and the world, it is also an imaginative, happy story about life on a family farm. The book gives us a clever glimpse into the lives of our animal friends while […]
What is a classical education? The essential core of classical Christian education includes the study of Latin and the classical civilizations of Greece and Rome. — Cheryl Lowe What is the goal of classical education? Classical education focuses on the development of the whole student—heart, mind, and soul. It strives to give students a broad […]
C. S. Lewis said, “No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally (and often far more) worth reading at the age of fifty.” The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald is a book worth reading. It is worthy of the primary student as an exemplary fairy tale […]
I had five children in seven years. Hungry babies, teething toddlers, and preschoolers with vivid dreams left me intensely sleep-deprived for about a decade. All parents know this season. It is a time of sacrifice and love that we expect and accept. But even so, the pain of exhaustion is real. My mom likes to […]
As classical educators, we recognize that we seek for our students (and ourselves) not simply knowledge, but wisdom. Our goal is to master not simply our content, but our character. Refinement in both thought and deed is the ultimate reward of education. Of course, we can never fully know what the head or heart of […]