Author: Paul Schaeffer

Paul Schaeffer is the Director of the School Division of Memoria Press and in that position has helped in numerous start-up schools. He is one of the few professionals working in classical education who received such an education himself. He has taught middle school, high school, and college-level Latin internationally. In Louisville, Kentucky, he led students through Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey and other great works at Highlands Latin School. He is a regular contributor to The Classical Teacher magazine.

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

Which Latin Program Do I Start With?

Many parents and teachers ask how Memoria Press’ Latin programs relate to each other. When do I start? In what order should I use them? What if I start late? Let’s look at each individual program in order. PRIMA LATINA Prima Latina is the ideal beginner program. It is a simple course of study, consisting …

By Paul Schaeffer January 5, 2018 Latin, Winter 2018 No Comments

Lost in Translation

Parents often ask classical educators, “What good is Latin going to do for my child? Is spending all those years on a dead language really going to educate my child?” We trip over ourselves in pointing out the many benefits of learning Latin. It trains students to think logically, to better understand grammatical concepts, and …

By Paul Schaeffer May 23, 2017 Latin, Summer 2017 No Comments

The Condemned Teacher

Socrates lived in Athens 2,500 years ago and he died being faithful to what he taught. Perhaps that is why educators through the ages have looked to him for inspiration and as a model. But his attitude toward teaching has been transformed into a “method” and the ideal technique in the neo-classical movement. But what …

By Paul Schaeffer April 14, 2017 How to Teach, Spring 2017 No Comments

Tempus Fugit

In today’s materialistic society, the thing we all seem to want more of is immaterial: time. Homeschool parents struggle to teach multiple children in different grades. Classroom teachers have up to 25 or 30 students in a single grade (15 as a maximum if they are lucky), and their time in the classroom is diminished with music classes, art …

By Paul Schaeffer April 1, 2016 Classical Education, Homeschooling, Latin, Spring 2016 No Comments

Go Socratic

The oracle at Delphi stated that no man was wiser than Socrates. Socrates was so shocked by that claim that he went around questioning everyone in Athens, hoping to find someone who was wiser than he. He was such a nuisance, such a “doubter,” that he was put on trial. Like the Athenians Socrates questioned, …

By Paul Schaeffer December 21, 2015 Homeschooling, Logic, Winter 2015-16 No Comments

Au Means…Gold?

I often address parents at schools that are trying to add Latin to their curriculum. At one meeting in particular, I was under the impression that there were several scientists and doctors in the room. As I extolled the benefits of Latin, I wondered how they were going to take my assertions that Latin would …

By Paul Schaeffer May 20, 2015 Latin, Summer 2015 No Comments

Unlocking the Treasure Chest of Latin

If you were to walk into a gym today, you would see men and women doing repetitive exercises that are seemingly pointless. Take, for example, lifting weights. Someone who had never been to a gym before would be confused. “Why does he keep lifting that heavy piece of metal and putting it back where it …

By Paul Schaeffer April 18, 2015 Latin, Spring 2015 No Comments

Book Review – Climbing Parnassus: A New Apologia for Greek and Latin

Mt. Parnassus was considered by the ancients to be the dwelling place of the Greek god Apollo and the nine muses. They were the inspiration for almost all knowledge and expression: science, philosophy, art, music, etc. The ancients constantly looked towards Parnassus as a symbol of “poetic inspiration and perfection.” These last words are author …

By Paul Schaeffer March 1, 2015 Classical Education, Spring 2015 No Comments

From Latin Student to Latin Teacher: This is not a test…

“Look, Mom, I’ve finished memorizing the first declension!” I was in third grade and ecstatic. My two older sisters had been studying Latin with Cheryl Lowe for a year or two already, and I was anxious to prove I could do it too. “Then let’s hear you recite it,” was my sister’s reply. “A, ae, …

By Paul Schaeffer December 1, 2014 Latin, Winter 2014 No Comments