“Above all things one should train and exercise a child’s memory. Whether children are naturally gifted with a good memory or, on the contrary, are naturally forgetful, the memory should be trained. The natural advantage will be strengthened, or the natural shortcoming made up. The former class will excel others, the latter will excel themselves.” […]
One morning a welcoming cohort gathered with me around a seminar table for the course “Difference and Human Dignity in the Great Tradition” at Templeton Honors College at Eastern University in Philadelphia. A cohort, I had learned prior to my arrival, is “a group of people who are banded together.” The intelligent faces around me […]
Once upon a time, when a person intended to learn about education, the words “Western civilization” did not offend him. Today, for reasons that elude many of us, hearers now take offense at these words and the studies they embody. I witnessed this firsthand at a recent homeschooling convention in a room filled to its […]
What is it to be human? And how does our response to this question shed light on how we orient our hearts toward persons with disabilities? These two questions have guided much of my reading and thinking over the past few years as I have designed a course called “Difference and Human Dignity in the […]
Some parents and educators have the misconception that classical education is only for “smart kids.” It is easy to understand why someone might think this way. Latin at age eight? Homer by fourteen? With such standards, one might reason, surely classical education is only for born geniuses—the brightest and best of our children. But what […]
In recent years I find I have begun serving on boards, task forces, and even in a Think Tank. Such appointments are an honor, and are idyllic in many ways. Dropped into the midst of brilliant, visionary people, I appreciate listening, learning, and contemplating ideas. However, I have learned that no matter the intelligence or […]
If you appreciate the covers and beauty of design throughout our magazine, you must meet the designer who lends elegance and artistry to every issue. A quiet young woman, she approached me with tears in her eyes after our Sodalitas conference sessions on struggling learners one year. Assigned to photograph our sessions, she had also […]
When my grandma left me more than half a century of diaries, she gave me much more than large boxes of small books. She gave me a keyhole through which to peer into the span of her life. Often at night I draw open another volume and close my eyes to breathe in the faint […]
“I would love to get my child on Memoria Press, but I can’t figure out where.” That was my very first forum post three years ago. It was 3:00 a.m. in mid-August. By 10:00 a.m. Cheryl Swope had responded with a customized curriculum plan for my child. She recommended we switch to the Simply Classical […]
Recently I attended some out-of-town meetings on parochial education. As I left my hotel room to face the long day ahead of me, prepared but a little hesitant to begin the extended and mind-intensive work, I gathered my name tag and folder. I scanned the hotel room one last time to see if I had […]