Excerpts from Climbing Parnassus What does Classical education mean today? We find that, in an uninstructed age, the old regimen needs not only defending but also defining. Once classical education pointed to an elite course of instruction based upon Greek and Latin, the two great languages of the classical world. But it also delved […]
Tag Archives: classical education
My wife and I live on a little hill on a country lane in Kentucky. From my front porch, which is surrounded by trees and flowers, I can see farmland for twenty miles or so. It is my favorite place to be. And my favorite thing to do is to sit there in my oak […]
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, […]
Herman Melville is often criticized for his long digressions in Moby-Dick. But Melville does not digress. His thoughts—even six hundred pages of his thoughts—really were worth writing down. My students, holding the inches-thick volume in their hands and perusing the table of contents, have trouble believing this. Nevertheless, when I teach Melville’s great work, I […]
Far and few, far and few Are the lands where the Jumblies live. — Edward Lear Amidst all the academic rigor, children need a little nonsense. Not only do we love to hear our children giggle, nonsense stretches a child’s mind. A little silliness can take them to unexpected, liberating places. We could research scientific […]
If you are a classical educator—either a teacher in a school or a homeschooler—there is one question you will be asked again and again: Why teach Latin? This is probably because there seems on the surface to be no practical reason for doing it. Why would we consider studying Latin with so many other priorities […]
In a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, Mark Schatzker makes an observation that is at once obvious and seldom thought about: There is a natural connection between the good taste of food and its nutritional value. Decades ago, most foods in stores were locally grown, left on the plant longer, and not only […]
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. […]
The Invention of Meaning Through Comparison Modern education occupies a great deal of time—nine months per year, six hours per day, and countless hours keeping up with homework. Yet, how much do most American students actually know by the end of twelfth grade? Can they solve basic math problems in their mind without using a […]
What I Learned From My Mother Julia Kasdorf I learned from my mother how to love the living, to have plenty of vases on hand in case you have to rush to the hospital with peonies cut from the lawn, black ants still stuck to the buds. I learned to save jars […]