Tag: education
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The Soul of Education, Part 4: Epicureanism and the Material, Atomistic Soul
In our series on the soul of education, we are investigating historical views of the soul that have an impact on both the purpose and the methods of education, maintaining the thesis that our anthropology will inevitably influence our pedagogy. Having engaged with the profound but often fragmented dualism of Plato and the integrated hylomorphism…
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The Story of Civilization: The Golden Age of Greece
If someone were to stop you on the street and ask, “What is classical education?” I might have just described a nightmare scenario for a classical school parent. “Umm,” you begin. “It’s the trivium—grammar, logic, and rhetoric.” “It’s…classical art and music. Like Beethoven and Mozart. Plus math and science.” “It’s the pursuit of goodness, truth,…
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The Role of Imagination in Education
Imagination. The word brings so much to mind for us today. If there’s one thing that everybody can agree on for children, it’s the need to help them develop a vivid imagination through school, play, and well… everything they do. Or perhaps, ‘develop a vivid imagination’ is the wrong way of putting it. “Every child…
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The Soul of Education, Part 1: What Is a Human Being?
Every educational philosophy necessarily relies on a pre-existing view of the human person. Anthropology informs pedagogy. Many of the problems that classical Christian educators have identified in conventional education have their roots in a false or insufficient view of human beings. The factory model of education, for instance, underrates certain aspects of human development and…
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The Education of the Count of Monte Cristo
What are the proper sources for an educational philosophy? Should educators read only sociological journals and experiment in their classroom for the best results? Or is there something more humane and artistic in the nature of teaching? We have decried the technicism and scientism characteristic of modern education before. One consequence of these trends is…
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3 Leadership Books for Teachers
Teachers are the leaders of their classrooms. Now, this may seem obvious (who else would be in charge?), so let me explain. Teachers are responsible for the execution of classroom objectives and the development of their students. In a healthy school, they are given the freedom and responsibility, within a broader structure of administrative oversight,…
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Funding the Mission: Values for Fundraising in Christian, Classical Schools
At Educational Renaissance, we seek to promote a rebirth of ancient wisdom for the modern era. We believe that education is so much more than getting good grades, receiving admission to prestigious universities, and fulfilling state requirements. To be sure, evaluation is productive, higher education is valuable, and scripture grants government an important role in…
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The Human Brain and the Liberal Arts
For some Christians, brain science and talk of “caring for your brain” can be uncomfortable. It smacks of a physicalist conception of reality in which all we are is our physical bodies. As Christians, we believe in the reality of the soul and a transcendent immaterial world. To focus myopically on the brain may cause…
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Insights on Education from the Life of John Adams
This past month I have been reading David McCullough’s biography on John Adams. Adams, as you may recall, was a key leader amongst the colonies throughout their concerted effort to gain independence from British rule. He experienced first hand the benefits of life in the British Empire as well as the eventual challenges. Adams would…
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Life in Plato’s Republic, Part 2: Building the Just City
“Don’t you know that the beginning is the most important place of every work and that this is especially so with anything young and tender? For at that stage it’s most plastic, and each thing assimilates itself to the model whose stamp anyone wishes to give it.” Plato, Republic, Book II Welcome back to my…