Author: Patrick Egan
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Wisdom from the Heights of the Mountain Top: Inspiration from Thomas Aquinas
Onlookers viewing the reconstruction of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris might experience something similar to what onlookers in the 1200s had when the original construction of Notre Dame was still underway. Having begun in 1163, it was not completed until 1345. The site of its construction rests upon an island in the middle…
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Three Key Skills to Develop during High School
For high school students, college looms large in the mind. Frequently, the focus is on grades and graduation requirements. But the most effective way to become optimally prepared for college is to delve into concepts surrounding human learning. In particular, students who gain a sense of themselves as learners who can manage their own learning…
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Gifted to Serve: Spiritual Gifting and High School Students
The Via Sabaste was a Roman road that cut through the heart of Asia Minor, bringing traffic of all sorts through the small town of Lystra. Well-formed routes such as this enabled the rapid expansion of the church in the first century. Despite the ease of travel, Paul’s first visit to Lystra could not have…
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Ancient Wisdom for the New Economy
Our educational renewal movement comes at a peculiar time in history. Classical education around the globe plugs us into something the predates many of the movements that shape the conventional educational assumptions of our day. One could identify the Enlightenment as the starting point of conventional education, largely because of the empirical epistemology that championed…
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Learning to Appreciate Beauty: A Deep Dive into Picture Study
Amongst the subjects that epitomize Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education, picture study – otherwise known as artist study or art study – offers so much scope for us to consider how classical education can benefit from a deeper understanding of Mason’s methods. When we think about the classical tradition, we often focus on the great…
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How to Teach Grit and the Growth Mindset
Over the years we have written about grit and growth mindset here at Educational Renaissance. These are important areas of recent research that align well with the aims of our educational renewal movement. But one of the really tricky issues is whether we can teach grit and growth mindset. Is it the case that children…
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Goal Setting and Habits: Starting the New Year SMARTer
It is the start of 2024 and I return once more to the topic of habits. There is an ancient tradition associating habits with virtues. It was Aristotle, for instance, who wrote that “moral virtue comes about as a result of habit” (Nichomachean Ethics 2:1 or 1103a15-b25, trans. W. D. Ross). At the beginning of…
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The Incarnation of Jesus and Incarnational Ministry in the Classroom
It’s at this time of year that we cultivate a sense of the incarnation with the buildup to the Christmas holiday. We see lots of decorations. There are school performances and church pageants. Our routines change to accommodate a plethora of Christmas parties. Despite the celebrating and decorating, there’s a deep concern about the commercialization…
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Miss Stacy and Miss Shirley: Three Characteristics of an Effective Teacher
Set amidst the idyllic scenes of Prince Edward Island, one of Canada’s eastern most provinces, the story of Anne Shirley serves up excellent reading for Middle Schoolers. The first in a series of short novels written by Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables tells the story of an orphan girl, Anne Shirley, who is…
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Guiding a New Generation: Six Alternatives to College
In this series on college guidance, we have worked within the framework that most if not all students are destined to attend a four-year college. I began by questioning the current state of affairs in higher education. There is a massive educational-industrial complex that serves as the gateway to the industrial economy. However, many recent…