Not long ago, I read Babe: The Gallant Pig to my children as part of our ongoing building of a family canon of literature. I remember when the movie adaption came out (I won’t tell how old I was to avoid self-incrimination) and recalled that I had not been impressed at that time. However, in following our standard practice, the movie viewing was proffered following the completion of the reading of the book. …
Category: Culture
Alexander Pushkin wrote a fairy tale called “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish”, which is based on an older telling by the Brothers Grimm. In this story, a poor fisherman manages to catch a miraculous golden fish, which promises a wish to the fisherman in exchange for his freedom. The fisherman is too surprised and taken aback to take advantage of this offer and instead frees the fish. When he returns home he …
What follows is not meant to be a political rant or op-ed. It is an observation followed by the assertion of a simple solution to one of the most enormous and complex bugbears facing society today. The hobgoblin I have in mind is not one of your typical most-wanted public enemies that dominate conversations in the public square. In one particular way, it is a serpent more dangerous than legalized abortion, more slimy than same-sex …
The Education of John Quincy Adams In this letter (full letter below), John Adams is writing to his son about his education, its importance, and the subjects that should be the focus of his attention, which were “Your exercises in Latin and Greek” which “must not be omitted a single day…”. He also encourages him to plod steadily, staying that “a regular distribution of your time is of great importance.” The Precious Advantage of a …
What does the word “rhetoric” mean to you? Most people associate “rhetoric” with words that are big, showy, or empty, fake, and manipulative. Why would we want to teach our children how to use words to manipulate people? As an online teacher at Kepler Education who teaches Rhetoric, I’d like to submit that rhetoric is inescapable. We are surrounded by rhetoric. It’s not a question of whether our students are going to learn rhetoric–it’s a …
In the midst of the global COVID-19 crisis, there are many features of our modern life that we take for granted. Toilet paper, meat, hand sanitizer … and hospitals. Although adequate medical care is still tragically absent in many countries throughout the world, a huge percentage of the world’s population can simply go to a hospital when they need medical attention. This fact is worth pausing over. For much of human history, it was not …