In his book, Study Smart: A Christian Guide to Academic Success, John Seel argues, Christian schools celebrate Lewis, Tolkien, and Chesterton, but we somehow give students the impression that their genius and Christian mind was innate rather than cultivated over a lifetime of disciplined study, selective mentorship, and daily habits. In doing so, we teach a lie, and distort their views and practice. It’s time to let people fail, to hold students accountable, to resist …
Category: On Teaching
David Hicks rightly notes that the classical educator sees, as one of his aims, educating the student both for the world’s fight and for the soul’s salvation. The seeming paradox of this goal is nowhere more apparent than in our modern era’s obsession with technological progress. Writing in 1956, Romano Guardini provides some prophetic insights into the motivations and probable outcomes of the modern era’s obsession with progress and technology (an obsession toward which modern …
If Aristotle, who was a pagan and a philosopher too, painted such a picture among men who were not holy and learned in the Scriptures, how much more is it fit for one who moves in the place of Christ to fulfill the task? -Desiderius Erasmus …
Thou shalt teach to the glory of God and for the love of thy neighbor. Thou shalt own more books than you will ever read in your lifetime—a number of them being well-read and marked up. Thou shalt strive to be the expert in thy field while also reading broadly and learning new languages. Thou shalt write every day and publish at regular intervals. Thou shalt always be prepared to teach. Thou shalt teach students …
The French philosopher, Simone Weil, wrote a short essay on education in 1942 titled, REFLECTIONS ON THE RIGHT USE OF SCHOOL STUDIES WITH A VIEW TO THE LOVE OF GOD. Following is a short excerpt from the essay: The Key to a Christian conception of studies is the realisation that prayer consists of attention. It is the orientation of all the attention of which the soul is capable towards God. The quality of attention counts …
Modern education, explains Verene, “is a quest for certainty in thought and application in practice.” This is why our modern centers for education deplore freedom of speech, the questioning of authority, and the belief that absolute truth can be pursued. Certainty and application are better achieved through social constructs, assertions of power, and job skills training (ideas successfully put to work). Classical or humane education is about ideas and how those ideas relate to the …