NOTE: The following post is from our good colleague, Dr. David Rothman, an accomplished scholar and poet, who continues to produce works of wonder and humor under the inspiration of the Muse. It would be hard to find anyone in education who is unaware of the tremendous structural problems facing the industry, especially private higher ed, in...
As we approach the weekend and continue to reflect on our cultural moment, it seems fitting to reconsider one of America's First Principles: free speech. Rather than provide a disquisition, I'm going to refer to the legal resource website, Justia, with its page on "Freedom of Expression: The Philosophical Basis," where we read the following: "Other...
(NOTE: This entry was composed by Nikhil Jandhyala, an intern with the Institute and an alumnus of Anthem Preparatory Academy.) Mathematics can be a strenuous study for many. A 2018 Pew Research poll shows that students do not pursue mathematics in college due to the difficulty of the subject. Perhaps the difficulty comes from the delivery of the subject: the way math is taught. Jake Tawney, a veteran math teacher and teacher...
Certainly we find ourselves in trying times, between a global pandemic, with all of its economic implications, and the social unrest that simmers and then boils over onto the streets of American cities. It’s tough out there, and it’s hard to get our bearings in the 24/7 news cycle with its constant stream of information and conflicting reports. Meanwhile, parents face the strain of determining their children’s future, as...
Today’s video-lecture is from this year’s National Classical Education Symposium. Our conference theme, “The Historian’s Craft,” provided ample room for both historians and other subject matter experts, who could speak to the ways in which history pertains to other disciplines. From Dr. Owen Anderson’s lecture, we learn that another discipline, philosophy, affects the ways in which we...
NOTE: The following post is from our good colleague, Dr. David Rothman, an accomplished scholar and poet, who continues to produce works of wonder and humor under the inspiration of the Muse. My title comes from the title of an enigmatic late poem by Richard Hugo (1923-’82), a title also used for his posthumously published Collected Poems (1984). The phrase has always...
One of the many fringe benefits of friendship is the sharing of probing thoughts and the artful expression of ideas. Just this morning, a good friend texted me today’s article by David Brooks (New York Times), which provided me with some real hope, based on specific developments in the world of punditry and public discourse. According...
“Math is the beautiful, rich, joyful, playful, surprising, frustrating, humbling and creative art that speaks to something transcendental,” says mathematician and teacher trainer James Tanton of the Mathematical Association of America. That’s quite a list of adjectives—and not the usual suspects to describe math for many. We featured Dr. Tanton in the most recent issue of...
To participate in worldly and societal affairs is an inclination common to all, but to actively engage in intellectual endeavors allows one to ease the demand of constantly creating social and political outcomes. These endeavors nurture a sort of natural reflection of oneself that is ultimately ordered for its own sake. When one commits himself to the intellectual life, he allows...
As a society we are increasingly divided—from each other and from our past. However, because a classical, liberal education is deeply historical, it is well suited to help bridge that widening gulf and to be a source of cultural renewal. It accomplishes this through the formal study of history and by developing a historical habit...