Why This Book Now
Poetry handbooks and textbooks have a long and distinguished history. In our new textbook, Learning the Secrets of English Verse, we append a 200-item bibliography of the genre, along with... Read more
Leisure in the School Day and Academic Calendar
About a decade ago, I did something remarkable – at least it seemed remarkable at the time: I threw out my calendar. It was not frenzy or anti-structural zeal that... Read more
The Lessons in Our Stories
One reason that my wife and I so enjoy the annual Great Hearts National Symposium for Classical Education is the chance to interact with people who not only find facts... Read more
Tradition and Community
I teach in one of the oldest ‘Great Books’ university programs in the United States. We still require all our incoming students to take the same sequence of intensive courses,... Read more
Virtue in Motion
Anyone who has read Plato’s Meno knows that the question of whether virtue can be taught is an ancient one. In the world of classical education, it is a question... Read more
The Soul selects her own Society
The Soul selects her own Society — Then — shuts the Door — To her divine Majority — Present no more — Unmoved — she notes the Chariots — pausing... Read more
I Don’t Teach Poetry
There. I’ve said it. Or perhaps confessed. I quit a number of years ago after noticing that, although I enjoyed books about poetry, especially Perrine’s Sound & Sense and Western... Read more
The Beauty of the Commonplace
It’s Thursday evening and the girls are asking about tomorrow’s “special breakfast.” I’ve just returned from a trip and haven’t had a chance to think about it, but thankfully my... Read more
Conversation is Our Work
My earliest memories of learning are from conversations with my mother. I was homeschooled, and these took place at the kitchen table and at the grocery store and just about... Read more
Issue 14: The Director’s Take
Remember the last time you had one of those late-night, non-stop conversations with a dear friend? Topics arose and metamorphosed as you discovered new pathways of thought in the exchange... Read more
Conversation in Mathematics
Picture an orchestra. Violinists bow, trumpeters blow, and drummers thump, all contributing their knowledge and skill in accord with the conductor’s lead. When a community of unique individuals shares their... Read more
