Beauty for Truth's Sake by Stratford Caldecott

A fellow teacher recommended Beauty for Truth's Sake by Stratford Caldecott, stating that it had a great impact upon her. Since I greatly respect her, I figured her recommendation was as good a reason as any to buy it and read it. 

I had to read it twice. 

It's very dense. Even the title, Beauty for Truth's Sake, is enigmatic. What does that even mean? Even after reading the book twice, I'm still not sure that I can explain it. 

Caldecott is making the case for re-enchanting education. He believes we went wrong when we separated Faith and Reason. 

He begins with a discussion of the trivium, grammar, logic, and rhetoric, and the quadrivium, arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy, which together compose the seven liberal arts. As understood by the ancients, it was the study of these things that would lead a student to the ultimate good, which was the study of God. In this world, faith and reason worked together to free the student up for that most good, true, and beautiful. "The assumption of this system of education was that by learning to understand the harmonies of the cosmos, our minds would be raised toward God, in whom we could find the unity from which all these harmonies derive: Dante's 'love that moves the sun and the other stars.'" (53) But western civilization long ago lost the connection between faith and reason and so God and the study of theology became worthless pursuits. 

By losing sight of the purpose of education according to Plato, we have lost sight of our very humanity. Plato describes the power of learning on the soul: "the instrument of knowledge can only by the movement of the whole soul be turned from the world of becoming to that of being, and learn by degrees to endure the sight of being and of the brightest and best of being, or in other words, of the good." (22) Knowledge, then, is its own end. It is be valued because it leads us to beauty. And truth resides in beauty. John Newman states, "I have said that all branches of knowledge are connected together, because the subject matter of knowledge is intimately united in itself as being the acts and work of the Creator." (29) True beauty is the harmony found in the universe. To miss or denigrate beauty is to lose both truth and goodness as well. And all beauty is found in acknowledging the Creator.

Caldecott then discusses the poetic imagination and our need to awaken it. This means understanding how the medievals saw at the world. Theirs was a cosmos infused with divine symbolism. "Everything that exists, in whatever mode, having its principle in the Divine Intellect, translates or represents that principle in its own manner according to its own order of existence; and thus, from one order to another, all things are linked and correspond with each other so that they join together in a universal and total harmony which is like a reflection of the Divine Unity itself." (48) It was this elimination of the symbolic and poetic understanding that caused the great divorce between science and religion and art from science.

The author then goes onto discuss how the ancients imbued that first of the quadrivium, arithmetic and numbers, with symbolism. He starts with mathematics and shows how numbers pointed the mind of man to God. It begins with 1 - the ultimate symbol of unity that exists in God, himself. Then 2, which clearly delineates the symbiosis of the Father and the Son. But it is 3 that completes the picture of the Trinity and the love that flows between Father and Son. Caldecott spends quite a bit of time on more number symbolism, including the "golden ratio," and the ways the medieval world used number theory to point the people to the truth of God. 

From arithmetic, he moves to the next topic of the quadrivium, geometry. Specifically he shows how circles and other geometric shapes point to the unity of the Trinity. Not only do circles and triangles capture the beauty of the godhead, but proportion as well. Caldecott states, "A single relationship unites the Father to Christ, Christ to his disciples. Christ is the proportional mean between God and the saints." (81) He even relates pi, and its unending string of numbers, to the infinite love of God for his creation. If the Holy Spirit is the circle connecting the two points of Father and Son, then his measure is πd, an infinite number times the distance between Father and Son. We reside in the middle of that circle!

Next in the quadrivium is music and to this Caldecott turns. According to the ancients, the universe is singing! And "to understand the universe is to appreciate its music, the harmonies between its parts, the rhythm of if movement, and the proportion of its elements." (94) This music becomes physically manifest in architecture as well. Unfortunately, we have lost sight of the verticality seen in medieval architecture, with its intentional pointing to God. We have focused on the horizontal, that is man to man and to his environment. Even the tallest skyscrapers are simply horizontal buildings stacked upon each other. He calls for an architecture based on verticality, permanence, and iconography. Not only buildings, but the natural world is singing. "The animals, plants, and minerals, the stars and elements, were universally thought to 'praise' their maker, either simply by their very existence, or when called upon to do so by man (who gives them a voice they do not possess in themselves)." (107)

This universal singing leads naturally to astronomy, the fourth branch of the quadrivium. C.S. Lewis brilliantly reminds us that "The music which is too familiar to be heard enfolds us day and night in all ages." (110) We live in an enchanted creation and we miss it because it is all too familiar. Unfortunately early astronomers missed the mark in their insistence on an earth-centered system, and so lost some credibility. The problem was that the astronomers so believed in the mythical symbolism of creation that they worked backward from that presupposition. Rather than let the actual data guide them and then discover the beauty, they tried to impose their own vision of the beautiful, distorting what God had actually designed. In attempting to "save appearance" they created increasingly complicated descriptions of what was actually a beautiful system: the sun at the center (light) and the elliptical orbits of planets which contain two centers, just as we orbit our lives around the visible and the invisible God. Much beauty exists in the truth of the created order. The ancient astronomers lacked the faith to wait for that beauty to be revealed. 

The final subject of astronomy should lead most naturally to the study of God, but in our secular and disenchanted world, we have become buffered selves, disengaged from the world. "Without those ties, without that embeddedness, nature was drained of grace, and our connection to the transcendent God became less a matter of imagination or intellect or feeling than of sheer willpower." (124) To re-enchant the universe, we must return to revelation and worship. If we define "liturgy" as "a formal ritual enacted by those who understand themselves to be participating in an action with the divine..." (Wikipedia), then liturgy may be our salvation.

Can we see liturgy itself, then, as the "lost key" to humane education that we have been searching for in this book; that is, to the reintegration of all things, all subjects, in a vision of sacred order? Would a renewed appreciation of liturgy help to anchor theories about number and symbolism and quality more profoundly in real life, enabling us to introduce some much needed harmony into our own souls too? (126)

Caldecott reminds us that all societies are religious societies and all contain a creation story, a doctrine of the end times, and a liturgy or set of rituals to organize time and space. Ours has moved away from true religion to a secular and God-denying counterfeit religion. We must therefore start with remembering. We were created by God and that knowledge should evoke in us gratitude. That gratitude should turn into worship. This, then, should engender an appreciation of the seven liberal arts as a way to give ontological depth to our universe and point to a harmony that harmonizes our souls with the soul of the Creator. Modernity rejects this vertical dimension and so leads to a fragmented and dissipated self. It is the very definition of hell. The man whose soul seeks to harmonize itself with its creator flies on wings of both reason and faith, all bound up in love. Reason will lead to faith as beauty is revealed and faith will naturally engage in reason to reveal more beauty. It is, as Dante tells us, love that moves it all. 

The Good Teacher by Christopher Perrin and Carrie Eben

The book, The Good Teacher by Christopher Perrin and Carrie Eben appeared on my radar, and I decided to give it a try. I knew it contained all the familiar tropes common to Classical Education: festina lente, multum non multa, etc., and as such, I expected to learn very little new material. I guess I hoped it would validate and reinforce what I was already doing. In a way, I suppose that was true, however, not before it absolutely kicked me in my teacher behind.

Let's begin with this summary of each principle given in the back of the book. After each, I will offer an evaluation of myself based on how I am doing on that particular principle.

The Goal of All Education:

Wisdom and Virtue

By employing the following principles, teachers will naturally cultivate virtue and wisdom in the lives of their students.

1. Festina Lente, Make Haste Slowly

It is better to master each step rather than to rush through content; the quickest way forward is to ensure that you take the time needed for mastery. To make haste slowly is to set a pace that is fitting for the time that is available and that ensures students master what you teach them.

Right away, the very definition of the principle had me crying for mercy. It's true that I try to cram as much in as possible. I DEFINITELY don't "take time for mastery." Ouch. The authors claim, "To 'go forward' without mastering the skill... is to go backward and do great harm" (p. 21). So yeah... They add, "Festina lent allows the time needed for students to love something well" (p. 30). I completely failed the assessment given at the end. 

Action Steps:

• Focus on mastery, not "covering material."
• Ask students to repeat major lesson principles several times throughout the lesson.
• Leave room for student questions and unforeseen learning curveballs.
• Resist being flustered or rushed by all I feel I have to accomplish in a day or week.
• Do not give into pressure to finish the curriculum.
• Privilege the students' needs over the curriculum
• Cut down on the activities and objectives per lesson, focussing on one idea or skill.

2. Multum Non Multa, Much Not Many

It is better to master a few things than to cursorily cover much content that will be forgotten; it is better to study fewer things but study them well; it is better to deeply understand a single book than to superficially read several books that will not be loved nor remembered; it is better to study deeply the truly best things available than to divide attention and comprehension among several good things.

Once again, the very definition got me. Since this one is similar to the last, of course I was going to be brought face-to-face with my failure! This one can be described with the words "savor, linger, attend, and ponder" (p. 36). They remind me that I must "be selective and only teach what is necessary for the student to learn well" (p. 36). They emphatically state that doing too much simply CANNOT be done! "If we overwhelm the students with too much of a good thing, we will do mare harm than good and even ruin their taste for something beautiful" (p.37). Double ouch! 

Action Steps:

• Only include one objective, "truth," or logos per lesson.
• Teach a few things deeply rather than cover a multitude.
• Make clear to students that mastery of a skill or idea increases the joy or love of learning for this particular concept.
• Remember that love and mastery leads to further learning. Frustration and "covering" do not.
• Resist becoming impatient or intimidated with the depth of conversation or time on a particular idea or skill.
• Do NOT feel overwhelmed by what needs to be covered. 

3. Repetition Mater Memoriae, Repetition is the Mother of Memory

Revisiting and reviewing are not rote learning but rather deepening love, affection, and understanding of something true, good, and beautiful. It is like kissing the photo of a beloved person. Important skill, ideas, facts, persons, stories, and books should be revisited in regular and fresh ways that deepen understanding, retention, and delight.

The authors make an interesting claim concerning repetition. I find it boring and unnecessary, while they state that ideas the students love will be a joy to review. In addition, "educators helps stop the leaks by repeating things worth remembering" (p. 60). Like the last two, in my haste to "get through" the material, I definitely neglect repetition and review. 

Action Steps:

• Regularly review and repeat information through having students summarize and explain what we have covered.
• Consider games, songs, and chants to help review.
• Resist the fallacy of too much knowledge which assumes the students "get it" without first ensuring that they, in fact, do "get it."

4. Songs, Chants, and Jingles

We sing when we love, and we remember what we love and sing. Children (up to about age twelve) enjoy singing and chanting ideas and facts that they have come to know and treasure. Regular singing and chanting delight students, employing their bodies, voices, sight, and hearing; deepening learning; and making it permanent.

The authors make clear that this is mostly a lower grade principle, but it definitely has application even to the oldest students. And I agree. I do this, in a sense in the daily Catechism. It's a daily chant of the most important information. And since it's done daily, it incorporates the need for repetition! But I could stand to include songs a bit more. 

Action Steps:

• Offer patriotic songs in the place of the prayer each day after the Catechism. 
• Do not let my own lack of singing ability thwart my attempts to inculcate song in our day. 

5. Wonder and Curiosity

Wonder is an astonishing encounter with reality that sparks love and study. Curiosity is a disposition that seeks to explore, investigate, and learn. Sometimes a spirit of curiosity leads a student to an encounter of wonder; sometimes an encounter of wonder further cultivates a spirit of curiosity.

When a student has been captivated by something true, good, and beautiful, the most engaged form of learning begins because the student has become enchanted with an earnest desire to know and becomes his own teacher—he becomes an intellectually honest person. This wonder is modeled by teachers; students are inspired and imitate their teachers.

The authors remind us that "when our palpable ignorance is combined with a longing to know, we are ready to be educated--we have become a student" (p. 99). Each lessons needs to start with something to spark the wonder and curiosity of the students. This could include a question or at least an objective for the day so the student can begin to wonder at the answer. The teacher, however, should not be too quick to answer her own question: "The good teacher will neither tell students what they are to see nor explain matters before the students even raise question. She will work to place wonders before them; they will gaze, awaken, and wonder. They they will ask questions with anticipation and even hunger" (p. 101). At the same time, the teacher must resolve the questions with knowledge. Land the plane. 

Action Steps:

• Avoid a hurried or over-planned lesson which leaves no time for wonder. 
• Begin each lesson with an objective and/or a question to spark wonder and a recognition of a gap in knowledge. Ask myself, "How can I engage students' wonder before the lesson?"

6. Scholé and Contemplation

We long for a place, without distraction and noise, to study and contemplate with our friends. Scholé provides the atmosphere, the set-apart, sacred space and time that enable students to see together. Wonder certainly stimulates contemplation, but scholé provides the conditions for it to continue and spread

Once again, I recognize myself when the authors claim that many teachers "are often busy, distracted, and anxious--doing good things while neglecting what is best" (p. 130). They recommend a sabbath-like rhythm of allowing for approximately 1/7th of the lesson to involve contemplation. It must be strategically planned and integrated so that contemplation and active learning go hand-in-hand. 

Action Steps:

• Provide time for relaxed discussion and contemplation during class.
• Allow students to "play" as a part of the learning process.
• Do not sacrifice contemplation in order to "get more done." 
• Allow for quiet space and do not fill it with the sound of my own voice!

7. Embodied Learning -- Liturgical and Poetic Learning

Because humans are bodies as well as souls, creating academic, sensory, and bodily rhythms modulates and deepens learning. Students as bodies learn through all five senses; embodied learning honors learning through the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and hands. Students will desire to be in harmony with the world's beauty when they experience embodied rhythms, practices, liturgies, and routines. 

Because humans are bodies as well as souls, one way we know reality is through a sensory, participatory bodily engagement with the world, which evokes awe, delight, and sometimes even fear.

Liturgies are "any communal activity that is patterned, ordered, and formative" (p. 146). These are the routines that we do as a class. My Catechism is a great example of this. As we stand and recite together, we are incorporating "embodied" learning which engages both body and mind. The key word for me to remember is "formative." The liturgies must have the impact of forming the student into the virtuous person I desire. Part of this embodied learning is the decor and sounds that pervade the room. They suggest a "coffee station" for the smell alone! Cocoa in the winter and lemonade in the summer! The authors chastise us for failing to engage the whole of the student. "Our mistake is that we routinely overlook and fail to harmonize all of the senses when teaching and act as if students had one giant set of eyes, a modest set of ears, very small hands, and practically no nose or tongue" (p. 159). 

Liturgiical Action Steps:

The authors suggest a daily routine, similar to hosting a meal, that I find very helpful:

• Invitation: Establish the classroom as a welcoming space to explore the good, true, and beautiful.
• Preparation: All the work accomplished in prior lessons.
• Welcome: Build interest and expectations for the coming lesson.
• Drinks and hors d'oeuvres: Short review/contemplation.
• Seating at the table: Arrange desks in the most conducive manner.
• Prayer: Ask the Spirit of God to illuminate understanding
• Conversation: Lecture, seminar or tutorial.
• Dessert and coffee: Conclusory part that is relaxed and summative.
• Departure and good-bye: Exchange of thanksgiving and gratitude/well-wishing.

Poetical Actions Steps:

Poetic knowledge involves "showing, not telling." It incorporates all the senses. Consider projects/simulations. But not to excess. 

• Incorporate all five senses.
• Include beautiful art, music, and/or poetry in each lesson.

8. Docendo Descimus, By Teaching We learn 

Students want to teach what they have come to know, and when they do, their friends pay particular attention and are inspired to learn. Knowledge taught is twice learned. Peers can teach peers; older students can teach younger students; students when they teach become filled with greater desire to learn.

This principle reinforces the notion that students learn best when they are the teachers. I try to incorporate this in our daily discussion as well as projects. I think I'm doing ok on this! But I could be better and more intentional.

Action Steps:

The authors recommend the following structure:

1. First Little Talk: Introduction of the topic/"Entice"
2. Presentation of the Artifact: Actual lesson or artifact under consideration.
3. Narration: Students summarize and describe the lesson (repetitio mater memoriae/docendo discimus). 
4. Second Little Talk: Analyze the narration for what is missing or incomplete. Use the Common Topics:

• Relationship: Cause/effect
• Circumstance: Context
• Comparison: Compare to other lessons/artifacts
• Testimony: Credibility of the author or other author's opinions
• Definition: What is it under consideration?

    5.  Response: Student respond somehow to what they learned.

9. Optimus Magister Bonus Liber Est, The Best Teacher is a Good Book

The voices of great teachers in the good books never stop beckoning, inspiring, teaching, again and again with infinite patience. The best book is by a great author and is a book wisely selected (usually by a teacher) for a particular student at a fitting time. One who guides a student through a study of a good book is a tutor; the teacher is the author. Together the author (teacher), tutor, and student engage in a three-way conversation that educates remarkably.

According to Seneca, "You must linger among a limited number of master thinkers and digest their works if you would derive ideas which shall win firm hold in your mind. Everywhere means nowhere" (p. 213). This absolutely pierces to my soul! I am so guilty of trying to introduce so much to my students that I fear they remember, and certainly own, little of it. 

This section, however, validates my idea that reading aloud text and privileging the text is the right way to go. It also serves as a good reminder to get students using their commonplace journals. Often, in my too-stuffed lesson plans, we have no time to actually do this. I am skipping the point of the lesson. Allow them  to begin to "own" the learning by recording it!!!

Like the previous section, they recommend the use of the Common Topics to find great questions, with the addition on an "Ethic/Obligation" section asking "What should this person have done and why?" (p. 225).

Action Steps:

• Use Commonplace Journal with every reading.
• Use Common Topics for discussion questions, maybe even in reading packets/reading quizzes.

10. Conversation and Friendship

Ongoing conversation between teachers and students, and between students and fellow students, creates a friendship of the soul that gives birth to learning that is personal, mutual, delightful, and deep. In continuing exchanges over long spans of time, the teacher forms the student in his likeness. But the student too renews and refreshes the love of learning in the teacher. Academic conversation characterizes all learning; both the student and teacher seek the true, good, and beautiful together as academic friends and fellows.

C. S. Lewis starts the section with, "The schoolmaster must think about the pupil: everything he says is said to improve the boy's character or open his mind--the schoolmaster is there to make the pupil a 'good' man" (p. 236). I need to make sure that all my lesson have the virtue of the student and his character formation in mind. Even if it is just tenacity or thoroughness, all lessons must be used to further an actual good in my students. 

The section describes a "college" as a collection of learners. It asks us to invite our older students in the college that already exists in the faculty. They are to become its "junior" members. I love this idea! I think it treats our *almost* adult students with the gravitas they deserve. The classroom then becomes a place of restful and inviting conversation among *semi* equals. 

Action Steps:

Review with the class what "kills" the conversation and thus makes them ineligible for membership in the "college":

• Judgment
• Ridicule
• One person dominating
• Thinking about what to say instead of listening
• Interrupting
• Side conversations

APPENDIX

Some questions are given in the Appendix D that I think will be helpful in creating and using discussion questions from a Christian perspective.

1. Questions that reflect on God's nature and will
2. Questions that examine moral and ethical implications
3. Questions that explore human purpose and calling
4. Questions about the nature of Truth and knowledge
5. Questions that encourage humility and dependence on God
6. Questions about redemption and restoration
7. Questions that foster wonder and gratitude
8. Questions that discern spiritual growth
9. Questions that build community and mission

A Little Book for New Historians by Robert Tracy McKenzie

This book, A Little Book for New Historians by Robert Tracy McKenzie, was recommended by a member of our History team. It's short, but packs a powerful punch.

He begins by defining History. It doesn't seem like it should be all that difficult, but he starts with telling us what History is not: it is not the past. Looping C.S. Lewis into his argument, he makes the persuasive case that the past is comparable to a vast ocean: each moment which has ever occurred is a tiny drop. Only God knows the past, but we mortals can access limited parts of it, at least those parts that can be remembered. And "remembered" is the operative word. History is the remembered past. History is the collective memory of a people, and just as memory forms a person's identity, so History forms the people. Therefore the study of History should engender awe and humility as we struggle to remember who we are.

But if History is not necessarily the past, what is it? History is actually many things and must therefore be understood differently depending on the purpose of studying it. It is first of all an intellectual discipline. As such, it involves analyzing evidence and making arguments. The historian must love his subject and treat it as an object of love, while at the same time thinking critically about sources and veracity. We treat figures from the past as made in the imago dei, while recognizing that human are fallen and flawed and subject to cultural currents (as are we today). This intellectual discipline involves four distinct categories: historical information, historical understanding, historical thinking skills, and historical consciousness. After gathering the facts as best as we are able, we need to fit those facts together into a coherent whole. Then we make logical and persuasive arguments concerning the past and allow the whole process to change both ourselves and how we see the world. This final point is crucial. History without a look inward is antiquarianism, the study of history for history's sake. 

But History is not only a collective memory, it is a conversation. We speak to each other of our findings and arguments (secondary sources) and we speak to the dead (primary sources) because their ideas are still with us. We must enter that conversation with humility, acknowledging the limitations definitional to humans. All, whether other historians, historical figures, or ourselves, are struggling to understand the times and each comes with his own perspectives, biases, and blind spots. This conversation is the real point of History. Facts and figures will be forgotten, but the interpretation of those discreet points and the way in which we invite that interpretation to mold us will not be. It must therefore be top of mind that although the historian talks with the dead, he is speaking to the living. 

While History is a collective memory, an intellectual discipline, and a conversation, History is most importantly a mirror. Without an application to humans living today, History becomes a parody of its biggest criticism, a collection of dates and dead people (usually dead, white males). The Christian historian will take the sovereignty of God as a given. But the Christian historian must be careful not to ascribe motives to the workings of God. Only with extreme arrogance can we proclaim that God is doing this or that for this or that purpose. We know for a fact that History is the working out of the Gospel message as God seeks to redeem a lost and broken world. We know that History is moving towards the return of Christ and of Jesus's dominion over all. We know that nothing happens without the knowledge of God. Beyond that it's all speculation and we should tread lightly. 

But if History is a mirror, what should it reveal? Moral judgment is the act of judging the morality of past actors. In some respects, this is necessary. We should be able to say with confidence that the Aztec's proclivity for human sacrifice was evil. Where we should be wary is in concluding that we, ourselves, would never practice such depravity. Here we are invited to make a moral reflection. Would I, immersed in the world of the Aztecs, have accepted or even advocated for human sacrifice? The answer, if we are being honest, is often, yes. We need therefore to ask the next question, why? What in my heart makes me susceptible to cultural norms and the will to power such that I might find myself cheering as an innocent victim dies? And then follow that by asking, what am I blindly following today? What areas do I accept or advocate that run directly counter to the Word of God? McKenzie invites the historian to look closely at the strange over the familiar as areas that particularly challenge and reveal blindspots. 

McKenzie ends with three questions vital to the study of History:

1. How does what I am learning informing how I see the world?
2. How does it change how I understand myself? 
3. What does the knowledge that I'm acquiring require of me? 

I would add, how does this knowledge allow me to fulfill my purpose of glorifying Good and enjoying Him forever?

Only God knows the entirety of the story He is writing. As we study History, we fallen and flawed humans, depraved and blind, seek to know the very mind of God. We join in with the chorus of those, not actually dead, but our brothers and sisters gone home before us, to discover the immensity of the story He is telling about Himself. We stand on holy ground, seeking Him, and delighting in the glimpses He allows.

A Lively Kind of Learning: Mastering the Seminar Method by Jennette DeCelles-Zwerneman

A fellow teacher recommended a website to help us as we craft our Seminar class. On that site I discovered A Lively Kind of Learning: Mastering the Seminar Method by Jennette DeCelles-Zwerneman. It turned out to be a very helpful book. I recommended that our entire team read the short treatise and discuss a la "book club"!

I found several worthy gems: "The goals of the seminar are to teach the following skills and habits of mind: how to read well with sensitivity to genre; how to speak precisely in a spirited, adult conversation marked by wonder and rigor; how to defend their positions and gracefully change their minds when necessary; how to think through a thorny problem from beginning to end with precision; and how to think about the world more generally." (p. 5)

Something to reflect on: "Another more sober complaint against conducting seminars with high school students is that it invites arrogance in young people who enjoy minimal experience of the world and who are already prone to sophomoric pronouncements. (p. 6)

The goal: "If a seminar discussion is successful, the students should know that they have learned something at its conclusion." (p. 8)

Questions to ask: "Why do you say that? What do you mean by that? Where is that in the text?

Can you expand on that? How can you maintain that reading in light of this other passage? You are now contradicting what you said before; did you mean to do that? What would we have to assume to believe what you're saying is true?" (p. 9)

A call to center the text: "Seminar leaders should always begin with the concrete text before them. The rest will follow naturally. The students should know that the text is the source of their discussion and that they should not be consulting outside sources." (p. 20)

A word of advice on what to do; "When sorting through philosophical texts, an exceptionally useful habit to acquire is the practice of distilling arguments on a one-half sheet of paper in outline form. Restricting oneself this way has the effect of clarifying the issues and disciplining the mind." (p. 28)

The author outlines "Six Patterns for Leading Seminar":

1. Recreate the drama, collect the questions. "Learning to ask good questions is an important intellectual skill that should be acquired in seminar training." (p. 36)
2. Arguments: Find them first than evaluate. "The students are directed to locate the thesis of an argu-ment, the argument's logical construction, and the evidence offered by the interlocutor for that position." (p. 36)
3. Two by Two. "In this pattern, the students are working together, building a shared experience of the text. They are seeing it through the eyes of their colleagues, and they are seeing afresh what they had missed on their own." (p. 40)
4. Line by line. "We are trying to teach the students how to read, and that involves occasions of close, detailed investigation of the text." (p. 44)
5. Competing Essays. "The fifth kind of seminar discussion is based on two competing essays written by the students themselves...The essay assignment would have to solicit opposing but arguable positions." (p. 49)
6. The Big Picture. "It involves comparing and contrasting assessments of various authors on a variety of overlapping concerns an interests." (p. 50)

Finally the book ends with "Common Mistakes that Spoil a Seminar."

The Expert: "[T]hey fear the unruly and often unpredictable nature of the seminar. They are frightened when students start interrupting each other. Because they fear the seemingly gigantic pauses that sometimes open up in these conversations, they fill them, instead of patiently waiting for the students to catch up...If the seminar leader plays the Expert long enough, the students will catch on and wait for him to settle the debate..."(p. 57)

The Traffic Cop: "They believe their purpose is to stay out of the way and keep the traffic moving by calling on students to speak; directing traffic by quieting interruptions and ticketing malcontents; and waving travelers through the intersection by cueing up the next remark." (p. 60)

The best Seminar teacher functions as an "Experienced Mountain Guide."The skillful teacher needs to be intellectually alive, energetic, and opportunistic. When the students move the conversation into unexpected territory, and the issues arising are potentially fruitful, the teacher needs to guide that conversation and move in the fresh direction suggested by the students' questions and remarks." (p. 61)

And finally, my biggest takeaway: "One of the most important skills students gain in these discussions is learning how to engage each other, not just the teacher, in a lengthy and substantive exchange. It is imperative that the students be consistently redirected to address one another in these conversations." (p. 76)

In true Seminar fashion, the author details the Final Cause of Seminar: "We want them to become reflective, rigorous, intellectually honest, spiritually sensitive, and competent readers of a wide and various selection of genres. The seminar should cultivate in the students the ability to think through problems independently, collaboratively, and imaginatively; to scrutinize arguments and evaluate the truth of those ar-guments; to imaginatively observe and reflect on the created world in a piece of literature and the development and motivation of the characters who inhabit that world; and to be genuinely moved by the beauty and the suffering they confront in their reading. Finally, the students should acquire an understanding of the world and their place in it." (p. 89)

The Death of Learning by John Agresto

I saw this book recommended somewhere, and since it's about education, my interest was definitely sparked. The Death of Learning by John Agresto details the decline of the study of the liberal arts and his plan to restore it to prominence. 

He first defines the liberal arts as, "the seeking of knowledge about important matters through reason and reflection" (20-21). It's the type of studies that make humans particularly human and free us to think for ourselves. The study of the liberal arts should most naturally lead to the study of the truth.

But today's society has declared that kind of an education superfluous. It might be nice to delve into the complexities of life, but how is one to make any money doing that? Therefore, it is incumbent upon the defenders of liberal education to argue for the value the liberal arts give to both the individual and society in general. 

And yet, the humanities have been thoroughly muddled up with ideas like, "think like a historian," in trying to prove itself  a career-promoting option. Rather than give students an opportunity to simply sit at the feet of the masters, the liberal arts has attempted to make itself what it routinely decries: practical. 

If, however, we were to advocate for a full-throated version of the liberal arts, what would it include? Our multicultural landscape demands it not just be "dead, white males." So how to choose? Agresto suggests the following: "Thus, we could finally ask what was it that caused the notion of human liberation to flower—what ideas, writings, religious principles, or events brought about these current views of human equality, individuality, and freedom that so many contemporary believers in liberty, liberation, and equality cavalierly take as true. This would be the wonderful fruit of a real liberal education—one that seeks insight in books, reason, and arguments rather than weakly standing on slogans." Choose the best on offer. 

One big problem facing this kind of education is the fact that where it is still being attempted, it is being done badly. "Liberal education is no longer the attempt to understand the complexity of the universe and our own place in the cosmos, or even to understand our own civilization or truly learn about other cultures. It is no longer the introduction to the excitement of good novels and the ability to be moved or even transformed by the beauty of fine poetry. It is, instead, a type of badgering of incoming students, feeding them not questions but prescribed answers." It has become another of its antithesis: indoctrination. 

In order to move forward on this admittedly hard journey to restore the place of the liberal arts, Agresto first asks the reader to be clear-eyed about what exactly the liberal arts hope to accomplish. "I have never been convinced that liberal education necessarily makes one more charming or even more moral. However, I think it does hold the potential to make us smarter than we were before and more knowledgeable about things that matter. The aim of liberal education has never been softness of spirit but rather toughness of mind." In a sense, the study of ancient authors provides a way to make them immortal, almost magically immortal, by allowing us access to the minds of the dead. Any resultant virtue obtained is on us.

So what mindset should we bring to these precious texts? Agresto warns, "All too often to read critically means to approach a text looking for biases or errors, or at how little the author knew compared to us. But think how much better it would be to approach a text as if we are the ones with prejudices and half-formed opinions. To see that the bias might be with us, the readers and professors. To grow in learning means that we all have to be open to that"(144). We are not to criticize the text so much as allow it to criticize us. We approach with wonder, knowing we are in the presence of a towering intellect. After "trying to comprehend...everything relevant we can know about a writer, ideas, or events" can we properly begin to criticize as we move together towards truth (145). 

The self-governing republic bequeathed to us by our Founders requires citizens who can think, if we are to remain free. 

the liberal arts, properly conceived and taught, can introduce our students to the best thinkers, authors, and artists from antiquity to the present, how it could give students exposure to what would be, for them, new ideas and perspectives, and how it can offer them the chance to think through these matters for themselves and come to their own conclusions through reason and reflection.

This might cultivate the ability in them to possess their own minds...This is among the most weighty arguments for liberal education: The freedom to think, to imagine, to question, and to dissent is part of what it means to be a free man or woman. (150)

Inherent in a citizen of a self-governing nation should be both courage and humility. Reading the greats, properly done, can inculcate both. Best of all, it may lead to that most maligned of virtues: moderation. 

Agresto concludes his small book on a big topic like this:

My guess is that, for the liberal arts to live and again prosper, we will have to show that there can actually be an American liberal education--one that helps civilize all of us by preserving the finest in our culture's literature, art, music, and philosophy and that offers them all students; one that encourages all students to understand the basic principles of science and its marvels so that they can be intelligent citizens in our highly scientific and technological world; one that does not see itself as educationally separate from our colleagues in business, law, agriculture, engineering, and other technical and productive studies but that offers what it truly knows and which, in turn, looks to be open to education from them; one that helps this country understand itself and the principles that undergird it; one that has regard for the qualities of our fellow citizens and has the desire to improve their lot and not merely criticize it; and perhaps above all one that makes us smarter in areas that really matter. That is, an American liberal education that satisfies the Founders' hopes that this nation's citizens would be so knowledgeable about history, so cognizant of their duties, so intelligent about the alternatives, and so thoughtful regarding the principles that give life to the country, that indeed, as Madison said, liberty and learning would continue their high task of giving faithful support each to the other (174)

Six Great Ideas by Mortimer Adler

 

As part of the ACCS teacher accreditation, we were asked to read Six Great Ideas by Mortimer Adler. I was already familiar with this book because several of the chapters were given to us when we began designing our Seminar class. I knew I would enjoy the book, and I absolutely did. 

Mortimer Adler has engaged in yeoman’s work in his book Six Great Ideas, which seeks to place broad parameters around Truth, Beauty, Goodness, Justice, Liberty, and Equality. Since these great ideas are in fact, great ideas, I found the book remarkably helpful for Seminar class. I have proposed to our Seminar team that we study his chapters on Truth in 9th grade Seminar, his chapters on Goodness in 10th grade Seminar, and his chapters on Beauty in 11th grade Seminar. That leaves the trifecta of Justice, Equality, and Liberty for 12th grade Seminar.  As this is the class into which I most directly contribute, I am very excited to introduce his conceptions to our students. 

Ninth-grade Seminar deals with the question of “What is the Good Life?” Adler’s thoughts on Truth are perfect for this section. Adler states, "So the truth of thought consists in agreement or correspondence between what one thinks, believes, or opines, and what actually exists or does not exist in the reality that is independent of our minds, and of our thinking one thing or another” (34).  This definition helps lead the students into what is fundamental in the good life, namely, the pursuit of Truth. Not only does truth exist, but it is foundational that we align ourselves with it. Of course, as Christians, this Truth has taken the form of a person, Jesus Christ.  As humans, Adler says we have a “moral duty” to pursue Truth. He states, “When we recognize that the possession of truth is the ultimate good of the human mind, and, recognizing this, commit ourselves to the pursuit of truth, we have a number of moral obligations to discharge” (63). This perfectly summarizes the lesson we would love our 9th graders to take away: The pursuit of Truth is essential to the good life.

The pursuit of Goodness is also perfect for 10th grade. We focus on how to rightly order our loves. Therefore, all of our loves should be aimed at the Good. Adler helps here with his discussion of real and apparent goods. We all believe that what we desire is in fact, good. And yet Adler makes the distinction between “is and ought.” As humans we must figure out what we ought to desire. These oughts line up with what is actually good for us. In 10th grade, as we discuss rightly ordering our loves, we can easily segue into loving what is an actual good: loving what we ought to love.

Eleventh-grade Seminar, deals with modern philosophy, mostly Enlightenment thinking. We also discuss the way art is impacted by and impacts the culture around it. Art at this time breaks down from realistic, mostly religiously themed, art, dedicated to the proliferation of truth, to a more chaotic and confused modern, abstract version of art. Therefore, a discussion of beauty fits in perfectly with 11th grade. Here, Adler makes a distinction between “enjoyable beauty” and “admirable beauty.” Enjoyable beauty, is that which we simply enjoy. Admirable beauty is that which we ought to enjoy. Therefore, we once again see this “is and ought” distinction. Adler gives this admonition, “We need only say that education should result in the formation of good taste so the individual comes to enjoy that which is admirable, and to derive more enjoyment from objects that have greater intrinsic excellence or perfection” (119). I would add to Adler's discussion of beauty, that true beauty is beautiful to the extent that it reflects the qualities of God. In fact, beauty is, at its essence a reflection of the character and heart of God. This can be applied not only to the visual arts, but even to beautiful ideas. As 11th grade begins to discuss ideas which move past revelation to reason alone, we can discuss the “beauty,” or lack thereof in those ideas.

Finally, we come to the Great Ideas of Justice, Liberty, and Equality. Adler begins by saying Justice must rule over Liberty and Equality. We cannot have too much Justice, but we can definitely have too much Liberty or too much Equality. It is Justice that determines their boundaries.

Adler begins by defining Liberty in three ways: the liberty inherent in human nature, the liberty associated with wisdom and virtue, and the liberty to do what one wants based on external circumstances. It is this final liberty which falls within the domain of Justice. 

Similar to Liberty, Equality exists in three parts: equalities we are entitled to by nature, equalities were entitled to due to our own efforts, and equalities we experience through circumstances. Once again, it is this third dimension in which Justice is most relevant. Inequality is justified when “All must have an equal opportunity to employ their innate and acquired abilities in productive work” (185).

The earlier discussions of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty should lead the students to an understanding of a virtuous man. And that virtuous man, according to Adler, “Is still able to do as he pleases, since he pleases to do what he ought. A right rule of conduct, and a just civil law command actions that ought to be performed and prohibit ask it ought not to be done” (147).  Therefore, when just laws are in place, the virtuous man is free to do whatever he “wants,” because he wants to do the right thing.

Here is the place for a discussion of Justice. Twelfth-grade Seminar begins with Plato’s Republic. In it, Socrates, seeks to make the argument of why men should want to be just. He does this by designing the Just Society. Yet in actuality, this Just Society is a tyranny. If a man will not be just, justice will be imposed upon him. And he will not like it. Since Socrates arrives at such a roundabout, definition of Justice, I believe it is imperative to study Adler’s more focused discussion of Justice. He divides Justice into two main spheres: the man to the state and the state to the man. When dealing with the man to the state, or to the community, a man must recognize what his fellow citizens deserve by right and what they deserve by comparison with others. But he must also act in a way which serves the common good. Justice is often conflated with “fairness.” But fairness is only justice in comparison to others. Justice, vis-à-vis rights due, and Justice vis-à-vis the common good of all fall outside the scope of fairness. In regards to Justice, vis-à-vis the state to men, the state has a similar duty. Adler states, “The man-made laws of the state, derives its authority from justice, in each of three ways: one by the enactment of measures that protect natural rights; two by legislation that prescribes or safeguards of fairness in transactions among individuals; three by regulating matters affected with the public interest for the general welfare of the community” (197). 

This ties in beautifully to the Republic where Thrasymachus advocates a “might makes right” philosophy. Adler makes the convincing case that Justice based on might alone destroys the concept of Justice entirely. That cannot be the case. Adler answers Socrates question, “Why should we be just?” with a great answer. “It is an indispensable factor in our achieving happiness for ourselves” and others (204). 

 I'm very excited to incorporate all of this into Seminar next year. I think it will give us great umbrella ideas in which to subsume everything else we are discussing. It provides a coherence and consistency. That just makes me happy.

Sin Boldly by David Williams

I saw this book on my son-in-law's bookshelf. With a title like Sin Boldly by David Williams, how could I resist? Who knew a book on how to write could be so engrossing?

In chapter after chapter, I found myself nodding along. I wanted to yell, "That's exactly what I tell my students." In short, I felt vindicated. 

Anyone wanting to learn to write well or how to teach writing well should read this book.

For a writing book, it can be a bit spicy. Definitely a PG rating, but, honestly, that's what makes is so good!

The Universe Next Door by James W. Sire

 The Seven Worldview Questions

1. What is the nature of Ultimate Reality (or Truth)?​
2. What is the nature of material reality?
3. What is a human being?​
4. What happens to a person at death?
5. Why is it possible to know anything at all?​
6. How do we know what is right and wrong?​
7. What is the meaning of human history?​

I’ve been asking my students to use these questions when we analyze art for about as long as I’ve been teaching. I have no idea where I got this idea. I probably picked it up in one of the myriad resources I access all dealing with Classical Christian Education. Answering one or more of these questions seemed like a great way to look at a piece of great art.

And thus far, I’ve been happy with the results as my students are forced to look at a masterpiece and try to discern the artist’s message or other truths.

And yet, I now realize I was operating blind. After reading The Universe Next Door by James W. Sire, I can imagine a much fuller use of these central questions. Specifically, I am challenged to use these questions to analyze my own presuppositions. I am also challenged to use them to analyze my student’s assumptions. How often do we, as Christians, stray from orthodoxy because it “sounds about right”? Is it possible that what I, or my students, are claiming to be true is not, in fact, true?

The beauty of a Christian Theistic worldview is its insistence on absolute Truth. This worldview “teaches that not only is there a moral universe but there is an absolute standard by which all moral judgments are measured. God himself—his character of goodness (holiness and love)—is the standard” (p. 30). And yet, the pursuit of this absolute Truth can become difficult and at times, divisive. That’s where the Deistic Worldview enters. This view, so similar to Christian Theism, can tempt a believer with its simplicity and rationality. 

Our culture is awash in, what Sire calls, “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.” This belief posits a good and loving God who wants His creation to be happy. He does not need to be involved daily, per se, but is available when a problem arises. He promises Heaven to all the “good” people. He’s not at all demanding. He is love. This is so close to the mark, that the Christian can easily find himself slipping into this form of deism. It infuses our culture and shows up throughout social media. It’s in the “feel-good” and “uplifting” memes meant to bring hope and happiness to all.

And it’s easy to “like.”

As a Christian and a Christian educator, I must be on guard for this slippery thinking. Yes, God is love. Yes, God is good. He is available to us when we are challenged. Heaven does await His children. But our God also demands perfection, and barring that, has made a way where there seemed to be no way through the death of His Son. 

This brings up the additional eighth Worldview question not addressed earlier, “What personal, life-orienting core commitments are consistent with this worldview?” Sire answers this question, echoing the Westminster Catechism, “Christian theists live to seek first the kingdom of God, that is, to glorify God and enjoy Him forever” (p. 32). Our purpose on earth is not our own personal happiness. So often I can find myself falling into this mode. “God wants me to be happy.” That is not my purpose. My purpose is to glorify God and praise him for the grace and mercy He showed through His sacrifice on the cross. My happiness is incidental. His purpose for me is to mold and shape me into the likeness of the Son. 

Our students can be caught in this trap as well. For them, life is about good grades to get into a good college to get a good job to make a good living to live in a good house with a good family and surrounded by good stuff. This is happiness. But that is not happiness. That’s the lie of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. And our students are buying it. 

My job is to recognize and combat this lie, both in myself and in my students. True happiness is in pursuing God and becoming like Him. This is often painful. This is, at times, sublime. But it is, and should always be, the goal.

Although it is helpful to explore all the worldviews circulating in our world, for me, the value of this book is in its ability to shine a light on the areas where I find myself, and my students, most likely to err. 

 

 

The Christian Philosophy of Education Explained by Stephen C. Perks

Although I generally know and believe that a Classical, Christian, education is better than a Classical education bereft of theological backing, The Christian Philosophy of Education Explained by Stephen C. Perks sealed it for me.

 It goes back to how we can know anything at all. “For the Christian, therefore, the ultimate locus of rationality and intelligibility is the God of Scripture and thus man, if he is to know anything truly, must, as God’s creature, created in His image, ‘think God’s thoughts after Him,' to use the words of Cornelius Van Til.” (16) If no actual knowledge is possible apart from the recognition of God and His Word, then Classical education, by itself, cannot lead to actual knowledge. Only a Christ-centered education can do that.

 

Apart from the Christian aspect of education, education has no real or lasting purpose. “The aim of education is thus to promote maturation in the image of God, and it is the duty of Christian parents to care for the child, mould his character and discipline him in terms of God’s purpose for his life.” (italics in the original) (39) Our cultural, with its emphasis on rationality and empiricism, has made education an idol whose purpose is to mold and shape the child in its image. Christians must see the true purpose of education and act accordingly.

 

Since God has a plan for the child, he must be educated in such a way that prepares him to take his place as a “viceregent over the earth, governing all things under his authority according to God’s word, proclaiming the sovereign word of God in all things, and bringing all things into subjection to Christ.” (78) No education that fails to prepare a child for this God-given role should actually be regarded as “education.” With such an awe-inspiring duty, and such a magnificent responsibility to prepare for, can an education that sees its main goal as creating “college and career ready” young adults even be worthy of the name? Only an education focusing on equipping children for the role God plans for them is sufficient.

 

Seeing as we are called to govern the world under Christ, it must be the case that we see the world in the way God sees it. “It is vitally important that in every subject and at every level this learning process should presuppose the God-created and God-interpreted nature of reality, and that it should be pursued in terms of godly principles of thought and action throughout.” (89) A secular education, even a secular Classical education simply cannot demand the world be seen through the eyes of God by the student. Even the best Classical schools, modeled on, but not governed by Christian principles, cannot present the world as “God-created.” They cannot promote the “God-interpreted nature of reality.” They may try to, at first. But over time, without a recurrence to the Word of God and His thoughts, a Classical school, will, by necessity eventually abandon its commitment to first principles. Without regeneration, secular education has no leg to stand on. 

 

All of us, believer and non-believer alike, will serve someone. Our choice is not between servitude and freedom but whom we will serve. It is the Son alone who sets free. Choosing a secular education, devoid of Christian principles and epistemology, sets a student up for slavery to himself and the world. “Man is to rule over nature and serve God thereby. His true freedom consists in the fulfilling of his God-created purpose in life, and this is only possible as he submits to God in obedience.” (107) This truth simply cannot be communicated in a secular educational environment.

 

Perks ends the book with a powerful summation:

 

It is the Christian’s duty to educate his children in the Christian faith for dominion, for the shouldering of man's creation mandate to bring the whole earth into subjection to himself as God's steward and vicegerent on earth, and thus into subjection to God and His word. This necessitates a Christian culture and the building of Christian civilization, and this in turn necessitates a Christian, covenantal, dominion oriented philosophy and practice of education. (116)

Charitable Writing by Richard Hughes Gibson and James Edward Beitler III

My Seminar team is making an intentional effort in the upcoming school year to inculcate "Intellectual Virtues" in our students. A helpful companion book was suggested by one of the teachers, Charitable Writing by Richard Hughes Gibson and James Edward Beitler III. I found this book invaluable to our mission.

The authors begin by lamenting that writing is taught the same in public and Christian schools. They realized the error in this and this book is their attempt to correct that. The dual command to love God and love others should infuse everything a Christian does, including writing. Yet the current model of writing is hardly a model of love, but rather that of war. Arguments are made and the opposition is refuted. Someone wins and someone loses. While recognizing the importance of making an argument, the authors desire to infuse the search for truth through writing with love. 

Realizing that writing is truly a communal activity, Gibson and Beitler divide the writing process into three components: Humble Listening, Loving Argument, and Keeping Time Hopefully. I marked up particularly helpful advice that I intend to put into practice in my Rhetoric class. 

Humble Listening: After you've successfully grasped the argument's content (what it says) through paraphrase, turn to a consideration of the arguments form (how it says) and function (what it does). Don't evaluate at this stage; instead, attempt to describe how the argument is constructed and what the argument's parts--its paragraphs, sentences, and word choices--accomplish. By paraphrasing your peers' ideas and describing the form and function of their arguments, you'll be better equipped to offer them evaluative feedback and suggestions for improvement when it is time to do so. Humble listening, we are suggesting, begins the process of offering feedback not with a summary judgment about the success or failure of this or that. It opens like Alice Duer Miller's "Splendid auditorium where every sound comes back fuller and richer." In humility, we can respond by simply offering back what we heard--describing what the writer said, how the writer went about saying it, and for what purposes. Giving your peers' writing back to them in this way will almost certainly be a revelatory experience for them, and for you. 

The authors propose a new metaphor for writing to replace the old one of war: a feast. 

Loving Argument: To recognize that writing not only can be but also should be a hospitable practice has profound implications for Christian writers. To write hospitably requires that we use words and genre conventions that our reader will recognize and understand. To write hospitably requires that we take the time to edit our writing so as to make it approachable. To write hospitably requires that we actually think about who our readers are in the first place. Above all, to write hospitably requires that we recognize writing as a gift. "And yet,; Gibson writes, "I know of few students who describe their academic papers as gifts. As "work' or products' or achievements' or 'projects'-but not as gifts." As Gibson perceives, our educations form us to understand our writing first and foremost in terms of our personal productivity or success. It's about us. That, of course, is not how a banquet functions. A banquet succeeds when the hosts and guests enjoy themselves together.

"Keeping Time Hopefully" is to say that writing needs to be a slow, savored process. A labor of love. The Gibson and Beitler compare it to the "Slow Food" movement which desires and intentionality and appreciation for the eating process. It is not procrastination, but deliberation. 

Keeping Time Hopefully: A second, related way to revitalize revision is by recognizing it as an opportunity to love our readers. Revision can be an act of charity. To recall several features of J. I. Packer's definition, charity involves giving of oneself and what one has, freely and without consideration of merit, to meet the actual needs of specific people and promote their greatness." Few of us understand revision in such terms. Instead of viewing it as a gift that promotes others' well-being, we see it as obligatory work we must do to strengthen our writing, earn the "A," get published, or win awards. We may have been taught to revise with the rhetorical needs of our readers in mind, but we typically strive to meet the needs of those who are in a position to promote us--professors, bosses, and other "higher-ups." The social position of our readers should matter to us because, if we're being honest, our desire is usually to make ourselves, not others, great.

This book is a fantastic wake-up call to me as a teacher to try to infuse love in all I do and especially to help my students to infuse love in what they do. 

Bags by Chris Sasser

 My headmaster, Mr. Hinton, likes to send home "summer reading" which encourages us teachers to get in the minds of our students and see how we can best love them. This summer one of the books he sent home is Bags by Chris Sasser. The "bags" refers to the "baggage" we all carry as a result of childhood disappointments. Sasser is speaking primarily to parents, encouraging them in ways NOT to give their children things to pack in those bags. 

The book is a good reminder that children are always trying to make sense of the world, and in doing so, they often interpret events in ways detrimental to their development. Whether it's not making the team or trying on different identities, young people can often believe lies about themselves and their capabilities.

Sasser lists some specific "bags" that children fill: the relational bag, the performance bag, the identity bag, the comparison bathe authority bag, the rejection bag, the guilt and shame bag, the disappointment bag. All are interrelated and can be getting filled at the same time. Rejection by peers fills the rejection bag and the relational bag. As parents, and teachers, out job, then, is to help our kids reframe these events and "lighten the load."

While Sasser's book is a good reminder, it struck an off-chord note with me. While I'm sure that parents (and teachers) can help young people to not pack or to unpack those bags, I think it's only at the margins. Kids are notorious for hearing and believing things that shock adults. (Regan once believed her dad would be so old as to be in a wheelchair by 35!) Most of the time the adults have no idea how the child is processing a particular event. Sasser doesn't really acknowledge this. He seems to assume that the events will be obvious and our response just needs to be trained to redirect and speak truth. 

While his advice is helpful when the circumstances are obvious, I think a missing part of the book is teaching kids resiliency. We need to teach kids how to redirect and reframe those negative thoughts before they get packed in the bags. The most helpful part, therefore, was his insistence that we constantly speak truth into the child's life. We constantly affirm that they are loved and valued and a child of God. We tell them of our pride in their specific characteristics and actions. We offer shield for the flaming arrows that life will throw at them. 

I appreciate the way he pointed out the fiery darts, but I think more emphasis on building the armor would be helpful. 

Excused Absence by Douglas Wilson

 Excused Absence by Douglas Wilson asks the question, "Should Christian kids leave public schools?" He answers it with a resounding, "Yes." As Martin Olasky points out in the Forward, "When God is excluded from the classroom, we are not merely remaining silent about God. We are teaching children that they may safely disregard Him" (11). It is this "disregard" of God that proves fatal to public education. Not only can public schools not acknowledge God, they are incapable of acknowledging the truth about human nature and even truth in general. For this reason, secular education will always fail. 

Wilson begins by making the case that all schools are religious schools. Being public simply means they are teaching a religion that is not Christian. But they are teaching a religion. Education itself is predicated on transmitting values and beliefs to the young. Public schools may not be teaching Christian values and beliefs, but they are teaching values and beliefs. 

Wilson then proceeds to go through the history of public schools to show exactly how we got here. Although America was initially peopled by those with a strong faith, it did not take long for Christianity itself, as practiced in the colonial period, to devolve into a universalist, humanistic theology. While the early schools were explicitly "Christian," they embodied a form of Christianity which "bore no fundamental difference" between it and secular humanism (23).

This implies the problem began, not with schools, but in the home. Wilson blames "countless acts of disobedience in the living room and around the dinner table" for the godlessness of schools (31). Failing to practice "covenantal headship," the people allowed the schools to become places in open rebellion against God. He goes on to state, "If government schools reject the revealed character of God in the Bible as the basis for the ethical instruction they provide to children, then the  only option open to them is to teach on the basis of the character of their new god, demos (the people)" (44). It is at this point that schools became incapable of teaching the good, the true, and the beautiful; without God, none of that is truly accessible. The people, in their failure to repent and practice godly parenting, are reaping what they sowed.

Wilson emphatically states, "Only a Christian education can provide a standard for fixed and absolute truth, and only a biblical course of instruction can set a standard for distinguishing right from wrong" (49).  But once again, Wilson makes clear this begins in the home. Parents must be marked by their own character and courage. True education begins with godly parents instilling their beliefs and values in their children. He quotes the Shema in Deuteronomy 6 as the model for parents (58). Children are to hear the word of the Lord when they sit, stand, walk, lie down, and rise up. The Word should be on the door posts as they go enter and exit. It should encompass the totality of a child's life. Without a Christian education, this is simply impossible.

Christian parents must wake up. "The big lie is that education can be 'religion-neutral'" (67). Yet education is simply "the processor learning how to think God's thoughts after Him" (68). An education which fails to make it clear that our job is to discover what God has already declared "true," is an education based on a false idol. As a society, we are reaping the results of our rebellion. God uses our godless rulers to bring us to repentance. We miss out on blessings, we see a rise in "unnatural passions", we become victims to crime and bad laws, we embrace relativity and cannot experience the joys of men and women serving in their God-given roles. But hope is always at hand. Repent. 

Finally, Wilson addresses some common objections: many Christians were raised in government schools and they are fine, Christian schools are expensive, religion is part of the spiritual sphere of "home" and education falls under the physical realm, a child may be mature enough in his faith to handle it, the local Christian school does not have an adequate athletics program, other adult influences are not Christian, the children require special programs not offered at the Christian school, Chistian school is not "cool," and many of the teachers in the public school are Christians themselves. One by one Wilson demolishes these arguments. Time and again he brings it back to the Lordship of Christ. Either Jesus is Lord and we submit or He is not and we don't. 

Wilson ends with his prescription for Classical, Christian education. He believes this model fully incorporates the kind of education outlined in Scripture. He gives advice for the practicalities of this kind of school. He offers advice on pitfalls to avoid. Overall, Wilson makes a solid case for avoiding government schools and educating children according to the precept found in the Word and embodied in Classical, Christian education.