Mar 13, 2025
9 Reasons Why Teachers Should Not Post Daily Scores on the School Portal by Jeannette DeCelles-Zwerneman at Cana Academy. Classical schools are not better than other schools because they issue grades that get their students into top-tier universities. Grades can never be the measure of what constitutes education and learning; they are a necessary evil and an enormous distraction. If we must concede their necessity, we should restrict them to their limited role and protect what is most precious in classical education. Read
How to Teach Latin by Laura Eidt at ClassicalEd Review. The internet is full of responses to the question of how or why to teach Latin. I believe it is high time that we ground this question in both the history of Latin teaching and principles of Second Language Acquisition (SLA). Our central concerns ought to be: what is quality language instruction and what does it mean to be true to the classical tradition of language teaching? Read
Balancing Justice and Mercy in School Discipline by Danny Flynn at Institute for Catholic Liberal Education. For eons, parents have entered into a partnership with educators when choosing to send their children to school…When a parent drops off their child(ren) at a school, they are entrusting that the school will uphold this partnership of formation and keep all eyes focused on this vision and mission. Likewise, the school entrusts that when the child goes home each afternoon, the vision and mission are not lost or dismantled but found as a stronghold within their domestic church. Read
Encountering Scripture with Fresh Eyes by Haley Stewart at Word on Fire. Haley interviews Rose John Sheffler, the author of Past Watchful Dragons, a brand new book of fairy tales releasing from Word on Fire Votive on March 31st. Rose is a Catholic writer living in Kentucky with her philosopher husband and three children. In this episode they discuss the draw of fairy tales and how a world of fantasy helps us to see through the veil of familiarity that can hold us back from seeing the truth and experiencing God’s world with awe and wonder. Listen
Raising Screen-Free Boys by Katherine Johnson Martinko at After Babel. If you have ever wondered what it is like to raise a bunch of boys without video games, TV, tablets, or smartphones, I have plenty of firsthand experience to share! My three sons, now aged 15, 13, and 9, have grown up with minimal screens in our home. Drawing from my observations over the past fifteen years, insights from parenting experts, conversations with other parents raising boys, and research compiled in my 2023 book, Childhood Unplugged: Practical Advice to Get Kids Off Screens and Find Balance, I’ll offer some reflections and advice. Read
A Renaissance in American Education: The Phoenix Declaration’s Bold Vision by Tiffany Justice at The Daily Signal. The Phoenix Declaration, unveiled by The Heritage Foundation under the leadership of Jason Bedrick, offers a compelling vision for what conservatives are for in education. Launched at the Conservative Vision of Education Conference in Phoenix on Feb. 17, this initiative is not just a critique of the status quo—it’s a clarion call for a renaissance in American public education, rooted in freedom, excellence, and the best of our national heritage. Read
Wyoming Becomes 15th State To Enact Universal School Choice by Keri Ingraham at The Federalist. On Tuesday, Wyoming became the 15th state to enact universal school choice into law with Gov. Mark Gordon’s signature on the Steamboat Legacy Scholarship Act. The Cowboy State joins a rapidly growing group of states that have passed laws giving all (or nearly all) families statewide choice concerning their children’s kindergarten through twelfth-grade education. Read
The Sad Decline of the English Major by George Leef at National Review. English used to be one of the top college majors, but today, fewer students pursue it. Why? In today’s Martin Center article, Professor Mark Bauerlein provides an answer. Read
Belmont Abbey College to Launch Student Program in Washington, D.C. by Kate Quiñones at Catholic News Agency. A Catholic liberal arts college in North Carolina is launching a new student program in Washington, D.C., designed to “amplify Catholic voices in media, politics, and culture.” Belmont Abbey College plans to launch its Intentional Catholic Student Residency Program, the first of its kind for students, in fall 2025. Read
Throwback Thursday
The 5 Marks Of A Truly Catholic School by Elisabeth Sullivan at CatholicLink on February 1, 2021. Drawing from Church documents on education in his 2006 publication, The Holy See’s Teaching on Catholic Schools, Archbishop J. Michael Miller, former Secretary of the Vatican’s Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, identified five “essential marks” that make a school genuinely Catholic. It is becoming clear that Catholic schools cannot meet these essential marks when they adopt secular curricula and teaching strategies. Schools that are now thriving have become far more intentional about these goals through a return to the Catholic tradition of liberal arts education that weaves together faith and learning. Read