Dec 12, 2024
Cowboys, Billionaires, And Pastors Break Tough Ground To Build Great Books Colleges by Joy Pullmann at The Federalist. Parents, teachers, philanthropists, and students aren’t waiting for American higher education to fix itself. They’re pioneering new colleges and universities now…The students choosing these universities want to be “part of a solution because they know something is broken, but the education they received doesn’t allow them to identify what’s broken,” says Wyoming Catholic College President Kyle Washut. Read
How Will Australia Keep Under-16s Off Social Media? by John Burger at Aleteia. The newly enacted ban on the use of social media by adolescents under age 16 in Australia aims to “allow young people to grow and develop away and separate from social media pressures” and the addictive nature of the media, said a psychologist and teacher at an Australian Catholic university. In spite of several benefits from social media – providing a way for young people to socialize and interact, and make, develop and maintain friendships and connections – the potential harms are serious enough to justify legal regulation, said Jonathan O'Neill, a lecturer in psychology at the University of Notre Dame in Fremantle, near Perth. Read
Saying No to AI in Education by Allie Lopez at Front Porch Republic. American institutions are abuzz about AI and its potential. Universities, in particular, seem to be embracing AI without much question. The University of Texas at Austin is celebrating 2024 as “the Year of AI.” Arizona State University and Johns Hopkins University now offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in Artificial Intelligence. Multiple universities, including Penn State, Baylor, Oregon State, and the University of Michigan, among others, have hosted AI events where there seem to be very few questions about AI’s ethical ramifications or its effects on human flourishing. Instead, many professors understand AI as a tool that can enhance teaching and learning. Read
Inspiring Way High School Students Help the Deceased by Cerith Gardiner at Aleteia. Students at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland have been given the opportunity to help those who've passed away with little or no family to have a worthy funeral. Launched in 2003, the school has enabled its juniors and seniors to serve as pallbearers through its St. Joseph of Arimathea Pallbearer Ministry. Initially, 12 students joined the program and participated in three funerals during its first year, according to Today. However, today the ministry has an impressive 400 members who have joined together to serve up to 180 funerals a year. Read
Living Under History by Andrew J. Zwerneman at Cana Academy. We live in times marked by widening forgetfulness. Increasingly, high school graduates know little history. Few university students take up history as a course of study. The past plays a diminished role in how we as a public understand our national purposes. Our political, legal, moral, and religious deliberations on what to do involve little reflection on our origins. This loss of history is no small matter. In forgetting our past, we forget ourselves. If we are to recover our bearings, we must take the path of remembrance. We must renew our capacity to live under history. Read
Books for Christmas—2024 by George Weigel at First Things. A friend told me recently that bookstores were making something of a comeback. I hope that’s true, because browsing bookstores is one of life’s great pleasures. (For the ultimate such experience, visit Hatchards at 187 Piccadilly in London.) In the spirit of happy browsing, here are some suggestions for Christmas book-giving (not “gifting”!) at a historical moment that needs equal doses of realism and hope. Read
True Myth, the Inklings, and the Creative Value of Good Graphic Novels by Haley Stewart at Word on Fire. Haley interviews John Hendrix, a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator. He is the Kenneth E. Hudson Professor of Art and Chair of the MFA in Illustration and Visual Culture program at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. His books include The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler, Drawing Is Magic, and The Mythmakers, a new graphic novel about the friendship between C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. In this episode Haley and John discuss the great value of having companions on the way in both the creative and the spiritual life, how the Gospel as the true myth, and ways to encourage reluctant readers with highly illustrated books like graphic novels. Listen
Throwback Thursday
How To Develop Vocabulary in the Classroom by Alex Quigley at EducationNext on December 3, 2019. On a daily basis, every teacher navigates a wealth of questions about words and about the world. The English dictionary is replete with over half a million words, and many of our pupils can struggle to stay afloat as they swim in this sea of academic language. Given the sheer breadth and depth of vocabulary of the English language—alongside how critical it proves in mediating the academic curriculum of school—it is crucial that every teacher has a confident understanding of teaching vocabulary in the classroom. Read |