Feb 27, 2025
How Latin Develops the Mind by Cheryl Lowe at Memoria Press. Latin’s development of the intellectual powers of the mind has no rival in the humanities. How does Latin do it? In the same way as math. Math is systematic, organized, orderly, logical, and cumulative. In a cumulative study, each skill builds upon the previous one; nothing can be forgotten, and everything must be remembered. All knowledge and skills are interrelated. The student continues to build a tower of learning, block by block, until he has reached a very high level of skill and knowledge. Read
Imitate to Build Confidence by Mary Frances Loughran at Cana Academy. It is said that “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” That may be true, and when it comes to learning how to write well, imitation also builds confidence in the student writer. Often teachers are surprised and dismayed when they receive writing assignments that are peppered with grammatical and punctuation errors. It is especially disappointing when students have already received instruction and completed multiple exercises in these foundational areas for writers… That is where workshops on imitation come in. Practice by imitation teaches students the grammar of various sentence structures. They discover the many ways that their ideas can be expressed. Here are the steps of such a workshop. Read
Help College Students Read by F. Andrew Wolf, Jr. at The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal. There’s an increasing emphasis on digital literacy and multimedia learning, often at the expense of traditional reading. Simultaneously, there’s a noticeable preference for content that entertains rather than educates. Students are increasingly using individual computers at school, where they’re reading a variety of short, digital texts rather than the longform classics. Research shows that reading from a screen can have consequences. It interferes with in-depth learning. Read
Illinois Students Are Struggling. Lowering Standards Masks the Crisis. by Hannah Schmid at RealClearEducation. As students struggle to meet reading proficiency standards, Illinois’ education leaders face a choice: emulate Mississippi and introduce policies to help more students read at grade level, or imitate Wisconsin and lower proficiency standards to mask the literacy crisis. Read
First-Ever Private School Choice Bill Passes in Idaho by Kate Quiñones at Catholic News Agency. A $50 million school choice bill long in the works is awaiting approval from Idaho’s governor after the state Senate passed the measure on Wednesday. The bill would establish a $50 million parental choice tax credit beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, helping parents send their children to nonpublic schools, including private religious schools. After years of attempts by school choice advocates in the Idaho Legislature, the bill passed in a 15-10 vote in the Senate. Read
Satisfaction With U.S. Public Education Reaches Record Low in New Gallup Survey by Lauren Wagner at The74. Satisfaction with America’s public education system reached a record low in the latest iteration of a Gallup poll that’s been measuring opinions on U.S. society and policy since 2001. The Mood of the Nation survey published Feb. 5 found that 73% of 1,005 adult respondents were dissatisfied with the quality of public education in the U.S. It’s the highest dissatisfaction rate since the survey began, and a 5-point increase from last year’s rate of 68%. Read
Faith, Scholarship, & Community at Benedictine College with Steve Minnis at The Cardinal Newman Society. Join us as Steve Minnis, president of Benedictine College, shares his remarkable journey of over two decades at the helm, driving unprecedented growth and fostering a community deeply rooted in faith and scholarship. Under his leadership, Benedictine College has not only doubled its student body but also enhanced its campus with modern facilities, all while strengthening its Catholic identity. From initiating a unique consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary to embedding faith deeply into the academic and communal fabric of the college, Minnis’ vision is a testament to the transformative power of integrating community, faith, and scholarship in higher education. Listen
The Spirit & Craft of Teaching in the Catholic Liberal Arts Tradition Conference at Institute for Catholic Liberal Education. Our most hands-on, sequential event, Spirit & Craft of Teaching in the Liberal Arts Tradition immerses teachers in the theory and practice of Catholic liberal arts pedagogy. The program is designed for both new and veteran teachers who are unfamiliar with Catholic liberal arts education, but it is open to all who desire to learn more. The program size is limited to allow for maximum personal attention; participants prepare and present lessons and receive feedback. Due to the limited size of the program, the number of registrants from each school is limited to three. Register
Throwback Thursday
Reading to Your Child: This is Why It’s So Important by Peggy Albers at Intellectual Takeout on May 9, 2016. British researcher Don Holdaway was the first to point out the benefits of shared reading. He noted that children found these moments to be some of their happiest. He also found that children developed positive and strong associations with spoken language and the physical book itself, during these moments. Since then a number of studies have been conducted showing the value of shared reading in children’s language development, especially in vocabulary and concept development. Read