Jul 3, 2025
The Cultural Return to Orthodoxy featuring Ann Brodeur at Anchored by the Classical Learning Test. On this episode of Anchored, Jeremy Tate is joined by Ann Brodeur, the Chair of Education and Liberal Arts at Catholic International University. They explore the relationship between Ann’s love for medieval history and her background growing up on a ranch in Montana. They dive into how a view of education as formational, rather than mere informational, helps mitigate the threat posed by AI. Listen
Do Yourself a Favor and Memorize a Poem by Christian Leithart at Intellectual Takeout. Several times a year I require my students to memorize a poem. Sometimes I choose for them (say, “Death Be Not Proud,” by John Donne). Sometimes I hand them an anthology and let them choose. I don’t explain rhyme scheme or poetic devices. I only ask that the students know the meaning of every word in the poem, looking them up in the dictionary if they don’t. Read
Shakespearean Philosophy by Br. John Metilly at The Imaginative Conservative. Who would have thought that so much philosophy could be found in such little poetry? Who would have thought that so much could be said in so few words? Next time you read Shakespeare, read carefully, and you may find more philosophy than first meets the eye. Read
Making the Church Visible: Flannery O’Connor’s Christian Witness by Henry T. Edmondson III at Word on Fire. In Flannery O’Connor and the Church Made Visible: A Revolutionary Witness for the Sake of the Gospel, Ralph C. Wood calls not only on Dietrich Bonhoeffer but also on Benedict XVI to introduce his thesis. That thesis, as the title suggests, is that the Christian church in America is no longer “visible”—that is, the contemporary church is not the witness that it should, and must, be. The fault is not with America; the fault is with the Christian church that has, over its short American history, enjoyed a comfortable existence. The church has become irrelevant, marginalized, and has allowed the surrounding culture to impose its stamp of individualism and subjectivism. As O’Connor once stated sternly, in America, Christian holiness has become “vaporized.” Read
Cursive is Making a Comeback by Samantha Hedges, PhD at EduThirdSpace. The pendulum is swinging. Analog is back in style, albeit by means of education policy. Thanks to generative-AI tools, like ChatGPT, handwritten assignments may increasingly become the norm in higher education, and K-12 schools are re-incorporating cursive writing into their curriculum. Read
Forming Generous Men by Alvaro de Vicente at The Heights Forum. Generosity is fundamental insofar as it is a broad habit that fathers other little virtues. It can be lived out in big and small ways—both in one’s work and in one’s family life. Generosity is also foundational for a boy’s growth because boys are called to become men, and a man, in his very core, is called to become a father—whether in a literal, biological way or in a spiritual way. This universal vocation to fatherhood is a calling to generosity. To be a father is to be one who in a personal way gives life and gives his life. Read
U.S. Adults Hold ‘Nuanced’ Opinions on Religion in Public Schools, New Polling Shows by Madalaine Elhabbal at Catholic News Agency. New polling from the Associated Press (AP) NORC Center for Public Affairs Research has found that U.S. adults hold “nuanced views about the role of religion in public schools.” While the majority of adults, about 58%, say they support religious chaplains providing services in public schools, only 40% say they believe teachers should be allowed to lead a class in prayer, according to data from the survey conducted June 5–9. Read
Judge Rules Ohio EdChoice Program is Unconstitutional by Katie Millard and Jackie Gillis at NBC4. A Franklin County judge ruled Tuesday that Ohio’s Education Choice program is unconstitutional. This is the first ruling in the Vouchers Hurt Ohio lawsuit, a group of dozens of public schools and the Coalition for Adequacy and Equity of School funding which challenged Ohio’s EdChoice scholarship program as unconstitutional. Judge Jaiza Page recognized the lawsuit will likely progress through appeals court, so she said although it is unconstitutional, the EdChoice program can continue until a final verdict is reached. Read
Throwback Thursday
How Classical Education Can Preserve Our American Freedoms by The Heritage Foundation on September 26, 2023. The American education system is at a tipping point. For years, we’ve faced plummeting academic achievement outcomes, leftist ideology in classrooms, a tendency to replace teaching with technology, and the removal of the greatest works of Western Civilization from the curriculum. Our country and our children deserve better. How can we fix this broken system? Join The Heritage Foundation, Divine Mercy Academy (an independent, classical Catholic K-8th school), and leaders in American education for a two-part discussion on challenges our children face in the classroom and practical solutions offered through alternatives to the traditional district model of schooling. Listen