Jun 20, 2024
Why Fairy Tales Are Essential Reading with Dr. Vigen Guroian by Haley Stewart at Word on Fire. The Votive Podcast from Word on Fire is an exploration of art and literature that sparks the imagination. Hosted by Haley Stewart, author, children’s book editor for Word on Fire Votive, and mom of four, each episode features an interview with a writer or artist about how to share beautiful art and good stories that evangelize the hearts and minds of young readers. Listen
To Kill a Mockingbird: A Valuable Classic by Mary Frances Loughran at Cana Academy. A longtime staple of high-school reading lists, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird has come under attack in recent years. While earlier criticisms questioned the book’s right to be considered a classic, current criticisms accuse the book of presenting racial stereotypes and racist views. Properly understanding the book as a classic worthy of inclusion on high-school reading lists sheds light on a defense against the charge of racism. Read
Why “The Great Music” Is as Important as “The Great Books” by Peter Kwasniewski at The Imaginative Conservative. So important is it to have some sort of understanding of how the noble art of music works, and so important is it to become familiar with at least some of the great composers of the Western tradition, that all of the students at Wyoming Catholic College (where I taught) are required to take two semesters of Music Theory and History. Read
On Home as Social Hub: The Importance of Hosting Our Sons and Their Friends by Tom Royals at The Heights Forum. As we look forward to the wide expanse of summer, one thing certainly on our minds is how we can support our sons’ friendships in the absence of school. Turns out, we needn’t look further than our own living rooms. In fact, welcoming our children’s friends into our homes may be the healthiest place for authentic, lifelong friendship to grow. Listen
The Left’s Crusade Against Religious Schools Heats Up by Timothy P. Carney at The Washington Examiner. A theme of the next few years will be the persecution of Catholic schools, Jewish schools, and all other religious schools that blend even a trace of traditional morality with their faith. Democratic legislators, the legacy media, left-wing non-profits, and liberal prosecutors will attack, sue, defund, and ultimately try to quash all conservative religious schools that do not adopt their version of morality. Read
California School District to Ban Smartphones During School Hours by Christina Grube at World. The second largest school district in the country, Los Angeles Unified School District, passed a measure on Tuesday to create a phone-free school experience by banning smartphone usage during the school day. The measure passed in a 5-2 vote with the aim of supporting student academic success and well-being. Studies show that smartphones distract kids from learning, erode their mental health, and stifle in-person social connection, the school board said. California Gov. Gavin Newsom also called for the restriction of smartphones from the classroom the same day the school board voted. Kids should be focused on learning at school, not their screens, he wrote on social media. Read
How Parents Are Freeing Their Kids from the Public School Monopoly by John M. Grondelski at The Catholic World Report. The school lockdowns of 2020 opened many parents’ eyes to the ideological indoctrination being propagandized in American public schools. As parents and children shared the same quarters during online schooling, parents discovered what was “mainstream” in so many school systems. Read
'Here I Am': A Children’s Book That Combats Confusing Gender Ideology by CatholicVote. Word On Fire Ministries announced the publication of a new children’s book on June 17 titled, Here I Am, which combats gender ideology messaging and helps young readers instead to understand their bodies in the context of the Incarnation. “Appealing to childlike wonder and joy, Here I Am draws young readers deeper into the mystery of the Incarnation,” the Ministry states on the book’s webpage. Read
Throwback Thursday
Why Read Homer’s Iliad? by Cheryl Lowe at Memoria Press on April 15, 2008. The heart of a classical education is the cumulative study of Latin and the classical civilizations of Greece and Rome. In the Western tradition, education has always been synonymous with classical education. It began with the Greeks and Romans, was preserved and expanded by Christians during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and continued unabated until well into the twentieth century. I have said many times that Latin is not dead: it is immortal. Latin is truly the most influential language in human history. It has been immortalized in modern romance languages, in modern scientific languages, and in its own great literature. Read