Sep 19, 2024
Why Poetry Should Be Read Aloud in English Classes by Clay Greene at Education Next. Educators are conscious of the value of exposing students to great works of poetry, but the teaching of poetry often lacks a key ingredient: orality. The standard teaching in high school and university classes presents a poem as an abstract object on a page, encouraging students to see poems as riddles to be solved. But history shows that poems are best understood and taught as oral performances, using all the techniques of interpretation and communication of a great actor. When students encounter a virtuosic performance—especially a recitation—they can experience poems more immediately and in a way that resonates with their basic nature. Read
5 Reasons Students Should Read Locke’s Second Treatise by Jeannette DeCelles-Zwerneman at Cana Academy. Despite some highly charged and exaggerated contemporary criticism of Locke’s political thought, studying his Second Treatise of Civil Government is especially valuable for American secondary students. Why? Locke was one of the most cited political thinkers at the American Constitutional Convention…It’s good for students to know their patrimony, especially as we celebrate Constitution Day this week. Read
Children at Play by Friedrich Froebel at Plough. Even if I have discovered nothing new in children’s education – as some people claim – I have made an important contribution by insisting on time for play. It is in play that children’s energies can flourish, neither strained by too-early lessons nor rusting through lack of use. Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood, for it alone is the free expression of what is in children’s souls…. It gives them joy, freedom, contentment, and peace with the world. Read
Your Kids Don’t Need Smartphones by Jillian Lederman at The Wall Street Journal. As the school year begins, K-12 students may need to kiss their phones goodbye. Seven states have passed school-technology restrictions that have been implemented or will be during the year. Other states, cities and districts may do the same. When I was a kid, I didn’t need the government to facilitate my phonelessness; my parents did it on their own. For years, my siblings and I shared a clunky candy-bar phone that we despondently referred to as a “radio remote control.” It was equipped exclusively to call 911 and home, and as my parents frequently said, “What else could you possibly need it to do?” Read
Finding Relief for the Anxious Generation in Schools and Beyond by Josh Pauling at Intellectual Takeout. As a new school year begins, many students have returned to a drastic shift in phone policies. A growing number of school districts—and even state legislatures—have introduced phone-free policies and are seeing kids come alive again. This shift is due at least in part to Jonathan Haidt’s new book The Anxious Generation, which makes a humble yet compelling case that digital devices, specifically internet-connected smartphones, have caused significant changes in what constitutes childhood. Read
How Sports Build Lifelong Skills in Student-Athletes by Alec DesRosiers at Real Clear Education. Sports are a crucial part of a high school student's athletic and academic path. For student-athletes, the meaning and value of sports represent much more than what the scoreboard reads at the end of each game. Sports instill life skills like leadership and perseverance that are essential, not just on the field or court, but in the classroom and beyond. Read
The Joy and Wonder of Catholic Education by Bishop James Conley at What We Need Now. In the second century, St. Irenaeus coined one of the most famous phrases in Christianity: “The glory of God is man, fully alive!” But becoming “fully alive” does not come naturally to us. Because we have each suffered the effects of sin, we do not easily choose or even recognize the true, the good, and the beautiful—the universal attributes of being. We do not always choose and live as we should. We do not, left to our own devices, exercise the full potential of the gifts that God has given us. This is precisely why education—and Catholic education especially—is so important. Read
Classical or Catholic? A Sacramental Approach to Education by Dr. R. Jared Staudt at Catholic World Report. Classical education has exploded in the last ten years, and for good reason. Education has descended into a utilitarian pursuit, though an ineffective one at that. By focusing primarily on career readiness, we have sunk to new lows with graduates unable to speak convincingly about the history and institutions of our nation, not having read the greats or unable to comprehend them, and even without much readiness for a career…Catholic education should reinforce our children’s identity as made in the image of God and called into a great work of renewing civilization, drawing from the past and imaginatively giving it new life today. Read
Biggest Lesson After 20 Years of Special Education in Catholic Schools by Theresa Civantos Barber at Aleteia. As the Catholic Coalition for Special Education enters its third decade, "we are seeing a real Catholic-school inclusion movement." Francesca Pellegrino’s decades-long campaign to help kids with special needs access a Catholic education began with her own son more than 20 years ago. “We started out with a vision to try and fulfill an unmet need in our Catholic community, and really the inspiration behind it all was my son and the hope that he could go to Catholic school,” she said in an interview with Aleteia. Read
High School Chaplains Are Spiritual Fathers to Hundreds by Catholic Diocese of Wichita. The chaplains at the four Catholic high schools in the Diocese of Wichita play a special role for the students and the staff. They are spiritual fathers to the students, examples of priestly life, and work with the high school staff to help the students focus on the eternal truths while tackling academics. Read
Rosary College Opens With a Focus on Tradition and Classical Literature by Kathy Schiffer at National Catholic Register. While many older institutions of higher learning across the United States reexamine their curricula and their mission to stay true to their founding, a new classical Catholic college launched in Greenville, South Carolina, with a focus on renewing the traditional Christian values of truth, goodness and beauty, along with Marian devotion. Rosary College, a two-year liberal arts college with an emphasis on traditional values and faith, has just begun its inaugural semester with an enrollment of 20 students. Read
Newman Guide Virtual College Fair by The Cardinal Newman Society. A lot of colleges are known for providing a good education. But what is "good"? If large numbers of students lose their faith in college—or they fail to become wise and virtuous—then are they really getting a “good” education? Come learn more about the advantages of choosing a faithful Catholic college at The Cardinal Newman Society’s Virtual College Fair, hosted in partnership with Kolbe Academy. You’ll get to learn more about each of the colleges recognized in The Newman Guide for their strong Catholic identity. And you’ll get to ask the questions that are most important to you! Read
Throwback Thursday
What Is Patriotic Education? by Gary W. Houchens at The Imaginative Conservative. In my mind, patriotic education is less about the specific curricular concepts that are featured in American history classes, and more about a philosophical stance that informs our approach, one full of explicit values and assumptions. These assumptions include, but are not limited to…The belief that America’s Founding was a good thing. This includes believing that the events of 1776, and the subsequent efforts to iron out a workable constitution, and the next 244 years of trying to help the U.S. live up to its founding ideals, represent a significantly positive development in human political and social history. It includes the assumption that the United States is an exceptional country, not in the sense that it is better than any other nation, but that it is unique, and offers a uniquely valuable model of political organization that is worth cherishing and defending. Read |