I recently gave an interview on classical Christian education, and the link is now hot.
Perpilocutionism
An article by William Michael was recently brought to my attention, in which he is dismissively critical of what he calls the “Dorothy Sayers Movement.” Given the nature of his critique, I can’t really have a whole lot to say about it, about which more in a minute, but since I think he is talking …
Anemic Ads for Christian Colleges
The Bible requires Christian leaders to not be bellicose (1 Tim. 3:3). And at the same time we are called to put on the full armor of God, and to contend with principalities and powers (Eph. 6:11-12). What gives? “Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a …
Like a Slide Rule in a Salvador Dali Painting
One of our big educational problems today has to be seen as the undeniable success of our engineering programs. But this requires explanation. The first aspect of this is that it is not engineering’s fault. We have a problem, but it is not the problem of the engineers. If a bunch of people rush over …
Still in the Reformed Tub
My colleague Roy Atwood discusses the news that a couple of Calvin College profs are now maintaining that Adam and Eve were literary figures — you know, like Tom Sawyer, Sam Gamgee, and Felix the Cat. If you read carefully, you will see that these gentlemen take the Reformed confessions seriously, but not uncritically. Well, …
Warm, Friendly, and Distant
One of the optical illusions created by the decision to home school or to have your children in a private Christian school is a significant one. It is this. The temptation is to think that in the home school, success or failure is fundamentally a parental matter while in the private school, success or failure …
Skanky Movie III
One trap that parents fall into is the trap of not wanting sin around their kids. But I suppose this requres some explanation. The mistake arises because there are a bunch of sins that parents should keep away from their kids — kidnappers, for starters, and cocaine dealers, and pornographers, and seducers, and Cartesian dualists. …
Get to and Got to
Conservative Christians have standards, and we are going to stick to them, by golly. And that is actually a good thing, so long as we are sticking to them. The problem arises when they start sticking to us, as when cheat grass gets in your socks. The problem I have in mind affects all sorts …
Wind Shepherds
Eric Hoffer described the trajectory this way. First you have a movement, which turns into a business, which then is transformed into a racket. This truth, and truth it is, should be constantly remembered by all those who are involved on the recovery of classical Christian education. We can do this in two ways. First, …
No Comparisons, Darn It
As Buffalo Springfield put it once, something’s happening here. Over the years at Logos School, we have been consistently proud of our students, and of their high level of performance coupled with consistent cheerfulness. All the classes have been remarkable, and some of them have been spooky. I remember one time, a number of years …