How can we tell when a perfectly good activity has turned into an identity project, causing us to place our hope and worth in something besides our Creator? And what’s to be done if we’re already far down that road? In this discussion, we’ll be sharing hope and tools for those desperate to enjoy the good things of this life as gifts instead of opportunities for self-justification and condemnation.
Read Morehere’s nothing like the feeling of wrapping up classes in the spring and looking ahead to a long and luxurious summer of opportunity. And while you and I may already turn to our neglected booklists at such times, how can we encourage our children to do the same? How can we excite them and create opportunities for a summer reading adventure? In this Office Hours, we’ll be trading ideas and dreaming of warm, bookish days.
Read MoreIn this discussion, we’ll be digging up two old and dusty words: mimesis and catharsis. One, mimesis, describes a process of imitation. The other, catharsis, names the feeling of release or “purging” caused by vicarious experience. We’ll be looking at what these terms have to do with the reading experience, and how they might influence the way we teach Great Books.
Read MoreHow do we handle potentially troubling or offensive content in the books we read? What makes content dangerous, and how do we know where to draw the line? Our students are sure to rub up against ideas that make us uncomfortable at some point in their reading. How can we be sure we and they are equipped to handle it when they do?
Read MoreAt CenterForLit, we are always encouraging our students to “support their argument with examples from the text.” But for those who have never had to incorporate textual evidence in their writing, the demand may sound intimidating. Not to fear! Like most things, it’s a piece of cake once someone shows you how to do it. The 3-Sentence-Quotation is a form ubiquitous to academic writing, and it can easily be taught. With this handy tool, your students will be making sound literary arguments like a pro in no time!
Read MoreGrading a paper can feel as daunting for the teacher as writing it in the first place was for the student. What should be our goal in evaluating student work? By what standards do we grade, and how do we help our young writers improve without discouraging them? Is grading even helpful for our students, or a necessary claim on our time? We’ll be spending this hour discussing an evergreen teaching conundrum.
Read MoreTrue education reinforces a framework of absolutes, the conservation of which is the most important work a teacher can ever do. The framework emerges from the literary tradition, but also from the pedagogical attitude we take - toward the student, the tradition, and the idea of education. What does this kind of culture building look like in the homeschool and classroom?
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