The excerpt I used one:
As homeschoolers, we live in a blessed time. The Lord has provided freedom, abundant curriculum choices, and many avenues of support for our endeavors: this is a far cry from the days many remember of fighting for basic rights. But even in a time of such blessing, homeschooling is an intense job, requiring parents to work hard and tirelessly in order to provide the best possible Christian education for their children. Why in the world would an already harried homeschool parent consider a teaching method as teacher-intensive as “classical education”? And, more importantly, why would a Christian, who understands our most important job is to equip our children to glorify God and enjoy Him forever , choose such a method?
First, let’s begin with a definition of “classical education”. Indeed, defining just what “classical education” is presents a challenge in itself. It is a methodology and movement that has grown, changed and altered over the centuries. It continues to be adapted today as many of us seek to reclaim the “lost tools of learning” . It is all too easy to caricature instead of accurately representing this educational method. Classical Christian education, according to Andrew Kerns, is “the cultivation of wisdom and virtue by nourishing the soul on truth, goodness, and beauty by means of the liberal arts so that, in Christ, the student is better able to know and enjoy God.” Classical education is that method of instruction which is the legacy of the Christian middle ages, Christian Europe, and early America. Its roots lie in both the Greco-Roman and Hebrew cultures. It is word-centered, rigorous, and has as its goal the practice of Christian virtue--not just the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake. The mentoring of the pupil by the instruction and example of the teacher is its characteristic ingredient, and together, teacher and pupil move towards study of the “queen of the sciences”, theology.
Classical education is occasionally characterized as the emulation of pagan authors and philosophies. While study of all of history is important, “classical” education, in its broader historical sense does not necessarily imply that we admire and revere Roman or Greek or pagan theology. While classical education may include some careful study of the ancient period, it would be inaccurate to characterize it as focused on pagan beliefs.
Then, I decided to use a different kind of writing, and entered the following:
This morning, I drove with my youngest child the two-hours of highway through the desert of northern New Mexico to the airport at Albuquerque. It was the first step on his 1500 mile journey to college. In the back of my car were two large backpacks and three large suitcases filled with most of his worldly belongings. But the most precious assets of the boy beside me could not be found by rifling through the tee-shirts and jeans, books, posters and CDs.
This fledgling young man has been the object of my wrestling and rejoicing in prayer for more than 18 years. The Lord called his dad and me, first with his older brother, then with him, to leave what we knew behind us and trust God in their nurturing, admonition and education. That led us often to struggle with them, and in that struggle, we discovered that the real enemy was us: our sin, our failures, our selfishness. God used this young man, once a child, to make me what He wanted me to be—to lead me where He wanted me to go. And wonder of wonders, in the process this young man became my brother and my friend. He now bears the fruit of the journey we have been on with the Lord over the course of his life.
“You know to call when you get there,” I say.
“Yes, Ma’am,” he answers.
“And you will make daily time with the Lord a priority, and get involved with a good church right away?”
“Of course, Mom,” he says with a patient smile that reminds me he has heard this before.
Oh dear... At least CM writes like Daniel Defoe...
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3 comments:
LOL, Chris. I've avoided reading Margaret Atwood and don't even want to THINK about H.P. Lovecraft! So I think I should have stopped with the first one, our friend DeFoe. :-)
I'm guessing it's not very accurate . . .
Well Cindy, my Ben LOVES H. P. Lovecraft! Must not be too bad! What fun!
I put in my LToW essay that I had to complete for the apprenticeship. I thought it would be interesting on 2 accounts, judging myself and judging the program. It and I came out as Edgar Allan Poe. That was funny because we had pretty well dissed Poe during the apprenticeship on several occasions.
Thanks, Cindy M for the link. It is a lot of fun.
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