The time is here, where we make promises for the new year only to (on average) forget our resolutions within weeks, if not days. I’m proud to have finally completed a New Year’s resolution: one year of reading ‘The Greats’. The Past Year Around December of 2019, I discovered the 1952 Great Books of theContinue reading “2021 Resolutions: Read the Great Books”
Author Archives: Christian Poole
The Name of Christmas
It’s almost Christmas, so I’ll keep it short and sweet. Every December of the past few decades has ignited a pop culture contest to reinvent the “meaning of Christmas”. Every modern Christmas movie has repeated the same old reimaginations of Christmas’ meaning: love, kindness, generosity, family, etc. At any time before the 20th century, didContinue reading “The Name of Christmas”
The Case for Homeschooling (Part 3): Child Safety
“Homeschooling … not only violates children’s right to a ‘meaningful education’ and their right to be protected from potential child abuse, but may keep them from contributing positively to a democratic society.” This statement was published as part of a mid-2020 Harvard Magazine article interviewing Elizabeth Bartholett, a Harvard Law professor and now infamous anti-homeschoolingContinue reading “The Case for Homeschooling (Part 3): Child Safety”
Applying Machiavelli to Life
“It is better to be feared than loved” is by far the most famous quote from Machiavelli’s The Prince, but the short book has much more to offer than a pithy statement voided of its true nuance (for Machiavelli importantly added “…if you cannot be both.” Written in 1513 for the new Florentine ruler, aContinue reading “Applying Machiavelli to Life”
The Importance of Good Conversation
Read Plato, St. Augustine, Jonathan Swift, Emily Bronte, or any other classic work and you’ll notice the authors’ composition, vocabulary, and coherence in thought far surpass those possessed by the vast majority of educated people today. Even students of our best liberal arts universities don’t emerge from their studies with the ability to write, speak,Continue reading “The Importance of Good Conversation”
Don Quixote and The Difference Between Wisdom and Intelligence
Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote excellently portrays wisdom’s distinction from intelligence through the character growth (or at least revelation) of Don Quixote and his trusted squire Sancho Panza. While both play the part of the fool in many respects, both exhibit moments of intelligence or wisdom throughout their adventures. The Intelligent Don Quixote Don QuixoteContinue reading “Don Quixote and The Difference Between Wisdom and Intelligence”
Why a Classical Education is Needed Now More than Ever
If you were to ask yourself what single aspect of education is lacking in modern society, what would it be? What topic, if better integrated into school curricula, would benefit the world the most? Teaching science and technology better? It seems we have plenty of the technical aspects of education in place today: everyone knowsContinue reading “Why a Classical Education is Needed Now More than Ever”
The Nazi Origins of Germany’s Ban on Homeschooling
Given that we are caught up in terms of the history of homeschooling (see here), there is one notable historical anecdote we have left out: the case of Germany, one of few western European countries with a complete ban on homeschooling. There is an irritating and pervasive habit to treat the passing of a lawContinue reading “The Nazi Origins of Germany’s Ban on Homeschooling”
The Case for Homeschooling (Part 2): The History of Home Education
If the history of education were a painting, homeschooling would be the backdrop upon which each stroke of the brush marks a new development, for better of worse, in how we teach our children. The painting is a very slow one to take shape, having still a countable number of wide strokes despite thousands ofContinue reading “The Case for Homeschooling (Part 2): The History of Home Education”
The Case for Homeschooling (Part 1): The Strangeness of the Anti-Homeschool Movement
With the COVID19 crisis virtualizing school instruction and giving many parents a taste of homeschooling life, the topic of home education is hotter than ever. Particularly, a recent Harvard Magazine article by Erin O-Donnell has brought a firestorm from homeschool supporters – and for good reason. The article denounces the practice of homeschooling through remarksContinue reading “The Case for Homeschooling (Part 1): The Strangeness of the Anti-Homeschool Movement”