Here are some interesting thoughts on girls and sports by Douglas Wilson. As a dad of a Jr. High Girls Basketball player (for the first time this year). I was so thankful for the assertiveness that I saw growing in our girls during the season. In our culture, I often see the subtle message—especially in athletics—that female athletes become better by losing their femininity. (Lady Macbeth’s “unsex me now” comes to mind at this point.) We have two problems as believers: (more…)
Archive for February, 2012
Competing Like a Lady
Monday, February 27th, 2012Leithart on Santorum
Friday, February 24th, 2012Here is an interesting article in First Things by Peter Leithart (who will be in Lancaster next week speaking at the Evangelical Theological Society Meeting on Friday (more info here: http://www.etsjets.org/region/East_Meeting_Overview) and at All Saints Church on Sunday. He defends Rick Santorum’s use of theological language in recent years. It is interesting and as someone who is thinking a lot about this as my class interacts with Gil Smart I found it challenging:
http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2012/02/rick-santorum-and-secular-natural-law
Smart Talks
Monday, February 20th, 2012As most of you know Gil Smart from the Lancaster Newspapers came to Veritas Academy this week and made an argument advocating for Gay Marriage to our Rhetoric School. He is a likeable, gregarious, and interesting person. My purpose in his visit was to have an advocate of a culturally popular (and sinful) idea to challenge our students. My class, presently, is writing a response. (more…)
Education: A Bad Moon Rising!
Thursday, February 16th, 2012I was thankful that a parent sent in an article from the paper on Wednesday, February 8th.
In it, the paper lets us know about the ongoing effort of Penn Manor, Hempfield, and Manheim Township to have an Open Campus—sharing resources, teachers, and space. This could be a good idea. We all need to figure out ways to do less with more during tough economic times. (I am going to leave off my earlier take on this story, but cannot pass up the fact that no one has mentioned the teachers unions in connection to this piece. The end goal of this idea is to have fewer teachers by sharing….but nothing yet has been said. Hummmmmmmm…..) (more…)
Who are the Elect(able)?
Wednesday, February 15th, 2012If you (like me) start to get the jitters every four years because you worry that you might be forced to vote for someone who you would not hire to run your company or mow your lawn in order to defeat someone who you trust even less, you might enjoy this article by David Bahnsen:
Mr. Bahnsen wrote the article on Economics in Omnibus V and the Essay for the chapter on Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations in Omnibus VI.
Enjoy.
Truth to Power
Tuesday, February 14th, 2012Here is a video of Eric Metaxas at the National Prayer Breakfast. I mentioned him at the last faculty meeting. He is coming to Messiah on November 7th…. If you want to enjoy the next 30 minutes, start the video at minute 34. At 60 minutes, he practices some rhetoric that is fairly impressive:
He is coming to Messiah College on November 7th. Anyone want to go to Messiah?
Komen-tose
Thursday, February 9th, 2012The flip-flop of the breast cancer awareness and treatment organization called Susan G. Komen for the Cure is another all-to-clear sign of the cultural impotence of our present Christianity. Basically, this group made a good decision to get out of bed with Planned Parenthood, a decision that would be supported by a very high number (approaching 100% I would bet) of female babies who were aborted. It did this, however, without considering what was going to happen next. The eruption of furor and disgust from all quarters knocked them off kilter. They could find no solace in the fact that they would be doing the right thing. Nor could take any comfort from the fact that they would be invited to more of our pot luck dinners. (more…)
Update on School Culture
Wednesday, February 8th, 2012This year we dove into some new training challenges as we focused on rooting out “mocking, meanness, and exclusion” in our school. While I have been thankful for the progress that we have made, I believe that we have a lot of work to do still. Before I talk about that work, I want to pass out a few notes of thanks. When progress is made, we need to be thankful. (more…)
The State of Classical Christian Education; Part 4
Tuesday, February 7th, 2012This a continuation of an interviewed of me by Andrew Kern (a friend and founder of the Circe Institute ) for a revision of his book on Classical Christian Education. I wanted to share my answers to some of the questions with you. I will share them one or two at a time: (more…)
The State of Classical Christian Education; Part 3
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012This a continuation of an interviewed of me by Andrew Kern (a friend and founder of the Circe Institute ) for a revision of his book on Classical Christian Education. I wanted to share my answers to some of the questions with you. I will share them one or two at a time:
3. What misconceptions do you encounter re classical education
I think that some see learning as a means to an end–the end being Christian dominion. Too often we have some pretty unbiblical ideas about this “dominion”. Christ’s work is typically accomplished through suffering and love. We tend to think that we can come into the kingdom by our wits and by crushing down our enemies. This is just another (snootier) iteration of the political mythology that claims that things would be right if we just elected the right people. I have seen some parents that were saddened because the first wave of CCE educated people have not demolished unbelieving culture and set up the New Jerusalem yet. I think that this is very short sided. Classically educated kids are doing great things. I see a lot of hope in them. I just don’t think that the way to cultural influence looks like a corporate takeover.
Another misconception is that classical Christian education is salvific or at least highly sanctifying and that it works sort of ex opere operato. So parents believe that our school will make their kids love the things that they themselves do not love. I feel at points like I am working to reunite not parents to their children, but grandparents to their grandchildren (i.e., the parents are from a different culture than their children and grandchildren).
