Archive for the ‘Education’ Category
Saturday, April 14th, 2012
As Dante moves toward God in Paradise, incredible things happen. I have always felt (and still feel) least at home in these later cantos of Paradise. As people move toward God, they become more beautiful because they are Images mirroring the reality of His presence. This place, however, is not a comfortable place for sinful men. At one point, Beatrice refuses to smile at Dante because her smile to blow him to bits. Glory and beauty can undo broken men. Eventually, Dante is able to bear it. Still, when the sins of the present Popes are mentioned the saints in Heaven explore in rage. Dante curls into a ball when this happens.
These cantos echo with the feel of Isaiah 6.
Posted in Culture, Education | No Comments »
Saturday, April 14th, 2012
Now, those reading the blog know that I am of two minds concerning school choice. I am afraid that government involvement with the private and religious schools will corrupt us and end our independence (or make us dependents on the funds that the state supplies–See John Galt Forced to Run Government in Atlas Shrugged). I also can see the hand writing the walls concerning the future economic viability of public education as we know it. Smart governors are now trying to keep their state’s from going belly up (they can not print money you see) by bringing accountability into the educational system by injecting some competition. This is good. Here are two stories that gained attention nationally this week–one from Indiana and the other from Montana.
Indiana Story
Montana Story
Change is coming…and we might as well prepare for it. It is crucial, I think, for good to result from this (and by good I mean the real fix that needs to come to American Education which is pushing it into a market and then finding creative ways for charity and business to support the education of the poor) that money flow back to parents instead from governments to schools.
The times they are a changing…
Posted in Culture, Economy, Education | No Comments »
Thursday, April 12th, 2012
Look at this video of a new book on college by Derek Melleby. It looks good:
Posted in Education | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 11th, 2012
Here is a link to a recent editorial written BY the Lancaster papers (it is important that it was written by the editorial staff because it shows a changing opinion inside the paper). It points out what we should all know: that public school unions are more and more about protecting money and less and less about anything that smells anything like educational reform or excellence. This year $4.2 million is being paid out to politicians by the PSEA (Pennsylvanian State Educational Association). This is mainly being done to support or elect people that will keep the river (increasing river) of tax dollars flowing into the coffers of the, you guessed it, PSEA. The unholy alliance of government and public education is going to be broken. It has stopped making any sense. It is built on economic dishonesties—i.e., we have made promises that we cannot keep. The real question now is not whether public education is going to break. It is whether our state governments will be broken by it before they tell the truth. Here is the article.
Tags: public education
Posted in Economy, Education, Local News | 6 Comments »
Wednesday, April 11th, 2012
I have written very little about the present political campaign because of depression. I really do not like how things are going and I do not see any short term hope (wish I did). I was reminded this week, however, as I taught The Divine Comedy to our 11th and 12th graders what redeemed politics should look like. In the Heaven of Mercury (Dante divides everything up into different layers thus there is a Heaven for all sort of groups of people which makes up one whole and entire Heaven), Dante talks with political leaders that were distracted from justice and from their own calling as believers because they sought personal glory. There he chats with the great lawgiver Justinian the Great. He paints us a portrait of what redeemed politics should look like: (more…)
Tags: Classical Education
Posted in Education, Politics | No Comments »
Monday, April 9th, 2012
There is a very interesting discussion that I have become involved in on Linked In which is sort of network where people talk about topics. I am in a thread on business and educations where local leaders are decrying the fact that our culture is not providing students with an education that gives them soft skills that transfer from one job to the next. I am going to send you my slightly altered comments because they touch on why we are doing what we are doing at Veritas Academy. The concern of the discussion is that most schools are not producing students ready for the actual work world, but instead are producing students who are prepared for a world that no long exists. Here is my first post: (more…)
Tags: Classical Education
Posted in Education | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 4th, 2012
Learning experience
In response to a letter [March 11], it was my understanding that Gil Smart had been invited to Veritas Academy by the headmaster, not sent there to “promote a gay agenda.” I commend the headmaster, G. Tyler Fischer, for welcoming an open discussion on a culturally relevant topic. Whether or not you are in favor of gay marriage, it is a valuable educational experience for these students to learn the critical thinking skills found in a serious debate. Being able to argue either side of an issue, as well as being able to open one’s mind enough to hear another’s point of view, is a gift these students will take into their adult lives.
In regard to the “perverted” comment: As a lesbian, who is also a mom, daughter, sister, aunt and friend, I take exception to this offensive label. Perverted can refer to “unacceptable practices or tendencies,” such as child sexual abuse or rape. There is no perversion in loving another human being, whether they are the same, or opposite, sex. Love is compassion, kindness and service focused on another’s happiness.
– Michelle Bankard Probolus, Lancaster
(more…)
Tags: Classical Education, Homosexuality, Local News
Posted in Culture, Education | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012
On Friday March 31st, our school served at the Global Aid Network. We had a blast. I will put up pictures next week. Every year we return I see more and more of the impact of this has on me, on our students, and on the world. Today we packed meals, clothes, supplies, and seeds. There was a seed spill at one point. The helper told us that it represented about 100 lbs. of food. It was a tiny spill. We packed 10,000 times the amount of the spill. That would translate into 1,000,000 pounds of food.
We have so much. We need not feel guilty about this. God blessed us with this plenty. Our forefathers blessed us with prosperity by their hard work. We should not feel guilty. We should feel the weight of responsibility to be like Christ who gave his life to save the needy.
Thank you for those that blessed our school by sponsoring. Your help and our work blessed many (and blessed us).
Tags: Christianity
Posted in Education, Faith, Stewardship | No Comments »
|
 |
 |
