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Posts Tagged ‘Classical Education’

Helpful Correctives from the Old Testament, Part 1

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

I have a pattern of reading through the Scriptures. Each day I read a chapter or so of the Old Testament in general, from the Old Testament Wisdom Literature (Psalms, Proverbs, etc.), and the New Testament. I wanted to write today with a plea—actually two:

First Plea: Read the Bible daily. Nothing encourages me more each day than this time listening to God’s Word and praying.

Second Plea: If you are reading the Bible, make sure that you are reading this Old Testament. It is incredible. It corrects so much each day. Here is a “friendly slaps in the face” that I received this week from the book of Judges (one of my favorites and very helpful in chaotic times): (more…)

The “Jesus” Problem, Part 2

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

In the first part of this blog post—See The “Jesus” Problem, Part 1—I chronicled how “Jesus” ends up being a stumbling block for the business community. They give (many times not willingly) to all sorts of causes because of a sort of blackmail played most recently by the homosexual left against Target.

I also want to do a quick post here on the governmental side of the money equation. During this last week President Obama got Congress to pass a law touted as the Save Our Teachers Bill. This bill authorized the spending of $26,000,000,000 (it is fun to write the numbers out) a portion of which was used to “save the jobs” of 160,000 public school teachers. All of this sounds a little suspect sitting here in Pennsylvania where Governor Rendell (you can watch him on Eagle’s Postgame Live soon) has increased public education spending by close to $500 million over the last two year (when everyone else was cutting back). I have not examined the bill closely. I am quite dubious about its necessity, but whether it is necessary or not is has no bearing on the following argument.   (more…)

The “Jesus” Problem, Part 1

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

Recently, I have hit upon a frightening truth. Jesus is getting in the way at Veritas Academy. No, we are not looking to kick Him out. In fact, we would like more of Him, but still He is in the way. Let me explain. Schools like Veritas Academy run like any other school. We buy books, pay teachers and rent, and buy sundry items (everything from computers to tissue paper). Most all of these things cost money. The school’s money comes from tuition and donations. We work hard for the money and people that pay tuition work hard to pay it to send their kids to Veritas. Also, we respectfully ask supporters to give to our school. Many do, and we are thankful for their support. We ask parents and grandparents and friends and alumni. We also ask businesses to support projects that we have. Many small businesses usually give. We also talk to larger businesses, however. On a number of occasions we have been able to make contacts at large businesses and as we discuss our school with them, they are fascinated. Often we talk with these businesses because they have grants that they offer or money that they can give to the school through our Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program. This wonderful program allows businesses to give money to scholarship needy students at schools like Veritas. On a number of occasions we have had someone at a larger business in a decision making capacity decide that they would like to support our work or our students. (more…)

News from Veritas Academy

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

I am pleased to announce that Veritas Academy is offering adult classes in the evenings in the fall and spring. We are offering classes in Omnibus—our study of the Great Books of Western Civilization. Omnibus is a distinctive method of reading and discussing the Great Books of Western Civilization. These books, starting, of course, with the Scriptures, have been the backbone of the great cultural heritage of Western Civilization that has come down to us. These ideas and their consequences have been foundational to the development of Christianity in the West and to the Founding of America. Today, sadly, too often these books and the ideas that they contain are little known in our culture—and our freedoms are being eroded because we do not know the truths of the Bible, the stories of the past, and the great wealth of wisdom handed down from one generation to the next in the Christian West. Omnibus is our attempt to recover these truths by introducing people to their cultural and historical forefathers, by understanding and appreciating the truths that they taught and the sacrifices that they made, and by working to apply timeless truth to our lives today. This method was developed at Veritas Academy over more than a decade and it is used by thousands of classical Christian students and teacher across the country and around the world. (more…)

The Lost Tools of Learning

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

I was reading through Dorothy Sayers’ excellent essay, “The Lost Tools of Learning”, in preparation for some teaching that I will be doing using it during this next year. If you have never read it, don’t…unless you want to send your kids to a classical Christian school:

The Lost Tools of Learning essay

If you are a parent at a classical Christian school, take some time (30 minutes should do) to read through it. You will be glad you did.

The Issue

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

At present, THE issue of our day politically has been or is being crystallized in places like Greece. THE question we face is whether we will reduce the promises and entitlement that we presently have or whether we will cling to our entitlements and be content to incessantly steal from each other. The choices are clear—embrace reality or cling to the fantasy. If we do not change our ways and even come to terms with the fact that we have made promises that we obviously cannot keep, we will perish as a free people (maybe we already have). This is not a prophetic utterance—any simple glance at a rudimentary spreadsheet will confirm the fact that we have embraced a view of life that is fantasy. The silver lining has now worn off the clouds.

(more…)

Something You Should Get

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

If you do not get the Mars Hill Audio Journal, I would highly recommend that you do. There is no better inexpensive way to have the best Christian books listed for you. Ken Myers of Mars Hill does an almost inestimable service sifting through so many books, picking the best and most pertinent, interview the authors (brilliantly), and helping listeners understand the issues of the day. I am blessed by it every quarter. (more…)

Fine Arts Symposium

Friday, March 19th, 2010

March 19, 2010

Today, the Veritas Academy Fine Arts Symposium begins. I cannot wait. It has been a long time coming. Thanks in advance to all the people working to make the event a reality (especially Mrs. Reed). Thank you to Square Halo Publishing our presenting sponsor. Thank you to all or panelist coming from all over—Ken Myers, Gene Veith, Greg Wilbur, John Hodges, Steve Turley, Ted Prescott, Karen Mulder, David Erb, Ned Bustard, and Suzannah Norris. Thanks to Rob Bigley and Robert Hayward for Moderating. I can’t wait to get started.

One Great Thought After Another Part #3

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

Another interesting article in the paper today was Leslie Kaufman’s “Darwin foes target warming for debate”:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/science/earth/04climate.html

It is an article combines two logical fallacies into an argument. It goes something like this:

Creationists are dummies. Many Creationists deny global warming. Global Warming Deniers are dummies (and are often Creationists). The Creationist/Global Warming Deniers are both dummies and Creationists (quite often). They are working together and might be the same thing—Creationist Global Warming Deniers. And they are not that smart. And they like pollution. (more…)

Security and Freedom, Part 2

Monday, January 11th, 2010
The quest for security continues as we endlessly roll around the ball bearings that we had in our collective pockets trying to discern how we could have failed to “connect the dots.” I see a connection between this security gaffe and why we are compelled towards classical and Christian education. (more…)