Money, Politics, and the Future of America
That may seem like an odd title for a note in a classical school newsletter. After all, isn’t classical education concerned with the eternal over the temporal, the lessons of human history more than the political demands of the present? What do modern elections and national interests have to do with teaching children virtue—the Good, […]
Latin, the Language of the Great Conversation
The Roman philosopher Boethius once wrote, “To understand the lofty Thunderer’s laws with true insight and objectivity, lift your eyes to the highest rooftop of the heavens.” But of course, he wrote it in Latin, not English. His work, On the Consolation of Philosophy, was written in 523 A.D., while he was imprisoned and awaiting execution […]
Latin, not Dead After All
On Monday, I asked why we would bother studying a dead language like Latin. Well, it was sort of trick question: Latin isn’t dead at all. Yes, it is worth studying to make your mind stronger; and it is worth learning because it is the language of our civilizational roots. But it is also worth […]
Latin, the Language of our Civilizational Roots
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said: “Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own.” This is especially true of Latin for those of us in what is called “the West,” precisely because of how it has influenced our own language, and thus our culture. In fact, the very term “Western Civilization,” of […]
Latin, the Mental Weight Room
Those of you in 4th and 5th grade are learning Greek and Latin roots. The entire upper school takes a course in Latin each year, at least through 9th grade. Perhaps you have wondered why we do this? After all, Latin is a dead language—virtually no one speaks or writes it anymore, so what’s the point? While getting […]
The legacy of Classical Music: Respecting Children for the Adults they will Become
Shortly before he died at age 75, Roger Scruton, the British philosopher and social critic, reflected on his music education as a child in this way: “Some sixty years ago I was introduced to classical music by teachers who did not waste time criticising my adolescent taste and who made no concessions to my age […]
For the fun of it: Remembering that we Play Sports
Twice a Week the Winter Thorough by A. E. Housman Twice a week the winter thoroughHere stood I to keep the goal:Football then was fighting sorrowFor the young man’s soul. Now in Maytime to the wicketOut I march with bat and pad:See the son of grief at cricketTrying to be glad. Try I will; no […]
The Earth has Music for Those who will Listen
Music is not just for concert halls and car radios. Don’t always look for your songs on iTunes. Like the mysteries of mathematics or the beauty of color, music is written into creation. A Minor Bird, by Robert Frost I have wished a bird would fly away,And not sing by my house all day; Have […]
Make a Joyful Noise
Some of you don’t like to sing or make music. You’re quiet during our morning assembly song and in music class you do the minimum required. That may be because you’re grumpy and don’t feel like participating. Or it may be because you don’t think you have a good voice, or a talent for music, […]
Listening to Music to Make us Better
The great composer Georg Frideric Handel once said, “I should be sorry if I only entertained them. I wish to make them better.” The purpose of his music was not pleasure; it was virtue—the elevation of the soul. But how can music make us better? Does what we listen to really affect us, or is […]
