Latin’s death and immortality
One of the dangers of language is that the meanings of words often change with usage. People used to call God “awful,” because He inspired a sense of awe and wonder—now it means really bad; a “nice” person used to be someone who was silly, foolish or simple—now it means they’re friendly; and the word […]
Latin, well worth the price
I suspect most of your peers at other schools probably don’t take Latin. But, did you know that Latin used to be common in American schools? In fact, there was a time when getting into college required fluency in Latin (and sometimes Greek as well). That’s right—you couldn’t even go to college without knowing Latin. […]
Latin, our linguistic grandparent
We concluded last week’s consideration of physical education with the ASICS motto, an acronym from Latin: Anima sana in corpore sano. But, you may wonder, why do we make such a big deal of Latin here? Why do you study Greek and Latin roots in lower school, and then take 4 whole years of Latin in […]
Mind and strength, think and do
We conclude our week considering physical education with the motto of the sports company ASICS. If you’ve ever worn a pair of ASICS shoes or athletic wear, you may have noticed that the brand is in all capital letters. That’s because it is an acronym, from the Latin: Anima sana in corpore sano—a sound mind […]
The virtue of physical education
Ever wonder why PE class is part of school at all? I mean, let the athletic kids join the sports teams—but for the scholar, why the need for physical education in the first place? “Every sport,” said John Paul II, “at both the amateur and the competitive level, requires basic human qualities such as rigorous preparation, continual […]
The one, the many, and the team
The ancient Greeks were fascinated by the problem of the one and the many: Is the world really one big unified thing, or a bunch of separate things? This may seem like a purely philosophical question for intellectual speculation—but it is actually central to what you do in physical education. You may have noticed that […]
Chase perfection, catch excellence
When guests come to visit CCA, I often take them to the wall over there, with the posted results of your fitness testing. The Presidential Fitness Test, which Mr. Buller and Mrs. Blecke have you perform, used to be a part of education in just about every school. I remember taking it when I was […]
Of music and meaning
Suppose you read all that has ever been written about Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony—all of the reviews of performances, descriptions of its greatness, analyses of its composition. Suppose you even read the sheet music itself, and studied everything about it. But suppose you never listened to it. Would it be fair to say you know the […]
“Music creates order out of chaos”
When does a collection of mere sounds become music? Have you ever heard an orchestra warming up before a performance? All the musicians are playing their instruments, tuning them, practicing a few measures of the piece. You might catch a few pleasant bars from a flute here or a violin there, but by and large […]
Be careful little ears what you hear
Ever notice how a song gets stuck in your head? How a catchy beat makes you start moving? Or the way certain songs affect your mood? There’s something about music that gets inside of you, takes hold of you, makes you a bit more like what you’re hearing. There are a number of reasons everyone […]
