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Teaching ignobility

It’s harder for teachers now than it once was to get students to consider what Odysseus turns his back upon and what he opens his heart toward. The classics teacher has always faced the intellectual docility of youth, but the work of revealing and naming the ideals that formed this civilization was once backed . . . → Read More: Teaching ignobility

Comments are closed   Character, Community-Centered, Desire, Family, Governance, Schools, Transcendence, What is worth choosing?   , , ,  

The enchanted cave

Calypso’s island is a familiar place to most people. Many of us reached some island of relative peace and pleasure, compared to other places we’ve experienced. It isn’t what we set out for, but it’s better than it might have been, and who knows if there can be any more? One could settle. . . . → Read More: The enchanted cave, part 1

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Contemplating Failure (poetry)

Some things today had me thinking about a poem from The Lit Window and the choices I began making a long time ago and continue making today. As I said to a friend today, I’ve never regretted choices I made that in favor of family and relationships. . . . → Read More: Contemplating Failure (poetry)

Comments are closed   Family, Poetry   ,  

Teaching amid time, change and the invisible world

The most powerful education is not driven by markets or election cycles. Instead, it aims passing on cultural knowledge that has taken centuries to build and that will remain useful even after our business partners change and our transportation systems are re-invented. It’s okay that cultural mores and institutional practices change more slowly than markets. That’s their job. “Don’t hurry,” should be the motto inscribed over every schoolroom door. But also, “Don’t stop. Don’t waste time.” Schools should primarily be caretakers of the slow knowledge we call wisdom. . . . → Read More: Teaching amid time, change and the invisible world

Comments are closed   Ask, Community-Centered, Desire, Essential Questions, Family, Governance, Narrative Environment, Transcendence, What is worth believing?   , ,  

The truth about dragons

The primary mission of dragons is simply to keep people from the truth, particularly those truths that lead most directly and surely to joy. This is mainly because dragons are not themselves happy, having once hoped joy could be theirs as an entitlement rather than as what it always has been and always will be–a complex balance requiring constant care. So now they wander the dark regions, trying to vindicate themselves by blocking the way of others to rather simple moments that unaccountably add up to eternity. . . . → Read More: The truth about dragons

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