The True, the Good, the Beautiful part 1 This morning I sat down to write a blog discussing the True, the Good, and the Beautiful. My thought was that we discuss these concepts so much in classical education circles. We … Continue reading
Outlining
I read this quote in a book this week, and it resonated with me so much I chose to post it here as a quickie blog: “On my list of maladaptive practices that make writing harder, Not Outlining is pretty … Continue reading
Curriculum Envy
Curriculum Envy You are set with your language arts curriculum, “Homeschool ABC for the Fantastically Ambitious Student” but then you attend your weekly co-op session, and you find that Suzie Q. Homeschooler is raving about this new spelling in a … Continue reading
Writing Teachers
As my students (my own kids and a few others) have moved on into higher education, I have pondered their preparation, their writing skills, and whether I did all I could to prepare them sufficiently for other writing instructors. When … Continue reading
The Beginnings of Summer Planning
There is something special about summer for those of us who educate. Summer not only marks a break from the normal routine, but for us who love teaching, it is a marvel of a time to review the year, think … Continue reading
Offense-sensitivity
Invective (also known as ‘vituperation’) is language that denounces or casts blame on somebody or something. Invective can be highly abusive, such as A knave, a rascal, an eater of broken meats; a base, proud, shallow, beggarly, three-suited, hundred-pound, filthy … Continue reading
The Purpose of Language?
Persuasion The term ‘persuasion’ can be loaded. When we try to persuade someone, our persuasion may be loaded with our agenda, with our goals, and with our opinions—and that is a danger. It is a danger because we are flawed human beings. We make mistakes in our beliefs, … Continue reading
Discovering the Arguments: Artistic and Inartistic proofs
Disclaimer: At times I write what I would call an ‘advanced blog post’, one intended for those who have studied our advanced books. This is one such. When writing an essay you need to generate support for your thesis statement. … Continue reading
The Importance of Outlining
Generating an outline before working is not just a good idea, it is essential. Most of the thinking that goes into an essay should be done by the time the outline is written, so that when you actually sit down … Continue reading
Basic Rhetoric: The Canon of Invention and the Progymnasmata
Rhetoric has as its purpose to persuade. It is for the sake of persuasion that we educators torture our students with essay writing. We want them to be able to express their ideas persuasively and well. For the purposes of … Continue reading