Category: Education

Classical Conversations New Grammar Lesson Ideas

,

This past fall I began tutoring a Foundations class for Classical Conversations. This national homeschool co-op is based on the classical method of education, so the classes are divided by the trivium paradigm. Ages 4-12 are in the Foundations class, the grammar stage. Then they move to Essentials, the dialectic stage, and then Challenge, the rhetoric stage. I tutor a Masters class, the oldest age group in Foundations. These kids are transitioning from grammar to dialectic, and for most of them this is their last year of being in Foundations. My class is really fantastic and I absolutely love spending time with…

Read More

Monday Morning!

, , ,

I took a brief hiatus over the weekend as I was trying to get over a rather nasty cold. I figured that either during or after Lakeshore I was bound to get sick, and sure enough, it happened. But thankfully I got it after Lakeshore, so I just spent the majority of last week catching up on Sherlock and Downton Abbey : ) Don’t worry, there will be posts to come about those. And Doctor Who. Considering I haven’t talked much yet about the Christmas special, it definitely deserves a post of its own! Meanwhile, now that I’m feeling much…

Read More

Thoughts on MOOCs, Part 2

,

In Part 1 I talked about the actual structure of MOOCs, and this post will be more of my personal opinion about MOOCs. What I really like about MOOCs: They provide a necessary structure for learning. I remember with fondness the days when my life was so slow that I could make my own study schedule and just do it. I’d decide to study ancient Rome and dedicate the required time to it, and then somehow do it, at least most of the time. Now that’s a lot harder. Life seems to get in the way, haha. I don’t have…

Read More

Thoughts on MOOCs, Part 1

,

 Early last year I was searching for online classes and came across a list of “MOOCs.” This was a new term for me, so I did some more research. MOOCs, massive open online courses, are a new movement in online education. While the term MOOC has been around since about 2008, it seems that they’ve gained more popularity in the last couple years. In 2012 and 2013 the major MOOC organizations, Edx, Udacity, and Coursera, were launched. So, what exactly is a MOOC? You can read about them on Wikipedia, or do a google search, but in this post and…

Read More

What is Enlightenment?

, ,

The Modern and Postmodern Wesleyan University Coursera    1. How did Kant define “enlightenment”? Kant defines enlightenment as “man’s release from self-incurred tutelage.” This tutelage is reliance on other people for instructions on how to conduct your life. Kant gives the example of allowing a physician to determine your diet so that you don’t feel the burden to independently consider your health. Dependence on other people—or institutions—will lead to an individual’s loss of control over their life, while inversely giving other people more power to exert their own ambitions on that individual. As Kant notes, there are constant restrictions on…

Read More

What I’m Learning

After surviving some crazy times at work a couple weeks ago, I decided it was time to figure out what I’m doing with my life. Well, I have some things figured out, but I mostly needed to get my education plans in order. I can go just so long before I get so restless in my mind I can’t stand it. I think I have a problem with addiction to knowledge or something 🙂 Anyways…I’ve had a really amazing week of learning. First of all, I decided I needed a more effective way to manage my work. I found a…

Read More

Yes, I’m still alive…

,

There’s a lot I could say. I think this post is so delayed because whenever I think about writing I wonder where in the world I’ll start. I guess the logical place to start is where I am right now. And I’m actually in the lovely town of Auburn Alabama, enjoying the Austrian Economics Research Conference at the Mises Institute. Yes, I know you’re jealous. It is amazing. Seriously. I think we sometimes get really distracted by our circumstances in life. We get caught up in where we’re at and forget where we want to be. Sometimes we need to…

Read More

Rebel Against Mediocrity

, ,

The word rebel has negative connotations. People seem to perceive it as hedonistic, self-centered denial or attack of some set structure or system, for the sole purpose of denying something to which other people adhere. Sometimes people rebel simply to rebel, but there can be completely valid and good reasons to rebel. Think about this way. If no one ever rebelled, nothing would have ever been done differently, and society today would be exactly the same as it was 6000 years ago. The first person to invent and use the wheel was rebelling against their cultural system. The Reformers were…

Read More

Liberalism and Mobilization

, ,

Here is my most recent essay for the World War I course I’m taking from Mises Academy.   Liberalism and Mobilization During World War I Based on the readings, how did the broad social and military mobilization for the war contradict the liberal civilization that Europe had developed by the last third of the 19th century? In this essay we will first briefly define what liberalism means, and then explore the influence of liberalism during the late 19th century in Germany, France, Britain, Austro-Hungary, and Russia. After understanding the scope of liberalism, we will look at the consequences of mobilization…

Read More

The Pursuit of Knowledge: An Education Manifesto

, ,

I’m working my way through this fascinating book by Michael Ward, Planet Narnia. It is an attempt to give the Chronicles of Narnia a coherent unity, focus, and theme by arguing that C.S. based each book from the mythical personality of one of the medieval planets. For instance, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is inspired by Jupiter or Jove, the god of happiness, celebration, and so forth. I’m greatly simplifying the scope of this book, which not only explores the medieval mythology in the Narniad but also in his sci-fi series, Out of the Silent Planet, and his…

Read More