Category: Great Books

So, enjoy Lewis and love Narnia, but don’t let The Final Battle be the extent of your Lewis reading. Dive deep. To paraphrase Lewis, the blessing is…

My dad is nothing like Muhammed Ali. Still, as a very little boy, I loved watching sports with my dad. One day, probably watching Friday Night Fights, I…

So, play favorites! Pick a book that you love or that is worthy and you wish to love. Commit to reading it at least once a year for five years.

​Reading these books will help you become a better, more discriminating reader, a better thinker, a better test taker, and a better writer. When someone…

Don’t ignore activities. Don’t pretend that they are something to get past so that you can get back to real work. Use activities to make your students and…

Reading aloud can feel more like grammar school, but it is crucial for deep understanding of critical passages. It is a great tool for the wise teacher to…

If we use Omnibus discussions to foster these virtues, perhaps we can prepare the young men and women around out tables to be ready to lead and persuade…

When the opportunity to teach Literature 5 arose nine years ago, I thought, “Sure, why not?  I get to read some fun children’s classics with the students. Piece of cake.”  At first, I was excited to help the students improve their reading skills, focus on comprehension, and introduce them to some literary terms like “simile”…

A few years ago, I was part of a sailing race. I was on a schooner in the Chesapeake Bay that was racing another identical ship. I was not part of the crew—just an observer—but it was very fun. It is fascinating to see how a seasoned captain uses the wind to move the boat.…

So, if we want good discussion from trained leader shaped by great idea and humbled by consistent failures that can lead to success, nothing is better…