Lindsey Ralls
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Pedagogical Principle #2- Formation vs. Information
“To promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness”. These are the first few words of the United States’ Department of Education’s mission statement. At first glance, they sound pretty good. As parents, teachers, and citizens, we want our students to be high achievers, to be prepared for the future. But if you look more… Continue reading
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Pedagogical Principle #1 – A Givenness to the Universe
Few people today would argue against the existence of natural laws. Gravity, energy, and thermodynamics are generally accepted as realities that govern the world around us. We accept them as constant, as true, and as given. Yet, the idea of givenness ends there. The world often stops short of recognizing what those laws reveal: that… Continue reading
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So many books, so little time
by Lindsey Ralls Having just returned form a summer conference, the title of this post is very much how I’m feeling. There’s so much I want to read but so little time to do it! And I don’t know about you, but for me the summer feels like this little window of opportunity that shouldn’t… Continue reading
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Making your Portrait of a Graduate Practical and Effective
by Lindsey Ralls Many schools have a Portrait of a Graduate, (though sometimes it’s referred to as a “Profile of a Graduate” ): a document that outlines what the school hopes to cultivate in their students by the time they graduate. The challenge, of course, is that much like a strategic plan, a Portrait of… Continue reading
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Lessons from Lewis’s “Learning in War-Time”
by Lindsey Ralls In October of 1939, at St. Mary’s Church in Oxford, C.S. Lewis spoke to an audience of undergrads who were questioning the futility of a college education in the midst of a country at war. To them, attending lectures and writing papers bordered on frivolity and selfishness when their fellow countrymen were… Continue reading
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A Curriculum Guide with Purpose
by Lindsey Ralls More often than not, our curriculum guides look a lot like the ones in the public school classroom down the street. But, if we want our classrooms and our students to be different, then our curriculum guides should as well! The attached guide is for a Chorus Unit. Notice it’s connections to… Continue reading
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The One Pager
Lindsey Ralls As you onboard new teachers and even new families, it’s important to have a document that outlines what education looks like at your school. Classical Christian Education is becoming an ocean, rather than a stream. And while this is a great thing, it can sometimes feel overwhelming to wade through the varieties of… Continue reading
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Chat GPT is no William Tyndale
by Lindsey Ralls This morning, our chapel speaker didn’t use any Power Point slides. She explained that while she normally loved a good slide show, she wanted us all to read our passages from our physical Bibles, rather than just relying on the screen. She talked about William Tyndale, who translated the Bible into English… Continue reading
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What We’re All About
Pai·deia (noun) – The upbringing of a child
Prac·ti·cal (adjective) – Concerned with the actual doing or use of something rather than with simply theory and ideas
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Gazing…and Aristotle’s Five Common Topics
Practical Paideia 