Instilling Wonder and Cultivating Intellectual Curiosity
Socrates tells us that “education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel”. In a similar vein, C.S. Lewis reminds us that the task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.” Both of these quotes touch on the fact that true education requires both wonder and curiosity. The resources found here will provide you with ways to help your students move towards these things.
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In Ten Words Or Less
by Lindsey Ralls Chances are, at some point in the last week you told someone that your kids just started school and that it’s a classical school. And chances are, they probably asked you what that means. “ “Well… ” you began. And then it got kind of tricky. Is it about paideia? (You’re pretty sure you’ve… Continue reading
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Inspired Toward Discovery
by Lindsey Ralls – Summit Christian Academy My plan, was to sit in 9th grade history for about five minutes and then move on to other things. What happened, was that I stayed for nearly thirty minutes because I couldn’t pull myself away. Mr. Christian does such a great job at Socratic discussion that I didn’t want to leave… Continue reading
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But I did all that work!
When I walked into Algebra 1B today, the 9th and 10th graders were learning how to multiply polynomials. Mrs. Wissmann (always fun and creative), had brought in ‘algebra tiles’ so that the students could create a table for their notebooks to help them visualize this mathematical concept. I’m sure this idea took significant time and preparation. There was the… Continue reading
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We’re at our best when we’re not teaching at all…
Lindsey Ralls (Summit Christian Academy) Today I substituted for 8th and 10th grade Latin. I actually don’t know any Latin (it was not a course option for the Upper School back in the day), so I went into it thinking that because I didn’t have the skills needed to teach the subject, the students would probably… Continue reading
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But can we walk on Saturn?
Summit Christian Academy Seventh graders ask a lot of questions. Today, while I was sitting in Physical Science, the class was learning about the periodic table of elements. There were questions about how to pronounce a specific element or what an element is made of. There were questions about which page something was on or… Continue reading
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Conquering The Mountain
Lindsey Ralls (Summit Christian Academy) During the first week of Christmas break, we traveled to Tennessee with my parents and spent a few days at a cabin in the Smoky Mountains. On the last day of our trip my oldest daughter, myself, and my parents decided to do a short hike at the base of… 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
Post of the Week!
Gazing…and Aristotle’s Five Common Topics
Practical Paideia 