Category: Reviews

The Great Recognition: Book Review of Deani Van Pelt and Camille Malucci’s Charlotte Mason’s Great Recognition

In this series, I want to review and highlight the Charlotte Mason Centenary Series of monographs released in 2023. The 18 books in this series are brief and readable volumes that encapsulate a diverse range of topics related to the life, writings and philosophy of Charlotte Mason. My intention is to select a few of the volumes to spark your interest in Charlotte Mason as she is studied by modern proponents. Next up is a volume written by Deani Van Pelt and Camille Malucci entitled Charlotte Mason’s Great Recognition: A Scheme of Magnificent Unity. Mason describes in her book Parents

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A Coherent and Holistic Education: Book Review of Elaine Cooper’s The Powerful and Neglected Voice of Charlotte Mason

In this series, I want to review and highlight the Charlotte Mason Centenary Series of monographs released in 2023. The 18 books in this series are brief and readable volumes that encapsulate a diverse range of topics related to the life, writings and philosophy of Charlotte Mason. My intention is to select a few of the volumes to spark your interest in Charlotte Mason as she is studied by modern proponents. Up first is a volume written by Elaine Cooper entitled The Power and Neglected Voice of Charlotte Mason: A Coherent, Holistic Approach to Education for Our Times. Her thesis

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The Habit of Reading: Five Book Recommendations for 2023

It’s January of a new year! And so you are probably inundated with a number of calls to implement new habits, to try new practices, and to start new programs. Hopefully this list of recommended reading for 2023 cuts through the noise and provides you with at least one great read for the upcoming year. C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man I begin with a book that rivals in many ways the essay by Dorothy Sayers that got our educational renewal movement started. In fact, C. S. Lewis delivered these lectures (the Riddell Memorial Lectures were a series given over

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Christianity, a Superior Philosophy: Book Review of Jonathan T. Pennington’s Jesus the Great Philosopher, Part 2

In the previous article in this two-part review of Jonathan Pennington’s book Jesus the Great Philosopher, I spelled out the first two sections of his book dealing with the ancient philosophers (chapters 1 and 2) and then the Old and New Testaments (chapters 3 and 4). Here I will dive into the final three sections on emotions, relationships and the flourishing life. In each of these sections, Pennington provides insights that help us understand better the nature of our roles as teachers to educate formationally the students given into our care. The thesis that emerges through my review is a

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Bloch Sermon on the Mount

A Synthesis of Ancient and Biblical Wisdom: Book Review of Jonathan T. Pennington’s Jesus the Great Philosopher, Part 1

If you attended the Society for Classical Learning conference this past summer in Charleston, South Carolina, you may have attended the plenary session with Jonathan T. Pennington. He presented on “Jesus the Classical Educator.” The presentation was drawn from his new book Jesus the Great Philosopher. I think this is a really important book that classical educators need to read and grapple with. In this and the following post I will review the book and lay out several of the ideas that we well worth your attention. But first, a disclaimer. I am not an unbiased reader. Jonathan is a

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Three People You Should Listen to in 2021

As 2020 wraps up there is much to be grateful for in the midst of one of the most difficult years we’ve experienced as a society. Today is Boxing Day, which is a great day for gift giving, reflection on the year past and perspective on the year ahead. (When I lived in the UK, my family and I fell in love with Boxing Day. It was such a relaxing addition to the Christmas season.) So I would like to give a gift by recommending a few different podcasters who will fill your new year with excellent content and interesting

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art of learning chess

The Art of Learning: Four Principles from Josh Waitzkin’s Book

My mother-in-law feeds my addiction to books. For over a decade she has worked at a used bookstore, and often shows up at family events with a stack of books for me to add to my personal library. She now also supplies my friends and my school. Jason was recently the beneficiary of her generosity, inheriting a slew of Hebrew resources–much to his enjoyment as he begins teaching an Intro to Hebrew class. At Christmas, my mother-in-law got me a brand-new copy of Josh Waitzkin’s book The Art of Learning. Since then I have been devouring the book, and there

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Review of Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning by Douglas Wilson

Most people in the classical Christian school movement look upon Dorothy Sayer’s 1947 essay “The Lost Tools of Learning” as something of a founding document. However, the movement as it currently exists in North America stems from the implementation of that essay in the late 1980s, and is best represented in Douglas Wilson’s Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning (Crossway, 1991). Wilson had founded Logos School in Moscow, ID in 1981, a school that forms the backdrop to his book. Wilson would go on to help found the Association of Classical Christian Schools (ACCS) in 1993, which currently has over

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Rules for Schools?: An Interaction with Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life (Part 3)

I have been interacting with Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life over the past few weeks. This is now the third and final installment. Part 1 looked at habit formation and deliberate practice, while part 2 considered several of Peterson’s rules in conjunction with the idea of discipline. At the heart of Peterson’s book is a concern for truth and meaning. Taken together these have a bearing on our philosophy of education, particularly in what we are trying to produce in the lives of our students. Truth Peterson grounds truth in the biblical conception of the Divine Logos as the creative force behind

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children playing on swing

Rules for Schools?: An Interaction with Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life (Part 2)

Last week I wrote part 1 of my interaction with Jordan Peterson. Here is part 2, grouping several of his 12 rules for life. Discipline is one of the hardest aspects of life as a teacher. Discipline for parents can be quite difficult. But discipline is even harder when you are dealing with other people’s kids. Peterson addresses discipline in his 5th rule, “Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them.” In this, my second reflection on Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life, I will dive into discipline. We are adults – for many of us,

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