The Teacher's Almanac

Despite what my blog has revealed up to this point, I do teach a few classes besides 8th grade English! One of those classes is rhetoric speech. Last week we were looking at how Cicero had his students organize their speeches. He divided them into six main parts: exordium, narratio, partitio, confirmatio, refutatio and peroratio (these are the original Latin terms). Once we defined each section, I read them the following text from Acts 22. Acts 22   English Standard Version (ESV) 22  “Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.” 2  And when they heard that he was addressing them in  the Hebrew language, [ a ]  they became even more quiet. And he said: 3  “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated  at the feet of  Gamaliel [ b ]   according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers,  being zealous for God  as all of you are this day.   4  I persec...

In 8th grade this week we are finishing up our second Sherlock Holmes story. A few weeks ago we read The Hound of Baskerville and tomorrow we will finish The Sign of Four. I came across this article from The Gospel Coalition (which if you don't read you should-they are excellent!) and couldn't wait to incorporate it into today's class. 10 Tips on Solving Mysterious Bible Passages from Sherlock Holmes You can find the full article at the link above, but it basically gives the reader ten tips (which include quotes from Holmes) about how to dive into scripture and observe like Sherlock. Below is an example (tip # 2): 2. The kind of looking that solves mysteries. Holmes: “You have frequently seen the steps which lead up from the hall to this room.” Watson: “Hundreds of times.” Holmes: “Then how many are there?” Watson: “How many? I don’t know!” Holmes: “Quite so! You have not observed. And yet you have seen. That is just my point. Now, I know that the...

Tuesday was election day! A few months ago I went to our county's website and signed up to help at the polls. All it said was, "fill out this form if you'd like to help with the next election." So I did. A few weeks ago, I received a call asking if I was still interested. I said yes. Turns out, election officers are required to be there the entire time the polls are open. That's thirteen hours. They are also required to arrive an hour before and stay an extra two hours to count the votes and clean up. So in total, I was required to be there for sixteen hours.  Since signing up, I've become a full-time sub for some additional classes that I now needed to get subs for. Also, my husband had a work trip to Ohio Monday and Tuesday which meant I needed to ask my mom to spend the night Monday night and take the kids to school. Also I had a cold. Basically, everything that could go wrong went wrong. When I woke up at 4:15 Tuesday morning, I was seriou...

This week we are focusing on grammar in my 8th grade English class. Nothing gets 8th graders more excited than grammar right?! Wrong. One of the things we're spotlighting this week is how to use commas correctly. In an attempt to make this topic more interesting, I came across this funny meme and decided to show it to the students. One of the Essential Questions for this section of the course is: Why does it matter how we communicate with others? The meme above answers this so well, but in a fun, creative way that will get their attention (hopefully). I started thinking of ways I could biblically integrate this lesson and the above meme got me thinking... Commas DO matter!  Especially if you're the sinner on the cross and Jesus is telling you something pretty important. Luke 23:43 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” What would this verse look like if one of the commas were shifted to the righ...

I try to have a "game day" in my classes at least once a month. Kids, just like the rest of us, sometimes just need to slow down. Playing educational games is such a great way to have them relax, but also keep their minds moving. An added benefit is that many of today's games help students understand how to work together. I try to do one game day near the beginning of the year when students are still trying to get to know one another. Today we had a game day (two weeks into school) and I absolutely loved seeing new students interacting with veteran students. There's just something about the humor of a game that helps walls come down and insecurities fade away. In today's culture, relaxation is almost always tied to a screen of some kind. Video games, television, cell phones, tablets, smartwatches...the list can go on. Our kids are forgetting what it truly means to relax.  The Greek word "Schole" means leisure. One of the goals of classical ed...

Biblical Integration is not just prayer.  Over the past few years, this concept has been reinforced at many of our training sessions. And it's so true! But, while saying a prayer at the beginning of class isn't Biblical Integration, I do feel like it serves an important purpose Last year, I began trying something different when it comes to class prayer. On the first day of class, I have all my students write their name on an index card (are you beginning to get how much I love index cards !). Each day, when class begins, I draw a name at random and ask them what I can pray for. A few students say "nothing", but most of them will fill you in on something going on in their life. I also noticed that last year, as the year went on, students who were initially hesitant became more open. I do this for a few reasons.  1. It helps you get to know the students. Early in the year, I'm still trying to master names and this is a big help! Additionally, I w...

First days back are always so full of possibilities, aren't they! The kids are excited and ready to learn. The teachers are organized and ready to change the world. If only we can bottle that first day feeling and bring it out in mid-February when things get dicey... This semester I've added a few English courses which have required me to use my brain a bit more. I've actually really enjoyed the process of working through the lesson plans and getting a feel for what these first few weeks will look like. Since I am frequently asked, "What IS classical education?" I thought it would be fun to create this blog as a means to answer that. I by no means know fully what classical education is, but I have experienced it from many different perspectives over the years. I'm continually learning more and will share as I go. Hopefully, if you're out there trying to decide how to educate your children, this will help in some way.  Classical education can be done a...