The Glories of the Resurrection
Dante’s pilgrim begins his journey through the bowels of Hell on Good Friday. He comes up on the other side of the globe, on the shores of Mount Purgatory, just before dawn on Easter Sunday. The timing is neither incidental nor a coincidence. It is necessary. For this is the story of Dante’s salvation; this is his personal testimony, if you will. Though he is not yet consciously aware of it, the pilgrim has died with Christ on Friday, and has been raised to newness of life on Sunday. That gift of regeneration is what fuels his growing consciousness of … Continue Reading “The Glories of the Resurrection”
The Education of the American Founders
“Dad had enough gall to be divided into three parts,” opens one of America’s beloved tales, Cheaper by the Dozen, published in 1948. To the audience of the day, this colorful description would evoke a commonplace pun from the ubiquitously read Julius Caesar’s Gallic Wars, which opens “All Gaul is divided into three parts” (or Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres as the Latin student would have had to translate). The chances are, neither you nor your children have read Julius Caesar and his famous Gallic Wars. However, your grandparents very likely did, and nearly every educated (certainly college … Continue Reading “The Education of the American Founders”
Why Readers, Scientifically, Are The Best People To Fall In Love With
I recently read an article about why readers, scientifically speaking, are the best people to fall in love with. I agree! I married a woman who loves to read, and loves to learn! She read all the right books while growing up! (Incidentally, she took Wes Callihan’s Great Books courses online in high school). The article points to several benefits that reading will bring a reader. It enables them to speak to someone in a meaningful way. It allows a person to understand other people; it teaches the art of empathy. And it gives wisdom that years of actual experience … Continue Reading “Why Readers, Scientifically, Are The Best People To Fall In Love With”
Old Western Culture in the 18th year of homeschooling (a review)
It is always a pleasure to hear how our courses have blessed homeschool parents. I wanted to share this review from a veteran homeschool mom who has kids with very different learning styles. My family is in the process of wrapping up our 18th year of homeschooling. I was blessed to stumble upon the Old Western Culture series this year. I had heard the name Wes Callihan before, but for the past few years, I was surprisingly content with my repertoire of homeschooling materials. However, my mildly autistic 15 year old son presented me with a new challenge: how to … Continue Reading “Old Western Culture in the 18th year of homeschooling (a review)”
Athenian reaction to defeat similar to US reaction to 9/11 terrorist attacks
In this excerpt from The Histories, part of the Old Western Culture series, a Great Books video course, Wes Callihan shows how the reactions that the Athenians had to a defeat is very similar to other reactions of democracies throughout history, and specifically similar to the reaction of the United States to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001. Thucydides wants us to make these parallels as he explains at the beginning of “The History of the Peloponnesian War.” YouTube version here.
Great Books Challenge for Parents 2016
[dropcap]W[/dropcap]elcome to the 2016 Great Books Challenge for Parents! This Challenge is for any parent, but especially for parents who plan to classically homeschool their children, or who are currently homeschooling their children. Classical homeschoolers love Old Western Culture because they see their children coming to the dinner table full of stories, and thirsty for knowledge and wisdom. Make 2016 the year classical learning comes alive in your home, and earn free curriculum in the process! Last year’s Great Books Challenge, centered around Virgil’s Aeneid, was a tremendous success! This year we are going to continue and build upon that challenge, adding the following unit, Romans: … Continue Reading “Great Books Challenge for Parents 2016”
What a teacher loves his subject, that love is contagious.
Find out more HERE.
Preparing Younger Kids for a Great Books Education
One question that often comes up as we talk to parents of younger children is “How do I prepare my younger children for a Classical (Great Books) education?” What a great question! There is a lot to consider: do my kids need to learn Latin and Greek, do they need to be learning ancient history now, do we need to study the Trivium (grammar, rhetoric, and dialectic) in elementary? To help families with younger children, we’ve published a wonderful e-book by one of the top thought leaders and teachers in the world of classical, Christian education today – Wes Callihan, author of the Old Western … Continue Reading “Preparing Younger Kids for a Great Books Education”
Summer Reading Program from Exodus Books
Oscar Wilde once said, “It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.” Summer is the time of year that students have the most leisure. Encourage them to spend that time reading good books! Exodus Books is hosting a 2014 Summer Reading Program, and is giving away a bunch of prizes. One of the prizes for the high school level is a complete year of the Old Western Culture curriculum! Here is a brief explanation of the reading list offered: The Outside of a Dog Book List offers 50+ titles for each … Continue Reading “Summer Reading Program from Exodus Books”
A Tour of Wes Callihan’s Personal Library
Wes Callihan gives a tour of his personal library, located at his home in Potlatch, Idaho. This tour also doubles as a mini-lecture on a philosophy of the “Great Books.” Wes explains why his collection is slightly different than Mortimer Adler’s Great Books set (University of Chicago Press). Wes Callihan organizes his library chronologically by time period, in part so that he can brush his fingers through the “leafs of time.” Enjoy this tour! YouTube version HERE.