A glimpse inside Hillsdale College's network of classical schools across the country.
The K-12 Education Office provides training and advice for teachers across our network, and one of the most important aspects of elementary education is learning to read and write. Check out this post to see the different ways we encourage teachers in this area of instruction!
“Literacy Essentials” provides students with the tools to be able to spell and read hundreds of words. We want to set our students up for a successful, lifelong pursuit of reading for both pleasure and enlightenment, and this is the best way to place them on that path.
When I was gathering school supplies in my classroom as a first-year teacher, I had no idea how important the humble ruler would be. Of course it would be used when we learned about inches and centimeters, or even serve as a ramp when we studied motion and force in science. But I didn’t think… Continue reading Drawing the Ruler Sword
Here and below, illustrations from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, by the Brothers Grimm, and illustrated by Nancy Ekholm Burkert. Every Kindergarten teacher knows that at some point in the year, when the class is reading a story together, someone is going to raise a hand and ask, "Did this really happen? Is it… Continue reading Caldecott on How Fiction Shapes the Imagination
Here and below, two of Robert Ingpen's illustrations from The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame. It is so important to choose the right books for our students. But how do we know which ones to choose? William Kilpatrick’s Books that Build Character (1994) is one good place to start. Here’s some of his… Continue reading William Kilpatrick on Choosing the Best Children’s Books
Education, to be real education, must train both the minds and the characters of students. But how can we teach young people to be virtuous? Setting an example is the first step, but at some point the virtues must be explained and defended. This is a very difficult thing to do well: we run the… Continue reading On Teaching the Virtues through Literature
Something amazing happened today. I've been locked in my office in meetings all week, and this afternoon I had 20 minutes free, so I wandered out to the playground with my camera to enjoy the sunlight and talk to our grammar school students. Almost immediately one of our second graders came up to me to… Continue reading 2nd Grade Recites the Declaration of Independence at Recess
This fall has been the season of tours. Every week (and lately three or four times a week!) I've been walking through our school with prospective parents, returning parents, local and state officials (including two policy advisors to our lieutenant governor), and people interested in starting classical schools like ours in Texas and other states.… Continue reading Classical Education from Home
Dear Founders community, This Thanksgiving, while the turkey is brining and my husband's parents are on the road to our house from Houston, I am profoundly grateful for Founders Classical Academy. Over the course of the last 5 years, we have built an American classical school where students and teachers are allowed to return to… Continue reading Giving Thanks
Kindergarten is so funny, especially in October. The other day I walked out to recess with my camera, something which happens once in a while and which is always exciting to the students because they know that the pictures sometimes make it into the yearbook. Students in the grammar school who have been with us… Continue reading Some Unplanned Kindergarten Portraits at Recess
The Classical Classroom 