Students in classical classrooms are able to explore deeply human themes in a variety of contexts. Read this post for one example, as fourth graders look at the topic of redemption in the life, death, and legacy of Joan of Arc.
Goodness Wins
Tag: history
Cross-Curricular Connections
"I love that the stories I read with my students are intentionally matched to the history content I am teaching so my students can enjoy that heightened understanding of the characters and their lives." - Jenny Mulvey
History and Humility
At the start of each school year, I pose the question to my students: why do we study history? Each year their answers become more thoughtful and nuanced. They begin with the standard “so we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past” and different variations of “because it is interesting and good” to know history… Continue reading History and Humility
“Based on a True Story”
Movies can be so captivating. They take us on a journey through events, lives, struggles, and victories. For me, I am particularly drawn in when the movie ends and right before the credits, I see the words based on a true story. When the movie is based on real events, I relate more to the… Continue reading “Based on a True Story”
The Weaponization of History
Instead of helping us to deepen ourselves and take a mature and complex view of the past, history is increasingly employed as a simple bludgeon, which picks its targets mechanically—often based on little more than a popular cliché—and strikes.
Introducing The Hillsdale 1776 Curriculum
Recognizing the critical moment in which we live, and in response to what Prof. Wilfred S. McClay calls "the weaponization of history," Hillsdale College's K-12 Education department has published a comprehensive K-12 American history and government curriculum for students, parents, and teachers.
Treating Students with Respect
America’s founders rightly reminded us that the ultimate determinant of our success as a nation would be our ability to sustain a virtuous and well-educated citizenry. The dangerous state of American history education today is about to prove the founders right yet again. Restoring the true teaching of American history would give our young people and our nation a fighting chance to turn the tide, preserving their American inheritance for another generation.
Recovering American History
A look at last week’s panel on the teaching of American history at the National Archives, featuring Wilfred S. McClay and Jordan Adams from Hillsdale College’s Barney Charter School Initiative.
History and Social Studies: What’s the difference?
If you are a parent, these notes might help you evaluate your child's history class. If you are a teacher in a classical school, they might help you plan your lessons or give you ways to describe the teaching of history to others. If you are a teacher of social studies or a teacher in a non-classical school, this might help you think about two different ways of approaching the same subject.
Pericles on Athens
Fix your eyes on the greatness of Athens as you have it before you day by day, fall in love with her, and when you feel her great, remember that this greatness was won by men with courage, with knowledge of their duty, and with a sense of honor in action... So they gave their… Continue reading Pericles on Athens
The Classical Classroom 