The Classical Scholar

Leaders Empowered for Obedience

Diane — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:00:19 +0000

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want leaders who don’t know the Lord. Even the most immature Christian with a tender-hearted desire to obey, is better than a stiff-necked woman who believes that she alone is sovereign. Those of you who know my story, know that I spent the first eighteen years of [...]

Is Influence Inherently Neutral?

Diane — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:36:13 +0000

“Ouch! That stung!” Immediately, the child withdrew the 9 volt alkaline battery from the tip of her tongue. The shocking buzz was brief but sharp. Both kids collapsed in giggles and wonder at the power of this tiny electric storage cell. But the real power of this story is not the inherent charge of the battery. Battery power is dwarfed by the enormous potential power of persuasion exercised when one human wants to influence another.

Thank the Lord I didn’t Drown!

Diane — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 21:42:52 +0000

Whew! I feel like I am finally seeing the finish line after an eight week long swim meet! Considering that I was writing two posts a week before this recent hiatus, you probably wondered why you stopped receiving my email posts. Fortunately, I didn’t drown nor was I disqualified from the race. [...]

Should we Teach our Sons Differently than our Daughters?

Diane — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 23:00:19 +0000

Boys! Have you ever wondered why sometimes your son doesn’t seem to hear you or why he doesn’t describe nouns like your daughter? LeeAnn Smith, mother of two boys and author of the blog “3 for school,” recently attended a virtual home school conference hosted by Heart of the Matter. Not [...]

3 Methods for Interpreting Textual Meaning

Diane — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:00:08 +0000

“Mom, could you please take me to the craft store? I want to make a gift for my friend’s birthday.” Remember the simple question: “what does it mean?” In this case, the message is clear. My daughter wants to make a gift for her friend and she needs supplies. Since she is [...]

Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge

Diane — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:00:08 +0000

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been looking at four unusual qualities that we hope to foster in our children, especially those older kids who have substantially mastered the three skills of the trivium and are ready to advance towards supervised independent study of subjects. What four qualities are we cultivating? We want our rising [...]

Supervised Independent Study: Your Personal Fitness Program

Diane — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:00:31 +0000

Progressive responsibility and appropriate consequences are two characteristics of self-discipline in a classical home school. But those are not the only attributes. Supervised independent study is the pinnacle of self-discipline to which all parents using this classical homeschooling method should aspire. When your children have substantially mastered language, thinking, and communication, [...]

Home School Disciples Gain Progressive Responsibility

Diane — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:00:17 +0000

One of the characteristics of an Indy Car driver and a musical maestro, both masters of their respective skill, is self-discipline. Were they undisciplined in pursuing knowledge and practice of their craft, they would never have risen to the heights of master. We want our rising classical scholars to exhibit self-discipline especially when they are [...]

Do it Well, or Do it Over

Diane — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 21:00:45 +0000

In post one of this series on mastering the three skills of the classical trivium, “How Do You Measure Mastery?”, I compared classical homeschooling to Indy car racing and defined the finish line, the driver, and the crew. In “Diane’s Must-Know Mastery Checklists,” I compared the content to the Indy car and shared my personal [...]

Diane’s “Must-Know” Mastery Checklists

Diane — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:00:11 +0000

In “How Do You Measure Mastery?”, the first post of this series on preparing to transition to the supervised study of subjects, I compared classical homeschooling to Indy car racing and defined the finish line, the driver, and the crew. Today, we’ll talk about the car, and I’ll share my personal “must-know” checklists for teaching [...]