The Patriot

Latin and aluminum cans

John Cook — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:34:09 +0000

Another quote from Digital Barbarism by Mark Halprin:

In my education it was assumed that one would … study Latin, in much the same way that today it is assumed that a student will … collect aluminum cans.

Independent thought

John Cook — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 13:56:29 +0000

The following discussion of early American education comes from Mark Halprin’s book Digital Barbarism.

… the quality imparted in the study of classical languages, the Bible, and great works of literature (including the documents of the Founding) enlarged autonomy of thought. For, contrary to modern educational theories, discipline fosters not subservience but independence, as independence requires great strength to uphold.

Sloth

John Cook — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:15:27 +0000

Why sloth is the most subtle of the seven deadly sins.

Classical education in Forbes magazine

John Cook — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:44:27 +0000

Forbes magazine online has an article interviewing leaders regarding what they learned from reading the classics. The interviews are excerpts from the book “Power Ambition Glory” by Steve Forbes and John Prevas.

Asking good questions

John Cook — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:18:31 +0000

See The Art of Asking Questions for a discussion of the importance of training students to ask good questions.

Even apostles need books

John Cook — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:05:30 +0000

See this blog post: Spurgeon: Yet He Want’s Books. Justin Taylor comments on Charles Spurgeon’s sermon on 2 Timothy 4:13. In that passage, Paul asks Timothy to bring him his books.

He is inspired, and yet he wants books!

He has been preaching at least for thirty years, and yet he wants books!

He had seen the Lord, and yet he wants books!

He had had a wider experience than most men, and yet he wants books!

He had been caught up into the third heaven, and had heard things which it was unlawful for a men to utter, yet he wants books!

He had written the major part of the New Testament, and yet he wants books!

Teaching statistics like a literature class

John Cook — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:38:21 +0000

I’m teaching a graduate class in statistics. The semester is almost over and I’m teaching a topic not included in our textbook. I wanted to use a book that I believe is one of the best on the subject, but it’s too hard for the students to read on their own. I thought about using a more accessible text, but instead I decided to guide them though the difficult book.

I copied the first few pages of the advanced book and passed them out. We’re going through these pages line-by-line the way a literature class might go through a difficult passage from Milton. I provide lots of commentary. We have discussions. We go on tangents. But we have a text to return to that keeps us on track. So far I believe this experiment in applying classical pedagogy to advanced statistics is working well.

Gold medals

John Cook — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 03:17:52 +0000

Covenant Academy won five gold medals in the ASCI speech meet in Huntsville this morning.

ACSI meets are unusual in that the first place winner does not necessarily win a gold medal. To win a gold medal, a performance must not only be best, it must also rise to a certain standard. The judges may give up to three medals (gold, silver, bronze) but do not necessarily give any medals in a particular event.

Setting scripture to bad music

John Cook — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 04:09:32 +0000

I was reading Psalm 34 this evening. It’s hard for me to read the first few verses of that psalm because I remember an old song set to those words. The insipid tune of that song runs through my head, contradicting the depth of the words. Tonight I got past that old tune and was able to appreciate the profundity of the words of that psalm.

Maybe the Bible, especially the Book of Psalms, has an emphasis on creating new songs because old songs can become annoying and detract from the words, especially if they weren’t the best songs to begin with.

Good books

John Cook — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 18:30:30 +0000

Quote from Andrew Kern:

A book isn’t great because of what it tells you, but because of what it makes you think about.