Blog
Education is born free and everywhere is in chains. The quote may be mistaken but I trust the sentiment is not: the mass of contemporary schooling is anything but liberal, being the servile follower of every fad and fashion that descends out of academia’s ivory tower like mana from heaven. A generation ago, information technology was touted as the new summum bonum for students; since then, we’ve had open-plan classrooms with flexible or project-based learning and, more recently, STEM. All the while, the gap between young people’s years in school and their basic competencies in reading, writing and arithmetic is growing further and further apart. Why is this happening?
- Written by: Jonathan Hili
Why we need a classical renewal? This was the theme of a conference hosted by the Circe Institute, with the support of the Australian Classical Education Society. Held in April over two days, expert speakers, from both the USA and Australia, spoke about the importance and benefits of a classical education.
Dr Paul Morrissey, principal of Campion College, Australia’s only tertiary college dedicated to the study of the liberal arts, reminded listeners that wisdom is a most fundamental principle for the education of our young. It is a principle, or more accurately, in the words of Dr Morrissey, a “virtue,” that is often neglected in today's modern education system.
- Written by: Joe Capuana
After the wave of inspiration and connection arising from the ‘Renewal’ conference a group of us in Queensland were fortunate enough to meetup on Monday, 11th April. This was the first of hopefully many face-to-face meetups that will serve the Classical Education community in South East Queensland.
- Written by: Sarah Flynn
Dr. Christopher Perrin's presentation highlighted the profound importance of studying history as there is significant wisdom to be gained from learning from the past. Questions such as: Why has the study of history diminished and what forms of folly is our ignorance leading us into? How can history be taught to impart virtue and as a meaningful and engaging story or narrative? How can we revive the study of history in order to acquire prudence or practical wisdom to examine lessons from the past and extract what speaks to us today?
- Written by: Helen Koutroulis
By Cheree Harvey
When I discovered Classical Conversations I realised this was what I had been looking for. I had providentially found a community which was focused on empowering and encouraging parents to homeschool their children classically. A space which places the emphasis on virtue, on the centrality of God and the authority of scripture.
Hi, my name is Cheree Harvey and I am your Classical Conversations Country Coordinator. Although we have only been running in Australia for four years, we have seen enormous growth, from just two mums on the Gold Coast to five locations - Gold Coast, South Brisbane, Cairns, Western Australia and Adelaide, with more to come!
In this short article I will give a summary of the main points that were presented by Andrew Kern during his plenary session which is titled “Why We Need a Classical Renewal. This session was the opening session for the April 8-9 Conference organised by the CiRCE Institute.
Andrew first spoke about what is the purpose of classical education. Classical education which began in Ancient Greece is not a new technique nor is it another method. When the Romans encountered it they tried to preserve it. According to the CiRCE Institute, Classical Christian Education is the cultivation of wisdom and virtue by nourishing the soul on the true, good and beautiful so that in Christ the student is better able to know, glorify and enjoy God.
- Written by: Kon Bouzikos
By Carrie Eben
In this article Carrie Eben examines the Seven Liberal Arts ( the trivium and quadrivium).
Over twenty years ago, a spark ignited within me.
I was invited to teach at a new “classical school” in Tulsa, Oklahoma (USA) and promptly read as much as I could to understand this “new” way of educating—which wasn’t actually new. I did not make it to the end of the school year due to the birth of my firstborn child, but I learned enough that year about the classical liberal arts tradition which changed the trajectory of my teaching and learning. This was how I wanted to teach, this was how I wanted to be educated, and this was the education I wanted for my newborn son.
I begin with a confession. Despite the historical memory we have inherited of this disdained and much-maligned man, with all the negative associations that go along with him: a petty, puritanical character (that could verge at times into envy and vengeance), an uncompromising revolutionary zeal that did not even spare his closest friends, ostensibly tyrannical leadership, and his undoubted involvement in the excesses of the French Revolutionary Terror, I love Maximilien Robespierre. Now, it is true that his history is more complex and nuanced than the loathsome caricatures popularly presented in the West, but my admiration for him will tend to somewhat optimistic judgements where others would see only darkness. So, accordingly, please excuse any bias that follows in this article.
- Written by: Jonathan Hili
By Émile Troullier
It is an unseasonably foggy and cold morning in Sydney and I am supervising the last skirmishes of a rugby training session. As the boys are still scrimmaging around the ball, the baritone voice of the school bell brings the action to an end. Magically, the fog begins to disperse, and so do the boys, some of them rushing to the pavilion to recover their accoutrements for the school day, while others head to their boarding house. Still in my coaching tracksuit, I reflect on the modern scourge of mature men in activewear as I make my way to the refectory to have breakfast. I sit in a quiet corner and start gathering my thoughts for the day’s activities. Breakfast does not take long. Then, I move to the teachers’ quarters to have my daily ablutions and put on my full teaching regalia. I straighten my tie, I put on the essential name tag and off I go again. Senior Latin will be opening the day’s proceedings. Soon, some of the mud-clad boys whom I was supervising on the rugby pitch will be joining me in the classroom for a lesson on Virgil’s Aeneid.
As a teacher, I love that classical education attends to the why of education. While questions of methods, delivery, assessment, or any number of practical concerns are, of course, essential and significant, these details can easily overwhelm teachers so that they forget the foundation of our task.
Why require our students to wrestle with difficult subjects and texts? Why pour time and energy into lesson plans? Why labour at giving helpful and accurate feedback? The answer that usually comes to my mind is part of the answer to the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism “to glorify God.” This is what I tell my children when the whining sets in over their own schoolwork, when they drag their feet and give less than a full effort. All things, I say, we must do all things to God’s glory. And God is not glorified by complaining and laziness.
- Written by: Laura Cerbus
An integral part of my teaching practise has always consisted of the Greek conception of education which is encapsulated in the term paideia, the ideal model in education according to the ancient Greeks. This timeless and universal ideal of paideia embodied in each student, is the cornerstone of the revival of Classical education.
- Written by: Helen Koutroulis
Difff interviews ACES President Kon Bouzikos (Educating Humans Podcast)
In this bonus episode, Difff interviews Kon Bouzikos, the President of The Australian Classical Education Society. Kon speaks about his passion for Classical Education, and the mission of the ACES.
St John's College Information Evening
The Ramsay Centre is hosting an evening to find out more about St John’s with Associate Professor Andrew Poe. He will deliver a lecture on “Thinking and Unthinking Political Necessity: A Democratic Reading of Book 2 of Plato’s Republic" and share his experience of the Great Books education he received at St John’s College. The talk will be followed by light refreshments and conversation.
ABC Radio National 'Big Ideas': We need wisdom for good education and learning
Dr Paul Morrissey discussed why the utilitarian approach in the Australian education system was not enough - a lecture given at our April 'Classical Renewal' conference.
