A glimpse inside Hillsdale College's network of classical schools across the country.
In the best classical schools, students are immersed in a curriculum that is both deep and wide. They study Latin, Ancient Rome, Shakespeare, astronomy, trigonometry, and all sorts of wonderful things.
But the books don’t teach themselves. It takes an educated and engaging teacher to bring them to life. That’s why teacher training–not just in the curriculum, but in the principles of classical pedagogy–is so important.…
While I was visiting classrooms a couple of weeks ago, I got to see our second graders learning cursive handwriting with Mrs. Horton and Ms. Sowell. They were working on capital letters and sentences from their literature and history studies.
Handwriting practice is an essential part of our students’ elementary education in K-2, and after 2nd grade they are able to write beautifully, carefully, and quickly using cursive.…
The Seminar Discussion
by Mr. Peterson, Literature and Philosophy Teacher
This is an abridged version of a lecture given at Hillsdale College on June 29, 2017 as part of the Barney Charter School Initiative’s summer teacher training. The original (available upon request) includes details about seminar setup procedures, grading, how the other components of a literature class complement the seminar, and how to adjust procedures and expectations for older and younger students.…
Our curriculum requires students to study Latin I, Latin II, and Latin III. Students typically complete Latin III at the end of 9th grade, and from there they may go on to study advanced Latin or another language in the high school. To see how our students are introduced to Latin and learn a little bit about the language, here’s an Introduction to Latin in 6th Grade. …
At Founders Classical Academy, students begin studying Latin and Greek root words in 3rd grade, and when they get to 6th grade they begin Wheelock’s Latin. Over the course of 6th and 7th grade, students complete Latin I and are ready to go on to more advanced Latin in 8th grade and high school. Learning Latin is a new experience for students who have never had it before, but the benefits of studying this ancient language are hard to overstate.…