Between the difficult and the impossible there lies an infinite distance. No dint of human effort or mortal genius can alter the nature of such a boundary. Each individual believes he knows with certainty precisely where these boundaries have been laid. For instance: I am not good at math; I am a poor artist; I hate … Continue reading Re-moving the Boundary Stones!
Being perspective weekend, you will hear much about New College Franklin, about the excellence of our program and community. For this reason, I want to talk about education from a different perspective. I want to conclude some recent meditations on learning by exploring the experience of the educator. Oddly enough, I am going to … Continue reading The Poetics of Faith and Learning, Part 5 (fin)
Euclid The study of Euclid’s Elements serves as an excellent example of the contemplative learning process. Proposition 5, an early proposition in the text, marks a turning point for most students, where they must not only identify a chain of equalities (something akin to a hypothetical syllogism), but do so in transposition. Whereas students needed only identify equality by imposing … Continue reading The Poetics of Faith and Learning, Part 1
Arithmetic, the first of four Quadrivium subjects, sheds light on the nature of our humanity. When contextualized by scripture, this study can even assist us in the task of realizing the true meaning dominion. Arithmetic Arithmetic is the study of number. While it concerns counting, adding, and subtracting, it is ultimately about the meaning of unity and relationship. This is one … Continue reading A Vision of Dominion: The Quadrivium on Numbers and Naming
When the Hairy Hooligans are ambushed aboard their ship, their captors announce a plan to execute Stoick, the head of the viking tribe as well as his heir. It is at this moment in Cressida Cowell’s How to be a Pirate (from her How to Train a Dragon Series) that Hiccup steps forth in heroic loyalty to his father. … Continue reading On the Power of Asking Questions
I am very excited to announce that our students are actively blogging. You can follow them over at: https://ncfjournal.wordpress.com/ They have even uploaded this awesome video by one of our own (Jenna Strawbridge) Continue reading Student Blog & Video
We have begun to organize an online journal at NCF. At first, it was thought we might try to post several articles a week, much in the style of a college newspaper. But as we took a closer look at our resources, it became clear that such a publishing schedule would be exhausting and promote … Continue reading How Can I Tell: Beginnings of a College Journal
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