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CERC WEEKLY UPDATE - September 5, 2012 NEW RESOURCES EDITORIALS OF INTEREST EDUCATION MATTERS Note from the Managing Editor:
In his foreword to Stratford Caldecott's new book, Beauty in the Word: Rethinking the Foundations of Education, Anthony Esolen admits he's been tempted at times to conclude that there are only two things wrong with our schools: "what they don't teach our children, and what they do." Certainly children need to exercise their minds and purify their imaginations in a thousand good books instead of the clap trap they are too often exposed to, but as Esolen acknowledges, there's just so much more that is not understood, so much more in education that has to be rethought. Stratford Caldecott's new book explores the nature of the child and the nature of the education of the child from a deeply informed Catholic understanding. Speaking as a former Catholic teacher, this book has been a revelation to me. I wish I had read it before embarking on my teaching career. Beauty in the Word should be required reading for anyone aspiring to teach in a Catholic school as it should for anyone considering teaching their children at home. In the chapter offered below have a look especially at the subsections "To Be a Child", "Attention", and "A Catholic Philosophy of Education" near the end of the chapter. - J. Fraser Field This CERC Weekly Update is also available on our web site here.
Quote of the Week: "Gratitude is a fruit of great cultivation; you do not find it among gross people." - C.S. Lewis
• Pope Benedict: insincerity is 'the mark of the devil - CNA • Oxford Oratory to host Chesterton library - CNA • A College Reinvents Teacher Education - The John William Society • Universitas Orgiensis - The Catholic Thing • Smart Writing - Weekly Standard • The Moral Decline in the Words We Use - The Atlantic • Moral Formation and the School Choice Movement - Acton • Why school is supposed to suck - National Post • Interview with J.R.R Tolkien (BBC Archival Footage) - Youtube • Harvard Cheating Scandal: Can An Honor Code Prevent Cheating At Harvard? - Huffington Post The providence of God - Saint Claude de la Colombiere. S.J. - Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence Let us trust ourselves entirely to God and his providence.
Forward - Anthony Esolen - from Beauty in the Word: Rethinking the Foundations of Education I should like to introduce Stratford Caldecott's wonderful and much needed book with an anecdote, followed by a brief survey of the wasteland.
A great deal has been written about education without much consideration being given to the nature of the child.
All right. The symptoms are obvious. We know the symptoms. The diagnosis is the most important point.
A Testament of Faith - Mary Tompkins Lewis - Wall Street Journal Countless leaves and images of extraordinary sophistication from the Book of Kells defy even the most capricious explications, and led the 13th-century historian Giraldus Cambrensis to famously pronounce the manuscript "the work, not of men, but of angels.
Each generation typically gets angry at the previous one out of impatience with the flaws that youth sees in the aged.
There's more censorship and self-censorship about the legacy of the sexual revolution than about any other current issue out there.
An SS officer in big black boots and a crisp uniform appeared before the barracks in Auschwitz with a loudspeaker in hand.
The Great Both/And of Catholic Social Teaching - Father Robert Barron - Word on Fire Paul Ryan, a devout Catholic, has claimed the social doctrine of the Church as the principal inspiration for his policies.
On Being a Catholic Writer - Ralph McInerny - Crisis Magazine Many Catholic writers have balked at being called that.
Pope Benedict: insincerity is 'the mark of the devil - CNA Benedict XVI said at his Angelus address yesterday that Judas' lack of belief was bad, but not as bad as his insincerity, after losing faith, in pretending to follow Christ.
Glendon: economic, cultural concerns make 2012 election historic - CNA Mary Ann Glendon, the former U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, believes that the 2012 presidential election will be a historic crossroads for the United States.  Ross Douthat Scores Ryan's Catholicism and Cardinal Dolan's Election-Year Strategy - NCRegister Ross Douthat is the youngest op-ed columnist for The New York Times in the paper's history and also a practicing Catholic who writes on the intersection of politics, culture and faith.
Paul Ryan, Joe Biden: A tale of two Catholics - Washington Post The 2012 presidential campaign could bear a new subtitle: A Tale of Two Catholics.
Our Political Idols Won't Save Us - On the Square The first time I observed American Christians creating idols of their ideologies was during the presidency of George W. Bush.
Did Catholic Monks Make the West Rich? - Real Clear Science Why a modern saint who died in the Shoah is a good patron for a Europe trying to live up to its values.
Bishop Explains Vatican's Criticism Of U.S. Nuns - NPR Leonard Blair of Toledo, Ohio is the bishop who assessed the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. You can hear Blair discuss the nuns' organization here.
Catholic fertility methods help Chicago woman conceive - Chicago Tribune Many people are unaware that Natural Family Planning techniques are also useful for women trying to get pregnant.
Why the Amish Population Is Exploding - The Atlantic The Amish — known for their horse-and-buggy way of life — may seem like they would be overwhelmed by the rushing changes in technology and culture.
Five Great Motets - On the Square The Church's liturgy has inspired great choral music for centuries.
The inaccurate ways we portray nuns - Patheos One of the most powerful ways we receive and process information is visually.
The God of Independent Minds - Wall Street Journal Is religion the enemy of reason? A look at the questioning, disobedient heroes of the Old Testament.
Old-fashioned nuns say the past is key to the future - Religion News They already have as many vocations each year as join LCWR affiliated orders.
Legally recognized multi-partner unions: Why not? - First Thoughts A public notary in Brazil has registered a three-person partnership as a legally recognized civil union.
Strong criticism of Father Groeschel following remarks on abuse - CWN In an interview with the National Catholic Register, Father Benedict Groeschel said that some victims of clerical sexual abuse seduced their attackers and that first-time offenders should not be jailed.
A Prayer for Our Country at the Republican National Convention - Cardinal Timothy Dolan Here is the prayer that I offered at the Republican National Convention.
4 Ways To Evangelize At Work Without Being Churchy - Ignitum Today So here you are: Catholic, on top of the world, and loving everything about life. You naturally want to share the Good News with those you know.
A good man - Mercatornet It's far too easy when bickering about this or that policy to miss the values modeled by good men and women when we disagree on the means.
Plans for Gulf's biggest Catholic church stir backlash in troubled Bahrain - Washington Post The building of the largest Roman Catholic church in the Gulf was supposed to be a chance for the tiny island kingdom of Bahrain to showcase its traditions of religious tolerance in a conservative Muslim region where churches largely operate under heavy limitations.
Moon's death marks end of an era - CNN Moon was the last surviving charismatic leader of the wave of movements that spread throughout California and the rest of the West in the 1970s and '80s.
How Medieval Guilds are a Model For a Modern Catholic Education - The Way of Beauty The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in New Hampshire has established a series of medieval-style Catholic guilds that enable students to gain practical skills and experience from master craftsmen in areas such as woodworking, sacred art, homesteading and music.
Oxford Oratory to host Chesterton library - CNA G. K. Chesterton's library and many museum pieces connected to him will be housed in Oxford's Catholic Oratory.
A College Reinvents Teacher Education - The John William Society Under pressure, Hillsdale improves its already excellent program and shows that accreditation doesn't matter if you're good.
Universitas Orgiensis - The Catholic Thing When William F. Buckley Jr. published God and Man at Yale in 1951, the Yale brand stood for something: a first-rate education.
Smart Writing - Weekly Standard It's good to be published, and better to be understood.
The Moral Decline in the Words We Use - The Atlantic There have been a spate of interesting research studies using the power and scope of the 5.2-million-strong Google Books archive to track the way we use language.
Moral Formation and the School Choice Movement - Acton With increasing evidence that the “factory model” of public education has failed miserably, some half dozen states enacted school choice reforms last year.
Why school is supposed to suck - National Post A good education can't be all smiles and self-esteem. School must “suck,” at least a little bit.
Interview with J.R.R Tolkien (BBC Archival Footage) - Youtube BBC interview with J.R.R Tokien, writer of The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and The Hobbit.
Harvard Cheating Scandal: Can An Honor Code Prevent Cheating At Harvard? - Huffington Post Harvard University, whose motto "Veritas" means "truth," has never had a student honor code in its nearly 400-year history — as far as it knows. Subscribe/Unsubscribe |
