Blog
Elizabeth Matheson
Over the past decade, our understanding and interpretation of Australian history has undergone a profound transformation. This remarkable shift has sparked both curiosity and skepticism. Nearly a decade ago, during a casual luncheon, I was taken aback by a confident statement made by an acquaintance. They asserted that indigenous Aboriginal Australians were sophisticated farmers, challenging my understanding of their hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Intrigued and skeptical, I embarked on a journey of investigation, delving into modern scholarship and ultimately creating the book "The Australian History: Pre-History to Settlement," along with a student guide. These resources aim to empower Australian students to explore history, cultivating well-rounded and enlightened learners. A key aspect of this educational approach is fostering critical thinking, logical reasoning, and a deep understanding of the world's intellectual heritage.
Elizabeth Matheson
As a society, we have drifted from instilling concrete virtues in our children, opting instead for a message of tolerance and values. In current times, values are hazy and ever-changing. Instilling concrete virtues in our children has never been more crucial. One way to nurture children's moral imagination and provide them with a moral road map for life's journey is through the timeless magic of classical fairytales. These tales, rooted in Christian beliefs, carry profound themes that can shape young minds and guide them towards becoming virtuous individuals, fulfilling the potential God intended for them.
Elizabeth Matheson
As parents, transitioning from traditional schooling to homeschooling can be a challenging and emotional process. Having been a teacher in schools for almost twenty years, the idea of homeschooling my own children would have seemed incredulous to me when they were born. However, due to declining academic achievement, lack of traditional virtues in education, and progressive educational philosophies in schools, exploring all available options becomes crucial. Looking back, I have no regrets about embarking on this wonderful adventure called homeschooling. In fact, my only regret is not doing it sooner! The success of my homeschooling journey is not solely mine; it relies on accessing resources and seeking assistance where needed. Connecting with others on the same journey is vital for advice, support, and fostering meaningful connections.
Elizabeth Matheson
Educators and parents are aware of the significant issues plaguing our current education system, despite the substantial resources dedicated to education in Australian society. There are multiple factors contributing to this state of affairs, including the teaching methods employed (progressive, student-centered) and the diminishing focus on a comprehensive knowledge base (reduced to modern progressive sensibilities). Additionally, the overemphasis on well-being, which is often poorly defined and disconnected from the development of traditional virtues, has further exacerbated the problem. These areas have been treated in isolation, resulting in a disjointed, disengaged, and disillusioned education system for educators, parents, and students alike.
Zachary Pavlou
Winston Churchill spoke these words in 1943 while advocating for the faithful restoration of the House of Lords exactly as it was before its bombing in 1941.
"We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us."
Conor Ross
While appearing to be strange bedfellows, using mathematics to teach English is worthwhile and has a long history stretching back to the classical schools of rhetoric. To couple letters and numbers might appear to many educators as a strained partnership, a view that is probable due to the pervasive tendency of modern schools and universities towards over-specialisation and relativism. While admitting that respective fields of study should have a practical degree of autonomy, this autonomy does not supplant the fundamental principle that undergirds all fields of knowledge – namely the unity that belongs to all truth. “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe," wrote the naturalist John Muir, an observation also reflected in Charlotte Mason’s definition of education as “the science of relations.”
Catherine Wesselinoff
“Beauty will save the world.”
The words of a madman – or of an oracle? My new book - The Revival of Beauty: Aesthetics, Experience and Philosophy - explores two duelling schools of thought: Anti-Aestheticism and Beauty Revivalism. For the former, these words are lunacy: for the later, prophecy.
In his perennial novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis’s character of the Professor bemoans the state of modern progressive education. “Logic!” he cries, “Why don’t they teach logic at these schools?” Despite there being many teachers who have read the book and re-read it to their children or students, this pointed question hasn’t really sunk in and continues to go unaddressed. The pursuit of logic vanishes like a summer fog in the clamour of educationalists, politicians and social commentators demanding a greater curriculum focus on literacy, numeracy or – God-forbid! – STEM.
- Written by: Conor Ross
Michael Connors
As a current graduate student in the great books program at St. John’s College, Annapolis, U.S., I am regularly asked to give an account of what liberal arts education is, and to justify its relevance. I believe that an investigation into the relationship between the terms of liberal education and the liberal arts will help illuminate their relevance and key benefits offered by their advocates.
| Podcast website |
In this episode, Winston speaks with Kon Bouzikos, President of ACES ( Australian Classical Education Society) about the growing movement of classical education in Australia.
ACES is a group of teachers and parents across Australia interested in promoting classical education through various means. The mission of ACES is to create classical schools, train teachers and parents, and allow all students to flourish as human beings.
Emeritus Professor Steven Schwartz AM, FASSA
Whenever I mention classical education, I am often told that such an education is “Catholic,” a way of attracting parents and their children to Catholic schools.
I respond by explaining that the roots of classical education are in the educational systems of Ancient Greece and Rome having developed long before Christianity existed. The classical method has been refined over the centuries, adapting to cultural and societal changes but maintaining its core principles. I talk about the Trivium (Latin for “three ways”) and describe the three stages of Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric.
Dr Kevin Donnelly
The Catholic Weekly, July 5, 2023
As Campion College in Sydney is one of the few tertiary institutions dedicated to the liberal/arts it should not surprise it was chosen as the location for a recent seminar dedicated to exploring the nature and importance of a classical school education.
Much of the debate surrounding schools and education centres on falling standards, teacher quality, school funding and what constitutes the most worthwhile curriculum and effective pedagogy. While such matters are important, more significant is the question: what constitutes the purpose of education? Given the rise of AI and chatbots and the fear humans will soon be replaced by computers, the question is even more urgent.
Barry Spurr
There is no question that the study and appreciation of poetry have been under active threat or at best regarded with indifference for too long, even in those very places where one might have imagined that their nurturing would have been safeguarded – in school English curricula and university English Departments. Schoolteachers of English are heard to say that they ‘don’t like’ poetry (and, no doubt, say so to their students) and, because of sufficient syllabus flexibility, they can avoid teaching very much of it, or any of it. Many years ago, I met a prospective high-school English teacher who was finishing her studies and already doing some teaching stints in schools. She proudly declared – to me, of all people - that, not liking poetry, she had been able, by a careful negotiation of her choice of courses, to avoid studying poetry almost entirely during her undergraduate years in which she was (nonetheless) majoring in English Literature.
Andrew J. Zwerneman
(Please see the special offer at the end of this article, made exclusively for our friends in Australia!)
School as school just does not cut the proverbial mustard any longer. Fortunately, there is a mounting interest in recovering our bearings about education, and the turn toward an education with classical roots and liberal purposes is catching a great wind in its sails.
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.
