William C. Michael

Sicut dicit Philosophus in III De Anima, duplex est operatio intellectus: una quidem, quae dicitur indivisibilium intelligentia, per quam scilicet intellectus apprehendit essentiam uniuscuiusque rei in seipsa; alia est operatio intellectus scilicet componentis et dividentis. Additur autem et tertia operatio, scilicet ratiocinandi, secundum quod ratio procedit a notis ad inquisitionem ignotorum. Harum autem operationum prima ordinatur ad secundam: quia non potest esse compositio et divisio, nisi simplicium apprehensorum. Secunda vero ordinatur ad tertiam: quia videlicet oportet quod ex aliquo vero cognito, cui intellectus assentiat, procedatur ad certitudinem accipiendam de aliquibus ignotis. Cum autem logica dicatur rationalis scientia, necesse est quod … Continue

To help study with Latin translation work, I’d like to share a Latin verb conjugation chart I made back in 2009, which shows all forms of Latin verb endings regular verbs. This chart is very helpful if used regularly as it provides you with a system that can be memorized and visualized as you gain experience with it. It’s the easiest way to identify all of the Latin verb endings needed in translation. By simply knowing were forms are on the chart, you can remember their charcateristics.  Often, this is all that’s needed to make a good translation. What You … Continue

  Dear friends, In North Carolina, we enjoy great liberty as a homeschool family.  The state of North Carolina respects the right of parents to direct their children’s education, and there is very little interference or trouble from the state once a family registers as a home school. I often hear parents speaking of the requirements of their states with regard to homeschooling and, to be honest, I find much of this talk to be exaggerrated and used as an excuse to settle for low secular school standards–as if they are necessary.  Many homeschool publishers and services exploit the ignorance … Continue

In modern circles, it’s common for us to hear that the earth is millions or billions of years old.  Many Catholics have embraced this dating of the earth, but I believe that most or all of them have done so prematurely, and wrongly.  I understand that this “old earth” idea of dating is common in schools and universities today, but there’s a problem with it that very few are aware of. There is no demonstrative evidence that the earth is millions or billions of years old–nor can there be.  No one who talks about these numbers has any evidence that … Continue

Dr. David Gelernter, a computer scientist at Yale University, complains of the ignorance of modern students, even among those at the best universities.  When will Catholic parents stop making excuses for their children (and themselves) to study the classical liberal arts, philosophy and theology?

When it comes to education, especially Christian education, we parents face three great obstacles.  The first is that for many, education is merely a business and decisions are made based on what is most profitable for publishers and educators, not what is best for students. Second, parents are often ignorant of the history of education and how saints studied and taught in the past and educators exploit this ignorance.  Third, parents fail to make clear goals and stick to them, and they end up imitating modern educational fads and accomplish very little.  Homeschooling, for most, is expensive and ineffective.  Some … Continue

Dear friends, The Classical Liberal Arts Academy has been and continues to be the only Catholic source for real classical Catholic education.  You can survey the homeschool publishing landscape today and see that no one else provides access to the classical Catholic curriculum used by the saints of Church history. In 2021, as we make the Academy’s curriculum content freely available to Catholic homeschool families, many will begin stealing our content and trying to make use of it for their own profit.  I can say this confidently because Catholic men have already done this in the past.  Many desire to … Continue

This morning, a website visitor wrote and asked, “Please direct me on your website to where I will find the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur for the written material presented in your educational programs and on your website.” I don’t know whether this was a sincere request or just a scrupulous individual being annoying, but I’m happy to respond. First of all, the question of “Church approval” is addresed in canons 822-832 in the Catholic Church’s Code of Canon Law. In Canon 822, we learn that the approval of Catholic books is a matter that concerns only the bishops of the … Continue

In my article, “How to Study for Mastery“, I provide a set of steps that will allow students to work through any lessons–and master them. One of the steps requires study and note-taking and parents and students frequently ask me, “How should we take notes?” In this article, I’ll answer that. The Goal of Note-Taking Before all things, we should be studying to gain wisdom that helps us to live according to God’s will in this life. Our studies should be leading us to this wisdom, and the happiness of our life is the ultimate test of that learning. Within … Continue