William C. Michael

Today is Wednesday, November 20, and this is William Michael of the Classical Liberal Arts Academy. A day or two ago, I posted a talk on the unjust criticism of home school families, and I introduced a couple of principles that I think are important for us to consider anytime we think about or talk about the education of children, the behavior of children, and how it relates to the commandment to honor your father and mother. We don’t talk about commandments much in modern Catholic culture, and we need to. We need to get back to the basics. We … Continue

Today is Sunday, November 24 and this is William Michael of the classical liberal arts academy. Today, I would like to talk to home schooling parents, and I’ll admit that what I’d like to talk about is pretty radical. In fact, to some it may be scandalous, depending on how you look at what I say and whether you actually receive what I say in the context of how I say it. But I think it’s important to have an understanding of education and home schooling that I have in order for our children to succeed, and for us as … Continue

Today is Monday, November 25, 2024, and this is William Michael of the Classical Liberal Arts Academy. Yesterday, I received an interesting email from a friend of the Academy who mentioned that he was discussing the Catholic faith—I think it was with his father. The accusation came up in the discussion that Roman Catholicism is a false religion because, when the Romans converted to Christianity (presumably under Constantine), all that happened was that the Roman religion was “Christianized,” and that was where Roman Catholicism came from. So, Roman Catholicism is just a cleaned-up, rebranded form of ancient pagan religion. It’s … Continue

Yesterday, I began what is going to be a series of talks on the role of parents in classical Catholic education. I spent my time talking about the importance of understanding our place in history—what history offers us, what tradition offers us, and what saints and wise men of the past have established and left for us. I also discussed the advantages we have today, the different circumstances we face compared to those who came before us, and how that challenges us to respond properly. Jesus said, “To whom much is given, much is expected.” Standing where we stand in … Continue

Today is Tuesday, November 26, and this is William Michael of the Classical Liberal Arts Academy. Being home for Thanksgiving break, I have some extra time to share talks. I’d like to take up some topics that require more time than I can normally afford. The main topic I’d like to discuss is the role of parents in classical Catholic education. I want to get into the details about how parents—especially those with goodwill but without advanced education or knowledge of Classical Studies—can still provide their children with an education that many throughout history would have died for. I’ll explain … Continue

Today is Wednesday, November 27, and this is William Michael of the Classical Liberal Arts Academy. When we talk about the Trivium in classical Catholic education—and when I say classical Catholic education, I mean real classical education, not modern, fake stuff—we’re talking about three subjects that need to be studied in order for us to be able to proceed in the pursuit of wisdom. These are three subjects that must be mastered as the foundation, as the beginning, for the pursuit of wisdom. They are not three stages of learning, as you’ll see many schools talk about. Many homeschool programs … Continue

Today is Friday, December 29, 2024. I hope that all of you living in the United States had a happy Thanksgiving. Over the last couple of days, I’ve posted two talks that I intend to serve as the beginning of a series in which I dig pretty deeply into the subject of the role of parents in classical Catholic education. I’ve talked about a few fundamental issues. I’ve talked about the role of parents and the environment that’s required for classical Catholic education. And in the last talk, I discussed the role of the example of the parents in that … Continue

When given a writing assignment, it is helpful to know what is expected based on the length of the assigned paper.  Several essay lengths are standard, with samples provided: Primary and Middle School (Ages 6–12) Short Essays: 100–300 words Typically for simple topics like personal experiences or basic summaries. Standard Essays: 300–500 words Suitable for exploring slightly more detailed topics, such as book reports or explaining ideas. High School (Ages 13–18) Short Essays: 300–500 words Often used for homework assignments or in-class exercises. Standard Essays: 500–1,000 words Used for more detailed analyses, argumentative essays, or narrative writing. Longer Essays: 1,000–1,500 … Continue

Today is Thursday, December 5, 2024, and this is William Michael of the Classical Liberal Arts Academy. Today, I’d like to take some time to talk about the quadrivium because recently, I posted a talk on the trivium that was titled, What is the Trivium and Why Do We Need It? At the end of that talk, I said that I would devote another talk to the quadrivium. So this talk will be titled, “What is the Quadrivium, and Why Do We Need It Now?”. With the trivium, many people who are involved in modern classical education or homeschooling circles … Continue