William C. Michael

I’ve been studying and working as a classicist for almost 30 years now, and I was recently asked by a friend if I would recommend a list of 20 books that every Catholic man should study for spiritual and intellectual growth, 20 books. If I could pick 20 books that men should really soak in and read and study and reread, what would those 20 books be? And obviously we could debate this, but since I was asked, I put a list together of what I feel the 20 most helpful books are. And again, the goal is not for … Continue

Today is November 1, 2024, and this is William Michael of the Classical Liberal Arts Academy. This evening, I had the pleasure of a great consultation meeting with a couple of Catholic parents, and we talked about a bunch of issues relating to homeschooling and family life. As we had a discussion, it reminded me of an important topic, and it was one that, as I began talking about it, lots of memories started to come up. When our meeting ended, I said, “That’s a topic I think I need to talk about.” I’d like to take some time tonight … Continue

Hello, this is William Michael of the Classical Liberal Arts Academy. I’d like to challenge Catholic parents, especially fathers, with, I think, what will be a brief talk today on the importance of natural virtue in the education and evangelization of our children. When I talk about natural virtue, obviously, the opposite of that would be supernatural virtue. If we look at the teaching of the Catholic Church, we find that there are two different groups of virtues, two different classes of virtues. One group we might consider classical or human virtues—I would consider them natural virtues—and the other class … Continue

In the Classical Liberal Arts Academy, we speak of Aristotle and the Categories quite often.  Outside of the CLAA, these subjects are not often spoken of.  Thankfully, the Dominicans continue to study and teach the teaching of classical philosophy–and they do so eloquently.  In the video above, Fr. James Brent explains the ten categories of Aristotle in simple terms, with beautiful illustrations. Enjoy. Mr. William C. Michael, O.P. Headmaster Classical Liberal Arts Academy

In this video, Mr. William C. Michael of the Classical Liberal Arts Academy provides students with a guide through the fable of the Wind and the Sun (Lesson 21) in the Academy’s Aesop’s Fables course.

For students who have been studying Latin vocabulary, I’m beginning to make Classical Greek vocabulary lessons available with videos that should be helpful. Please watch this first video to see what we’ll be studying and judge whether you’d like to join me for this study. God bless, Mr. William C. Michael, O.P. Classical Liberal Arts Academy

In my Lay Dominican group in Charlotte, I’ve been taking some time at our monthly meetings to help with pronouncing, reading and understanding Latin.  As Dominicans, we recite the Rosary in Latin, so this matters for our group. Today, I made a playlist of five short videos that walk viewers through a sheet I handed out to our Dominican group members, which you’re all welcome to share.  You can find the document here: Pronouncing Ecclesiastical Latin (Handout) The videos walk through the rules and then the prayers.  Simple, but helpful I think. God bless, Mr. William C. Michael, O.P. Headmaster … Continue

I’m happy to share a lesson video from the Academy’s course on Aesop’s Fables.  In this video, I help students with the study of the fable of “The Man and His Two Wives”. The video above is posted publicly on the Academy’s YouTube channel, but enrolled students have access to a private video without any ads in the Academy Study Center (lesson 19). God bless your studies, Mr. William C. Michael, O.P. Headmaster Classical Liberal Arts Academy

The lesson below belongs to the Classical Liberal Arts Academy’s Greek Reading I course. In this course, we study the Gospel of St. John in the New Testament. Students wishing to master the lesson below are to complete translation exercises daily from Greek into English and English into Greek, until every Greek word and its English meaning are memorized. Text 6 ἦσαν δὲ ἐκεῖ λίθιναι ὑδρίαι ἓξ κατὰ τὸν καθαρισμὸν τῶν Ἰουδαίων κείμεναι, χωροῦσαι ἀνὰ μετρητὰς δύο ἢ τρεῖς. 7 λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς: γεμίσατε τὰς ὑδρίας ὕδατος. καὶ ἐγέμισαν αὐτὰς ἕως ἄνω. 8 καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς: ἀντλήσατε νῦν καὶ … Continue

Can Catholic education be reformed or is it impossible? Should we wait for the collapse of modern education, or are good options available to us today? In this talk, Mr. William C. Michael, headmaster of the Classical Liberal Arts Academy discusses the real cause of the problem of expensive modern education and how Catholics can avoid it and enjoy the learning they need today. Mr. William C. Michael Classical Liberal Arts Academy mail@classicalliberalarts.com