Speaker: William C. Michael, Headmaster, Classical Liberal Arts Academy Recorded: Thursday, September 3, 2026 Source: RODECaster recording 118, Stereo Mix.wav (1:15:11) The question: why does study stop when school stops? Today is Thursday, September 3rd, 2026, and I’m William Michael. I’m the headmaster of the Classical Liberal Arts Academy. I’d like to talk today about how schools throughout history, and continuing today, have destroyed human learning. We all know that we should be learning. We know that we should be studying. We’re taught when we’re children that we should study and research and be learning throughout life. We know that … Continue

The first meeting of the fall term at the Classical Liberal Arts Academy. Mr. William C. Michael and Mrs. Dania Michael open the school year and answer parents’ questions on getting back to studies. Topics discussed: Recent article mentioned: “The Beginning of Counterfeit Classical Education” — a translation of a Latin treatise on education from around 1400, with commentary. Available under Resources → Blog. Learn more at classicalliberalarts.com Parent meetings are held Wednesday evenings. Enrolled families are welcome to attend and bring questions.

Below is an alphabetized list of the statewide virtual library networks and digital resource portals across all 50 states, along with links to their main platforms. Note: Access requirements vary. Many use automatic IP-geolocation to give instant access to state residents, while others require authenticating with a local public library card. Mr. William C. Michael, O.P

Pier Paolo Vergerio (1370–1444) of Capodistria was a canon lawyer, secretary to Popes Innocent VII and Gregory XII, a participant in the Council of Constance, and afterward secretary to the Emperor Sigismund. He studied at Padua, Florence and Bologna, and taught logic at Padua for sixteen years. About the year 1402 he wrote De ingenuis moribus et liberalibus studiis for Ubertino, son of the prince of Padua. It is the first of the Renaissance treatises on education and the most influential ever written, passing through more than forty editions before 1600, and its principles govern Catholic schooling to this day. … Continue

This article states what the Classical Liberal Arts Academy teaches, why we teach it, and how it may be studied by a man of any age or circumstances. It is written for parents considering our program, for students already enrolled, and for anyone who has noticed that what is now called classical education bears little resemblance to the thing it is named after. It proceeds in six parts: what the classical liberal arts were and when they were displaced; why five centuries of attempts to restore them within schools have failed; the distinction that makes restoration possible; the curriculum itself; … Continue

An Illustration from the Hortus Deliciarum of Herrad of Hohenburg The Manuscript and Its Author The image before us comes from the Hortus Deliciarum, the “Garden of Delights,” an illustrated encyclopedia compiled between about 1167 and 1185 by Herrad of Landsberg, abbess of the canonesses of Hohenburg Abbey in Alsace, on the mountain now known as Mont Sainte-Odile. Herrad assembled the work for the instruction of the women under her care. It was, in her own description, a gathering of the nectar drawn from many flowers of Holy Scripture and of philosophical writing, and it ran to some three hundred … Continue

Comparison Is the Thief of Joy I have been working in education full time for twenty-six years now. In the Classical Liberal Arts Academy my wife provides daily support for homeschooling families and spends a great deal of time on the telephone with homeschooling mothers. Through the years we have worked with hundreds, if not thousands, of Catholic families trying to give their children a great education. We have seen some fine examples and real successes. We have also seen failures and tragedies, far more numerous. My wife often has conversations that begin as simple academic consultations and develop into … Continue

This morning I was reading an opinion article in the Harvard Crimson proposing a policy for the use of artificial intelligence in school districts. The writer warned that the technology is developing very quickly, and that if we do not get out in front of it and limit it, it is going to get out of control—and all the intellectual benefits of modern schooling will be lost on children who grow up using these tools. As I read the article, I began to think as a teacher. What is the worst-case scenario here? Why are schools so worried about the … Continue

This morning I was talking with my wife, and I said, “We need to do a podcast on the importance of text-based study.” We had been discussing it for a little while when an email came in from a prospective parent asking whether the Classical Liberal Arts Academy offers live classes or an online school. It was providential that the message arrived just as I had the subject on my mind, and as I prepared to answer her I decided to take some time and publish a talk on this general topic: the mode of instruction, and how we actually … Continue