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Today is Friday, September 25th, 2026, and I’m William Michael. I’m the headmaster of the Classical Liberal Arts Academy. Today I’d like to take some time to talk to homeschooling parents to help them understand how they should think about the studies of their children, how they should manage their studies, and how those studies turn into academic records. Because I think that many—I would say most—homeschooling parents don’t understand the significance of academic records, don’t understand what academic records actually show for their children. And this leads to many false ideas about what the kids need to do and … Continue

I have been working in education, and as a father, with older students for almost thirty years, and in that time I have had to work through many difficult deliberations with young people as they try to figure out what they are going to do with their lives. It is really the most important question we have to answer. What am I going to do when I grow up? What am I going to do when I finish my college studies? Now that I am a young adult, independent and able to make my own choices, what should I do? … Continue

CLAA Weekly Parent Meeting — September 16, 2026 The third parent meeting of the fall term at the Classical Liberal Arts Academy. Mr. William C. Michael introduces the new literature program and the scholastic logic courses, then answers parents’ questions for two hours. Topics discussed: Learn more at classicalliberalarts.com Parent meetings are held Wednesday evenings. Enrolled families are welcome to attend and bring questions.

One of the most frequent objections raised by Protestant critics against the Catholic Church concerns the doctrine of apostolic succession. The argument usually unfolds like this: “Because the Catholic Church cannot produce a continuous, name-by-name paper trail documenting every single episcopal ordination from the first century to the present day, the claim to an unbroken line of apostolic authority is historically false.” For many Catholics, this challenge can feel daunting. We live in a modern, bureaucratic age where identity and authority are verified by digital databases and paper certificates. However, when evaluated through the lenses of classical logic, historical reality, … Continue

CLAA Weekly Parent Meeting — September 9, 2026 Mr. William C. Michael of the Classical Liberal Arts Academy discusses the rapid expansion of the curriculum and answers parents’ questions on homeschooling in their own circumstances. Topics discussed: Parent meetings are held Wednesday evenings. Enrolled families are welcome to attend and bring questions.

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