Whether Public Charter Schools Are Fit for Catholic Communities Seeking Classical Education

Objection 1. It seems that public charter schools are a good and prudent choice for Catholic communities in 2026. For in this age of high taxation and burdensome private tuitions, such schools grant families from a range of economic backgrounds access to rigorous, smaller-scale learning environments that often emphasize classical methods and virtue formation. Recent expansions in school choice and legal developments have made it possible for parents to direct public resources toward options that escape the worst failures of traditional school districts, thereby fulfilling the natural duty of parents to provide fitting education without impoverishing the household. Objection 2. … Continue

Making Good Use of the Summer Months

Dear friends,  The Spring term in the Classical Liberal Arts Academy ends on Friday, June 26th — our 18th year of study. As we move towards the end of the term and the end of the school year for some, I’d like to provide some helpful information heading into the summer.  Time for Standardized Testing Parents are strongly advised to use standardized tests for two important reasons. First, standardized tests provide evidence that homeschooled children are satisfying modern educational standards while pursuing classical Catholic studies. Second, standardized tests provide helpful insights into student strengths and weaknesses, which helps with planning for … Continue

Annual Homeschool Review for CLAA Parents

Based on “Complete Guide for Study in the CLAA” View in Google Docs Part I: The Purpose and Priority of Studies Reflection Things to Do Part II: Habits of Study and Student Discipline Reflection Things to Do Part III: The Integrity of Classical Studies Reflection Things to Do Part IV: The Parent’s Role and Governance of the Home School Reflection Things to Do Part V: The Student’s Readiness for the Next Stage Reflection Things to Do If you’d like to discuss your self-evaluation, please contact me. Mr. William C. Michael, O.P.HeadmasterClassical Liberal Arts Academy

The Fear of “Screen Time” in Online Education: A Reasonable Examination

One of the most common objections raised against online education today concerns what is commonly called “screen time.” Prospective parents often express concern that enrolling a child in the Classical Liberal Arts Academy will place him in front of a computer for dangerous or unhealthy lengths of time. While these concerns are understandable in a culture already overwhelmed by entertainment technology, the objection itself is often confused because it fails to distinguish between the different uses of computers and other digital devices. The phrase “screen time” is frequently used as though all time spent in front of a screen was … Continue

Why CLAA Students Should Consider Majoring in Classics

Students are often faced with a decision: (a) choose a different major or (b) choose a different college. Most students choose a different college, and it is usually a college that is inferior to the one they first applied to. They imagine that earning the same degree from an inferior college will be better than pursuing something else, and inferior colleges naturally encourage this thinking. That is their business. The truth, however, is that there will eventually be even fewer jobs available than spots in college admissions classes, and those jobs will become more competitive, not less. Being denied admission … Continue

New Translation Work in Logic and the Philosophical Sciences

When most schools—even colleges—talk about “Logic” today, they are referring to school classes that study modern textbooks designed simply to provide a “Logic course” for those institutions. When we learn, however, that the Catholic Church was the source of the true teaching of the art of reasoning, we realize that there is much more to the subject than modern schools are aware of. Two of the greatest Doctors of the Catholic Church were St. Albert the Great and St. Thomas Aquinas. Most Catholics who know something about Church history, or who pay attention to the Church calendar, are familiar with … Continue

Summer Studies in the CLAA

As we move through May and into June, most schools are preparing to close for the summer. Modern schools are only open 180 days—less than half the days of the year. One of the greatest advantages of homeschooling is that school remains open year-round. Still, some homeschool programs only serve public school standards and provide for 180 days of homeschool activity. For anyone interested in a classical Catholic education, that’s not realistic. In the Classical Liberal Arts Academy, our program is available 365 days a year to parents and students. All of our online courses are open, allowing students to … Continue

St. Albert the Great, On the Nature of Logic, Chapter 1

Return to St. Albert the Great, Logic Prelection In this opening chapter on the nature of logic, St. Albert the Great introduces students to one of the most important foundations of all liberal learning: the right use of reason. Logic is not merely a school subject or an exercise in argument, but the art by which the mind is guided from what is known to what is unknown, from confusion to understanding, and from error to truth. Following Aristotle and the ancient philosophical tradition, St. Albert explains that logic serves every science because it teaches the intellect how to define, … Continue

Why Do We Need to Study Porphyry’s Introduction?

In the opening sentence of Porphyry’s Introduction, we read: Since it is necessary, both to the doctrine of the Categories of Aristotle, and to the formation of definitions, and in short, to those things which pertain to division and demonstration, to know what Genus and Difference, Species, Peculiarity, and Accident are; and since also the theory of these is useful: In a summary way, I will briefly endeavour to discuss for you, in the form, as it were, of an Introduction, what has been delivered on this subject by the ancients. In this opening sentence, Porphyry identifies for us the … Continue

Understanding the Five Predicables in Porphyry’s Introduction (Isagoge)

This page provides a detailed explanation of the five predicables as taught in Porphyry’s Introduction. This work is also referred to by its Greek name, Isagoge. What are the Five Predicables? In his Introduction, Porphyry proposes five fundamental ways in which something may be predicated of a subject. These are called the five predicables: Genus, Species, Difference, Peculiarity, and Accident. These distinctions are necessary for understanding how things are defined and how they are related to one another in logical reasoning. When we ask what a thing is, what kind of thing it is, or what belongs to it, we … Continue