Classical Catholic Studies for Adults: Where to Begin

Opportunities for classical Catholic education are not available through conventional institutions. Most adults today were educated according to standards that emphasize utility over wisdom, isolated subjects over integration, and secular concerns over Catholic doctrine. The Classical Liberal Arts Academy exists to provide a return to the study of classical Catholic education for those who wish to pursue it as adults. If you are reading this, you are likely aware that something essential has been missing from your education and are seeking a more ordered and intelligent approach. You do not need to begin with elementary grammar or arithmetic because you … Continue

How should I study Literature in the Classical Liberal Arts Academy?

In 2023, we will have a complete course of school-age study in Literature that is provided by two sets of courses: 1. Elementary Literature K-8 The Academy’s Elementary Literature program provides students at the K-8 grade levels with carefully selected stories, fables and poems with assessments that measure important school standards. Please note that these courses are opening in 2023-2024. 2.  English Literature I-IV The Academy’s English Literature courses are intended to provide high school age students with four years of literature study to satisfy modern high school requirements. These courses include in-depth studies of the greatest works in history, … Continue

What Math Programs Does the CLAA Recommend?

When parents ask about “Math programs”, the questions are usually vague and the common responses in private school and homeschool circles are lazy.  The study of Mathematics is very complicated and what students should do depends entirely on what a student’s goals are with respect to mathematical studies. I.  Classical Mathematics In the Classical Liberal Arts Academy, we teach the four classical mathematical arts, known as the “Quadrivium”: II.  Modern Mathematics In addition to our courses, which focus on the theory of the mathematical sciences, we recommend that students practice problem solving using popular online resources, to get as much practice … Continue

How to Prepare for the SAT

If you’re a high school student interested in scoring well on the SAT, you need to get to work ASAP. You need to be ready to take the test in the Spring of your Junior year of high school and you should take it again in the Fall of your Senior year. As a former SAT Prep teacher, I can tell you that there is no easy way to prepare for the test. It’s a great test that’s designed to challenge high school students and sort them into groups for the sake of college admission. It does so very effectively. … Continue

Plato, Euthyphro

I need to read Plato’s Euthyphro for a class this week, so I prepared a clean copy of Taylor’s translation. The dialogue investigates the question, “What is holiness?” Enjoy.

Greek Reading I, Lesson 10. John 1:46-51

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 46 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Ναθαναήλ: ἐκ Ναζαρὲτ δύναταί τι ἀγαθὸν εἶναι; λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Φίλιππος: ἔρχου καὶ ἴδε. 47 εἶδεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὸν Ναθαναὴλ ἐρχόμενον πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ λέγει περὶ αὐτοῦ: ἴδε ἀληθῶς Ἰσραηλίτης, ἐν ᾧ δόλος οὐκ ἔστιν. 48 … Continue

How to Prepare for the Best Universities

The world of college education is a mess. There are thousands of colleges, most of which are useless. Anyone, no matter how poor of a student, can “go to college” today because there are colleges that are simply doing the business of granting degrees, but these degrees are relatively meaningless. These colleges offer students none of the benefits of college life. Their interest is in using students to gain access to government funding. That’s their business. When we talk about preparing for college, we should be focused on the best universities. These universities are valuable for the resources they offer … Continue

The Goal in Schooling is to Learn HOW to Study

In modern society, schooling is required by law. It’s unfortunate because no matter what governments wish for, there will always be a few good students and many bad students. The reason is because most students never actually understand what the purpose of schooling is. When new families contact the Academy, I can predict quite accurately whether they will do well or not. I can tell by the questions the parents ask. Parents of bad students will ask the same question: How much time is required for this class? This question makes no sense for anyone seeking to become a good … Continue

Why Private Schools Cannot and Will Not Restore Classical Education

When studying in college, high school or (let’s be honest) middle school, we are taught that we must always provide evidence to support claims we make in our writing or speaking. We are taught how to research to find evidence and then to cite the sources where our evidence is found. This is how education works everywhere–well, almost everywhere. In Christian private school circles, claims may be made with no evidence. School leaders and teachers can make claims about the history of Christian education without any fear of their readers or hearers asking them for evidence. The “classical education movement” … Continue

The Mystery of Obedience

“Christ, by the mystery of your subjection to Mary and Joseph, teach all people reverence and obedience to lawful authority. Lord, you are the model and savior of all.” We struggle to reverence and obey lawful authorities, though we are normally, actually inferior to them. Christ was superior to all and humbled Himself in reverence and obedience to His subjects. We should expect, in light of this, that irreverence disobedience shown to lawful authorities will be severely punished.