Explaining things to very young Kindergarteners requires a special talent. I learned from Mrs. Rariden that when you are talking to five year olds, rather than saying "please have a seat," you have to say "please make sure your bottom is on the chair, your feet are on the ground, and your head is facing… Continue reading What’s with the arrows and the bubbles?
While I was visiting classrooms a couple of weeks ago, I got to see our second graders learning cursive handwriting with Mrs. Horton and Ms. Sowell. They were working on capital letters and sentences from their literature and history studies. Handwriting practice is an essential part of our students' elementary education in K-2, and after… Continue reading Learning Cursive in 2nd Grade
The moneymaking life is characterized by a certain constraint, and it is clear that wealth is not the good being sought, for it is a useful thing and for the sake of something else. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics
Once a month all of our students and teachers gather in the gym for an all-school assembly. We often enjoy a performance, recognize students' achievements, or discuss our school virtues. No matter what we're doing in all school assembly, we always begin the same way: with pledges to the American flag and the Texas flag… Continue reading Singing the National Anthem at All-School Assembly
Fix your eyes on the greatness of Athens as you have it before you day by day, fall in love with her, and when you feel her great, remember that this greatness was won by men with courage, with knowledge of their duty, and with a sense of honor in action... So they gave their… Continue reading Pericles on Athens
By being so long in the lowest form [at Harrow] I gained an immense advantage over the cleverer boys.... I got into my bones the essential structure of the ordinary British sentence--which is a noble thing. Naturally I am biased in favor of boys learning English; I would make them all learn English: and then… Continue reading Churchill on Latin
On Friday, January 26, 2018, Founders Classical Academy of Leander welcomed Texas state representative Tony Dale and friends of the school to campus for National School Choice Week. Here are Dr. O'Toole's remarks from the event. At Founders Classical Academy, we think that school choice is the way forward because implicit in the idea of… Continue reading Why We Are a School of Choice
It is not enough that you should understand about applied science in order that your work should increase man's blessings. Concern for man himself must always form the chief interest of all technical endeavors, concern for the great unsolved problems of the organization of labor and the distribution of goods--in order that the creations of… Continue reading Einstein on Science
The Seminar Discussion by Mr. Peterson, Literature and Philosophy Teacher This is an abridged version of a lecture given at Hillsdale College on June 29, 2017 as part of the Barney Charter School Initiative's summer teacher training. The original (available upon request) includes details about seminar setup procedures, grading, how the other components of a literature class… Continue reading Seminar Discussion in 9th-12th Grade
Last year, we sent one team of four high school students to compete in the TCSAAL math olympiad. They won regionals and state. They had the idea that wearing colorful bowties would intimidate the competition. I guess they were right. After securing the victory, they posed as Archers for their victory shot, with their coach… Continue reading Mathletes Sweep TCSAAL Math Olympiad
