Jennifer Dow

Thank you @Patrick Halbrook !

I have not heard of that book before. I have recently become highly fascinated with everything related to Christian Humanism. Would love to hear what you end up thinking about it.

Are you interested in Starting a Scholé Group? Ask your questions here! You can also learn more about the specifics of what it takes to become a Scholé Group here: https://scholegroups.com/start-a-schole-group/.

I love how you are touching on empathy. I have been researching several things that keep me coming back to empathy. I think this is a topic we need to think more about as teachers.

I love this question, Karen! I am picking up Dante's Inferno with a special eye towards teaching and parenting. I am wondering about some of the following questions as I read it. What is Dante doing, saying, and experiencing as he walks through hell? What is suffering? What is punishment? What is judgment? What is revenge? What is love? How do I know I am experiencing love, even in less than pleasant circumstances? How do I walk through hell? What is Virgil doing & saying as he leads Dante through hell? What does it mean to lead someone through hell/suffering/_______? Is leading about keeping those we follow from hell or walking with them through hell? What does teaching someone how to suffer have to do with parenting? With teaching?

I love this question so much. I think what you said "Is it a teacher who admits that they don't know it all, they don't have all the answers, but nevertheless they are willing to learn with their students?" is a huge part of it. In addition, as I reflect on my own teaching, I notice that because I am imperfect and am acquainted with suffering and repentance. Therefore, I can externalize that process for my students, for my children. I think all learning is a form of repentance in one way or another and involves a certain amount of suffering or struggle. It makes me think of what Virgil was to Dante.

Hello everyone! I have decided to use the speeches from Homer's Iliad and Oddessy, but especially from the Iliad, to teach my high school students the three kinds of rhetorical addresses. Have any of you done this before? How did it go? Do you have any favorite speeches for this purpose?

For me, I would not be a teacher today if it had not been for my homeschooling journey. Homeschooling and learning alongside my children grew into a love for classical education and studying the liberal arts that will be a part of my life in one way or another for the rest of my life.

We also have prayers we use at Paideia Fellowship. We have prayers before study and prayers after study. We also have some prayers for other times and situation as they arise. I attached our class prayers here if you are interested! Class Prayers.pdf

I just posted this over in the Plato Forum section. Though I would post it here as well. I would love to hear your thoughts, " I was so intrigued by what David Diener said regarding Socratic teaching. I wish he had been able to go into it more. He mentioned that Socratic teaching is based on assumptions that we would not agree with necessarily. Does anyone know more about those assumptions? Also, I wonder where he was going with that. Do you think he meant because Socratic teaching is based on assumptions we would not agree with that we ought not to give it much weight in our teaching? Or was it that we should be aware of it, but it still works with our Christian assumptions? I look forward to hearing people's thoughts. "

I was so intrigued by what David Diener said regarding Socratic teaching. I wish he had been able to go into it more. He mentioned that Socratic teaching is based on assumptions that we would not agree with necessarily. Does anyone know more about those assumptions? Also, I wonder where he was going with that. Do you think he meant because Socratic teaching is based on assumptions we would not agree with that we ought not to give it much weight in our teaching? Or was it that we should be aware of it, but it still works with our Christian assumptions? I look forward to hearing people's thoughts. Jen Dow