Today’s episode is the first of two that we (Brandy, Pam, Mystie, and Abby) are doing that covers ideas from CS Lewis’ book The Abolition of Man – more specifically from his first essay in that book, entitled Men Without Chests. This book contains a lot of terminology that gets thrown around in classical circles and we’re going to tackle those definitions together!
***
Announcement: We are doing reading journals again this year! (The real, physical copies that we sold out of so quickly last year.) They are going to have the same great layout you have come to love, which helps you make a reading plan, track your progress, and also improve in your ability to process and review a book. The cover will be updated so that you can tell last year’s copy from this year’s copy on your shelf. Make sure you are in the Sistership so you can be one of the first to know when it's available in the shop. Just go to scholesisters.com/sistership to join.
***
Today, Mystie, Pam, Abby and Brandy toss around the question of whether or not virtue can be taught. This can be a controversial subject, but we think you’ll find it is worth talking about rather than avoiding.
***
Last Saturday was our annual retreat and it went SO WELL. It was so refreshing to spend a whole day thinking about memory and remembering, why it’s essential for education, and how we can incorporate it into our educational process. If you missed you, replays are STILL available! In fact, you can even still host a group; it just won’t be live, and you’ll use the replays instead. If you want to get in on the 2021 annual retreat, head on over to scholesisters.com/memory and sign up.
***
Our guest today is Dr. Christopher Schlect. Dr. Schlect has been a fellow of history at New Saint Andrews College for many years where he teaches courses in ancient and medieval civilizations, US history, the history of American Christianity, medieval education, and Classical Rhetoric, among other subjects. Dr. Schlect is the Director of New Saint Andrews College’s graduate program in Classical and Christian Studies and also serves classical and Christian Schools around the country through his consulting and teacher training activities.
Mystie and Brandy cornered Dr. Schlect and demanded an answer to that strangely confounding question: What is a liberal art? What followed was wonderful thoughts on what liberal arts are, what they are for, how to use them, and much encouragement for homeschooling moms like all of us.
***
If you are listen to this episode right when it comes out, the big thing you need to know is that our annual fall retreat is coming up NEXT WEEKEND! We have been preparing something super special and we cannot wait to share it with you. We are meditating on the idea of memory and its connection to education – you might even say that this whole retreat is a response to Hugh of St Victor’s assertion that without memory there is NO education. Memory is essential, which means it pays to spend time thinking about it. We hope you join us for a rich feast of ideas and practices on Saturday October 9. Go to scholesisters.com/memory to register.
***