Joshua Gibbs

How Much Lecture Is Necessary?

“How much lecture is necessary?” is a divisive question because there’s really no standard definition of “lecture” among classical educators. Some teachers think a lecture is an uninterrupted 45-minute talk on why Jane Austen didn’t like the city of Bath, which sounds a bit dull and unlikely to incline students to virtue—and the idea thatContinue reading “How Much Lecture Is Necessary?”

Historians Always Judge Like Strangers

“History is a merciless judge. It lays bare our tragic blunders and foolish missteps and exposes our most intimate secrets, wielding the power of hindsight like an arrogant detective who seems to know the end of the mystery from the outset.” -David Grann, Killers of the Flower Moon

The First Gibbs Classical Meetup Is August 12

You’ve read the blog posts, listened to the lectures, and signed up for the classes. Now, eat the food. On August 12, I am hosting the first Gibbs Classical Meetup at my home in Richmond, VA. Come to my place and let me cook you dinner. If you would like to come to the Meetup,Continue reading “The First Gibbs Classical Meetup Is August 12”

Let Me Take You Back To 2003

You in the hotel business center, printing off MapQuest instructions, amazed at technology these days.

Asteroid City Looks Like A Looney Tunes Cartoon

From “Wile E Coyote and the Road Runner” From Asteroid City

Against “Teaching To Your Top Third”

“Perhaps my objection to “teaching to your top third” is most clearly expressed in my objection to the idea a pastor should “preach to his top third.” I’ve never heard anyone put forward that idea before, of course, but I imagine most pastors would scoff if they heard it. “Preach to your top third? WhatContinue reading “Against “Teaching To Your Top Third””

Right And Left

You have a right hand and a left hand. There is a right half and left half of any object. Can you define right and left in a non-relative way? Can you define left without using an example and without gesturing at an object to explain? If you cannot, why not?

Satanification

“There are times when Milton seems to humanize Satan, but this is really an optical illusion. In fact, Milton is zealous to prove that sin is the satanification of man. God stamps His image on man, and Satan longs to do the same.” -from the forthcoming “How to Teach Paradise Lost“

Top Ten Favorite Games of All Time

Shortlisted: Blackjack; croquet; Rock, Paper, Scissors 10. Horse 9. The Elevator Game (invented by Paul Tong) 8. Risk 7. Pac-Man 6. Chess 5. Texas Hold ‘Em 4. Bowling 3. Nim 2. Tetris 1. Air Hockey

Next Year’s Classes

Next year I will teach two classes through Gibbs Classical: Plato’s Republic for Beginners in the fall and Foundations of Modern Politics in the spring. On several occasions, I have spoken of a brief period in my life wherein I considered myself quite liberal. This was sixteen or seventeen years ago now, shortly after IContinue reading “Next Year’s Classes”