Joshua Gibbs

Interview On The Virtue Podcast

I’m grateful to Rob Jackson of Great Hearts for the invitation.

Episode 120: A Very Special Episode Of Proverbial

True story, I enjoyed recording this episode so much that I recorded it twice, and the second version is ten minutes longer than the first. There will likely be a corresponding post on the CiRCE blog about this proverb in the next couple weeks. The subject of the episode? Stupidity. More specifically, the word “stupid”Continue reading “Episode 120: A Very Special Episode Of Proverbial”

The Joy Of Praising Great Students

“As a teacher there is little which vexes me more than hearing students unjustly praised, but there is little which delights me more than hearing students justly praised. That’s why I love end of the year awards ceremonies.” -from my latest for CiRCE

Changing Values

In the 1980s, family portraits tended to be hierarchical and formal. Parents in the back, kids in the front, obviously posed. All faces were highly visible, there was little distance between the photographer and his subject. The emphasis was on the character of the subjects. Current family portraits are egalitarian and informal. They’re taken outsideContinue reading “Changing Values”

New Poetry

Requiem For a Failed Brothers Karamazov Book Club We met two and a half times. “I’ve always wanted to read this one,” we had all said, very thoughtfully. We will live to say it again.

On Reading Habits

Better to read a few good books and believe them all deeply than to read a great many decent books and tepidly accept no more than a quarter of what each one says.

Jules: I’m Going. That’s All There Is To It.

There aren’t many K-12 classroom teachers who have big platforms in CCE. Jonathan Councell deserves a big platform. He’s quite brilliant. I met him ten years ago on a cross-country drive and was absolutely floored by his intellect and common sense. This webinar is only ten dollars. I highly encourage you to attend! Sign upContinue reading “Jules: I’m Going. That’s All There Is To It.”

This Conversation Always Goes Like This

Tom: So you want the government to develop a mind-reading technology that could forcibly extract thoughts from people’s heads with clinical accuracy? You want the government to have access to your most private, sensitive, intimate memories? You want the government to have the technological capacity to delve into your most embarrassing secrets, or secrets whichContinue reading “This Conversation Always Goes Like This”

Tips For College Teachers Applying At Classical High Schools

“I’ve seen many college profs conduct high school classes with the same game plan they use in a Lit 510 discussion of Milton or Dante. It doesn’t work. They ask a lot of provocative questions and get a lot of short answers, bad answers, or silence. Socratic discussions work far better among older people whoContinue reading “Tips For College Teachers Applying At Classical High Schools”

A Few Comments On My Latest Book

“When I was young, popular music was a sort of religion to me, but then I got a job teaching classical literature, and over the last twenty years, I’ve come to see just how very different things which last are from pleasant, trendy things that come and go quickly. I’ve also seen how prolonged exposureContinue reading “A Few Comments On My Latest Book”