Category Archives: CiRCE Links

“Given ChatGPT’s sudden, unforeseeable intrusion into our lives several months ago, teachers and administrators across the country have spent the latter half of the school year playing catch-up—and, from most accounts I’ve heard, they have been roundly defeated. We now have the summer to sort out what policies we’re going to put in place nextContinue reading “ChatGPT Is A Godsend”

“Tom: Have you read Mark’s takedown of Sam’s latest article? Harry: No. Tom: Have you read Sam’s latest article? Harry: No. Tom: Okay, you should read Sam’s latest article so you can read Mark’s takedown. Harry: Okay. Tom: Actually, Sam’s latest article is a response to Reggie’s latest article, so you should read Reggie’s first.Continue reading “When Mid-Level Intellectuals Play King Of The Hill For Web Traffic Glory”

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”

“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

“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”

“There are aspects of the aristocratic life which people born average are never going to participate in. They’re never going to shop on Saville Row. They’re never going to pay a talented composer to write a requiem mass. They’re never going to subsidize the composition of an epic poem which pays tribute to the historicContinue reading “Act Like A Lady”

“In many Christian schools, the ethos of an “ideal” teacher is far more defined by Christian radio, youth group, books about the family, and devotional literature written for small groups than it is by, say, the Rule of St. Benedict. The contemporary Christian teacher is aghast by old adages like, “Don’t smile until Christmas.” We’reContinue reading “Signs Of A Great Teacher”

The latest episode of Proverbial is about dead cats. It’s my favorite episode of the last couple months.

“Just as small-minded administrators, parents, and students cannot distinguish between different kinds of difficult teachers, small-minded teachers lump every sort of difficult student into the same “bad” bunch. A disobedient student is a liar, a cheat, a scofflaw who disregards small rules, a queen bee enthralled by the shallowness of popular culture, a bully whoseContinue reading “In Praise of Difficult Students”