There are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity.

At the end of a long lecture on some esoteric philosophical or theological subject, a teacher often wants to tell his students, “Alright, now go live your lives!” When he says this, he means, “Go on a long walk. Go write a poem for a girl. Go get a job. Go quit the job because a better one has come along. Go lay awake in bed and wonder why you’re sinning more this year than last year. Go give ten dollars to a homeless man. Go get caught. Go do all the human things.”

My latest for CiRCE is about why good books demand a full, diverse life.

My latest for CiRCE is about just how difficult the coming school year is going to be and how teachers need to spiritually and intellectually prepare for it.

My latest for CiRCE concerns the saying, “Fake It Till You Make It.” Is this good advice? Is there any alternative?

Offensiveness rating: 3/5

As have many classical educators, over the last several years I have written quite a lot about the need for teachers to “inspire wonder” in their students.

But I have also written quite a lot about the need for classical schools to have a few dogmas, a few beliefs that simply aren’t up for debate.

My latest for CiRCE explores these twin needs, and what happens to students whose teachers inspired wonder, but never offered any sure ground to stand on.

My latest for CiRCE is a wildly unoriginal short story which borrows liberally from Leo Tolstoy, Alice Thomas Ellis, Foer’s “The Sixth Borough,” and Eugene Vodolazkin’s Laurus.