The Geneva School

Written by staff and board members at The Geneva School

• The source of all our deadly virtues by Mr. Dale King (Rhetoric Teacher)
• Why Classical Languages? by Edward Chandler (Dean of Students and Latin Teacher)
• Literature Through the Ages by Kathy Muether (Geneva’s Librarian)
• The Geneva School’s Transfer Students: Educational Culture Prevails in Decision to Enroll by Robert Ingram (Headmaster): Read a paper written by Headmaster, Robert Ingram, that affirms that student culture and academics really matter to students. The “heart and soul” of the The Geneva School is one of the most significant elements in the decision to enroll students at Geneva.
• A Question of Identity: What will The Geneva School look like one hundred years from now? by Gordon Cloke (Board Member).

Church Fathers

• Address to Young Men on the Right Use of Greek Literature by St. Basil the Great

Books Studied by the Faculty

• Wisdom and Eloquence: A Christian Paradigm for Classical Learning by Robert Littlejohn and Charles T. Evans; Crossway Books (April 12, 2006); ISBN: 1581345526.
• Climbing Parnassus by Tracy Lee Simmons; Intercollegiate Studies Institute; 2nd edition (September 15, 2007); ISBN: 1933859504
• Tending the Heart of Virtue by Vigen Guroian; Oxford University Press, USA (February 7, 2002); ISBN: 9780195152647
• The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis; HarperOne (February 6, 2001); ISBN: 0060652934

Curriculum Resources

• Educational Research Institute of America: A Study of the Singapore math program, Math in Focus, state test results. This is a  study of Math in Focus, the 1st through 6th grade math program used at TGS.  The study found that the average score of the students using Math in Focus showed a statistically-significant increase on the state’s standardized assessment over the students using the district’s previously adopted program.

Audio (MP3)

• State of the School Address, February 13, 2012. Presentations were given by chairman of the board Jim Seneff and board member Luder Whitlock.  Mr. Seneff and Dr. Whitlock addressed plans for the new property, new additions to the academic program, and an overview of the school’s finances. Time was also be given for questions and answers.
• Education, Wisdom, and Eloquence from Mars Hill Audio (12MB file). An interview with Robert Littlejohn, co-author of the book Wisdom and Eloquence: A Christian Paradigm for Classical Learning, on how education should encourage wisdom and eloquence in students, and why these are Christian virtues. (Posted with permission from Mars Hill Audio)
• Great Conversation: Ken Myer (Oct 26, 2011): In this recording, noted cultural critic Ken Myers develops a case for the critical importance of a liberal arts education and discusses the role of Christian classical schools, like The Geneva School, in providing this increasingly rare educational experience. A former producer and editor of National Public Radio’s All Things Considered and Morning Edition and now the host and producer of the Mars Hill Audio Journal, Mr. Myers has been for the past 30 years strategically positioned to analyze our culture from a Christian perspective.
• Dialectic and Rhetoric Address #1: Ken Myer (Oct 27, 2011): Seventh through twelfth grade students at The Geneva School had the opportunity to spend the day with noted cultural critic Ken Myers. In this first address, Mr. Myer builds a case for the detrimental effects of thoughtless use of our modern technological communication tools such as email, texting, tweeting, and gaming. He asserts that the form of these technologies is perhaps more dangerous than the actual content conveyed. A former producer and editor of National Public Radio’s All Things Considered and Morning Edition he is now the host and producer of the Mars Hill Audio Journal. For the past 30 years Mr. Myers has been strategically positioned to analyze our culture from a Christian perspective.
• Dialectic and Rhetoric Address #2: Ken Myer (Oct 27, 2011): In this second address, Mr. Myer challenges students to be more thoughtful and discerning about how and when they use modern communication technologies.

Video

• “The Reading Room: On Being Overwhelmed By What Is To Be Known” by James V. Schall, S. J. Click here to read a short bio of James V. Schall. This is a streaming video, approximately 59 minutes long.

From The Classical Teacher, a magazine published by Memoria Press

• In Defense of Classical Education by Tracy Lee Simmons
• “What is Classical Education?” Revisited by Martin Cothran
• Books to Live With by Bryan Smith
• How to Teach Logic by Martin Cothran
• Teaching Classical Literature Classically by Andrew Kern
• What is Classical Education? by Andrew Kern
• Multum non Multa – Much not Many by Andrew Campbell
• Latin – The Next Step after Phonics by Cheryl Lowe

From Classis, a magazine published by the Association of Classical & Christian Schools

• America’s Educational Crisis: A Christian Response by Albert Mohler
• What’s So Great About Classical Education? by Steve Wilkins
• Classical and Christian Education Revisited by Gregg Strawbridge
• A Saved Generation by Joe Ben House
• Credo Ut Intelligan (I believe that I might understand) by Dr. William Price

From World Magazine

• Vile and Vulgar by Joel Belz (from June 17, 2006; by permission of World Magazine)

Other Writers

• The Necessity of the Classics by Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve (click here for biographical information on him). This 1854 review of a German introduction to Greek literature is a challenging read in both terms of its depth and scope and in terms of its occasional obscurity to the average 21st-century reader. Nevertheless, the persistent reader will find a great deal of profit from Professor Gildersleeve’s observations about the necessity of the classics for moderns.
• Grammar and Aesthetics by Basil Laneau Gildersleeve. In this article, Gildersleeve clearly states his objective: “to vindicate minute grammatical study with a view to æsthetic result.” Not only does he do great justice to his aims in this paper, but he also gives us an example of excellent writing. This is a very useful essay for teachers of literature, aesthetics, or language.
• Letter to Governor Manning [on public education in South Carolina], by James Henley Thornwell, published in 1854. Dr. Thornwell, who at the time of writing this letter was president of South Carolina College (now the University of South Carolina), offers his observations on all levels of public education in antebellum S.C. Readers will find much with which to agree, and quite possibly much with which to disagree. Nevertheless, Dr. Thornwell is at his best when articulating issues of pedagogy and educational philosophy, and all discerning readers will be challenged by and profit from Dr. Thornwell’s treatise.
• The Austrian School [of Economics] in the Liberal Arts by Jeffrey Herbener
• The Importance of Music in the Classical Christian Curriculum by Laura Yount
• The Seven Liberal Arts by C. S. Lewis
• The Lost Tools of Learning by Dorothy L. Sayers