Posts by Joshua_G

Everyone knows how Aristotle defined rhetoric, but very few people believe actually him. Apparently, rhetoric is “the faculty of discovering in any particular case the available means of persuasion,” but classical educators are afraid to take Aristotle at his word. Every year, a great host of students at classical schools write theses wherein they fail to persuade their judges of their arguments, yet receive A’s on their work nonetheless. For many classical schools, rhetoric is not about persuasion, but about the formal structure of arguments, which is unfortunate.

Student: Why did you count my Homer paper late?

Gibbs: Because it was due on Friday and you turned it in on Monday.

Student: But I wasn’t in class on Friday.

Gibbs: You weren’t in my class, which was the first class of the day, although you came to school later in the day.  

Student: How do you know that?

Gibbs: I saw you around school.  

Student: But I wasn’t at school during first period, which is when your class meets, and so I wasn’t present to turn in my paper.

Gibbs: Did you have a paper to turn in on Friday?

Teacher: For history tests, I have my students make a cheat sheet that I allow them to use. It works great.

Gibbs: What’s on the cheat sheet?

Teacher: They’re allowed to put whatever information they like on the cheat sheet.

Gibbs: I would put passages of Scripture and quotes from Herodotus, Thucydides, and Horace on my cheat sheet.

Teacher: Well, those kind of quotes wouldn’t do you much good.

Gibbs: How come?

Teacher: Because I don’t ask about those things on history tests.

As a classical educator, I often hear parents say, “I want my child to get the education I never received.” This is a fine and noble sentiment. When I was a child, I watched entirely too much television and now I want to give my children a love of books I never received. At the same time, I still watch entirely too much television now. Old habits die hard, but this is no excuse. Likewise, “I want my child to receive the education I never received” is a noble sentiment to have as a parent, it is also a bit unnecessary.