Another topic idea

[momgineer]

What about a philosophy basics for classical homeschool educators? Many of us have never had any kind of language based logic or philosophy class. I’m slowly picking up on terms and ideas, but man it would be nice (and really would have been very nice when I was a newbie homeschooler) to have it all explained to me in one sitting with handouts.
I’m thinking of terms like ethos, logos, and pathos; four causes, primary mover (is that right? See why I need this lecture?); Plato’s cave, stoicism, all these terms you all throw around on your podcast that may or not be recognized by listeners. These things come up especially when teaching high schoolers and I don’t feel equipped to engage in the conversation.

[tanya]

I think this is a great idea. It may be too late for this year since Carrie is on the ball and has the schedule already laid out, but we definitely need to consider this for the future. You are right that many of us are lacking in this area!

Tanya

[Beorn]

This is a great idea, as I would have loved hearing a talk like that at my first Sodalitas. It sounds like a great Jon Christianson talk to me! Let's make it happen.

The nice thing is, in the meantime, MP has some great resources that answer many of these questions. I would start with the pamphlets "How to Teach Logic" and "What is Classical Rhetoric?". These are packed full and easy reads at about 10 pages or less each. The article archive at MP is a treasure trove too, I remember pschaeffer having a great short article on the Four Causes a few years back. The video archive and podcasts are providing great content as well that answers these types of questions.

There are also outside of MP resources that are very helpful to educate someone who hasn't been taught (or needs to be retaught). Two that come to mind are "Philosophy Made Simple" by Popkin and Stroll and "Medieval Literacy: A Compendium or Medieval Knowledge with the Guidance of C.S. Lewis" by Grote. I would love to see MP produce something similar, or even a compendium of articles in a published (or video) format.