Suggested Reading
For Students:
“Children need to experience great stories for many reasons, but two in particular deserve emphasis here. First, classic stories contribute to what E. D. Hirsch, Jr., has called “cultural literacy.” Many great stories have become integrated into our daily lives and language—so much so that we often fail to see them—and being familiar with the characters, terms, and metaphors from these stories has become part of what it means to be culturally literate. Look no further than regular references in conversation, books, and media reports to the classic story of “David and Goliath” to illustrate the point. Classic stories form a bedrock of understanding that a literate person should have, and by knowing these things, a person can better participate in social discourse and civil society.
Second, narrative speaks to us and shapes us in some of the most important ways. Stories draw us in, they shape our affections and habituate our passions. They teach us to love and hate, and to imitate that which we admire. The best stories connect with us and shape us better than lesser stories, and they offer a map of the heights and depths of human character. We can learn where we have come from, who we are, and what we are meant to be by reading the stories that have captured some important element of humanity.
Part of an educator’s responsibility is to help students to recognize and love that which is good, true, and beautiful. Students who have received a steady diet of great stories—rather than a regimen of that which is popular or immediately enticing—will have a better chance of developing such refined affections.”
-An excerpt from: “Teaching Literature – an introduction to Hillsdale College’s classical approach to teaching literature in the K-12 years“
Click here to read the full article.
For Parents:
Parents and supporters have questions: What is a Classical Education? Why is it important that my child receives this type of education? What is the trivium? Why should they learn about virtue? These are important questions and their answers are not short. We highly recommend that parents read the same books we require members of our Governing Council to read. The following books heavily influenced the philosophy and founding of the Estancia Valley Classical Academy and strongly inform its direction today. We strongly encourage parents to learn about the quality, meaning, and value of the education their child will receive at EVCA by reading the following suggested books.
Classical Education
This small book explains what a Classical Liberal Arts education is, its history, and how it has been used in the U.S. This book gives many examples of successes of the Classical Education model in a variety of settings and conditions.
Why Johnny Can't Tell Right From Wrong
Virtue is an essential part of the education children receive at EVCA. Kilpatrick explains how the teaching of values has fallen by the wayside in America and in some cases, values being taught are flat out wrong.
The Schools We Need, and Why We Don't Have Them
In this book, Hirsch explains what has happened to the educational model in America, from Relativism to post-modernism. Hirsch gives examples and statistics showing that current trends in education are not only failing our children, but depriving them of the joys of learning.
The Story-Killers
This book takes an in-depth look at the Common Core curriculum. The author, Terrence Moore, was the founding principal of Ridgeview Classical Schools in Fort Collins, Colorado, whose high school twice ranked first in the state. Since 2008 he has taught history at Hillsdale College, where he is also the principal advisor of the Barney Charter School Initiative and is helping set up dozens of classical charter schools.
