I have two links for you this week.  One is related to parenting and other relates to classical education -the two things I will focus on in my blog posts.  Jim Elliot was a Christian missionary who was martyred in 1956 by the Auca Indians.  He and four other missionaries were killed by the people they were attempting to reach with the Gospel.  Jim Elliot is probably the most well-known missionary of the 20th century.  His passion for Christ and zeal for evangelism were summarized in his famous words, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”  Last week there was a challenging post about a man who was not famous, Jim’s father, Fred Elliot.  Fred Elliott is a great example of a quietly faithful, godly father who raised his children in obedience to Christ. Read 4 Simple Ways Fred Elliot Discipled His Childrenand pray that God would make you a “Fred” who raises up passionate “Jims” for Christ.
In addition to challenging you as a Christian parent, my other goal in this weekly email is to educate you about education.  I want every parent to understand what we are doing and why we do it.  This next article, What is Classical Education? (Andrew Kern, Circe Institute) provides a good introduction to some underlying assumptions and themes in classical education.  Few of us, if any, were educated classically.  So, I hope that some grounding in the basics will be helpful.  We are not simply doing what other schools do, just better.  We are teaching and learning differently.  Kern says, “Classical education does not offer a slight adjustment to the curriculum. It is a much more fundamental and inclusive change in paradigm.”  Happy reading!