The Abundance of Shakespeare

Peter Saccio, the lecturer for the Teaching Company course Shakespeare: Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies, had a great closing line in today's lecture on The Merchant of Venice. He was talking about how the Bard transforms stock forms and familiar stories:

[Shakespeare] can fill the abstract patterns with something like the pulse of life itself. That is the abundance of Shakespeare.

It's just a little quote, but it said a lot to me.

Off-Topic: A New Blog

This is a brief message to announce a new, completely different blog I have started.

Please visit Nutritarian Recipes and drfuhrman.com to learn more.

Facebook allows me only one blog to post in my notes automatically, and I want to keep this one for that.

Thanks!

A Review in *The Old Schoolhouse* Magazine

Quite a while ago I sent a copy of my Progym: Classical Writing Workouts--Narrative to Heidi Shaw of The Old Schoolhouse homeschooling magazine, and she's just let me know that the review is posted.

The specifics of additional services have changed since the version she saw, but the work is substantially the same, one of the three types of exercises taught in my Progymnasmata Tutorial: Beginning, a six-week course many students enjoy each year.

So take a look! Click here.

Really Great Thoughts About Leading Discussion

Jeff Baldwin does a great service for teachers everywhere with his inspiring essay "Iron Sharpening Iron: Why the Socratic Method Matters So Much." Click that link and enjoy!

In a related item, my friend Renee Mathis has a little mantra that I tested nicely this week: "Ask specific students specific questions." I believe she got it from Andrew Kern. He'll have to 'fess up where he got it.

"The Write Stuff," by Reid Buckley

Thanks to my friend Martha Spotts for pointing me to this great article. It's so much fun when eloquent people rant and rave over things I like to rant and rave over. A taste:

Not once in their educational lives had they been taught to impose order on chaos, that being contrary to the central dogma of liberal-arts education in our country today. There is no such thing as choosing, as distinguishing between the false and the real, discriminating between good and bad. The cost of this heresy to our nation is beyond calculating: for two generations our businesses, professions, universities, and politics have been populated by moral illiterates who reject reason.

Warning: frank sexual language in one spot

Classical Christian Books for Sale!

My daughter Betsy has been commissioned by Grove City Christian Academy to sell some leftover textbooks and other books for them, and she has created a LONG list of these titles. Readers of this blog are just the type to be interested in these sorts of books, so here you go!

Please write Betsy at wimseyartst@aol.com if you would like to make a deal with her. Purchasers of larger quantities get great deals!

Approximate shipping and handling costs will be added to these prices, which are negotiable. Significant discounts are available for buying multiple items, and shipping will also be cheaper that way. Multiple copies are available of most things, usually in between 25 and 5 copies of each. Prices vary as quality does; specific info is available upon request. N means most copies range from Brand New to Good, G means Good to Doubtful; most copies are in very nice condition overall. I figure if y’all just really need books, you would want me to list some that are old and worn out too. I won’t send you anything gross or sticky though! My email is wimseyartst@aol.com Thanks y’all!

‘Adam of the road’ Elizabeth Janet Gray 1970 Scholastic 5 copies G 1.00

‘the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ 1982 Burdett G 1.00. 1990 Dramatic publ. Co. G 1.00. 1994 Dover G 1.00

‘the Adventures of Tom Sawyer’ 1998 Dover 13copies G 1.00. 1973 Scholastic G 1.00. 1962 Airmont 3copies G 1.00

‘Alice’s adventures in wonderland’ 2000 Signet classic 2copies N 2.00

‘Around the world in 80 days’ Jules Verne tr. Edward Roth 1874 Apple 10copies N 3.00

‘Ascent to love’ Peter J Leithart 2001 Canon press 4copies N 6.00

‘Building Thinking Skills’ Parks, Black 1985 Critical Thinking Co. 9copies N 8.00

‘the Calling of God’s Tribe’ Teacher’s Guide Binder 1999 CSI N 75.00

‘the Calling of God’s Tribe’ junior workbooks 1999 CSI 2copies N 7.00

‘the Church in History’ B.K. Kuiper 1978 NUCS, Eerdmans 4copies G 3.25

‘Earth Science’ Joseph Exline et al. 2001 Prentice Hall N 10.00

‘the Epic of Gilgamesh’ translated by Andrew George 2000 Penguin N 2.50

‘Foxe’s book of Martyrs’ John Foxe, rewritten, updated by Harold J Chadwick 1997 Bridge-Logos 18copies NG 3.00

‘the Heidelberg Catechism’ G.I. Williamson 1993 P&R 7copies N 3.00

‘Heritage Studies 6’ Eileen M. Berry et al. 1998 BJU 17copies G 1.00

‘a House for My Name’ Peter J. Leithart 2000 canon 4copies N 6.00

‘the House of Israel’ De Boer, Lantinga, Wiersma 1998 CSI 20copies G 10.00

‘the House of Israel’ Teacher’s Guide Binder 1998 CSI N 75.00

‘the House of Israel’ Senior Workbook 1989 CSI N 9.00

‘Johnny Tremain’ Esther Forbes 1971 Laurel-Leaf, Dell 2copies G 1.00. 1978 Yearling G 1.00. 1971 Houghton-Mifflin N 1.50(hardback). 1987 Laurel-Leaf N 2.00

‘Know Why You Believe’ Paul E. Little 2000 IVP 5copies G 2.00

‘the Life of John Calvin’ Theodore Beza 1996 BHI 18copies N 7.00

‘Richard III’ Shakespeare 1995 Dover N 1.00

‘Romeo and Juliet’ Shakespeare 1993 Dover 2copies N 0.75. 2000 Wordsworth N 1.00

‘the Shorter Catechism’ G. I. Williamson 1970 P&R 11copies N 2.00

‘the Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow’ Allen French 2001 Bethlehem Books 12copies G 3.00

‘This was John Calvin’ Thea B. Van Halsema 2004 I.D.E.A. 2copies N 8.00 (out of print)

‘the Westminster Shorter Catechism’ G.I. Williamson 2003 P&R 7copies N 4.50

‘the Victor Journey through the Bible’ V. Gilbert Beers 1996 Cook 16copies G 1.00/3.00

‘White fang’ Jack London 1988 Tor classic 3copies N 2.00

‘Witnesses to the Gospel’ Teacher’s Guide Binder 1998 CSI G 70.00 (missing page with ISBN and publishing info, but I can give y’all that info separately)

‘Witnesses to the Gospel’ Junior Workbook 1999 CSI N 14.00

‘Yankee Doodle Boy’ Joseph Plumb Martin 1995 Holiday House copies N 2.00

The following books are primarily reading guides and teacher’s materials, most of which I have only one of.

‘the Child’s Story Bible; New Testament’ Catherine Vos 1986 Banner of Truth N 5.00

‘the Child’s Story Bible; Old Testament’ volume 2 Catherine Vos 1986 Banner of Truth N 5.00

‘Classics Then and Now; Around the World in Eighty Days, the Prince and the Pauper, the Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ Kay Wallace Wilson 1991 High Noon Books N 7.00

‘English for Christian Schools 2’ Scudder, Yost 1982 BJU N 10.00

‘Heritage Studies 6’ worktext Various Authors 2000 BJU 4.50

‘the Hiding place’ Study Guide Carol Diehn 1992 Progeny G 2.00

‘India: the Culture’ Bobbie Kalman 2001 Crabtree N 3.00

‘a Midsummer Night’s Dream’ Oxford School Shakespeare 2001 Oxford N 4.00

‘Shakespeare’s Theatre’ C. Walter Hodges 1965 Coward-McCann N 2.50

‘the Shurley Method’ Student Workbook level 3 Shurley, Wetsell 1997 SIM N 6.00

‘Story Bible for older children’ (O.T.) Anne DeVries 1978 Paideia 2copies N 20.00 (out of print)

‘the Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow’ Comprehension Guide Emily Fischer ? Veritas N 4.00

Prices ???

‘Story of the Old World’ 3^rd edition De Bie, Evenhouse 1992 CSI N 15.00

‘Story of the Old World’ Teacher Guide Evenhouse 1992 CSI N 8.00

‘Starting Shakespeare’ Eric Boagey 1985 UTP 5copies N 3.00

‘the Usborne World of Shakespeare’ ? 2001 Usborne N 3.00

Study Guides from Teacher Created Materials Inc. N 3.00

Adam of the Road

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

The Call of the Wild

D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths

The Red Badge of Courage

Romeo and Juliet

A Wrinkle in Time

Update: Free Writing Course Really Free!

I solved the payment trouble I had with a $0 order and now have the short course "Writing Prep Workshop for Great Books Papers" available REALLY for free.

Please visit www.writingassessment.com to get your copy.