Classical Composition: Rewriting Myths - Icarus

Our son had a great time in the Molding Your Pose course from ScholarsOnline.org.

The assignments:

1. Retell a myth or folktale in 150 words or less
2. Retell the same story in 50 words or less.
3. Retell the story as a newspaper article. Less than 500 words.
4. Retell the story from the first person perspective. Less than 500 words.
5. Retell the story with attention to the sounds of words. Less than 500 words.
6. Retell the story with humor. Less than 500 words.
7. Free choice. Our son chose a courtroom drama.
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Our son chose the myth of Icarus. This assignment is practice for Logic or Rhetoric students who should be analyzing, imitating, and

1. Icarus in 150 words or less

In ancient Greece, Daedalus the inventor built a large Labyrinth for King Minos of Crete. However, King Minos, in a fit of anger, trapped Daedalus and his son Icarus in a tower. To escape, Daedalus made wings of feathers and wax. Daedalus warned Icarus that flying too close to the Sun would make his wings melt. They flew from the tower. Icarus, excited by flying, flew towards the Sun. The Sun melted his wings, Icarus fell into the sea, and drowned. Daedalus mourned the loss of his son, and to this day the sea into which Icarus fell has been known as the Icarian Sea.

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2. Icarus in 50 words or less.

A man is imprisoned in a tower with his son. To escape, he makes wings. He warns the wings could melt too close to the Sun. The two depart. The man's son, excited by flying, flies towards the Sun. His wings melt, and he falls and drowns. His father mourns.

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3. Icars as a newspaper article. Less than 500 words.

SON OF FAMOUS CRAFTSMAN DROWNS IN FREAK ACCIDENT
By Androcles

In a daring escape attempt, Icarus, son of renowned craftsman Daedalus, has died after plunging nearly 250 feet into the Aegean Sea. The 16-year-old boy tried to fly with a pair of makeshift wings made of wax and feathers, but the wax was melted by the heat of the Sun, and Icarus fell into the sea.

Erasmus, a fisherman at the time of the incident, says, "I was sitting there, fishing, and then I heard a bloodcurdling shriek. I looked up, and saw what looked like an enormous hawk, feathers flying in every direction. It fell towards me and I saw it was a human being."

According to Daedalus, he and the boy were imprisoned in a tower by King Minos of Crete. Court watchers disagree on whether King Minos imprisoned the two because of Daedalus's role in creating the Labyrinth or for some other motive. Daedalus refused to elaborate. Daedalus and his son escaped by making wings from wax and bird feathers found in the tower. He warned Icarus not to fly too close to the Sun. Shortly after the two took off, Icarus flew up towards the Sun, despite his father's repeated warnings. As he flew higher, his flight patterns became erratic, and feathers started falling off. Within minutes, Icarus plunged into the sea and drowned.

Demetrius, Icarus's tutor, says, "Icarus was bold, he was daring, he took risks. He was the first man to fly near the Sun. He was a remarkable lad. All of Greece should be proud of him."

Services will be held at the Temple of Apollo at 2:30 PM next Monday.

4. Icarus from the first person perspective. Less than 500 words.

Our loyal subjects, your king has heard some slanderous rumors of the craftsman Daedalus and the death of his son. Daedalus and Icarus of Crete were traitors to our country and they showed contempt towards the gods. They should not be treated as heroes of Greece, but rather as villains whose memories should be scorned.
One year ago, the Labyrinth was built to hold our stepson, the Minotaur. Only the builder, Daedalus, knew how to leave the Labyrinth, and it was learned he betrayed the secret to the Athenians. As many of you know, an Athenian, Theseus, recently murdered our stepson. Our grief has been great.

We could have had Daedalus and his son put to death immediately, but instead we chose to spare their lives. Rather than being grateful for our mercy, they chose to injure one of our palace guards and defy Mount Olympus. As we were descending the stairs of the Great Tower, we heard scuffling above us. We returned to see Icarus and Daedalus leaping off one of the highest floors. They wore crudely-fashioned wings of feathers and wax stolen from the palace grounds. Daedalus was shouting at his son, who was soaring too close to the Sun. Lord Apollo himself was offended by this brazen display, and he struck Icarus down from the sky.

5. Retell Icarus with attention to the sounds of words. Less than 500 words.

In days of old, the inventor Daedalus held the key
To King Minos' most urgent plight.
The monstrous Minotaur, mighty man-bull,
Threatened all of Crete.

Minotaur feasted on human flesh
Snorting, slobbering, shredding
Bellowing, booming, baying.
The earth thundering under his hooves.
Walls, trees, and houses quaking with every rage.

Finally a magnificent Labyrinth was made.
A tangle of twisting paths,
Bewildering blind alleys
At last restrained the beast.

Minos,
Cruel and corrupt,
Conceived a clever crime.
The inventor and his son were shackled
To keep the secret safe.

In a dank and grim prison tower
Daedalus and Icarus sat.
Dark, dismal, desperate.
Suddenly, a plan!
A flapping flurry of wings outside the window.
"I shall make some wings
So that we can escape this horrible place."

Daedalus and Icarus began to scrounge
For feathers from birds
Wax from the candle drippings left by the jailers.
Daedalus rubbed the wax roughly between his fingers.
At last they were finished.

Drawing close to his son,
Daedalus sternly warned,
"Do not fly too high. The Sun will melt your wings."
They squeezed through the bars of their cell.
They looked down at the green-blue ocean
With torrents of white foam crashing on the rocks below.
They were whipped by wild winds.

The two jumped off the edge.
Time stopped.
It looked as if they would plummet into the sea.
But they forced their wings together and swept up to the heavens.

Then Icarus felt a terrible change.
A drop on his shoulder.
He turned his head.
The wings were beginning to melt.
Suddenly feathers were flying off everywhere.

He silently screamed.
Daedalus saw his son plunge into the sea.

6. Retell Icarus with humor. Less than 500 words.

"Can I help you?"
"Sure. Where am I anyway?"
"In Tartarus."
"Tartarus?! What do you mean? I don't belong here!"

Icarus looked around. It was hard for him to see anything at first. A strong suffocating smell choked his lungs. Fire crackled around him. He was struggling to fly out of a river of tar with two wings strapped to his arms.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not in charge of the place. What happened to you, anyway?" a bearded old man asked, straining to push a giant boulder up a cliff.
"It was all Dad's fault. The King got mad at Dad so he put him in jail. I don't blame him; he always wants to be in charge. I guess it was because of that big maze he built. That was awesome. But the old king said he was 'a danger to the people of Crete' or something like that, which is crazy. I didn't do anything. I have no idea why he put me in jail."

Upon hearing the word "jail", the bearded man eyed Icarus suspiciously and said, "Well, I'm pretty busy. Excuse me, I have to get this boulder up the mountain."

"We were innocent!" Icarus shouted. "As I was saying, Pops and I were put in jail-- unfairly-- so he made some wings from some stuff around the room. My old man punched out some guards and the two of us flew away. I saw Dad was about to fly into a flock of seagulls, so I was trying to draw them away, but then all of a sudden my wings melted and I fell into the sea! Dad never warned me about that!"

After Icarus finished his story, the bearded man went back to pushing the boulder up the cliff.
"Er, weren't you supposed to help me?" Icarus asked. "Hello? I'm kinda stuck here. Help me? Please?"

Icarus sighed. There seemed to be no hope of getting out of this place.
Just then, the bearded old man came running down the side of the cliff and reached out towards Icarus.

Soon afterwards, the boulder rolled down the mountain and into the sea, where it landed on Icarus. While he struggled to get up, he heard the old man's voice shouting, "Sorry about that."

7. Retell Icarus as a courtroom drama.

The courtroom was hushed. Daedalus was on trial for his life. The prosecutor, Baltsaros, paced in front of the witness.

"Daedalus, is it true that you planned and commanded that the deceased, Icarus, use wax wings to flee the palace grounds at Crete?"
"Yes, but---"
"And is it true that the decision to use wax wings caused the untimely death of Icarus?"
"Yes."

Daedalus groaned. A member of the jury sighed in sympathy, to which the judge replied, " As jurors, be aware you are not to be swayed by sympathy."

Baltsaros continued.
"Did you realize that the wax in the wings you made would melt after intense exposure to the Sun?"
"Yes."
"Let it be known, gentlemen of the jury, that the immediate cause of Icarus' death was the melting of wax wings, resulting in his plunging to his death from a height of approximately 500 feet. No further questions, your honor."

Daedalus looked around anxiously. Daedalus's defense attorney, Adeipho, stood up. He was a tall, stately looking man, with dark hair and hollow cheeks.
"Daedalus, is it not true that you loved your son, and would never intentionally try to kill him?"
"Yes. We were trapped, and our lives were in danger. The experience was destroying Icarus from the inside out. There was no other way." By this point, Daedalus had broken into a cold sweat, which caused several members of the jury to look concerned.

"Daedalus, isn't it true that you made several attempts to warn Icarus about not flying too close to the Sun?"
"Yes. I told him. He knew it. I don't know why he flew so high. Maybe he lost track of how high he was flying. Maybe the winds pushed him up."
"Objection! This is pure speculation, your Honor," shouted Baltsaros.
"Objection sustained," the judge sternly replied, banging his gavel.
Daedalus looked relieved.

Adeipho looked up at the judge and said, "No further questions, your Honor."
"Baltsaros, would you like to cross-examine the witness?"
Baltsaros smirked and rose to his feet.
"Yes, your Honor. Daedalus, isn't it true that you knew Icarus had shown some rather rash judgment in the past?"
"No. What do you mean?"
"Isn't it true that Icarus jumped off the roof of the Temple of Apollo on a dare?"
"Yes, but--"
A gasp went up among the courtroom spectators.
"But he was just a young--"
"Just answer the question. Yes or no?"
"Yes."
"Gentlemen of the jury, even though Daedalus knew of Icarus' rash decisions in the past, he still decided to give him the instruments of his death. Therefore, you must find him guilty of involuntary manslaughter."
"Objection sustained."

The two attorneys made summary arguments to the jury. The jury recessed for hours. At last they returned.

"Members of the jury," asked the judge, "have you arrived at a decision?"
The foreman stood and shouted, "We find the defendant, Daedalus, innocent of all charges."

Daedalus cried tears of joy. He was free at last.

Progymnasmata, Logic / Rhetoric: Writing an Argument Like St. Thomas Aquinas

From our son's latest assignments from "Molding Your Argument" - We've posted his submissions pro and con for movie censorship. The assignment is to write like St. Thomas Aquinas. In Summa Theologica, Thomas Aquinas presents his arguments in articles that have a specific structure:

1. A specific yes-or-no question. "Whether..." (utrum)
2. List of objections that begin with "It seems that...". The objections should be apparent proofs to the opposite of the thesis (aka
the opposite of the debate) - and should be arguments, not opinions (supportable by evidence) (oportet)
3. Indicate own position - "On the contrary..." - (sed contra) usually argument from authority.
4. "I answer that.." (respondeo dicens)- Thomas proves his own case - provides more background explanations. Aquinas explains how each objection went wrong.

With his permission, our son agreed to let us post his assignments:

PRO: It seems that Hollywood movies should be censored.

Objection 1: There have been professional studies that would appear to indicate that media violence increases real-world violence.
Objection 2: Movies can have a powerful desensitizing effect on morality. Studies have confirmed that people who are repeatedly exposed to media violence tend to be less disturbed or physiologically aroused when they witness real world violence, and have less sympathy for its victims.
Objection 3: There have been many confirmed instances in which violent movies have had a direct role in inspiring people to inflict pain, suffering, and death on others. At least nine murders around the world have been directly linked to the slasher film Scream.

I answer that: The right for movies to be free from censorship should be protected. Our country is founded upon principles of freedom of expression, and freedom of expression is necessary for a thriving democracy to have differences of opinion freely discussed, debated, and considered. Censoring objectionable content cuts off free discussion of controversial issues, and it can stifle opposing political opinions.

Reply to Objection 1: As violent media is constantly produced, the rate of violence among children has actually gone down.
Reply to Objection 2: The standards of moral behavior differ between people, religions, and cultures; different people have different reactions to media violence.
Reply to Objection 3: Mentally-unstable people may have negative reactions to media violence, but one has to consider the intent of the director. Is he glorifying violence, or is he portraying it in a negative light?

CON: It seems that movies should not be censored.

Objection 1: Many claim that censorship is in opposition to freedom of expression, and that it is in direct opposition to the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which reads, in part, "Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech." Prohibiting content cuts off discussion of controversial worldviews, they say, and it can stifle opposing political opinions.
Objection 2: Some have said that there is no evidence that media violence has a notable effect on the public at large. Violence and immorality have been ubiquitous since the time of Adam and Eve, and they cannot always be prevented by media regulation.
Objection 3: Censorship is difficult to successfully regulate. Different people and cultures have different standards of morality; it is difficult to decide on a single standard of morality by which to prohibit objectionable material.
I answer that: Movies should be censored because messages of extreme violence and overt sexuality are harmful to the mental well-being of viewers and, ultimately, to the community as a whole.

Research in the field of psychology has shown that violence in the media increases aggression. Also, in the cases of murder and other serious crimes inflicting pain and suffering, perpetrators have admitted that movies had a role in inspiring their actions. Finally, movies have a powerful desensitizing effect on morality so that extreme negative images of sexuality and hatred can be a corrupting influence on impressionable audiences.

Reply to Objection 1: The protection of freedom of speech was never meant to endanger the lives of others, as media violence does. The Constitution also grants people the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and media violence influences people to violate those unalienable rights.
Reply to Objection 2: Movie censorship might not prevent all immorality, but it would prevent some of the more severe instances. There have been several confirmed instances around the world of mass murderers being directly influenced by slasher films.
Reply to Objection 3: Our legislative and judicial system regulate morality all the time in terms of physical interaction and in terms of intention.


References: Peter Kreeft's excellent Summa of the Summa
Picture from Thomas Aquinas

Classical Writing: Progymnasmata - Aesop's Fables: The Sick Lion

We've found progymnasmata exercises to be a fun and helpful way for our kids to learn how to write. Here's two progymnasmata exercises our 10 year-old daughter (5th grade) recently did for her class. If you have a reluctant writer, see if reading these examples might help encourage them to get their feet wet.

First is the Aesop's fable; the second, a re-telling; the third, an imaginative elaboration. She was told to include hydrographia (description of water), topographia (description of place), and pragmatographia (description of event) in addition to working in: a who/which clause, 2 "ly" words, a "because" clause, and 5 "quality" adjectives.

#1: The Original Aesop's Fable: The Sick Lion

A Lion, unable from old age and infirmities to provide himself with food by force, resolved to do so by artifice. He returned to his den, and lying down there, pretended to be sick, taking care that his sickness should be publicly known. The beasts expressed their sorrow, and came one by one to his den, where the Lion devoured them. After many of the beasts had thus disappeared, the Fox discovered the trick and presenting himself to the Lion, stood on the outside of the cave, at a respectful distance, and asked him how he was. “I am very middling,” replied the Lion, “but why do you stand without? Pray enter within to talk with me.” “No, thank you,” said the Fox. “I notice that there are many prints of feet entering your cave, but I see no trace of any returning.”

He is wise who is warned by the misfortunes of others.

#2. Re-Telling of The Sick Lion

Once there was an old and weak lion with dull, ruffled, brown fur, who couldn't take care of himself. He thought for a long time, then decided to feed himself by pretending to be sick. He quickly returned to his den. Before he entered, he jumped over a shining river that had tiny little waves that rippled in the sunlight. His den had a hole for an entrance, leaves for his bed, with a tiny puddle of water to drink from near his bed. Animal bones were scattered throughout his den.

Because a shiny black crow saw the Lion looking sick, the news spread like wildfire. Soon all the animals from the youngest mouse to the oldest turtle knew the Lion was sick. Immediately he was visited by hundreds of animals who expressed their sorrow. The Lion quickly, messily, and hungrily devoured them.

In a few days, the Fox who had shiny orange fur and a black tail came to visit the Lion. Amazing, but true, he discovered the Lion's trick before he entered the den. He stood outside the Loin's den and asked, "How are you Lion?"

"I am very sick, come in and talk to me," the Lion replied.

"No," said the Fox, "I saw many tracks going in, but none going out," and he left.

He is wise who is warned from the misfortunes of others.

#3. Re-Telling of The Sick Lion with a Twist

"Mr. Psychiatrist," said Holon the Lion, "I am having problems. I used to get lots of food, but now I'm getting none."

"Right, right," grumbled Grendlen the Bull. "Tell me the whole story, Holon." Holon comfortably sat down on the psychiatrist's couch and the Bull sat on a chair beside the couch. "Well," said the Lion, "When I was returning from a cruise I had won in a contest, the water was beautiful and sparkly, but the water made me sick. Waves were crashing against the boat when we landed. I was anxious to get to my tropical paradise. The beautiful shoreline was filled with zebras, giraffes, elephants, and antelope. The seagulls were driving me crazy! Then I collapsed in my bed for I had arthritis.

The next day, I carefully stalked a zebra. The smell wafted into my nostrils. As I pounced, a sharp pain struck me on the leg making me cry out, scaring the zebra awa. I stumbled back to my straw den, and thought for five days until I thought of an idea to fool the animals by inviting them to a feast and eating them both."

"Nice, nice, Lion, nice," said Grendlen. "Let's continue the story, Lion."

"Fine," growled the Lion. "Two animals came, both zebras. I ate them all. Then a mean, evil, cruel fox called Argiana, decided to tell everyone that I was eating all my guests. Now at that time I did not know that was bad manners. Argiana was so cocky and stuck up and was like, "You're in big trouble." I thought, "I'll show her!"

"Enough, Lion!," Roared the Bull. "I diagnose you with Food Obsession Disease!" Furthermore, I have to make you eat some Blue Grass of Kentucky and water from the Himalayas."

"What??" yelled the Lion. Then "Whoa!"

For the Bull had tossed him out the window.

"Golly if I didn't throw him out, he would have eaten me," said the Bull. He then put up a sign "No carnivores!"

He who is wise learns from the misfortunes of others.

Aesop's Fables: The Sick Lion

Progymnasmata Examples

Cindy Marsch at writingassessment.com has posted updates to her samples of Progymnasmata. Free downloads at the link below include a Progymnasmata Overview, and chapters on Narrative and Fable. Examples are wonderful, and her approach straightforward:

1. Warm-Up 5 W's and an H (Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How)
2. "Aerobic" (Expand)
3. "Anaerobic" (Change)
4. "Cool-Down" (Imitate the style of one great sentence)

If you have a reluctant writer, you might considering trying an online Progym tutorial over the summer when there won't be pressure from other assignments. If you're homeschooling, it can be a lot less stressful having someone else critique your student's papers.

It's easy to see Marsch's simple template can help overwhelmed students. It should also help focus listening and improve note-taking efficiency.

When your student listens to a Teaching Company lecture, or reads a chapter in a book, see if he or she can remember to cover the main points in the 5W/H framework. If your student is already practicing taking notes, you can critique their note-taking to see whether they are taking down only the most relevant information, or getting mired in the "junk words" not essential to meaning. One helpful template for taking notes is the Cornell method.

Expanding text may be difficult for students, and some may need to use a thesaurus (electronic or otherwise). In some cases, it may be important to highlight key words that are the best candidate for expansion (e.g. what does this really mean, what is an example).

The change step is particularly valuable for giving students more command of the structure of sentences (syntax, grammar). This may sound dull, but it may make all the difference between a charismatic writer and someone who everyone wants to tune out. Marsch's examples of expansion: slant, direct and indirect declarative, interrogative, comparative.

Finally, style imitation step can be great fun as well as training students on the skills that make up the art of great writers. One humorous example of this is Henry Beard's delightfulPoetry for Cats.

Example from "Samuel Taylor Coleridge's cat":

In Xanadu did Kubla Kat
A splendid sofa-bed decree
With silken cushions soft and fat
A perfect feline habitat
Set on a gilt settee.

With imitation, a writer tries to capture emotional feeling, the word choice and structure of phrases, the imagery, and the music of what is said.

I've also added more links to more Progym sites and examples on the Internet.

Marsch's Progymnasmata Examples Downloads page
Rick Librarian Poetry for Cats Excerpts
Bert Dill's Progymnasmata Samples
Short Progym Example from Jonathan Swift
Sonnet Analysis - Not Exactly Progym, but Finding Rhetorical Devices in Sonnets
Short Progymnasmata Examples with Rhetorical Device Prompts
More Progym Examples, U Texas
One Progymnasmata Example: Proverb

Writing Narrative in Progymnasmata

Narrative is one of the first exercises in rhetorical education, and we're approaching narrative first by reading, then by writing to a model, with specific variations or elaborations in mind. The essentials of the narrative are the 5 W's and an H: Who, What, Where, When, Why's, and How.

Narratives can be varied by changes in sequence (e.g. from Quintilian: "pursue it from the middle, either backwards or forwards..."), amplification with vivid details (amplificatio), or addition of dialogue or dialogismus. Additional rhetorical flourishes might include praise for the virtuous, censure for the immoral, summarization of the "take-home message" in the form of a commonplace .

We have just read the chapter on Narrative in D'Angelo's Composition in the Classical Tradition. Some of the choices of reading and writing passages are dreadful, but there are enough examples to choose from, and well-organized condensations of classical techniques of writing, that I found it one the easier books to work with in a homeschool.

The narrative variations that D'Angelo describes are: Condensed, Expanded, and Slanted (like The Three Little Pigs from the Wolf's Side of the Story. The four modes of narrative are Direct Declarative, Indirect Declarative ("It is often said that..."), Interrogative ("Why can't we do more?..."), and Comparative. The Comparative mode juxtaposes the good and the bad together to emphasize the differences or pattern of decision-making made by the individuals being discussed. This last variation is an interesting one, and I can see how it can also enrich the reading. In the example given, phrases such as "instead of" or "should have" are peppered throughout the key decisions made by Daedalus and Icarus, to highlight the mistakes they made (e.g. instead of asking King Minos, or he should have listened to his father).

In classical rhetoric, effective narration is seen as a complement to effective argumentation. From an abstract, "Both Cicero and Quintilian emphasized the place of narration in preparing and arranging orations. Argumentation was understood as the blending of several arts into a complex whole. Viewed as a whole, classical oration had two faces--logical and narrative proof. Proof (confirmatio) was the decontextualized, explicit, logical version of the narrative; and the narrative (narratio) was the contextualized, personalized, implicit version of the proof."

Our own first efforts will be more modest. We're going to rewrite some fables and myths using some variations and employing specific rhetorical figures. We'll post them if they don't look too bad. Do you have any to share? If so please share them with us as comments. We'd love to see 'em.

Writing with Voice
Writing Dialogue
Language Arts: Adding Descriptive Language and Dialogue

Narration and Argumentation - Abstract

Technorati tags: classical education, homeschooling, teaching, writing, progymnasmata, rhetoric

Ancient Philosophers: Diogenes the Cynic

Diogenes the Cynic (4th century, B.C.)had a sharp tongue and led a bohemian life living on the streets of Athens. Today, he is most known for his clever maxims and retorts to the great men and famous personalities of his time.

The term cynic comes from kynikos, the adjective form of kyon, meaning dog, and in ancient times it was applied to a loose group of philosophers who believed in living their life to maximize freedom, self-sufficiency, and reason.

Though on the surface that may not sound unreasonable, Diogenes followed his ideas to the extreme, refusing to conform to conventional standards of decency (hindered his freedom), and was famous for his shameless and eccentric behavior (he lived in a barrel, subsisted on a diet of onions, crude behavior). Diogenes is often mentioned as an extreme vision of Socratic wisdom because he actually valued reason - he came to his lifestyle by following reason and not any other motivation, to its ultimate conclusion. He sought to destroy social conventions (including family life) as a way to a more "natural" existence, and his most famous quotes often seek to deflate the powerful. A few Diogenes stories...

One sunny day, apparently Alexander the Great came to speak to him. He offer to grant him any request, and Diogenes replied, "Stand out of my light."

When Plato defined man as a featherless biped, Diogenes plucked a chicken, brought it into the forum and held it up, shouting, "Here is Plato's man!"

When asked by someone how he could become famous, Diogenes answered, "By worrying as little as possible about fame."

In modern times, we may encounter some philosophers of Diogenes' ilk, though usually not taken to his extreme. Some of the ascetism of Diogenes has been compared to Zen buddhism, and within political philosophy, it's been said that Cynics originated the concept of anarchy. Echoes of Diogenes may still be seen among today's intellectual cynics and deconstructivists, and some trend-watchers have called our present times "The Age of Cynicism."

From Wikipedia, "Typically, the modern cynic is greatly skeptical of social norms..and tend to questions the validity of much popular belief, morality, and wisdom." The present era is "sometimes described as an Age of Cynicism. Generally, subscribers to this view believe that cynicism is understandable...Journalistic articles frequently employ a cynical viewpoint, and few mass-market newspapers or magazines advocate an alternative viewpoint such as Stoicism or hedonism."

Discussion Questions about Diogenes: Who was he and when did he live? Do you find anything to admire about Diogenes? Is there anything you condemn? Plato described Diogenes as "Socrates gone mad." For a progymnasmata exercise, support or attack this statement. Would this be an encomium or invective? Do you see any Diogenes-type thinking today?

Diogenes of Sinope at Wikipedia
Diogenes at the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Cynicism at Wikipedia
Cynicism in Generation X and Y
Progymnasmata: Encomium
Progymnastmata: Vituperation or Invective


Technorati tags: classical education, philosophy, ancient Greece, cynicism, progymnasmata

Classical Education Ideas: Rewriting Aesop

We've been enjoying Dorothy Maclaren's Esopus Hodie and using it both as a Latin reader and regular Language Arts. For each Aesop's fable, there's a poem version to read in English, then a Latin version in prose. An exact English translation is on the following page, as well as vocabulary and short questions which about the fable that a student can answer in Latin. For example, for The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg, here's the first stanza from the poem:

"A goose called Anserella
lived a happy, quiet life
in a nest by a brook,
and her master too
her eggs each day to his wife"

This is followed by: "Olim (Once upon a time) agricola prosperus anserum feminam possedit. Anserella Aesopius Aurifabra (a goldsmith) ab amici appellata est..." The poems, drawings, and the translations are funny and cute.

This has now become a fun Friday tradition with us; we leave the harder grammar Latin for other days. Because we've been studying different poetic forms (iamb, anapest, etc.), we've also taken it as an opportunity to write a poem in a specific style.

Here's our son's Goose poem:

There was a farmer of old
Who once found an egg of gold
Said the farmer, "Oh my!"
"How lucky am I!"
"I'm rich as the stars in the sky!"

He took the egg to his wife.
They'd be rich for the rest of their life-
She stopped him altho',
And spoke to him low
More than one will we need 'til we crow-

"Let's think a little bit more,"
"How can we increase our score?"
"One egg is not much..."
"A trifle as such..."
"'Twould be clever to fill a whole hutch!"

"I think a plan have I now..."
"A way to better endow..."
"Let's cut up the bird,"
"Without saying a word,"
"And we'll be richer than anyone's heard!"

The goose, poor soul, she was slain,
But the farmer saw to his pain,
No gold was inside
They moaned and they cried!
"'Twould been better if we'd never had tried!"

Stumped for a rhyme? Here's a neat free online Rhyming Dictionary. Rhymes are organized according to end rhymes, beginning rhymes, etc. Other useful links: AesopFables.com and a site for Aesop's Fables in Latin and English: BestLatin.net. Here's a site for Meter in Children's Poetry

We're going to be traveling for an Educators Conference in Pasco. We'll be back in the middle of next week, and post on Classical Education in the New Millennium, or why a Classical Education is a Ideal Preparation for a Flat World.

Technorati tags: Classical Education, homeschooling, lesson plans, Latin, poetry

Classical Composition Techniques for Reluctant Writers - Progymnasmata

One of the aims of a classical education is to provide students with a mastery of thinking skills and persuasion so that they can critique what they've heard or read, reflect on and determine their beliefs, and communicate them persuasively to others.

Classical methods of composition have advantages over some contemporary practices because they encourage learning from good examples, provide incremental challenge, and expose children to examples of excellent writing at younger ages.

Students who are reluctant writers can exasperate themselves, their teachers, and their parents because it seems obvious that they are much brighter than their writing can convey. They may get very little down on paper, but be able say quite a lot with direct questioning or conversation. There are many reasons why children (and adults for that matter) are reluctant writers...but an apprentice model for instruction like the methods of classical composition might be just what is needed to overcome some of the blocks.

Classical composition usually incorporates a variety of activities:

1) writing by imitation
2) word study and variation
3) syntax study and variation, and
4) specific techniques of amplification.

For students overwhelmed by the task of answering open-ended questions, there were also rubrics that could be learned to help one identify issues or questions for discussion.

The exercises for young students in the ancient academy was called The Progymnasmata, or "before - exercises". In its simplest form, students would paraphrase and amplify a simple saying or story. For example, a classic exercise used Isocrate's saying, "The root of education is bitter, it's fruit sweet."

A common template for elaboration is:

1. Praise the speaker.
2. Paraphrase the saying.
3. Provide an example or analogy supporting the saying.
4. Say why the opposite is not true or good.
5. Praise ancient wisdom and wrap-up.

Before writing, students need to make sure they have some background information on the speaker (in order to know best to praise), and find words, phrases, and analogies that can be used in the paraphrase. One online reference that our kids like is Thesaurus.com. It can often provide that elusive word or phrase, on the tip of one's tongue.

Here's one of our kid's:

Isocrates, master of rhetoric and education, once said that the basis of teaching is harsh, but the products are wonderful. A student struggles to organize huge amounts of facts though his brain may revolt and feel like quitting with every additional hour. Once, Albert Einstein toiled at his studies despite nearly failing mathematics. It took years, but eventually he succeeded in school and created the theory of relativity. Nowadays Einstein is often referred to as one of the greatest geniuses of all time. Learning is like a tree. First the ground needs to be prepared to receive the seed. Then, the plant needs to be watered, receive sunlight, and a gardener has to pull out weeds as it grows. Only then will it turn into a massive redwood. A fool without education may love the easiness of his days, but he will never have any great deeds. In the beginning, learning may be painful, but in the end, it is worth the struggle.

How about an example from antiquity?:

It is right to admire Isocrates for his art, for he gave it a most glorious name and proved its greatness by his practice of it; he made the art famous, he did not owe his fame to it. To go through the benefits he conferred on human life by giving laws to kings and advice to individuals would be too long; I will speak only of his wise saying on education.

'The lover of education,' he says, 'labours at first, but those labours end in profit.' That was his wise saying; and we shall show our admiration in what follows.

The lovers of education are enrolled with the leaders of education, whom it is fearful to approach though to desert them is foolish; fear always waits on boys, both when they are present and in anticipation. From teachers the attendants take over, fearful to behold, more fearful when inflicting punishment. Fear precedes the experience and punishment follows on fear. What the boys do wrong they punish; what the boys do well they take as a matter of course. Fathers are harsher than attendants, examining their ways, telling them to make progress, viewing the market-place with suspicion; and if punishment is needed they take no account of human nature. But by these experiences the boy, when he reaches adulthood, is crowned with virtue. But if someone, because he fears these things, flees from his teachers, absconds from his parents, avoids his attendants, he is utterly deprived of eloquence; along with his fear he has set aside eloquence. All these things swayed Isocrates' judgement when he called the root of education bitter.

For just as those who work the land laboriously sow the seed in the earth and gather the crops with greater joy, in the same way those who strive for education by their toil acquire the subsequent renown.

Consider Demosthenes' career, which was more devoted to toil than that of any orator and more glorious than that of any. So great was his commitment that he even deprived his head of its adornment, thinking the best adornment is that from virtue. And he devoted to toil what others devote to enjoyment.

For this reason one must admire Hesiod, who said that the road to virtue is hard but the summit easy [Works and Days 286-92], expressing the same wise judgement as Isocrates. For what Hesiod represented as a road Isocrates called the root; both disclosed the same opinion, though in different words.

Those who consider these points must admire Isocrates for his outstandingly wise saying on education. (Aphthonius)

Another example from ancient Greece can be found here: Libanius on Isocrates.

The beauty of this practice is that it encourages deep reading and reflection as well as practice in choosing and organizing words and sentences. Short quotes can be chosen from the Bible or Quotation pages fom the Internet like The Quotations Page.

Some terrific resources and online classes can be found at: ClassicalComposition.com, WritingAssessment.com, and online schools like ReginaCoeli.org.

We've seen this approach work well with a variety of students who were frustrated and having meltdowns over open-ended writing prompts. Many gifted dysgraphic may be in this boat, and the subject matter, with examples from antiquity - may especially pique their interest.

Classical Writing Pedagogy for Today's Student: Progymnasmata
Progymnasmata at Silvae Rhetoricae
Dysgraphia and Writing Pages at MislabeledChild.com

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