Andrew Pudewa and I have had so much fun doing writing workshops together that we are at it again.
On January 18, we’ll be in St. Augustine, Fl.
On January 19, Berean Academy is hosting us in Lutz (near Tampa)
On January 20, The Calssical School is hosting us in Orlando.
Andrew Pudewa will be leading a high school essay intensive at Evangelical Free Church in Ft. Myers on Thursday, and I’ll be going to Lakeland to meet with my old friends at The Geneva Classical Academy in Lakeland.
Then we get back together again on January 22, when Evangelical Free Church Will be hosting us in Fort Myers.
We end our grand tour of FL on January 23, when First Christian Church will host us in Boca Raton.
I hope you can make it. I have learned a ton traveling around with Andrew.
He opens the workshop with a talk on The Four Language Arts, which lays out something so essential I find I need to hear it and be frequently reminded of it.
Everything arises from and revolves around and depends on our ability to use language. That ability grows when we practice four language arts:
- listening!
- reading
- speaking
- writing
That sets the stage. Then Andrew Major hands it off to Andrew Minor (me) and I explore the five paths to writing greatness and the distinctives of classical rhetoric.
In the latter, I explain the three universal problems of writing and how to solve them using the tools that Aristotle and the great classical educators mastered.
You can probably see that each session is a bit more specific than the last.
This is when Andrew Major presents his natural approach to Developing the Essayist, in which he explains a very effective strategy for moving children, one step at a time, from simply reporting facts to supporting an opinion of their own.
Then we address the major headache of all writing teachers: Assessment!
How should it be done? What does our mode of assessment mean? How can we asses students’ work without distracting or demoralizing them?
When we were in TX in November, Andrew and I spent more time discussing this while driving from city to city than any other matter. I know I grew in my understanding through the discussion, and we intend to pass on the fruit of our learning through these FL workshops.
We close by addressing some common teaching problems and offering counsel on where to go next.
Specifically we address the frequently asked question, “How do IEW and LTW work together?”
If you are in Florida, please come – and please invite your friends and enemies to come. We guarantee that you will leave the workshop refreshed and inspired AND better able to teach writing AND better understanding writing.
For information or to register, please visit the CiRCE website at www.circeinstitute.org and/or the IEW website HERE. (Scroll down to the nearest city and click for details).
