Word on the Hill

Wilson Hill Academy Blog

Math Foundations

3 Jun 2015

On what rock should your mathematical house be built? In Matthew 7:24-27, the wise man built his house upon the rock. In all branches of mathematics, knowledge is built on previous learning, so for the higher mathematics courses, what is that secure foundation? Many suppose, erroneously, that it is the work done with arithmetic in the early grades. While manipulation of numbers cannot be discounted in importance, the real bedrock is algebraic studies, specifically Algebra

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Is Summer School for Me?

29 Apr 2015

In today's world, there is an ever-greater pressure for more. We see it in youth sports programs, a growing move toward year-round schooling, college entrance exam prep programs and everything in between. As a Classical Christian school seeking to prepare students for college and beyond, this is not a topic that we can afford to avoid. What should be our approach to offering summer school classes?  There are always more great books to read, more

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Latin for All Ages

Jerzy Siemiginowski-Eleuter26 Mar 2015

Late-17th-century illustration of a passage from the Georgics by Jerzy Siemiginowski-Eleuter Weekly vocabulary lists, practice sentences, and yet another paradigm are the constant companions of the Latin student. And when you start Latin in third grade, this goes on for years. As a Latin teacher now, I love this idea! Spending years helping students master Latin grammar is my idea of fun. Looking back to when I was a Latin student, though, my devotion to

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Benefits of Learning Spanish

Why bother learning Spanish (or any foreign language)? And in particular, why should you consider enrolling your children in Spanish classes at WHA? And why should he or she press on toward the goal of mastering a foreign language? English is my second language. I started learning it in my childhood, so I know what it takes. I also began teaching my children English as a second language when they were very young (around 3

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Why Use the Schaffer Writing Method?

Wilson Hill Academy uses the Jane Schaffer approach in our Fundamentals of Expository Writing class (School of Logic; grades 7 & 8). Those not familiar with the method may want to know why we use it and how it compares with other commonly used approaches such as Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) or the Shurley method. The Schaffer approach is qualitatively different from these other methods, because it guides students into the "Logic" stage

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To Proof, or not to Proof?

There is some debate over the study of geometry with and without proof. Here is the perspective of someone who has been teaching geometry in a variety of educational settings (public school, homeschool co-op, and online classical Christian school) and from several different textbooks (including Jurgensen/Brown, Jacobs, and Larson/Boswell/Stiff ) over the last 25 years: To make a familiar comparison, consider studying scripture. If you take a passage of scripture and delve deeply into the

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The Great Conversation:

The Great Books8 Jan 2015

Who, What, When, Where, How & Why ... In 1952 Encylcopaedia Britannica published a 54-volume set called Great Books of the Western World, containing what the editors considered to be the most significant works of Western culture. Robert Hutchins, president of the University of Chicago and editor of the series, wrote a lengthy essay entitled The Great Conversation to kick off the project. Hutchins discusses why modern folks should spend time reading the writings of

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