The Hovel
“Hard by here is a hovel. Some friendship will it lend you ‘gainst the tempest.” – King Lear
“Literary experience heals the wound, without undermining the privilege, of individuality.”
C.S. Lewis, An Experiment in Criticism
The literary tradition imaginatively chronicles the experience of sinners and sufferers through the ages. When engaged with, it both enlarges our own limited perspective so we may see compassionately through the eyes of others, and also holds up a mirror to human nature – in particular, our weakness – thereby highlighting our need for true relationship. CenterForLit’s blog, The Hovel, aims to act as a doorway to this kind of community by facilitating life-giving conversation about the reading experience, literary education, and literature’s great ideas.
A Homeschooling Mom’s New Year’s Resolution: Part One
The New Year is a time for reflection and resolutions the world over, and it’s no different for us homeschooling moms. This week, I’m knee deep in the evaluation stage of things: How’s Charlie doing in Math? Does Molly Kate need to retake that SAT test for college entrance? How about Calvin; is he progressing? Will he ever learn to write? Maybe we need some new curriculum. That old program just doesn’t seem to be working…That’s how it goes around here, and would that it stayed so simple. My next series of evaluations always turns inward…
The Lesson of Job: Literature’s Luckiest Protagonist
Post-holiday doldrums can be a drag, especially for homeschoolers. After all, you don’t just send the kids off to school – you have to produce it, starting now, every day. It can make you long for spring break before you even take the tree down. During these dark days of winter, Missy and I try to remind each other of the big picture before we delve into the minutiae of textbooks, lesson plans, and weekly schedules. We try to remember our overall goals for the year and the progress we hope to make – not in our students’ notebooks and…