What is the Classical Christian Schooling Digest?

The Classical Christian Schooling Digest is a forum designed to provide those interested in Classical Christian education with the opportunity to exchange information with one another in a way that will benefit homes, churches, communities and eventually, an entire culture.



How Often Can I Expect the Digest in my Mailbox?


The Digest is compiled and distributed twice monthly (Saturday).



How Does the Digest Work?


Once you've subscribed and received a welcome to the Digest, send an e-mail to CCSDigest with the topic you'd like to discuss located in the subject line, preceded by the letters CCS. (Example: "CCS:School Development" or "CCS: Introduction") The first thing we'd like each of you to do is introduce yourself. Following this, feel free to ask your question(s) or provide responses to other posts in the body of your e-mail. Send to CCSDigest@aol.com. Look for your post in the next Digest.



Who Are the Advisors?


Wesley Callihan * Dory Zinkand * Christine Miller * Annie LaMoreaux * Andrew Kern * Jim Nance * Pastor J. Steven Wilkins




Wesley Callihan
Wes Callihan has a B.A. from the University of Idaho and later took graduate courses in English Literature. He taught at Logos School in Moscow, Idaho, for eight years in Classical Literature, British Literature, Rhetoric, Latin. In the early '80s, he and Doug and Evan Wilson started the Free Academy of Foundations, the precursor to New St. Andrews College, where he taught Literature and Rhetoric for four years. He wrote the initial curriculum for Foundations Academy, an ACCS school in Boise, Idaho, and he continues to do curriculum consulting work for ACCS schools. He has written columns and short fiction for Credenda/Agenda, and contributed to the book Classical Education and the Home School with coauthors Doug Jones and Doug Wilson. Schola Classical Tutorials, a local and internet-based tutorial service, is his contribution to the classical Christian education movement. His wife, Dani, and he have six children, ages brand-new to fourteen. They are members of Community Evangelical Fellowship in Moscow.

Dory Zinkand
Dory is married to Bill, a biochemist, and they have three children. Two are with the Lord, and one, Ben, is a second-grade student in her class. The Zinkands live in Rising Sun, Maryland and are members of Christ Presbyterian Church, PCA, in Elkton, Maryland.
Dory teaches a combined first and second grade class at Christ Classical Christian School in Hockessin, Delaware, an Association of Classical and Christian Schools member school. C.C.C.S. is in its fourth year. They are classical in method and use the Westminster Confession as their confessional standard.
She sees her education degree as being secondary to the work that God can do in a life that is committed to Him, and is blessed by the knowledge that God is using her in a classical Christian school.

Christine Miller
Christine is married to Dave, a contractor, and they have three children, two girls and a boy, all of whom she has been homeschooling for seven years. Her oldest is in 9th grade, and will soon be entering the rhetoric stage. Her middle child is in 6th grade, and is firmly entrenched in the dialectic. Her youngest is in 5th grade, and is finishing up the grammar stage. Her family lives in rural Larimer County in Northern Colorado. They attend a home church and adhere doctrinally to the ACCS Statement of Faith.
Christine says this about her teaching experience: "I began homeschooling with textbooks, moving to the Charlotte Mason method not long after, and gradually coming home to the Classical Model. This is our second year wholly implementing the Trivium in our curriculum."
Christine is responsible for the establishment of a Classical Education on-line support group for homeschooling moms, and is the author of All Through the Ages, a literature-based guide to teaching history K-12.
She closes her introduction by saying,
"I was on the fast track to a career in the sciences when the Lord intervened by giving us our first child. I have been a grateful and thoroughly contented stay at home mom ever since."

Annie LaMoreaux
Annie was born and raised in Moscow, Idaho and attended Logos School, a classical Christian school, where she graduated in 1996 with cum laude honors. She is now in her second year of attendance at New St. Andrews College in Moscow, Idaho. NSA is a classical liberal arts college associated with Community Evangelical Fellowship. She plans to graduate with a liberal arts degree with an emphasis on teaching (particularly in a classical Christian school).

Andrew Kern
Andrew Kern is the father of five children, ranging in age from eleven to three years of age. He is also the husband of one very special woman named Karen and they have been blessed with thirteen years together. Andrew graduated Summa Cum Laude from Concordia University with a B. A. in Liberal Arts. He is currently the Director of Classical Education at Foundations Academy in Boise, Idaho. He also teaches third grade and offers a weekly seminar to high school homeschoolers on "The Meaning of Rome". He assisted in the start-up of Providence Academy in Green Bay, Wisconsin and was co-author of Classical Education: Towards the Revival of America's Schooling, with Gene Edward Veith. This introduction to Andrew Kern would not be complete without letting you know that Andrew flunked accounting in the 9th grade and typing in 10th. His claim to fame in his early years was that he made the first interception in the history of Lowell P. Goodrich Elementary School Intramural football teams while in fourth grade in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has been a genuine Packer fan for 34 years.

Pastor J. Steven Wilkins
J. Steven Wilkins has served as pastor of the Auburn Avenue Presbyterian Church since 1989. He has authored numerous articles and essays and recently completed a book on Robert E. Lee entitled Call of Duty: The Sterling Nobility of Robert E. Lee. He produced America: The First 350 Years, the highly acclaimed tape series, and also (in cooperation with Otto Scott) the award- winning video A Southern Profile of The Civil War. Steven is the founder and president of the Southern Heritage Society and serves on the board of directors of the League of the South. He also is a frequent speaker at numerous conferences across the country, including the American History Conferences sponsored by Community Evangelical Fellowship in Moscow, Idaho. A graduate of the University of Alabama and Reformed Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi, Steven and his wife, Wendy, reside in Monroe, Louisiana, and homeschool their six children-Matt, Jeremy, Bray, Jordan, Caleb, and Charity. He is an unreconstructed Southerner who stands for Dixie and can be brought to tears over the thought of his mama's fried chicken, his wife's biscuits, and the battle of Gettysburg.

Jim Nance
Jim Nance is currently a teacher at Logos School in Moscow, Idaho. He has taught Logic, Rhetoric, Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Calculus, Basic Science, Physics, New Testament, Context of the Bible and Christian Doctrine. He is co-author of Introductory Logic (Third Edition, with Doug Wilson) and author of Intermediate Logic. He is a contributor to Repairing the Ruins and is an editor for Credenda Agenda. He fills up his free hours by speaking at education conferences and teacher training sessions sponsored by the Association of Classical and Christian Schools, and serving as an elder at Community Evangelical Fellowship. While all of the above are important to him, none even come close to his role and responsibility of husband and father. He has been married for nine years to his wonderful wife Giselle, and together they have four children: Jamie (8), Josiah (6), Jacqueline (4), and Jonathan (1.5) (All ages subject to change). Outside interests (when there's time) include reading, acting, juggling and sky-diving, though not simultaneously.




I'd like to review what past Special Guests have said in the Digest. How can I do that?


Over the course of the past year and a half, we've been blessed by many people, all of whom bring a particular expertise to the classical Christian schooling movement. Some of you will recognize these names right away: Matt Whitling, Andrew Kern, Christine Miller, Wes Callihan, Pastor Steven Wilkins, Jim Nance, The Bluedorns, Fritz Hinrich have all been featured at one time or another. If you would like to read what they have said, CLICK HERE





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