The Classical Teaching Institute

Classical educators need a different sort of teacher training. Classical educators need to be classically educated. Send your teachers to the TCTI Spring Literature Retreat and let them see classical pedagogy in action. They will return to their classrooms with a fresh set of ideas on lecture, discussion, assessment, and classroom management.

The Classical Teaching Institute offers a unique kind of teacher training. As opposed to merely telling educators how to teach, The Classical Teaching Institute will show them how to teach classically. Attendees at the Spring Literature Retreat (March 6-8) will experience an immersive classroom environment with a veteran classic literature teacher.

The 2025 Spring Literature Retreat will revolve around reading and discussing Mary Shelley’s "Frankenstein." TCTI director Joshua Gibbs will lead attendees through "Frankenstein" using the same lectures, discussions, and assessments that he has used when teaching high school classes over the last twenty years.

Attendees of the Spring Literature Retreat will take home:

• Examples/models for leading deep discussions of classic texts.
• Effective classroom management tools that create a warm, orderly atmosphere.
• Blueprints for crafting productive assessments.
• Lesson plans that can be adapted to any classic text.

Learn more about the Spring Literature Retreat and register to attend by clicking below!

Retreats — The Classical Teaching Institute Retreats The Classical Teaching Institute offers mid-year retreats on the campus of The Ambrose School in Meridian, ID, beginning in Fall 2024. Using a “show, don’t tell” model, each retreat is an intensive mini-course in which attendees are led through a classic text (literature & philosophy)...

Three Somewhat Objective Standards of Good Teaching

"Graduates don’t necessarily come back to chat with teachers 'they had a connection with.' Graduates come back to chat with teachers whose lessons and personalities cast a long shadow—teachers who offered an account of the world that seems more accurate over time, not less so."

Read more by Josh Gibbs: https://www.theclassicalteachinginstitute.org/blog/good-teaching

Don't forget to register for our webinar tomorrow!

Leading a Class Trip to Europe with Confidence!

The idea of leading a class trip to Europe for the first time can be pretty intimidating. Where do you eat? Where do you sleep? What do you do if a student loses his passport?

In this one-hour webinar, two veteran educators will discuss the logistics and principles of traveling in Europe with student groups. From practical concerns about restaurants to lofty matters of spiritual instruction, Josh Gibbs and Dr. Bill Miller will offer practical advice for trip leaders and discuss details about Bill's upcoming 8-day summer course for The Classical Teaching Institute in which teachers go to Europe and see firsthand how to to lead a trip with confidence. You don't have to lose sleep at the thought of taking forty teenagers to Italy. You just need Bill to show you how.

If you're not able to attend the live session, you can catch up later! All registrants will receive a link to the webinar video.

Register here: mrc.classicalchristian.org/accs-webinars/ (Link in bio)

Why Ken Hosier swapped his profession as a chemist with teaching teenagers.


https://www.theclassicalteachinginstitute.org/blog/20

Join us for our webinar: Leading a Class Trip to Europe with Confidence. Oct. 17th, 12 PM MST/ 2 PM EST.

The idea of leading a class trip to Europe for the first time can be pretty intimidating. Where do you eat? Where do you sleep? What do you do if a student loses his passport?

In this one-hour webinar, two veteran educators will discuss the logistics and principles of traveling in Europe with student groups. From practical concerns about restaurants to lofty matters of spiritual instruction, Josh Gibbs and Dr. Bill Miller will offer practical advice for trip leaders and discuss details about Bill's upcoming 8-day summer course for The Classical Teaching Institute, in which teachers go to Europe and see firsthand how to to lead a trip with confidence. You don't have to lose sleep at the thought of taking forty teenagers to Italy. You just need Bill to show you how.


Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6SsPm8IPTYqDTAUykGo6pw #/registration

It's here! The first two episodes of "In the Trenches" with Joshua Gibbs are available now. Tell all your friends.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-the-trenches/id1769220146

Will Heaven Be Boring? A Conversation About Beauty & Good Taste

"One of the reasons American Christians have lost any real concern for good taste is because they do not know how to connect beauty with salvation, and so they believe there is no connection."

Read more from Josh Gibbs at https://www.theclassicalteachinginstitute.org/blog/ai-use-ynazf

Why I Don't Let My Daughters Listen to Taylor Swift

“Very popular things offer a kind of pleasure that less popular things can’t offer. It’s not an artistic pleasure, but a pleasure that comes from knowing you’re taking part in something powerful, global, and worldly. After one has enjoyed the pleasures of communing with the world, quitting becomes increasingly difficult.”
Read more from Joshua Gibbs at https://www.theclassicalteachinginstitute.org/blog/why-i-dont-let-my-daughters-listen-to-taylor-swift

The last open spot for the Fall Literature Retreat has been claimed! If you would like to register for the Spring Literature Retreat on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (led by Joshua Gibbs), head over to the TCTI website and claim your spot today.
https://www.theclassicalteachinginstitute.org/register/p/spring-2025-literature-retreat

Can a Classical Christian School Honestly Use AI?

"If your school uses AI to help produce job postings, newsletters, guidelines, or other documents for parents, are you comfortable admitting this up front? If not, the claim that AI is 'just a tool' is dishonest."
Read more from Joshua Gibbs at https://www.theclassicalteachinginstitute.org/blog/ai-use

"There are few opening remarks that are less likely to inspire confidence than, 'I guess we ought to get started.' Nonetheless, scores of high school teachers open nearly every class period with these words or something similar. There's a better way."
Read more from Joshua Gibbs at https://www.theclassicalteachinginstitute.org/blog/how-to-start-class

Register by November 1st for the Capstone Travel Course!

The Capstone Travel Course for Classical Christian Schools is a unique 8-day summer course (June 8-15, 2025) for teachers and administrators who want to start or improve a classical school class trip to Europe. Led by veteran chaperones Dr. Bill and Lisa Miller, the Capstone Travel course offers on-site instruction in Rome and Florence that is intended to help trip planners make wise and informed decisions for student travel. Participants are encouraged to add additional days on their own in order to scout out various itinerary options for their school’s trip.
https://www.theclassicalteachinginstitute.org/capstone-travel-course