Editorial

Educating for Freedom Peter Mommsen Has our society lost sight of how to raise young humans?

Address

The Music on Mount Sinai Meir Soloveichik As students enter adulthood, how can they learn to hear the voice of God beneath the noise of life?

Essays

The School that Escaped to the Alps Marianne Wright Faced with a Nazi takeover, the first Bruderhof school took refuge in Liechtenstein. Does Teaching Literature and Writing Have a Future? Phil Christman Learning that one’s job might soon be eliminated by the emergence of an overhyped new technology puts one in good company. Why We’re Failing to Pass on Christianity Benjamin Crosby How do you teach Christian basics to those who think they know all about it? Tell an Old Story for Modern Times Lisabeth Button A Bruderhof teacher applies lessons from her mentors and Homer in her classroom and beyond. Should I Read Scary Fairy Tales to My Child? Stephanie Ebert My kids already know the world is not safe. Will dragons and goblins make it worse? Iron Sharpens Iron Johann H. Huleatt Real friendship is the most powerful education. Grand Canyon Classroom Betsy K. Brown A hiking club is a natural extension of a classical education. Teaching the One Percent Dhananjay Jagannathan A Columbia professor defends the spiritual worth of liberal education.

Personal History

Why I Became a Firefighter Brit Frazier A priest joins her local volunteer fire department. The Green Paint Incident Toby Payne There’s no room for irony in a second-grade classroom.

Reading

Reverence for the Child Eberhard Arnold, Maria Montessori, James Baldwin and John Chrysostom Four thinkers prepare us to come into the presence of children.

Poetry

Poem: “A Meditation on Figs” Claude Wilkinson Rooted in rich, dark soil beside my grandmother’s smokehouse where hams hung and cured… Poem: “Hearing a Lecture on the Mandelbrot Set” Claude Wilkinson To whom is the cheetah being obedient as she strangles a young impala? Poem: “On Raphael’s La Disputa del Sacramento” Claude Wilkinson The first of my umbrages is how utterly humdrum eternity seems.

Editors’ Picks

We’re Alone Together Caitrin Keiper A review of Edwidge Danticat’s new essay collection, We’re Alone. Disagreeing Respectfully Joseph Holmes John Inazu’s Learning to Disagree aims to improve civil discourse by showing readers how to navigate differences more gracefully. Life without Magic James Smoker In H. G. Parry’s novel The Magician’s Daughter, a sixteen-year-old chooses to leave a magical island for the the wider world.

Family and Friends

Free Care and Prayer Coretta Thomson Local volunteers run a small clinic for the uninsured. Our Home, Their Castle Dominic Palmer A family opens its home to homeless youth.

Comic

The Jakob Hutter Story Jason Landsel, Sankha Banerjee and Richard Mommsen In this excerpt from By Fire, a radical reformer risks everything for a cause.

Forum

Readers Respond Readers respond to Plough’s Autumn 2024 issue, Freedom.

Doers

Deerassic Park Tim Maendel A high-school science teacher and his students practice conservation in the woods and ponds of upstate New York. Lernvergnügenstag: A Day for the Joy of Learning Patrick Tomassi Once a year, I get to teach my students whatever inspires me. The Most Valuable Joads Tom Huleatt Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath inspires a small-engines project in the English classroom. Timber Framing with Teenagers Clem Robertshaw Why a history teacher believes in training students to use hand tools.

Interview

For the Love of Public School Teaching Anthony Garces-Foley An immigrant educator tells why he chose to teach underprivileged children. Let Children Play Peter Gray In an age of high-pressure childhoods, free play is more necessary than ever. How Math Makes You a Better Person Frederick K. S. Leung Across cultures, I found that math can be more than mere problem-solving.

Report

Schools for Philosopher-Carpenters Alex Sosler A new crop of innovative schools encourages all students to use their minds and their hands. Freedom of Speech Under Threat Paul Coleman and Elyssa Koren From Nicaragua to Finland, bold speech is a Christian’s right and duty. The Homeschooling Option Casey Kleczek Homeschooling in America has never been more widespread – or more diverse. We checked in on several parents in Detroit.

Forerunners

Sister Penelope in Expectation Grace Hamman The mysterious friend of C. S. Lewis teaches how to know and be known in Christ.

Covering the Cover

Covering the Cover: Educating Humans Rosalind Stevenson Our designer unveils the next Plough Quarterly cover.