The Father’s Role

by John Clark | I was recently preparing some photos for printing and came across a software program that corrects imperfections. Commonly referred to as airbrushing, this is all the rage.

by John Clark | There is a saying that has been attributed to Aristotle; “If you want to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.”

For those of you about forty-years-old or older, you can probably remember a time when there was neither internet nor cable.  There was no TV recording capability: if you wanted ...

by John Clark | I was struck by the fact that they all looked so happy. When I met them and smiled, the joy of their smiles dwarfed mine.

by John Clark| I occasionally admit to certain things that I probably shouldn’t... I had never committed to a Holy Hour. Of course, I have spent time in adoration...

by John Clark | You don’t see the fruits of your many hours of homeschool labor, and you wonder whether you ever will.

by John Clark | Chaos theory has posited a concept referred to as the “Butterfly Effect.” The idea that little people can change the world is possible.

by John Clark | Many are familiar with the Summa Theologica, but there is a lesser-known fact about Thomas’ masterpiece: it was never finished.

by John Clark | When Twain was 18 years old, he thought his father was the dumbest man alive. When he turned 21, he thought his father was among the wisest.

by John Clark | It’s official. My beloved 2002 Mustang convertible has gone its last mile. It is going to car Heaven, otherwise known as “the junkyard.”

by John Clark | It is often said that baseball is a game between fathers and sons. I have a thirteen-year-old daughter named Philomena who would disagree, or would at least argue that this definition is incomplete.

by John Clark | To all you organizers out there, can you please write an organization book for me? To help you get started, I have some questions.

by John Clark | Alright, homeschool Dads. Your wife is reaching the end of another academic year. She has endured arguments from the teenagers about book reports for Goodbye, Mr. Chips. She has sharpened dozens of number 2 pencils.

by John Clark | Why don’t more people write moving pieces? I think that one of the answers is that it’s risky. When you leave a part of yourself on the page, and someone doesn’t like it, it is hard to accept that fact—when people don’t like your work, you sometimes feel like they don’t like you. That can be a bitter pill to swallow.

by John Clark | In the homeschool world, articles abound about how to teach our children to write well. They tend to cover areas such as how to outline, how to write a strong thesis statement, and so forth. These articles are certainly necessary, but as we teach our children composition, we need to remember another aspect of good writing.

by John Clark | I have noticed a plethora of domestically-relevant articles (such as household tips) lately on this site, and have observed that they are usually written by women. But women shouldn’t have a monopoly on ideas, so I thought it was time to put a man’s perspective on things.

by John Clark | I went to school for the first five years of my academic life. During that time, if memory serves (and it decreasingly serves), I received many stickers on my papers. Somehow—and no one really knows why—stickers have become part of the primary academic life in America; they somehow signify achievement.

by John Clark | Years ago, I inquired of a wise, old friend as to what her favorite religious movie was. Her answered surprised me. She said: “I don’t watch religious movies. The images in them can effect your reading of Scripture for the rest of your life.” Her point was that, after seeing a film, your meditations are influenced by what you have seen. The more I thought about it, the more I realized she had point.

by John Clark | We’ve all probably been in conversations in which a parent will comment that his child spends too much time on the computer or iPad, as though the parent had no control at all over his children. That’s pretty sad for a number of reasons, beginning with the fact that it alludes to a relationship breakdown.

John Clark shares ideas for when you've got no time to be in the kitchen, and how to cook meals in less than thirty minutes.