Plutarch's Lives Teach: Tom Cox on Character Education through Story

Boys love concrete details and, even more, they love when those concrete details form the fabric of a hero's tale. Indeed, as Aristotle himself knew, better than telling adolescents merely about virtue is giving them examples of heroes, for good men are not made in theory, but in practice and boys need to see virtues practiced to be inspired themselves. What better place to turn than an author who has taught generations of leaders, not least of which were our own country's founders. That man is Plutarch and our guide is Tom Cox, one of the architects of the eighth grade core humanities class and current upper school classics teacher. In this episode, Mr. Cox shows why and how we teach Plutarch to our boys. He explains why it is important to find the good even in heroes that are less than saints and helps us understand that education is more than something that merely happens; it requires a boy's freedom. Although heroes may not be saints, they are good starting points. It is perhaps not mere happenstance that Plutarch wrote his biographies as the Evangelists were writing their lives of life's Author. As the Greek philosopher was a master at portraying those little details which form a hero's character, it is the man from Nazareth who teaches us to turn them into heroic verse—and that is the beginning of holiness. Chapters 1:15 How did you find Plutarch? The eighth grade core A biographical approach to history 4:20 Why read Plutarch? A good storyteller An inspiration to Shakespeare 6:10 What does Plutarch tell us about being a good man? The peak of a mountain of tradition Seeing the goodness first: heroes and saints 13:10 What are some of the best lives to take a look at? Alcibiades Mark Antony Publius Cicero Cato the Younger 19:54 Connecting pieces of the curriculum with Plutarch Government and Literature 20:20 Gospels 22:35 On the formation of leaders 24:20 Connecting to the American leadership 28:10 Plutarch and the education of citizens 33:04 Where to start? Alexander the Great and Pompey Brutus and Caesar 36:09 How to teach Plutarch Difficulty of translations A little at a time 38:15 The Plutarch Podcast and Grammaticus.co Additional Resources The Plutarch Podcast Grammaticus.co Lives by Plutarch Also on The Forum Writing and Thought; Oratory and Ethics: What we Give Our 7th Graders in the Core with Tom Cox History the Way It Was… And the Way It Should Be by Mark Grannis Aristotle on the Student's Job by Tom Cox Seneca on the Teacher's Job by Tom Cox