So who all went to the Circe conference last week?

[Robin in Tx]

It was literally right down the highway from where I live, but I was out of town. I would have loved to have heard Martin Cothran.

 

I'm sure everyone who went had a marvelous time - would love to hear about how it went, and about what you learned.

 

Robn

[Jami]

I was there! As was Angelina, but she can answer for herself. I only heard Martin speak once, but enjoyed his talk a great deal. One thing that makes Circe so neat is the small size, it was easy to visit with the speakers at lunch, at the hotel over breakfast, etc. So we had the chance to get to know Mr. Cothran better that way.

 

John Hodges and James Daniels are always two of my favorites, and this year was no exception.

 

And Gene Veith gave two great talks on humor and Christian comedy. I'd recommend those CDs.

 

I wish you'd been there Robin! It was so fun to meet some e-friends. I don't know if you know her, KarenSK from this board was there and a joy to meet.

 

Jami

[cajun.classical]

It was literally right down the highway from where I live, but I was out of town. I would have loved to have heard Martin Cothran.

 

I'm sure everyone who went had a marvelous time - would love to hear about how it went, and about what you learned.

 

Robn

 

Me too! I agree with everything Jami said! It was fabulous. The deliberate intimate atmosphere was quite different from any conference I've attended before. A highlight for me was hanging out in the hotel bar with some of the speakers until the wee hours of the morn (I'll protect their anonymity. lol) Seriously, meeting people and having discussions between sessions was one of the best parts of the whole conference.

 

As Jami said, we met Karensk, who was really sweet. We also met Leah--which was a real treat. I had a great time laughing with her.

 

And yes, Martin Cothran was a real highlight too. His talk on Hard Times was great and he was a very charming, funny man too. I really liked seeing the "less stuffy" side of classical education, if you know what I mean. The theme was humor and laughter abounded!

[carolinagirl710]

not this year, but it is one of my "dream" conference.

[Leah]

I love this conference and the very high emphasis on relationships it has. There are so many "regular" schoolers there who are delighted to talk about home education and school, but so much time is spent talking about the ideas behind what all the various educators do that we never run out of things to talk about or people to talk to.

 

It was so fun to meet Jami, Karen and Angelina. They are all delightful and friendly. :)

 

I am always a big fan of James Daniels and John Mason Hodges. I think that Hodge's session on a sacramental vision of the arts was my fav. I highly recommend the tape for that one. Laura Berquist's session on Jane Austen was so enjoyable since I am such a huge Austen fan-made me want to run home and re-read her books again this summer.

[LoriM]

I was unable to attend, but some of my coworkers were there. I am going next year. This year it conflicted with the youth revival at our church, and I'd already committed to a large part of the adult leadership team. I'm sure it was outstanding.

[karensk]

It was literally right down the highway from where I live, but I was out of town. I would have loved to have heard Martin Cothran.

 

I'm sure everyone who went had a marvelous time - would love to hear about how it went, and about what you learned.

 

Robn

 

Yes, the Circe conference was excellent! I had such a blast meeting and hanging out with some wonderful gals (and guys) IRL! -- Jami, Angelina and Leah [Hi y'all!! :seeya:], some other homeschool ladies from ClassEd Isle (sp?), and more from California (who came w/Leah, I think?). It was definitely a different atmosphere than the homeschool conferences I usually attend (SETHSA, THSC) and still enjoy, in a different way. There was such a high concentration of classical educators that you could easily chat with: Laura Berquist, Andrew Kern, Chris Perrin, Martin Cothran, Gene Edward Veith, and more.

 

For me, one of the most valuable elements was what I learned about literature, and not so much via nuts & bolts-type discussions but rather actual literature readings by gifted literature people. My favorite was Anthony Esolen's brilliant and dramatic (and that should be DRAMATIC) reading of a poem by Robert Browning, followed by a panel discussion (maybe ~30-40 min.) between Esolen, Berquist and Veith. To hear such qualified people discuss and work through a piece of literature was absolutely amazing. It reminded me of that show where a famous actor discusses the craft of acting with the host (can't remember the guy's name) in front of a class of drama students. It's not only great fun, but also a powerful learning experience. They didn't discuss the poem in a dissecting sort of way--the literary elements, etc., which has its place. But rather, they discussed the character and his values and morals as evidenced in the lines of the poem. It was a wonderful way to learn how to discuss literature!

 

I also appreciated having some one-on-one time with qualified individuals: I followed Angelina around the vendor tables to listen to her recommendations on various literature-related books (she used to teach lit at a classical school, if I'm remembering correctly). I asked Laura Berquist for a recommendation on a church history book that would be least offensive to both Catholics and Protestants. I asked Chris Perrin if they'd be coming out with a French program and what it's format might be like. For me, it's easier to use a particular curriculum once I've met the author or at least heard them speak in person.

 

Before the conference, I was kinda concerned about being extremely out of place, since I'm not very "classical" (e.g., we don't do Latin). But really it was fine! Everyone was super warm and friendly. Andrew Kern did an excellent job, IMO, of gathering a variety of classical educators in an open, positive atmosphere. There were homeschoolers, homeschool co-op teachers (not necessarily all moms, either), private school teachers, private school administrators, authors of curricula (incl. competing curricula), authors of literature, authors of educational philosophy -- I could imagine a situation where there'd be tension from this much diversity, but there really wasn't any that I noticed. And I totally love that! I doubt that I could attend another Circe conference, unless it was nearby again; but if I could, I'd be so glad to go again!

 

BTW, Robin, I might be at THSC on Friday. If you're attending, do you want to meet up?