Lisa VanDamme – Page 2 – [TEST] The Objective Standard
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About Lisa VanDamme

About Lisa VanDamme

Lisa VanDamme is the founder of VanDamme Academy, a private K-8 school where she teaches literature to junior high students. After decades inspiring children with a love of reading, she recently embarked on a project to do the same for adults, creating a book club app called “Read With Me” that is dedicated to helping readers connect emotionally with the classics.

Lisa VanDamme's Articles

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Life In Junior High - Part 2
January 27, 2007
Last week, I contrasted the cliché junior high classroom—of raucous teenagers throwing spitballs, passing love notes, and giggling at lewd jokes—with a VanDamme Academy junior high classroom—of young adults in raptures over Cyrano de Bergerac. How we produce students with such maturity and enthusiasm for learning is something I hope…
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Life In Junior High
January 23, 2007
When I tell people that I teach literature to junior high students, the response is nearly universal: an expression of profound sympathy. Teaching junior high is regarded as a martyr's job, to be taken on only by those with such a selfless commitment to children and education that they are…
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Writing and Understanding
January 10, 2007
Several weeks ago, in my article "Pattern Recognition vs. Real Understanding," I stressed the crucial connection between writing and understanding: For the student to write explanations, in complete sentences, about every subject—whether history, literature, grammar, math, or anything else—requires that he have a true understanding of the concepts at hand.…
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Pedagogically Correct
January 4, 2007
Many people understand that education is in desperate need of reform, but few recognize how radical the reform must be. What is needed is not a bigger education budget, a stronger teacher's union, smaller class sizes, or more rigorous testing procedures. But neither is the solution simply a renewed spirit…
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The Imperative of Lecturing
January 4, 2007
Every class in elementary and junior high school should be in a lecture format. The teacher must be an authority on the subject, he must grasp its basic purpose, he must carefully define the knowledge to be conveyed by reference to that purpose, and he must present that knowledge in…
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Pattern Recognition vs. Real Understanding
December 14, 2006
Every year, when I give my first test in a grammar or literature class, some new student asks me whether the test will be multiple choice. Every year, I look him in the eye and say: "I can assure you that you will never, in any class, under any circumstances,…
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The Homework Lie: Part 2
December 6, 2006
It is not surprising that our no-homework policy does wonders for parents' relationships with their children. I will never forget when a parent sat at my desk one day and, told me, with tears in his eyes: "You have given back our family life." But, you might ask, how do…
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The Homework Lie
December 5, 2006
Every year, dozens of parents sit at my desk and describe to me the intense frustration they feel as they watch their children churned through the public schools. One of the refrains of their complaints: endless homework. And no wonder: The work itself is largely pointless. Students must complete countless…
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P is for Pajama Party or Paragraph?
December 4, 2006
Recently, I was visited by a mother frustrated with her son's education and looking for something more. She informed me that mid-way through his kindergarten year, they were still learning their letters—most recently, they had been studying the letter "P." And in honor of the letter "P", they were having…
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The Power of Observation: From Art to Literature to Life
December 3, 2006
One of the great joys of the present school year has been the addition of an art appreciation class, taught by art enthusiast and VanDamme Academy teacher Luc Travers. Mr. Travers' unique approach to analyzing a work of art has transformed my esthetic life, enhancing my enjoyment of art, of…
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The Real Key to Fixing Science Education
November 30, 2006
Science education is a frequent topic in the news these days. This past Wednesday, Microsoft announced a campaign to improve math and science education in the Seattle area. According to Brad Smith, a senior vice president and general counsel for Microsoft: "We're very concerned about the possibility that our kids…
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Elementary Students Learn to Be Like Victor Hugo's Bird
November 29, 2006
This year, I have the pleasure of teaching literature to our school's Elementary 1 students, children in second and third grades, a class that includes my own seven-year-old daughter Lana. Their uninhibited enthusiasm for learning, their eager quest to see connections, and their budding insights make them a delight to…

Teaching Values in the Classroom
May 20, 2006
Demonstrates the irrational, destructive nature of the three prominent schools of thought in moral education; identifies the fundamental philosophical errors underlying these schools; and presents a rational, life-serving alternative: the proper way to teach values in the classroom.

The Hierarchy of Knowledge: The Most Neglected Issue in Education
February 20, 2006
Identifies and provides the solution to a problem that is endemic in education—a problem wreaking havoc on Johnny’s ability to think, understand, and succeed.
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