Cultural Artifacts with Mandi Gerth

Register for my CiRCE Pre-Conference on Classroom Liturgies Join me at Repairing the Ruins Purchase Thoroughness & Charm on Amazon Learn more about Michealangelo’s Pieta Get full access to Mrs. Gerth Teaches at mrsgerthteaches.substack.com/subscribe

Ulysses and the Sirens by John William Waterhouse In this episode, we contemplate the beauty of the first twelve lines, or the Proem, of the Odyssey by Homer. Mandi reads from the introduction to Emily Wilson’s translation so that you get an idea of the movement of this epic while also becoming familiar with its three main characters: Odysseus, Penelope, and Telemachus. It is hard to overstate the...

Today, we delve into Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, a piece that began its journey in 1804 and premiered in December 1808. This symphony, famous for its iconic first four notes, has earned the nickname “Fate Symphony” due to its powerful thematic elements that resonate with the concept of fate knocking at the door. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 00:49 Beethoven’s Personal...

Davies Owens asked me to come back on Base Camp Live recently to talk about how parents can ask better questions in conversations with their children. The full episode will launch soon, but here’s a sneak peek. Enjoy! Get full access to Mrs. Gerth Teaches at mrsgerthteaches.substack.com/subscribe

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/December-25/washington-crosses-the-delaware https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-revolutionary-war/washingtons-revolutionary-war-battles/the-trenton-princeton-campaign/10-facts-about-washingtons-crossing-of-the-delaware-river https://www.britannica.com/biography/Emanuel-Leutze https://youtu.be/1brjwUcz1cA?si=nDHe3PnmxWM4M4Sv His Excellency G...

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/December-25/washington-crosses-the-delaware https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-revolutionary-war/washingtons-revolutionary-war-battles/the-trenton-princeton-campaign/10-facts-about-washingtons-crossing-of-the-delaware-river https://www.britannica.com/biography/Emanuel-Leutze https://youtu.be/1brjwUcz1cA?si=nDHe3PnmxWM4M4Sv His Excellency G...

The Darkling Thrush https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44325/the-darkling-thrush Biography on Thomas Hardy https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/thomas-hardy Critical Essays SIMPSON, MATT. “MILLENNIAL THOUGHTS — HARDY’S ‘THE DARKLING THRUSH.’” The Thomas Hardy Journal, vol. 15, no. 3, 1999, pp. 80–84. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/45274455 . Accessed 24 Jan. 2026. SWIER, SUSAN. “‘SOME BL...

Today we are looking at the poem Birches , written by Robert Frost. A poem in blank verse that contemplates the loss of youth and the importance of nature to provide perspective when we are “weary of considerations, / and life is too much like a pathless wood.” Information on Robert Frost from Britannica . Critical Essay by George Monteiro Read the poem on Poetry Foundation . Hear Robert Frost rea...

I had the privilege of recording a few of Louise’s lectures on tragedy for the Association of Classical Christian Schools earlier this fall. A clip from those courses is linked above. Tonight via Google Meet, Dr. Bainard Cowan and I begin teaching a class on Louise Cowan and Greek Tragedy. We will begin by looking at Louise’s essay in Tragic Abyss and Fergusson’s introduction to Aristotle’s Poetic...

Articles about Bruegel:  https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/pieter-bruegel-the-elder-ca-1525-1569 https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pieter-Bruegel-the-Elder https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/hunters-in-the-snow-winter-pieter-bruegel-the-elder/WgFmzFNNN74nUg?hl=en A BBC News Program on Bruegel:  https://youtu.be/c5BOzhwaWeM?si=WQ0VxrPb9CozOwFq Get full access to Mrs. Gerth Teaches at mrsgert...

The Poems of Prudentius by Sister Clement Eagan Original Latin and English Translation Purchase Sheet Music Here YouTube Videos: https://youtu.be/m9mxDbXNJug?si=isf7pLvtIkC3E7AJ https://youtu.be/cOF9JLJkPis?si=9Ms0KfKEb_XCV97e Articles on the Hymn: Advent: Of the Father’s Love Begotten by Coty Pinckney History of Hymns by C. Michael Hawn Mrs. Gerth Teaches Substack Thales College CCEP Louise Cowan...

The Poems of Prudentius by Sister Clement Eagan Original Latin and English Translation Purchase Sheet Music Here YouTube Videos: https://youtu.be/m9mxDbXNJug?si=isf7pLvtIkC3E7AJ https://youtu.be/cOF9JLJkPis?si=9Ms0KfKEb_XCV97e Articles on the Hymn: Advent: Of the Father’s Love Begotten by Coty Pinckney History of Hymns by C. Michael Hawn Mrs. Gerth Teaches Substack Thales College CCEP Louise Cowan...

The Nativity Lorenzo Monaco (Piero di Giovanni) Italian ca. 1406–10 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/459007 Adoration of the Shepherds Guido Reni ca. 1642 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/guido-reni-the-adoration-of-the-shepherds The Holy Night Antonio da Correggio ca. 1522 - 1530 https://www.the-artinspector.com/post/correggio-the-holy-night Advent and Christmas Wisdom...

In this episode, we look at a prayer from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer suitable for your Thanksgiving meal this Thursday. I’ve created a Thanksgiving themed notecard featuring this prayer that you can download for free from Teachers Pay Teachers. Print it and share it so that everyone around your table can pray along. Show Notes: Free PDF download of the Thanksgiving Prayer on Teachers Pay Teach...

Pilgrims Going to Church - The New York Historical https://www.nyhistory.org/blogs/pilgrims-going-to-church-thanksgiving-and-the-pilgrim-in-public-memory Amazon Affiliate Links to Books Mentioned in Today’s Episode: The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower, or John Howland's Good Fortune by P. J. Lynch https://amzn.to/482SRrY The Thanksgiving Story by Alice Dalgliesh https://amzn.to/43keTDW The Pilgrim...

In this episode, we look at a hymn written by Henry Alford in 1844 that would be excellent to sing with your students during the month of November as you discuss the first Thanksgiving feast observed by the Pilgrims, or as you learn about how Thanksgiving became a national holiday in America. Show Notes: https://anglicancompass.com/behind-the-hymn-come-ye-thankful-people-come/ https://www.whatsait...

“How to see the world truthfully and what to do about that truth does not come to students via assessments or book lists. Instead, it is embodied by adults in authority.” I wrote Thoroughness & Charm because I have a heart for the regular, normal teacher in the average classical school. I want that teacher to feel ennobled and enriched, inspired and encouraged to do this job every day even when it...

Last week I spoke at the CiRCE National Conference on Building Classroom Culture. As I was writing Thoroughness & Charm , Charles Taylor’s work on social imaginaries helped me better understand why the routine practices and liturgies of the classroom are so formative. In this clip from my conference talk, I share a quote from his work Modern Social Imaginaries and connect it to James KA Smith’s wo...

Most students struggle to keep their entire essay tethered to their thesis. Most parents have little idea how to help. Both student and parent experience frustration. Both know the writing could be better, but aren’t sure how to make it better. When I sit down to help a student one-on-one, I first make sure we have a solid thesis. Then, we work through each evidence paragraph. I look for ways in w...