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Tom Cox on an Epic Education: Tolkien in the Middle School
To prepare for Homer, Virgil, Beowulf, the Eddas, and Dante—The Heights begins with Tolkien.
In a talk from 2016, former middle school core teacher and current upper school classics teacher Tom Cox defends the place of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings in the epic tradition. He then explains why Middle Earth is so uniquely suited to the middle school, using Samwise the Stouthearted as our guide to the heart of a middle school boy.
Chapters:
2:46 Rethinking "the middle"
4:01 How LotR prepares boys for upper school
7:57 How LotR meets boys in middle school
12:47 Contrasted with other…
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