3/30/2019 Newsletter_Week_29_2019 - Google Docs

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aG0_ZhSM4ESZv6xkMQPU01DGYhHZC128FYcNO9M02c8/edit 1/2

4th Grade Newsletter Saturday, March 30, 2019  

Mason Classical Academy Fourth Grade Teachers: Mrs. D’Agostino | Mr. Hinkle | Mrs. McGilvrey Teacher's’ Webpage: www.masonclassicalacademy.org > About Us > Staff Directory > Name of the teacher 

“There shall be no more tyranny. A handful of men cannot seize power over thousands. A man shall choose who it is shall rule over him. . . . We give all we have, lives, property, safety, skills . . . we fight, we die, for a simple thing.

Only that a man can stand up.” ~James Otis, Chapter VIII of Johnny Tremain , by Esther Forbes. Over the past few weeks in both History and in Literature, we’ve been confronted with the interesting circumstance of

good somehow coming out of evil. Of course, one cannot do something morally evil to bring about something good. However, the principle of double effect has it that one may do a morally good act that has an undesired evil effect so long as the good intended outweighs the accidental evil. For instance, one can use lethal force against an assailant to save an innocent life. But the subtlety of the principle of double effect is often used to rationalize actions that would not fall into its purview. It would seem to be a perennial human temptation— if I just do this one bad thing, so much good could be gained. One simple reply to that temptation is, what if everyone operated that way? What would society be like? Could there even be such a thing as human society if people regularly did morally evil things to bring about some perceived good?

There was the dubious Boston Tea Party— the destruction of tea that, if purchased, would have paid a tax Bostonians believed Parliament had no right to levy. Then the overt moral ambiguity of war arose in Johnny Tremain , when Johnny grappled with the idea that he would be helping to bring about the death of British soldiers that he new personally, and even liked. He had a dream of boiling lobsters that had pitiful, weeping, human eyes. The issue of good somehow coming out of evil will arise again in Treasure Island , when Jim, the hero of the tale, abandons his duty both out of disgust for his circumstances, and to pursue what seems a beneficial course of action. He’ll comment that it was wrong and that he regrets it, but that somehow good still came of it. Does that mean then that it was good for him to do the bad act of abandoning his duty and friends? In our study of Rome, Europe, China, and Islam, we regularly came across the historical fact that although the conquerors were conquering (a very unwholesome affair), they did often bring about unity in their respective countries, which has many benefits. What reply can one make to this? Is violence the only way to unity? Is war the only route to peace?

Our States willingly made two contracts with one another in peace—The Articles of the Confederation and The Constitution. But then, “four score and seven years” later, they fought the Civil War. ‘The Devil,’ as they say, ‘lies in the details.’ Whereas some rulers in history make war to become “Ruler of the Universe,” as in the case of Ghengis Khan, others see their responsibility to “put down insurrections” for the sake of maintaining unity (an essentially good thing), as in the case of Abraham Lincoln. As Lincoln asserted in Springfield, Illinois, on June 16, 1858, quoting the Bible, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” (Mr. 12:22-28) Although the southern Confederation of States cited The Declaration of Independence as the rationale for their secession from the contract of the U.S. Constitution, recalling our struggle for the right of self-governance against the empire of Great Britain in the Revolutionary War, slavery was at the heart of their quarrel. It was because of the institution of slavery in the South that the passages condemning slavery in Jefferson’s original draft of The Declaration of Independence had been excised. But who would envy Lincoln, faced with that dreadful prospect— to make war for the sake of peace; to subdue one people so as to free another; to take life so as to preserve it! Yet those were the decisions with which he was faced. That is the world in which we live.

This is why we study fairy tales of good and evil, ballads of mythical heroes like King Arthur and Robin Hood, the history of the rise and fall of nations, and that of our forefathers. We must prepare our youth for the realities of life, not by some technical knowledge that will be obsolete in two years, but by setting them on the path to finding the unchanging truths that shine forth amidst the ambiguities of our ever changing circumstances; the transcendent truth that perennially pervades all things. They must know the good, if they are to pursue and to do it. Without knowledge, how can there truly be freedom? "An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people." (Thomas Jefferson)

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3/30/2019 Newsletter_Week_29_2019 - Google Docs

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aG0_ZhSM4ESZv6xkMQPU01DGYhHZC128FYcNO9M02c8/edit 2/2

4th Grade Newsletter Saturday, March 30, 2019  

What Students Learned This Week

Literature — Students finished their reading and study of Johnny Tremain , took their assessments, studied some Poems Every Child Should Know , learned a few new vocabulary words, and then reviewed and were assessed on earlier words taken from the literature. Still to come in the weeks ahead are spectacular and spectral tales from Washington Irving, as well as a thrilling adventure on the high seas from Robert Louis Stevenson.

Grammar — Students studied a few new words, but for the most part reviewed the spelling and vocabulary words from the last five weeks before being assessed on Friday. As to grammar and rhetoric, Well-Ordered Language and the King Canute chreia took a back seat to timed essay writing. Students were schooled in the art of reading, assimilating, then essaying on a given topic in a timely manner. Next week, they’ll resume the formation of their grammatical grounding and rhetorical resonance, as well as their orthographic interpretations and orations.

Math — Students reviewed and were assessed on their knowledge of angles this week before reviewing perpendicular and parallel lines, and moving on to symmetry. They can expect a quiz on the latter this coming Monday, and another geometry test after some more review later in the week.

History — American independence finally won, the United States needed to determine in precisely what capacity they were “united.” After our test on Monday covering all of the events and people form the Declaration of Independence to the Treaty of 1983, we will begin our studies of American government, moving chronologically from the Declaration through the rise and fall of the Articles of the Confederation to ratification of the U.S. Constitution. We will linger therein for a time before moving on to a study of the first six presidencies.

Science — After a few more phenomenal FOSS experiments, students paused to ponder their rhetorical skills with Ms. Miravalle and Mr. Hull. Despite their shock that their routine could take a parallel path rather than be a continuous series, they will resume conducting their electrical experiments next week and continue to do so until they’ve finished the electromagnetic FOSS circuit. They’ll have yet another circuit to follow in the circulatory system, and they’ll augment their anatomical ideas about respiration in the coming weeks as well.

Upcoming Events April 02 TUE

❖ 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM HS Baseball vs Everglades City HS (Everglades City HS) 06 SAT

❖ All Day Prom (Fox Fire Country Club) 09 TUE

❖ 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM HS Baseball vs Marco Island Academy (Tommie Barfield Baseball Field) 12 FRI

❖ 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser (MCA Marshall Cafe) 15 MON

❖ 8:15 AM - 9:00 AM 3rd Grade Showcase (MCA Marshall Cafe) 16 TUE

❖ 8:15 AM - 9:00 AM 4th Grade Showcase (MCA Marshall Cafe) 17 WED

❖ 8:15 AM - 9:00 AM 5th Grade Showcase (MCA Marshall Cafe) 18 THU

❖ 8:15 AM - 9:00 AM 6th Grade Showcase (MCA Marshall Cafe) 19 FRI

❖ All Day No School - Good Friday/Earth Day 22 MON

❖ All Day No School - Good Friday/Earth Day

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