Nichol Starr

An attorney-turned-homeschooling mom and rhetoric teacher, I have more than 20 years of experience working with private schools, co-ops, and homeschool families. Not only have I taught many humanities, informal/formal logic, composition, theology, and advanced thesis classes, but I also have been honored to come alongside many students and parents as they plan for high school and college. I ask the hard questions, engage in planning out high school courses, narrow college lists, and help students put together applications and essays that shine.

Teaching Philosophy

As far as educational philosophy goes, I tend to embrace two maxims, the first from probably too many sources to count and the second from a true friend to classical education, Charlotte Mason.

The first? “The enemy of the excellent is the good.” It recalls a principle of Pliny the Younger: multum non multa, meaning “not many, but much.” As a culture we are convinced that more is better, and as a result we tend to invest—with the best intentions—in too many classes, too many activities, too many THINGS to allow our children to dive deep into any one idea or passion, or to breathe and enjoy the process. Given our limited time, we should …