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One of the fastest growing segments in Classical Christian Education is homeschooling. Robert Bortins, the Chief Officer of Classical Conversations, shares how the company his mother founded in 1997 is meeting the needs of 120,000 worldwide and 50,000 families…allowing families to educate children in ways that glorify God and best meet their children’s needs. An excellent reminder about how a clas...

How do images affect teens? John Murray is the author of the recent book, In Whose Image? Image-bearers of God vs. The Image-makers of Our Time. In this fascinating interview, Murray shares classroom research, his interview with Charlton Heston, and four ways that images affect us. Learn practical ways to talk about image and identity in the classroom and around the table. It's no surprise that th...

If Classical Christian educators promoted a Hall of Fame, Mortimer Adler would surely make the list. Dr. Robert Woods, author of the newly released Mortimer Adler's The Paideia Way of Classical Education, introduces us to the man often called the “Father of Classical education.” Find out what Adler's Great Books approach means practically for teachers, students and learners today, both in the clas...

Rome, Florence, Paris and London…have you considered that travel should be a significant part of your child’s classical christian education? In fact, many schools send their seniors to Europe as the capstone of their secondary education. Some schools travel to Washington, DC or other historical sites in the U.S. According to Bill Miller and Tom Velasco, Instructors of Humanities at the Ambrose Sch...

The not so good news...Barna reports that only 10% of young adults ages 18-29 report keeping their faith in the face of a resistant culture. The good news…their “resilient faith" is very strong. So how do young adults from Christian homes or who attended church as teens maintain their faith - if at all? Brooke Hempell, Barna’s Senior Vice President, shares how this new study measures faith an...

Classical Christian education offers some of the highest ROI, or return on investment, for the amount of tuition, time and effort parents spend. Jean Kim of The Cambridge School tells story after story of how the classical Christian school model uniquely adds value to your child’s educational experience. And the value is priceless. Why so high? She explains how on this inspiring podcast. Stay tune...

According to Harlan Gilliam, the Science and Nature Center coordinator at Regents School in Austin, natural curiosity in our children makes education possible. In fact, it's up to the child, and not the teacher, to learn. And real learning happens in the heart, not just the mind. So how do parents and teachers build on a child's natural curiosity? Get some practical tips, as well enjoy hearing how...

Why would we want our classical Christian students to read books filled with pagan myths, fantasy worlds with darkness, and stories that might be R rated if they were made into a movie? Why not just read Christian books? Louis Markos points out that the pagan writers actually had great wisdom and asked life’s questions better than most. In fact, even our Founding Fathers, who were either Christian...

If you are like the average person, you easily forget what you’ve just read. But not if you “commonplace". Commonplacing is a practice of antiquity that was particularly popular in the Renaissance and the nineteenth century. And many classical schools are reviving the practice and reaping the benefits. Chris Browne, Humanities Instructor at the Ambrose School, explains how to record and categ...

How do we know when we've overstepped technology in the classical educational environment? Don’t we need to raise "real world" ready kids? Martin Cothran argues that today’s schools - and parents - are actually raising “Windows" ready kids, to the detriment of their ability to focus. Listen in to hear about the latest technological trends in education and how to respond in the class...

Dr. Mark Phillips has been on a lifelong journey to the science classroom. From Vanderbilt to Oxford, from comedy clubs with Steve Martin to Classical Christian Education, he has pursued God’s calling. Listen in to hear him describe the two scientific discoveries that he believes should be taught to every student in classical Christian schools. You also don’t want to miss his amazing conversion st...

Jeremy Tate explains how the Classic Learning Test (CLT) counters the SAT and ACT as a better resource to assess your student for college, and well as new tests for the high school and middle school years. Standardized tests are a necessary hoop to jump through on the way to college but have changed since their beginnings. Colleges are having to adapt to the changing landscape and more and more ar...

Adolescence can be one of the most difficult and challenging seasons of our lives, whether you are a middle schooler, a parent, or teacher of middle schoolers. And sometimes all three collide. But with a measure of grace and some practical tips in your pocket, those in-between years can be redeemed, treasured and used for good. Nathan Jordan is a longtime educator of middle schoolers. He reminds u...

Alexander the Great considered stories his most prized possession and Jesus deemed stories worthy of the secrets of the Kingdom of God. Storytelling is more than something we do around a campfire… it is what drives how we learn and engage the world. But when the average American spends upwards to 84 hours a week in front of a screen, how can educators and parents combat this? Aaron Ames shares the...

The headlines tell stories of persecution of Christians in China. As we pray for them, how do we help our students in the United States and elsewhere meet and overcome the challenges right where they are in the classical Christian classroom and in the world? Our guest today, “John Smith”, speaking under his alias name, shares stories from the field and how the lessons in China can inspire parents,...

How do children with learning challenges fare in classical Christian schools? And how should CCE schools respond to the special needs of children and families? Leslie Collins has worked within special education for years, both in public and private schools, and her response may surprise you. Learn about the framework and infrastructure that she recommends for CCE schools to meet these needs and ho...

One of the critical issues of our time is the disconnect between the humanities and sciences in both secondary schools and in higher education. Lack of crossover hurts both, says Dr. Mitch Stokes, Senior Fellow of Philosophy at New St. Andrews, engineer, and author. In fact, most people don’t realize that western thought and civilization grew up around people responding to the math and sciences! D...

Have you heard the wise saying, “You cannot teach what you do not have”? Yet, in this busy world, we often get distracted and end up running on fumes as we respond to the urgent more than the important. George Grant encourages parents and educators to heed the moments, delight in what we teach and pass that mindset on to our children and students. Most importantly, he shares his own method for put...

Today, more voices than ever give us parenting advice…yet we have a poverty of wisdom when it comes to parenting the way God designed. In this interview, Keith McCurdy highlights the most common parenting struggles and current cultural and psychological dynamics he sees in his counseling practice. He points us back to to the order God put in place so that kids can function best in this challenging...

Classically-educated teens are trained to argue logically…but do they also know how use the gift of logic wisely and appropriately? If not, then we are raising mechanistic citizens who only want to win arguments and slay dragons. Brian Daigle, author of Street-fighting Logic, shares practical advice from his book that shows educators, parents and kids how to maturely apply the tools of logic. Ofte...

Good news, parents and teachers...according to Bill Carey, every student is a math person. But today's schools often rob students of their natural curiosity and they end up experiencing math as something incoherent and frustrating. Carey shares the fascinating and somewhat shocking history of mathematics and encourages educators to shape the curriculum in a way that ignites the mathematical curios...

Did Aristotle do pushups? Or was he a couch potato who only did mental calisthenics? Jenny Crockett says that the Greeks highly valued physical exercise and spent more than 50% of their time on physical activity. Unlike those mental and physical giants, modern students lag far behind and often sacrifice form for speed. Crockett challenges schools and parents to raise children who are “physically l...

Is the current system of grading undermining students today and their long-term formation? Dr. Williams, a college dean at Eastern University, offers a fascinating history lesson about the origin of grades (hint: it’s a late modern invention) and challenges teachers and parents to consider separating true assessment from number and letter grades. Lots of practical advice in this episode about how...

In 2016, the Oxford English Dictionary named “post-truth” as their word of the year. In 2019, Westerners are quite possibly even more confused about what is real and what is not. In today’s episode, host Davies Owens asks Abdu Murray about his new book, Saving Truth: Finding Meaning and Clarity in a Post-Truth World. Murray shares his faith journey to Christianity, defines what it means to live in...

Echoing C.S. Lewis’ arguments in The Abolition of Man, Dr. Steve Turley cautions that modernity robs us of our humanity and leads to an abolition of sanity with regard to what is true, good and beautiful.  Educators should urge students to consider their divine purpose over and against the mechanistic messages that culture throws at them. When given truth, time, and classical tools, students are b...