BaseCamp Live

There is a sizable migration underway of new families seeking to educate their children classically. Admissions lines are long in most classical Christian schools. Why is this happening now?  What does it say about the broader culture? Needless to say, you are at the right place at the right time.   In this episode, Eric Cook, president of the Society for Classical Learning, and I discuss the many...

Classical Christian Education is a new experience for many people, and whether you are new or have been around a classical school for years, there are many questions about why we do what we do. And since few parents or teachers today grew up in CCE schools, combined with the fact that there are more families than ever joining our schools, you are likely not alone if you have a question. My guest,...

On this episode of BCL, It’s time to check in again with Brooke Hempell, senior VP at the Barna Group.  As a research firm, Barna is tracking the latest trends and changes with Gen Z, the generational name for young people between 6-22 years old - essentially anyone from Kindergarten to college. While in some ways the world is growing smaller as people share mindsets from universal media and techn...

What is going on in the world today? Just when we think we have seen it or heard it all, we are hit with another crazy curveball. A quick glance at the news often leaves us to say, "can you believe this?" Leaving our fears inflamed, yet we are called as Christ-followers to be faithful, confident, and to model well to our children and students how to live boldly, without fear or anxiety. Easier sai...

Imagine being the captain of a billion-dollar US Navy ship with some 400 young sailors under your command. Lots of habits to form, discipline to instill, and curiosity and courage to awaken…talk about raising the next generation. My guest, Ralph Janikowsky, today shares many engaging stories of how to effectively shape character and form Biblical ethics on board his ship. Many of these same princi...

Seven hundred years ago, Dante wrote what has been called the most significant single poem ever written. He lived in a world not unlike our own. Fraught with both difficulty of brutal politics, climate changes, crop failure, famine, and disease and filled with beauty, wisdom, hope, and a sacred path forward. Dr. Doug Henry, head of Baylor University’s Honors College, is part of a team from key Chr...

In this episode, Davies was back on the road at the summer ACCS conference with friend and thought leader Dr. Steve Turley. We explore how so much of what we are experiencing in modern culture is directly correlated to influences from K-12 education. Want to understand a culture, reverse engineer back to education and one will find a lot of the answers. But the reverse effect is also true - create...

In this episode, I was back on the road again. Live in Dallas at the ACCS conference with head of school Katharine Savage. Serving in urban Philadelphia, Katharine shares practical wisdom on how to navigate an increasingly divided and emotionally frazzled community. Her discoveries of what she calls a “third way” forward are effective in leading a school, a family, and most definitely in raising u...

If there is nothing new under the sun, then it makes sense to look to those who have gone before us for the answers to living boldly and confidently in a world that continues to unravel around us with so many young and old struggling to make wise choices. Dr. Louis Markos, a scholar at Houston Baptist University, brings to the wisdom of the ancient Greek and Roman teachers in an engaging way for u...

Classical Christian Education is a fantastic form of education, yet it is often challenging for parents and educators to define well. In an effort to both explain it and live it out, we often latch onto narrow definitions and understandings, risking missing out on the big picture. Clifford Humphrey has thought deeply about these various definitions of classical Christian education. He has some hel...

Today, it is easy to find the bad news. It blasts across our screens with a steady message of doom and gloom. As we raise the next generation, what hope do we have? Well, are you ready for some good news? John Stonestreet, President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview and the daily voice of BreakPoint, reminds us of what to hope in today. He keeps his finger on the pulse of the culture, h...

Classical Christian education is the fastest-growing segment among all types of Christian private schools. But are classical Christian schools for everyone? One in five students today are diagnosed with a special learning need. So, can classical Christian schools adapt and serve these students?  We discuss this topic and more with Heather Lloyd on this episode of Basecamp Live. BIOGRAPHY Heather L...

What does it mean to flourish as a human? It occurs through living intentionally and thoughtfully in particular ways. Neither virtue nor its eventual fruit, happiness, comes to us accidentally... Flourishing requires that we can confidently answer the big questions in life....why am I here? What does it mean to be human? What does Jesus on Sunday have to do with daily life during the weekday? Gett...

Selfish or selfless? Entitled or blessed? Increasingly, children are raised in a world revolving around them, creating attitudes of "I-deserve-it-because-I-exist." The world celebrates entitlement through everyday messages from social media and endless advertisements.  Indulging children can seem the easiest path in the moment, but long-term, excessive indulgences lead to adults who are disillusio...

Are you stuck in the present? Our culture is quick to dismiss anything perceived as old, even last year's cell phone model, much less the wisdom learned from history. And those of us raising the next generation with Classical Christian education are more often looking to the past for wisdom in a world that insists the present is all that matters. David Moore will inspire you to gain a new apprecia...

Ready for some encouragement? Music moves us, awakens our souls, and brings light to the world. My guest today, Stanton Lanier, is a pianist, composer, orchestrator, and faithful believer. He was inspired at an early age by the great composers. Today, his music is loved and listened to by people worldwide - young and old alike. His scripture-inspired music is just what we need in this frazzling mo...

Classical Christian schools are on the rise, and most have impressive reading lists and ambitious goals of graduates, but how are teachers trained to teach? Most of us teach how we were taught, which can be a challenge when we didn't grow up in a classical Christian school environment. Today, my guest, Maryellen St Cyr, is back on BaseCamp Live to bring practical wisdom from her years of founding...

No parental control software can completely protect your child from online harm. And parental controls never replace the need for parents or teachers, for that matter. After over 1,100 presentations, testifying in front of Congress, and countless conversations, we welcome back Chris McKenna, who has discovered five traits common in families with kids who learn to use technology well. He calls it t...

We are raising our families in an increasingly challenging cultural moment. And yet we know God calls us to worship and give thanks continually rather than fall into the patterns and thinking of the secular culture around us. How do we ensure our homes and classrooms have habits that form what God loves? How do we compete with the storytellers of our age who often become the loudest voices in the...

Modern education produces weak men. The truth is, boys mature at different ages, need different learning environments, and are wired by God uniquely in their distinct bodies and minds. The task before us is to raise up a generation of young men who are confident in their identity, disciplined and skilled in their thinking, and faithful in their commitment to Christ. Classical Christian education i...

Perhaps no writer or thinker is more often quoted around classical Christian schools than famed Oxford and Cambridge professor C.S. Lewis.  Most of our schools engage Lewis' writings through the K-12 journey, inevitably reading his Chronicles of Narnia series, but the Cair Paravel Latin School takes Lewis to an even higher level of engagement, and the fruit both enriches the educational experience...

The big questions in life - who am I? what am I? why am I here? Every human throughout history has grappled with these questions. Get the answers right and you can live a virtuous, flourishing life. Yet today, too many students, and adults for that matter, are fumbling through life trying to find meaning and purpose. Knowing the right questions is a critical first step to finding lasting and susta...

We have been living in a COVID world for over a year now, the impact it has made on how we live life, our attitudes, habits, and fears are extensive. Are there specific things we can do in our homes and schools to help us get back to healthy living more quickly and parents and teachers? And, how are Christian and classically educated young people in a better position to not only survive but thrive...

The world is getting crazy. How do we raise a generation that refuses to compromise in matters of faith, especially in a world that rejects, even scorns, anyone who believes in absolute truth?  Like walking a roofline, how do we balance being in the world but not of it?  On one side, a person can easily compromise and blindly adopt the latest “correct thinking” and fall into the ditch of becoming...

What does it mean to be human, to be civil, to have a confident purpose in life? Raising up a generation that will genuinely truly is the goal of any loving parent and teacher. How do we do it? Our guest today has written a new book that illuminates the power of a liberal arts education, which for centuries has formed Christ-followers who have gone into the broken world and made significant positi...