Educating Humans

For our fiftieth episode, and the last for 2024, we interview Andrew Kern, president of the CIRCE Institute. Answering the question of what are the essential components for a classical education, Andrew discusses the four pillars of coherence, the logos, piety and humanity. Please consider becoming a founding donor for St John Henry Newman College , a new independent classical school in South Bris...

Attempting the impossible, Difff answers the question 'What is classical education?' in less than fifteen minutes. This episode aims to be a brief, succinct snapshot, so if you're worried there is a lack of nuance and depth, may I recommend to you the 48 other episodes in this podcast? Please consider becoming a founding donor for St John Henry Newman College , a new independent cla...

What is it like to teach in a classical school? As teachers, we are by default telling our students that what we're teaching is worth loving. We're also telling them that learning itself is worth doing. Teachers, therefore, should love learning. But so much of teaching today has become administration and box-ticking. Teaching in a classical school means many things, but one of them is an...

In the final of the four part series about what is wrong with modern or progressive education, Difff and James discuss anthropology. As James KA Smith says, every pedagogy assumes an anthropology.  Without realising it, anthropology - what it means to be human - is the core assumption under-riding all decisions within schooling. When we teach anything, we're implying it is good. If we imply i...

Having discussed the metaphysical and epistemological ruptures that have impacted education, Difff & James move to ethics. If all education points students towards some conception of good, what is good? How can we come to understand good, especially in a flattened materialist world which doubts our capacity to know, or relativises reality? Is there any such thing as a value neutral education?...

In the second episode asking the question of what is wrong with modern progressive education, Difff & James discuss epistemology - the branch of philosophy that deals with questions of what is knowledge, what is knowable, and how we come to know things.  The implications of a reduced metaphysics are a fragmented and relativistic epistemology. Modern education has inherited the scientific reduc...

In the first of four episodes attempting to detail some of the major differences between classical and modern or progressive education, Difff and James discuss metaphysics. Rather than going after specific particular elements of modern education that are problematic, they approach it from a philosophical perspective, recognising that faulty practice stems from faulty thinking, which usually stems...

Difff and James have another amiable argument about a contentious issue in education. This time, we're asking how much say teachers should have over what and how they teach in the classroom?  Does a top-down approach stifle teacher autonomy and creativity and create situations where students are not met where they are at? Or is this just a symptom of poor leadership and structures?  Ultimatel...

What role does the concept of harmony play in education? This episode is a talk that was presented by Difff at the Brisbane Classical Education Conference in June 2024. Focusing on the work of St John Henry Newman, Difff discusses how true education is a harmonising process, designed to conform the soul to reality, and to recognise the natural order in the world and the connection between all thin...

Difff adopts his real name - Kenneth Crowther - and discusses St John Henry Newman College with James. Newman College is a new classical school starting in 2026 in Brisbane, and Kenneth is the school's first principal. In this episode, he explains the school's approach to classical education, the mission and vision of Newman College, the joy of hard work, the importance of the community...

Difff & James are joined by Ben McCabe, who runs the Augustine Academy. The Academy offers a Certificate IV for students between 16 and 19 years of age. Primarily designed for homeschoolers as a way for them to gain an accredited certification for university entry, the Academy is a one year course in Literature, Philosophy, History and Theology, with a little agriculture thrown in on the side....

You've probably heard the saying before, that parents are the primary educators of their children. In fact, it has been said on this very podcast. But are they?  And if they are, what does this really mean?  Difff and James engage in a pseudo-debate about the topic to try to get to the heart of the proposition. They end up discussing the importance of family, the power of the state, how to wo...

The Paideia Approach is a theory and practice of education proposed by a number of luminaries including Mortimer Adler. In this episode, James discusses the Paideia way to think about curriculum design, such as anchoring subjects of study in The Great Ideas, as well as pedagogical design, such as the use of the lecture, academic coaching, and the Socratic seminar.  Please consider becoming a found...

C.S. Lewis' 'On the Reading of Old Books' is the topic of discussion in this episode of Educating Humans. James reads most of the excerpt unabridged, and then the conversation ensues, touching on various topics based upon Lewis' main point that old books provide a lens and viewpoint that is foreign to our own and therefore valuable because it does not suffer from the same blind...

Can the Australian National Curriculum be redeemed? The question itself implies that there might be something wrong with the curriculum provided by ACARA, and indeed listening to the pundits and commentators, apparently there may be. For proponents of classical education, however, the real question is whether the national curriculum can accommodate a classical approach to education. And the answer...

Difff & James read and discuss Josef Pieper's short essay Learning How to See Again.  As the essay begins: "Man's ability to see is in decline."  Why is this?  Pieper, writing in the 1950s, suggested that one of the reasons was that - even back then - there was  too much to see . The proposed remedy is a great insight into how the arts can be thought about within the classi...

And we're back for 2024! Difff and James chat about what has been happening in classical education in Australia, including updates from new schools starting up, a visit from Andrew Kern and Katerina Hamilton, and Difff's upcoming presentation at the Church and State Summit. James then previews what's to come in 2024, including overly ambitious guest interviews and a close read of Jo...

Difff is joined by Heidi White, a classical education consultant with the CIRCE Institute to discuss, well, a whole lot of good stuff. Beginning with some foundational questions about the classical education renewal, Heidi talks about the formation of classical teachers, Aristotle's Five Common Topics, and understanding virtues, before moving on to thinking about Shakespeare's humanism a...

In our short series on conversation topics for things we're reconsidering: subjects - yes, we're even reconsidering subjects. Something as foundational to the structure of schools is often overlooked, but what are the pitfalls that can sneak into a school when they think in terms of distinct siloed 'subjects'? Difff and James think through how disconnecting subjects can impact...

In another short conversation starter, James and Difff chat about the place of homework, specifically in relation to the classical classroom. As usual, the conversation comes back to considering first principles of purpose. Often homework is given 'just because' rather than being tied to a meaningful and thoughtfully considered purpose. But what should the purpose of homework be? And doe...

What is assessment?  What is its purpose, and how do we know if we're achieving it? This episode is a shorter discussion starter, aimed at provoking some questions in listeners' minds about the purpose of assessment; ways that it can be helpful or harmful; and how it should be reconsidered in light of the aims of a classical education. Please consider becoming a founding donor for St Joh...

Wisdom is one of the most common stated intentions of a classical education, but what exactly is it?  Using the work of St John Henry Newman and John Ozolins, Difff and James discuss Newman's definition of it and how he saw it fitting into education. This includes the importance of a foundation of knowledge that can then be connected together to form a synthesised picture of the whole of the...

In the final episode of the mini series about good books that we recommend for those interested in Classical Education, Difff talks about Jacques Maritain's  Education at the Crossroads and the importance of teleology and therefore anthropology when it comes to true education. James discusses Peter Kreeft's  Socratic Logic and introduces some basic terms in logic including a few fallacie...

Difff & James spend some time answering questions from the audience. These questions are all about how to start the classical education journey, both at home with young children and as a teacher in a non-classical school. They also discuss how to spread the word about classical education, and Difff & James take the opportunity to reinforce how important it is for classical educators to the...

In the penultimate episode of the Good Books series, Difff and James focus in on two classic pieces of literature. Starting with Shakespeare's  Hamlet , they discuss the importance of Shakespeare in the classroom before diving into some of the major soliloquies in the play. From there they move to Mary Shelley's  Frankenstein  focusing specifically on the hubris of man's desire to &...