St. Thomas More Academy Podcast

Deacon Brad, Kelly Jackson, and Charles McCants discuss the types of families and students who see the best outcomes from the formation that STMA offers, as well as those families/students who may not find the school to be the best fit. 

After a year hiatus, the STMA Podcast is back and will (pray God) be much more consistent this year.  In this episode, Deacon Brad Watkins, Dr. Jake Noland, Mr. Charles McCants, and Mrs. Kelly Jackson, think through how people could objectively discern "the best school" and make the argument that STMA is that school. Perhaps not the best school for every family or student, but still objectively ex...

Zone-2 Your Life: Integrated Excellence with St. Teresa of the Andes and Servant of God Francisco Garcés Humanities Instructor Mr. Rob Kirkendall discusses how to pursue virtuous excellence in all domains given our human limitations and high spiritual calling. He looks to profound examples in the lives of a young Chilean Carmelite nun and an early Franciscan explorer and missionary to the American...

Deacon Brad Watkins, Dr. Jake Noland, Mr. Charles McCants, and Mr. Rob Kirkendall continue discussing the idea of "Classical Education," and our collective reflections on what it is and isn't from years of experience. Part two of a two part conversation. 

Deacon Brad Watkins, Dr. Jake Noland, Mr. Charles McCants, and Mr. Rob Kirkendall discuss the idea of "Classical Education," and our collective reflections on what it is and isn't from years of experience. Part one of a two part conversation. 

After a four month (unplanned) hiatus, Deacon Brad Watkins, Dr. Jake Noland, and Mr. Charles McCants dust off the podcast equipment and talk about Purpose and Care. 

As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving as a nation, Deacon Brad Watkins, Dr. Jake Noland, and Mr. Charles McCants discuss the virtue of gratitude.  Short video with the voice of Br. David Steindl-Rast on gratefulness. 

In this episode, Deacon Brad Watkins, Dr. Jake Noland, and Mr. Charles McCants try something a little different. Before recording we each listed what we believe are five attributes of outstanding students - those all around 95th percentile students we've had the pleausre of working with over our careers in education and formation. During the episode we share our attributes and why we think they're...

Deacon Brad Watkins, Dr. Jake Noland, and Mr. Charles McCants are joined today by Mr. Bob Luddy, Founder and Chairman of STMA, for a conversation about culture, standards, and integrity among other points of discussion. We remain ever grateful for Mr. Luddy's vision, leadership, and tremendous generosity in support of our mission at STMA, as well as his ongoing efforts aimed at the restoration of...

In this episode, Deacon Brad Watkins, Dr. Jake Noland, and Mr. Charles McCants discuss the topic of self-discipline as it relates to student outcomes. 

In this episode, Deacon Brad Watkins, Dr. Jake Noland, and Mr. Charles McCants discuss the topic of Holy Obedience as it relates to our faith and lives, especially in connection to the young people we are working to form to the greater glory of God. 

This episode features the story of Joseph Dutton, an American veteran who spent the last half of his life working with leprosy patients in Molokai, Hawaii. This lecture by Ms. Adriana Watkins was given to students at STMA in April 2023. Dutton's life is a beautiful example of the way God's Providence follows us through strange turns of fate, and even through our own mistakes.   Some very helpful r...

This episode features Mr. Rob Kirkendall, Instructor in the Humanities, delivering a lecture to the student body titled "Becoming Prayer: Adoration and the Life of St. Titus Brandsma."  St. Titus, canonized a year ago by Pope Francis, was a Dutch journalist, educator, Carmelite priest, and mystic who was martyred in Dachau by the Nazis for coordinating resistance Nazi policies in the Netherlands....

In this episode, Deacon Brad Watkins, Dr. Jake Noland, and Mr. Charles McCants shift the discussion from Boys Adrift to the topic of girls and young women as related to Dr. Leonard Sax's book, Girls on the Edge: Why So Many Girls Are Anxious, Wired, and Obsessed - and What Parents Can Do. A main point of emphasis for this conversation is the high levels of "anxiety" we see every year in a small nu...

Apologies, for some reason the recording of this podcast cut off at the 33 minute mark, and we didn't realize it until later. In this episode, Deacon Brad Watkins, Dr. Jake Noland, and Mr. Charles McCants continue discussing the topic of boys and young men that struggle (or more appropriately, don't) with positive engagement in life and arrested development. Over the years we've had more than a fe...

In this episode, Deacon Brad Watkins, Dr. Jake Noland, and Mr. Charles McCants discuss the topic of boys and young men that struggle (or more appropriately, don't) with positive engagement in life and arrested development. Over the years we've had more than a few conversations with parents about sons that seem to lack any and all motivation to work hard and apply themselves to tasks at hand. It's...

In this episode, Deacon Brad Watkins, Dr. Jake Noland, and Mr. Charles McCants discuss the topic of paying attention. The ability to pay attention is a critical life skill, but not unlike prayer it is one of those things we tell people (especially students) to do, without really explaining how they go about doing it. We share some thoughts on the subject and suggests listeners also download these...

Deacon Brad Watkins, Dr. Jake Noland, and Mr. Charles McCants sit down for a conversation with STMA Alumnus Deacon John De Guzman ('14) about his time at the Academy, his studies at St. Charles Borromeo College Seminary, and Theological College Seminary at Catholic University of America. Deacon John also discussed his discernment and vocation to the priesthood, offering words of wisdom for others...

In this episode, Deacon Brad Watkins, Dr. Jake Noland, and Charles McCants express gratitude for the wonderful students we get to build relationships with at STMA. 

In this episode, Deacon Brad Watkins, Dr. Jake Noland, and Charles McCants discuss the parent suggested topic of nihilism. We ended up discussing both nihilism and apathy as they are closely related and often overlap.  They are both topics worthy of much longer conversations, but we hope this relatively brief episode might provide some insights to the topic as we see it. Hopefully, this is helpful...

In this episode, Deacon Brad Watkins, Dr. Jake Noland, Charles McCants and Adriana Watkins discuss the discernment of gifts and talents. We have all been given unique gifts and talents by Our Lord and are expected to multiply them throughout our lives in who we are called to BE and what we are called to DO. But when we express this to young people it can sometimes be difficult for them to figure o...

Deacon Brad Watkins, Dr. Jake Noland, and Mr. Charles McCants sit down for a conversation with STMA Alumnus Andrew Mistele ('18) about his time at the Academy, his studies in Aerospace Engineering at North Carolina State University ('22), and where he's headed after graduation. 

Deacon Brad Watkins, Dr. Jake Noland, and Charles McCants discuss accreditation and the fact that is neither necessary nor a guarantor of excellence in schools. It is commonly held that "Schools must be accredited." But who says, and what is accreditation? What does it do? What are its limitations? We've heard people say, "You can't get into to college if you go to a school that isn't accredited."...

Deacon Brad Watkins, Dr. Jake Noland, Charles McCants and Kelly Jackson discuss work ethic as it relates to being a student with good academic outcomes. As teachers and administrators an ongoing challenge is trying to understand why some otherwise very good students don't seem to get the grade outcomes the (or their parents) hope for at the end of term. But when we look closely at those students t...

In response to a parent request, Deacon Brad Watkins, Dr. Jake Noland, and Charles McCants discuss leadership formation for children. Upon reflection, it seems that leadership really comes down to some very fundamental ideas: Authority, trust, and responsibility. Looking to Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, as the ultimate leader, we understand that his authority was not his own, it was given to hi...