How do you teach the great English epic Paradise Lost? In this series, we will read through the work, have episodes dedicated to discussion of the work, and present resources to deepen your understanding of this great work.
Episode 1: An Introduction to Paradise Lost
This is an introduction to our next series that will take listeners through John Milton’s Paradise Lost. This series, which is part audiobook, part teaching, and part discussion, will invite you to take part in the great conversation around this great work. For further study, see Milton’s “Sonnet 19” and Lewis’s A Preface to Paradise Lost.
Episode 2: Paradise Lost – Book 1, Part 1
In this episode, Danielle reads the first half of Paradise Lost, Book 1 with occasional pauses for reflection and clarification.
What does authority have to do with leadership? As humans, we want leaders, but we often do not want authorities. As we learn to live in community in classical Christian schools, we often find ourselves in states of confusion over what authorities to trust and how to lead well. In this series, we hope to empower community leaders, parents, administrators, teachers, and students at classical Christian schools to steward authority well as they lead.
Series 3 Preview: On Leading with Authority
Classical Christian education interacts with the ideas of leadership and authority in ways unique to education. We partner with parents to be the authorities in their homes. We hope to…
Series 3: Episode 1 – What does it mean to be an “authority”?
In this episode, we define authority and its many manifestations within a classical Christian school setting. We consider auctoritas, authority’s connection to ethos, and authority’s connection to various types of…
Series 3: Episode 2 – What is a leader? (And what if I am just not a leader?)
Classical Christian schools need great leaders. In this episode, we consider the marks of a great leader as one who builds trust, shows compassion, provides stability, and creates hope for…
Series 3: Episode 3 – What is the role of submission?
Spoiler: submission isn’t just for followers. We discuss how all authorities must submit to the ultimate authority, God. While submission might not always be easy, the authorities found within classical…
Series 3: Episode 4 – How do parents partner with schools to lead in their homes?
In classical Christian schools, we see the relationship between parents and educators as a partnership. We discuss approaches for parents to consider to foster strong relationships with schools and how…
Series 3: Episode 5 – How do boards lead at classical Christian schools?
The boards of classical Christian schools operate differently than public school boards. In this episode, we unpack the nature of authority, leadership, and submission when serving on a board of…
Series 3: Episode 6 – How should classical Christian administrators lead their faculty and staff?
In this episode, we focus on the structures of leadership and the ways that administrators can use their authority to lead and empower their staff. We also brainstorm alternative ways…
Series 3: Episode 7 – How do classical Christian teachers lead their students?
We may not exactly consider teachers to be leaders – but they certainly are. We discuss teachers as “tour guides” and “coaches” who lead students academically and spiritually. We compare…
Series 3: Episode 8 – How do we help students become leaders?
In this episode, a very special guest, Justin Dillenschneider (Danielle’s husband), shares about his work with house leaders within a classical Christian school. The ideas of authority, leadership, submission, and…
Series 3: Episode 9 – How should we lead through crisis and difficulty at classical Christian schools?
In this episode, we apply the concepts of authority, leadership, and submission to the context of crisis and difficulty. In the midst of crisis, panic is too easily the first…
In our second series, we discuss the claim that classical Christian education is about formation. Such a goal is at odds with the modern, fragmented understanding of education aiming merely at conveying information. We hope that if this claim puzzles you, that you will follow our conversations to discover the fullness that comes when we see education as formation.
Series 2: Episode 1 – What does it mean when people say the goal of education is formation?
We discuss the history of the concept of education being formation as it is seen in various sources: Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and C. S. Lewis. As embodied souls, we must…
Series 2: Episode 2 – Why do we think the goal of education is information?
After delving into the recent history of education, we discuss the danger of information becoming the goal of education at the K – 12 level.
Series 2: Episode 3 – If education is about formation, then what does that mean for administrators?
We discuss the various aspects of administration that influence school cultures, such as admissions, schedules, budgets, co-curriculars, and homework.
Series 2: Episode 4 – If education is about formation, then what does that mean for teachers?
Classical Christian education gives teachers the freedom to engage students with various pedagogical methods. As classical Christian teachers, we must learn to take ownership of our classrooms, to delve into…
Series 2: Episode 5 – How do non-humanities classes contribute to formation?
We discuss ways that math and science classes contribute to formation. For further reading, we recommend the following works: Mathematics for Human Flourishing by Francis Su, The Liberal Arts Tradition…
Series 2: Episode 6 – How do we know if we are accomplishing our goal of formation?
We discuss the role the portrait of a graduate plays in helping us understand our goal of formation. We also discuss some of the potential difficulties with striving toward this…
Series 2: Episode 7 – How are classical Christian teachers and administrators being formed?
Teachers and administrators impact the formation of students, so it is necessary to think about how even teachers and administrators are formed. We discuss the various aspects of teaching and…
Series 2: Episode 8 – Education as formation: Q & A
In this episode, we take time to respond to some questions our listeners have about education as formation. The questions we discuss are: How could a new classical Christian teacher…
Classical Christian Education: An Infographic
Some of you may be new here. Maybe classical Christian education is a foreign concept to you. There are many eloquent books, articles, and videos on this topic – so…
In our first short series, we discuss the concept of “aporia” at length – how this word inspired the podcast, how it appears in both scripture and ancient philosophy, and how we have experienced “aporia”. This is a great place to start if you are new to the podcast.
Series 1: Episode 1 – What is aporia?
In our first episode, we define the term “aporia” – a Greek term for “puzzlement” – and discuss how “aporia” appears in the Bible. Our discussion of “aporia” leads us…
Series 1: Episode 2 – Where do we see aporia in the classical tradition?
In this episode, we discuss Plato’s dialogues “Euthyphro” and “Meno” to get a better picture of aporia. If you have not read these dialogues, do not fear: we give an…
Series 1: Episode 3 – Who are the hosts of Aporia?
In this episode, we share our experiences with classical Christian education. Both hosts have experienced a fair amount of aporia. Tim tells more about his background: how he got into…
Aporia: The Podcast – Origins
Educators are working in a broken world with broken people. Often it seems impossible to piece together a life-giving educational experience out of the brokenness. Classical Christian educators talk about…
Aporia: The Podcast 