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 administrating that can form (or deform) us. We consider how daily habits, words, and thoughts can positively or negatively impact the kind of people we become and culture of our schools. 

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 goal, yet we find formation to be a more hopeful goal than information. 

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 by Kevin Clark and Ravi Jain, and Teaching and Christian Practices: Reshaping Faith and Learning edited by David Smith and James K. A. Smith.

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 the appropriate teaching methods, and intentionally form our students through our courses. In this episode, we discuss the culture of the classical Christian classroom as it is comprised of three elements: the students, the curriculum, and the teacher. We discuss various aspects of the class that are formational: classroom liturgies, reading, discussing, assessments, and grading - just to name a few.

We discuss the various aspects of administration that influence school cultures, such as admissions, schedules, budgets, co-curriculars, and homework. 

After delving into the recent history of education, we discuss the danger of information becoming the goal of education at the K - 12 level. 

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 recognize that our actions shape our soul's desires. We delve into Plato's Republic, discussing Plato's vision of the just soul as it relates to Lewis's concept of "men without chests" seen in Abolition of Man. We connect these concepts to scripture by discussing the creation of man and Deuteronomy 6. Additionally, we discuss James K. A. Smith's work Desiring the Kingdom and how it sheds light on liturgies that shape us. We discuss how education leads us through cycles of discovery, wonder, worship, action, and wisdom. Ultimately, we consider the vital role education can play in forming students' loves in a way that results in their flourishing. 

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 classical Christian education, his experience in teaching and leading classical Christian schools, and those who helped him along the way. Danielle explains the beginnings of her teaching career, how she grew as a teacher, and the vision behind the podcast as a resource for teachers, administrators, and parents. 

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 overview of both dialogues and discuss some key passages. In these passages, we discuss the unpleasantness of experiencing aporia and Socrates as a gadfly. We consider Euthyphro's poor response to experiencing aporia due to his reluctance to admit his ignorance, and Meno's positive response to aporia by being willing to consider Socrates's questions with humility. There is the danger that aporia will lead to apathy, but as Socrates exhorts, "I think that we will be better men, braver and less idle, if we believe that one must search for the things that we do not know." Ultimately, we must remember that even though we may not have all of the answers, aporia should only spur us on to search for Truth.

In our first episode, we define the term "aporia" - a Greek term for "impasse" or "puzzlement" - and discuss how "aporia" appears in the Bible. Our discussion of "aporia" leads us to a deeper consideration of the Christian life and our experiences with education.