Backporch Education Podcast

Poem: “Stay Home” by Wendell Berry   Statement of the Whole: Our world is in a state of quarantine with the Coronavirus, and the boys on the podcast want to share a few ideas for those having to figure out educational questions during … Continue reading →

An interview on teaching Latin.  Statement of the Whole: One of the more important aspects of a great education is forming a mind that can handle language, and that can interact with the primary sources of our educational heritage.  In this … Continue reading →

Why school when there is the internet?  Poem: What’s the Railroad to Me?  by Henry D. Thoreau  Statement of the Whole: Even as internet technologies provide more and more “educational” opportunities, schools are seeking to remain relevant to the educational process.  Are there … Continue reading →

Poem: none  Statement of the Whole: Fun is a fun word to define.  It is even funner to try and inculcate into today’s educational world.  Jason and Steve play around with the word for a while in this episode on how enjoyable learning … Continue reading →

The Thermostat Episode   Poem: Section 106 from Tennyson’s In Memoriam  Statement of the Whole:  Every classroom has its own unique temperature or climate.  What determines how that classroom feels?  Given that each student is unique, is it even possible to form a specific … Continue reading →

Poem: “We Real Cool,” by Gwendolyn Brooks  Statement of the Whole:  Comparison is a valuable and powerful form of education.  In this episode Jason and Steve take on a common student comparison: school is too much like a prison.  Is this … Continue reading →

Poem: “But I am Growing Old and Indolent,” by Robinson Jeffers  Statement of the Whole:  It seems we live in a utilitarian or practical time when education wants to cut straight to the “facts.”  So why spend so much time in school learning about things that are just … Continue reading →

Reading: from A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens  Statement of the Whole:  From the transformation of the Grinch who stole Christmas, to the moral found at Charlie Brown’s Christmas Dinner, to the rescue of George Bailey by a timid angel, Christmas … Continue reading →

An interview on education podcasts.  Poem: Blackberry-Picking, by Seamus Heaney  Statement of the Whole: Steve invites a guest onto the podcast to talk about various podcasts on education.  David Kern oversees several podcasts for the Circe Institute and is an avid listener to others as … Continue reading →

This is a follow-up to our “Build Soil” Episode  Poem: Dying Speech of an Old Philosopher, Walter Savage Landor   Statement of the Whole:  Poetry has become the turf of the professional poet in our day.  Jason and Steve challenge teachers to … Continue reading →