Classical Education

ABOUT THE GUEST

Brandy Vencel has been married to her husband, Josiah, for 25 years, and they have four children, an amazing daughter-in-law, and a sweet little grandson. Brandy is currently in her 20th and final year of homeschooling. She serves on the Auxiliary Board of AmblesideOnline (a free Charlotte Mason curriculum) and Board of Directors for Providence Classical Academy in Bakersfield, California. Brandy also runs Afterthoughts Blog (afterthoughtsblog.net) and the Charlotte Mason Think Tank (charlottemason.mn.co). One of her hobbies is being tired, which is to say: staying up extremely late in order to talk to her teenagers. Brandy is hostess of the Scholé Sisters podcast and co-author of the book Scholé Every Day: How to Become a Thinking Mom.

HOW TO FIND BRANDY
Retreat registration: https://scholesisters.com/prudence

My almost-weekly, mostly CM newsletter: http://afterthoughtsblog.net/subscribe
Scholé Sisters Podcast episode: History as a Center Cannot Hold

SHOW NOTES
After introducing Brandy and her credentials as a Charlotte Mason Classical Educator, Adrienne invited Brandy to dive deep into discussing the virtue, Prudence. They both walk through personal journeys and experiences with this particular virtue and offer practical tips on how to dive more deeply into the study of virtues.

Books Mentioned

Charlotte Mason 6 Volume Set

Poetic Knowledge by James S. Taylor

Norms & Nobility by David V. Hicks

Consider This : Charlotte Mason and the Classical Tradition by Karen Glass

Prudence: Choose Confidently, Live Boldly by Fr. Gregory Pine, OP

The Four Cardinal Virtues by Josef Pieper

Guide to Thomas Aquinas by Josef Pieper

Ourselves by Charlotte Mason

Aristotle: Education for Virtue and Leisure by Gary Hartenburg

After Virtue by Alasdair MacIntyre

The Happy Dinner Table: by Anna Migeon

Authors recommended: considered as the fathers of Classical Education

   Aristotle

   Plato

   Pieper 

Referenced in this Podcast

Cyndi Rollins

Ambleside Online

Providence Classical Academy, CA

Dr. Lou Markos

Schole Sisters

Podcast and Newsletter by Brandy Vencel

Afterthoughts Blog by Brandy Vencel

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This podcast is produced by Beautiful Teaching, LLC.
Support this podcast:

Credits:
Sound Engineer: Andrew Helsel
Logo Art: Anastasiya CF
Music: Vivaldi's Concerto for 2 Violins in B flat major, RV529 : Lana Trotovsek, violin Sreten Krstic, violin with Chamber Orchestra of Slovenian Philharmonic
 
© 2026 Beautiful Teaching LLC. All Rights Reserve

About the Guest
Joshua Herring is the Curriculum Program Manager for the Rafiki Foundation, Director of the Logres Institute for Classical Liberal Studies, and author of Sons of Adam, Daughters of Eve: C.S. Lewis’s Images of Gender. He has taught 6-12th grade humanities, spend three years in high school administration, and built classical education programs at the college level. He loves helping teachers, leaders, and parents own their intellectual inheritance.

Logres Institute
Visit https://www.logresinstitute.org/, and apply for their programs after July 1.

About Joshua's Conference
https://theclassicalconsortium.com/southeastern-consortium/
On August 7-8, the 3rd Annual Southeastern Consortium of Classical Educators conference will gather at Christ the King Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Raleigh, NC to consider "Source of Joy" in teaching. Come hear from keynote speakers Patrick Whalen, Dale Stenberg, Scott Postma, and Josh Herring; experience joyful learning breakout sessions focusing on poetry, civics, science, theology, and more. Join other classical educators for a refreshing reminder of the truth that our God has given us joyful sources to draw from; begin the 26-27 academic year renewing your soul. Teachers and students - email Dr. Herring at [email protected] for a discount code! 

Show Notes
This interview is a candid conversation between Josh and Adrienne. As they get acquainted, they discuss classical education and share their respective contributions to the field.

Some musings covered include:

• An in-depth discussion about their love for Till We Have Faces by Lewis
• Teaching Homer and how students respond to the text. 
• Holding kids accountable to reading for homework
• Josh shares the top three areas of greatest challenges faced in the classical education movement today
• How The Logres Institute aims to help teachers and home educators gain confidence in the classical pedagogy
• Ideas presented in Adrienne's book, Narration: The Voice of the Trivium

Resources Mentioned
C.S Lewis books
Homer
Quintilian
George MacDonald
Karen Glass books
Thoroughness and Charm by Gerth
The Good Teacher by Perrin and Eben
An Essay Towards a Philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason (Centenary Expanded Edition published by Smidgen Press)
Charlotte Mason's Essay: "Two Education Ideals" (Contrasting Rousseau's Émile with John Milton's "Of Education")

____________________________________

This podcast is produced by Beautiful Teaching, LLC.
Support this podcast:

Credits:
Sound Engineer: Andrew Helsel
Logo Art: Anastasiya CF
Music: Vivaldi's Concerto for 2 Violins in B flat major, RV529 : Lana Trotovsek, violin Sreten Krstic, violin with Chamber Orchestra of Slovenian Philharmonic
 
© 2026 Beautiful Teaching LLC. All Rights Reserve

About the Guest
Autumn Kern is the host of The Commonplace, a place to help new homeschooling moms get their bearings in the classical, Charlotte Mason world. She explores the Classical Tradition on her podcast, releases practical philosophy videos on YouTube, offers ongoing education for mother-teachers in Common House, and, more recently, leads directed programmes of study under Mother Academia. She and her husband are raising their four children in an old 1700s Pennsylvania farmhouse, hoping one of these wardrobes will bring them face-to-face with Aslan.  

Show Notes
This episode is dedicated to homeschool mothers! Many people have asked me to share my homeschool journey and I wanted to know more about Autumn Kern's journey into the Charlotte Mason Classical homeschool world. Autumn and I share our ups and downs as homeschool moms as means of encouragement to our fellow home educators.

Some topics covered include:

• How we got started in the homeschool movement
• The classical connection to Charlotte Mason
• Common challenges to homeschool moms
• How to recover from burn out
• How to handle crisis situations
• How to juggle management of a home while homeschooling
• Adrienne's Family Chore Routines and Cleaning Videos on YouTube

Resources Mentioned
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
A Thinking Love by Karen Glass (Vol 1 Charlotte Mason)
An Essay Towards a Philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason (Centenary Expanded Edition published by Smidgen Press)

Previous Guest Episode
Autumn joined my former co-host Trae Bailey in 2022. That episode was titled Autumn Kern: The Common Classical Charlotte Mason Mom. Click here for the link: https://classicaleducationpodcast.transistor.fm/episodes/autumn-kern-the-common-classical-charlotte-mason-mother

____________________________________

This podcast is produced by Beautiful Teaching, LLC.
Support this podcast:

Credits:
Sound Engineer: Andrew Helsel
Logo Art: Anastasiya CF
Music: Vivaldi's Concerto for 2 Violins in B flat major, RV529 : Lana Trotovsek, violin Sreten Krstic, violin with Chamber Orchestra of Slovenian Philharmonic
 
© 2026 Beautiful Teaching LLC. All Rights Reserve

About the Guest
Mandi Gerth is a teacher and classical education consultant who lives in Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three of their five children. She currently serves as the Administrative Director of the Cowan Center at the University of Dallas. She holds a master of humanities degree from that institution with a concentration in classical education. Her first book, Thoroughness & Charm: Cultivating the Habits of a Classical Classroom, available exclusively from CiRCE Press, has quickly become one of their best-selling titles. In her definitive guide to classroom liturgy, she offers practical advice to the classical educator seeking a truly classical classroom while reminding the teacher of their high calling. Mandi provides practical and actionable ways to embrace the classical tradition and become a thinker worthy of imitation. Mrs. Gerth attends Church of the Holy Communion (REC), and for over twenty years, she and her husband have labored to build a family culture for their five children that values books, baseball, museums, home-cooked meals, and conversation about ideas.

Show Notes
Mandi joins Adrienne to discuss various themes in Mandi's book, Thoroughness and Charm. Adrienne noticed connections to Charlotte Mason's core principle that Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life. All of these aspects merge into what an excellent and alive classroom looks like. Through anecdotes and experience, Mandi shares her passion and her story about the art of teaching. 

Some topics covered include:

• Why is it important to understand teaching as an art?-- What difference does it really make?
• How to create a common language in the classroom
• What are the differences between classroom liturgies and classroom catechisms
• How and why integrating subjects/disciplines is important
• How to live a "classical" life and model this for your students

Resources and People Mentioned
The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
Unbinding Prometheus by Donald Cowan (Essay, The Three Moments of Learning)
Donald and Louise Cowan Center
The Art of Teaching by Gilbert Highet
Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov
Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb

____________________________________

This podcast is produced by Beautiful Teaching, LLC.
Support this podcast:

Credits:
Sound Engineer: Andrew Helsel
Logo Art: Anastasiya CF
Music: Vivaldi's Concerto for 2 Violins in B flat major, RV529 : Lana Trotovsek, violin Sreten Krstic, violin with Chamber Orchestra of Slovenian Philharmonic
 
© 2026 Beautiful Teaching LLC. All Rights Reserved

About the Guest
Dr. Keith Buhler is an entrepreneur, philosopher, and teacher. He co-founded the Saint Andrew Academy in Riverside CA, where he serves at Director of Advancement. When he is not teaching Great Books at Azusa Pacific University Honors College, he coaches other start-ups and serves in the west coast Alcuin Fellowship.  His writings include Into the Light (a chapter on education); Virtue and Wisdom as Natural Ends (philosophy); and Sola Scriptura: A Dialogue (theology). He attends St Andrew Orthodox Church in Riverside, with his wife Elizabeth and their four children.  

Show Notes
Orthodox Christian educator, Dr. Keith Buhler joins Adrienne to discuss his chapter in the new anthology compiled by David V. Hicks (author of Norms & Nobility). 

Some topics covered include:

• Education is a life, not just a pursuit of academics
• The role of the teacher as a role model and mentor in virtue
• Orthodox traditions
• Growing children in good habits in the classroom
• Education is a lifelong pursuit that does not end upon graduation

Resources and People Mentioned
Into The Light: Classical Education and Orthodox Christianity, compiled by David V. Hicks and Anthony Gilbert
The Republic by Plato
A Dish of Orts, Essays by George MacDonald (The Fantastic Imagination Essay)
Sir Gibbie, George MacDonald
G.K. Chesterton
poems by C.S. Lewis
The Awakening of Miss Prim
Norms and Nobility by David Hicks

Ten Traits of a Good Teacher by Chris Perrin

C. S. Lewis Poetry

Kevin Clark and Ravi Jain The Liberal Arts Tradition
Peter Kreeft
Poem on Oxford by C. S. Lewis

After Prayer by Malcom Guite (A Kind of Tune Poem)
George Herbert

Sir Gibbie by George MacDonald

Aristotle

Podcast Episode on Nature Journaling with John Muir Laws
Podcast Episode on Norms & Nobility with David V. Hicks

_____________________________________

This podcast is produced by Beautiful Teaching, LLC.
Support this podcast:

Credits:
Sound Engineer: Andrew Helsel
Logo Art: Anastasiya CF
Music: Vivaldi's Concerto for 2 Violins in B flat major, RV529 : Lana Trotovsek, violin Sreten Krstic, violin with Chamber Orchestra of Slovenian Philharmonic
 
© 2026 Beautiful Teaching LLC. All Rights Reserved

About the Guests

MELODY FOWLER: Roots Farm Education Founder, Director, Form III Instructor Ages 10-12
Melody is a happy wife of 28 years, a proud mother of three and now an over-the-moon grandma of four grandchildren. She was born in El Paso, Texas, and moved to Redding when she was five years old. She loved learning as a child and her favorite pastime was to play school in her garage with younger siblings and neighborhood friends on vintage desks her father bought at local yard sales.

After receiving her Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Studies and teaching credential from Simpson University, Melody taught a self-contained fifth grade classroom for 11 years before moving on to the 8th grade teaching English and U.S. History for four years. She finds it essential to teach the next generation to revere and protect the rich inheritance of liberty they have been gifted. She also completed her administrative credential in Educational Leadership and wrote her Master's paper on Charlotte Mason.

She participated in the Northern California Arts Project, the Shasta County Math Grant, and a three-year ELL grammar program teaching English as a second language. Melody was involved in her site’s leadership team, acted as a site council member, and successfully advocated for funding creative problem-solving programs like Odyssey of the Mind for the gifted and talented. She also volunteered to coach other activities like student government, softball, and cheer.

In her free time, she enjoys learning about education, philosophy, economics, history, gardening, and spending time with her family and six dogs.

CHAD FOWLER: Roots Farm Education  Founder, Director, and Form II Instructor Ages 8-9

Chad was born and raised in Shasta County. He and his wife Melody have three children with the youngest almost 16. From an early age, Chad had an interest in gardening and animals and participated in Shasta County 4-H. Chad worked his family business as well as other working retail management for many years. After helping in his son's kindergarten class and coming from a family of teachers, Chad decided his place needed to be in the classroom and he went back to school. He received his BA in Liberal Studies and teaching credential through Simpson University. He later completed his administrative credential and Masters degree in Educational Leadership through National University. 

He has been a public school educator since 2008 and served as a Master Teacher, Teacher in Charge, Activities Director and Lead Teacher. He has participated in the Shasta County Math Grant, the Northern California Arts Project for teachers, Gates Literacy Grant and other teacher development trainings since 2008. Chad enjoys time in the garden growing vegetables, fruits and flowers, camping with his family and spending time with his Nigerian Dwarf Goats and chickens. 

Roots Farm Education
In the year 2020 they started with 57 students and now have nearly 100 students. They are building slow with in-depth training for their teachers and mission alignment with the incoming families. Their mission states: Roots Farm Education provides home-educated families with a learning environment that integrates agriculture and academics. Stemming from a Christ-centered, Charlotte Mason education, the curriculum embodies western thought with the instruction that pursues truth, promotes wisdom and beauty, creates a pathway to responsibility, and fosters individual initiative and ingenuity. With the land as the laboratory and assistance from experts within the community, factual knowledge in math and science will be hands-on along with essential life skills such as: producing, processing, and marketing food, animal husbandry, sewing, and basic construction. Roots aim is to cultivate a generation of children ready to succeed in higher education, career, and life, while positively impacting the world around them and preserving the lost art of self-reliance.

Show Notes
Two seasoned teachers from the public school system decided to break away and start a school that would focus on agriculture and a Christian classical pedagogy. This inspiring episode of challenges, faith, and vision tells their story. 

Some topics covered include:

• Practical advise on how to start a new school: how to create a clear vision, realistic expectations, and acceptance of trials
• How to hire the right teachers
• How did the first year go and where are you now?
• What struggles did you face during the planning process?
• How Temple Grandin helped them develop a purpose for agriculture studies
• How Charlotte Mason's philosophy influenced their approach and purpose
• Visit Ambleside England
• Joys of learning and Focus on education in faith
• Forms for classes and their flexibility
• What a generous curriculum according to Charlotte Mason really looks like in practice
• Advice to Classical Education and Faith based Schools
• Classroom teachers and how they adapted
• Bible Study
• Not using Chromebooks and studies that prove why not
• Herzog Foundation support for faith based schools: the Business side

Resources and People Mentioned

• Charlotte Mason
• Karen Glass
• Classical Education Facebook Group and Beautiful Teaching with Adrienne Freas
• Benjamin Lyda 
• The Herzog Foundation
• John Heitzenrater
• Maria Montessori
• Lisa Ector, Board of Directors for CMI

Books and Curriculum Mentioned

• Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingles Wilder
• Charlotte Mason volumes
• Guide to Working With Farm Animals by Temple Grandin
• Dark Enough to See the Stars in a Jamestown Sky by Connie Lapallo
• RightStart Math
• Microscopic World by Rosie Dickins
• Octopus Scientist by Sy Montgomery
• Island of Surtsey: Iceland's Upstart Island by Loree Griffin Burns
• Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
• Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis and the Study Guide
• Marco Polo: his travels and adventures by George Makepeace Towle
• Canterbury Tales book and videos
• Chris Hall on Common Arts
• Books about damaging use of Chromebooks
• Jamestown books; Dark Enough to See the Stars in a Jamestown Sky by Connie Lapallo and Blood on the River by Elisa Carbone
• Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
• Alfie Kohn books on education

Schools they visited in Dallas

• Mount St. Michael Catholic School in Dallas
• John Heitzenrater's school (He was the headmaster of Founders Classical in Corinth Texas when Chad and Melody visited. Now he is the headmaster of  Chrysostom Academy in PA).
• St. George Classical Academy in Denton, TX founded by Benjamin Lyda, author of Scriptorium Writing and Living Classical. 

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This podcast is produced by Beautiful Teaching, LLC.
Support this podcast:

About the Guest
Charlene Thompson is a first grade teacher in her fourth year at Founders Classical Academy in Rogers, Arkansas. She holds a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Harding University and is a passionate learner of classical education. She believes in cultivating wisdom and virtue through rich literature, narration, and the development of lifelong habits of attention and expression. Her goal is to help young students grow into thoughtful, articulate, and joyful learners.

Show Notes
I met Charlene when I led a full-day workshop on narration at Founders Classical Academy in Rogers, Arkansas a few years ago. During a recent classical education conference, Charlene approached me to share how narration was working with her students. The stories she shared were so beautiful that I had to get her on the show to help encourage other teachers and parents about how narration works in the classroom. 

Some questions that were covered include:

• What was the process you took to get started in narration--or did you just jump right in?
• Tell us what happened from the teacher's perspective.
• What did you notice happening with students' art of attending?
• How many times a day do you ask the students to narrate? 
• Is it your experience that narration covers critical thinking skills, analysis, and all the standards?
• Let's talk about the art of narration in math, and some questions to ask.
• Tell our listeners how you play with narration and some fun things you've done.
• Would you say something encouraging to other teachers?
• Do you see a difference in new inexperienced students? How do you help them feel comfortable?

Resources, Books, and People Mentioned

• Jason Barney
• Karen Glass
• Charlotte Mason
• The Thanksgiving Day by Alice Dalgliesh
• The Ugly Duckling
• Hansel and Gretel
• Cinderella
• Narration: The Voice of the Trivium by Adrienne Freas
• Mathematician, Paul Lockhart math books
• The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf, scripted drama
• Aesop's Fables

 Favorite quotation: " Read the best books first"--Henry David Thoreau

    Book she wishes she had read sooner: The Bible 

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Beautiful Teaching NARRATION CONFERENCE:

2025 Online Conference with the Beautiful Teaching Team- Narration: The Art of Learning with Keynote Guest, Jason Barney, October 24-25, 2025 https://beautifulteaching.coursestorm.com/

About the Guest
Dr. John Ahern holds a PhD from Princeton University in historical musicology. He currently teaches at The Wilberforce School as an Upper School Humanities and Latin instructor. He is also faculty at the Theopolis Institute and directs their Te Deum Fellows Program in Liturgical Music. His writings on a variety of topics have appeared in First Things, Ad Fontes, The Lamp, Mere Orthodoxy, Eidolon, the Theopolis Institute blog, and the CiRCE Institute blog. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and four children.

Show Notes
John Ahern has successfully implemented the practice of keeping a commonplace book with his students. In this episode he explains why it is an important practice, how to create time to do it, and how to establish best practices in a school setting.

If you have wondered how to succeed at keeping a commonplace book, this episode is incredibly practical and will help you confidently get started in this beautiful practice.

Resources Mentioned

Link to the Circe Institute article: https://circeinstitute.org/blog/how-to-make-a-commonplace-book/

Notebooks the school uses: https://www.leuchtturm1917.us/classic-notebooks-1.html

Also: https://www.amazon.com/Leuchturm1917-Journal-Hardcover-Notebook-Numbered/dp/B09T75BG8L?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1

The Book of Memory by Mary Carruthers
Leisure the Basis of Culture by Josef Pieper
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
To Kill a Mockingbird
Isaac Newton's Common Place Notebook

19C Common Place Notebooks

Bleak House by Charles Dickens
A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt

Authors Mentioned

Charlotte Mason

Plato

Aristotle

St Augustine

Homer

Quintillion

Cicero

Romans

Dostoevsky

Dante

Aquinas

John Winthrop

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Beautiful Teaching online courses & narration conference:

• BT online webinars, interactive courses, and book studies registration: https://beautifulteaching.coursestorm.com/
• 2025  Online Conference with the Beautiful Teaching Team- Narration: The Art of Learning with Keynote Guest, Jason Barney, October 24-25, 2025
• Reading Josef Pieper with Dr. Fred Putnam will take place on Thursday evenings Sept-Dec. Space is very limited. This is a seminar experience. Interaction with Dr. Putnam is essential for this online course. If you are interested in having this immersive experience with him, you can enroll here: https://beautifulteaching.coursestorm.com/course/reading-josef-pieper-with-fred-putnam

Dr. Erik Ellis is Assistant Professor of Classical Education at the University of Dallas. After graduating from the University Scholars Program at Baylor University with concentrations in Greek and Latin, Dr. Ellis received an MA in History from the same institution and served as a middle school and high school Latin teacher for five years in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Along with Latin, Dr. Ellis was privileged to teach history, logic, and French, the last of which had a decisive effect on his teaching of Latin. Two years into his teaching career, Dr. Ellis began researching and investigating communicative language pedagogy and its application to classical languages. After attending and offering workshops with the Oklahoma Foreign Language Teachers Association, SALVI, and Fr. Reginald Foster, Dr. Ellis left secondary teaching to continue his education. He received an MA in Classics, a Master of Medieval Studies, and a Doctorate in Medieval Studies at the Medieval Institute of the University of Notre Dame and studied at the Polis Institute and the Vatican Library in Rome. One of his research specializations was the history of education with a focus on the history of classical language teaching. Upon graduation, he worked for a year at Notre Dame’s Center for the Study of Languages and Cultures, where he received a certificate in Second Language Acquisition Theory and Methodology. Following this, he taught Latin, Greek, and general humanities courses at Universidad de los Andes in Santiago, Chile, and Hillsdale College before moving to his current role in the program in Classical Learning at the University of Dallas.

Show Notes
I had a delightful discussion with Dr. Ellis last year and invited him on to the show to discuss some really important concepts within the classical education movement. In order to rightly understand the tradition of a liberal arts education, we need to rightly define and understand the meaning of particular words. We discuss some wonderful words that are important to our understanding of the tradition which impacts how we teach. 
Some topics included:

• Expanding on how the mind works while teaching the liberal arts.
• Fascinating word studies on Greek and Latin as spoken languages.
• The inclusion of a wealth of material from Constantine VII, Historically, Philosophically, and Theologically. 
• Explaining anamnesis ( recollection): How this recollection through dialogue, song, and habituation, brings or makes things present. 
• Writing; Is the focus on analysis and understanding, or is the aim to be able to speak wisely with an idea or account of a story that is understood and will bring about a greater reality? 
• The meaning of the word "Logos."

UPCOMING SUMMER ANCIENT LANGUAGE WORKSHOPS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DALLAS
Join Dr. Ellis at the University of Dallas for their summer intensive courses in Latin and Greek that they are hosting in partnership with the Polis Institute in Jerusalem.

More info here:

https://www.polisjerusalem.org/programs/international/

Resources
(Dr. Ellis's dissertation)  The Historical Semantics of the Contemporary Classical Education Movement: Principia: A Journal of Classical Education, Volume 2, Issue 1, 2023- https://www.pdcnet.org/principia/content/principia_2023_0002_0001_0025_0041

What is Classical Education? By: Erik Ellis - https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2023/07/what-is-classical-education-erik-ellis.html

Are the Great Books Enough to Revive Our Education System? By: Erik Ellis - https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2020/04/great-books-enough-classical-education-erik-ellis.html
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Beautiful Teaching online courses:

• BT online webinars, interactive courses, and book studies registration: https://beautifulteaching.coursestorm.com/
• 2025 Annual Online Classical Education Conference with the Beautiful Teaching Team - October 24-25, 2025
• Reading Josef Pieper with Dr. Fred Putnam will take place on Thursday evenings Sept-Dec. Space is very limited. This is a seminar experience. Interaction with Dr. Putnam is essential for this online course. If you are interested in having this immersive experience with him, you can enroll here: https://beautifulteaching.coursestorm.com/course/reading-josef-pieper-with-fred-putnam

________________________________________________________
This podcast is produced by Beautiful Teaching, LLC.
Support this podcast:

Credits:
Sound Engineer: Andrew Helsel
Logo Art: Anastasiya CF
Music: Vivaldi's Concerto for 2 Violins in B flat major, RV529 : Lana Trotovsek, violin Sreten Krstic, violin with Chamber Orchestra of Slovenian Philharmonic
 
© 2025 Beautiful Teaching LLC. All Rights Reserved.

About the Guest: Dr. Fred Putnam
Fred Putnam retired after forty years of teaching high school, college, and graduate school; for twelve of those years he was Professor of Bible & Liberal Studies in the Templeton Honors College at Eastern University (2012-2024), where he helped to design, and taught in, the program leading to the MA in Teaching [MAT] in classical education. 

Beginning as a seminary professor of Biblical Hebrew and Koiné Greek, his teaching expanded to include not only the languages and interpretation of the Bible, but also linguistics, translation theory and practice, English literature, philosophy, etc. During those years of teaching, experiences with students led him from being a fairly conventional teacher (lectures, quizzes, tests, grades, attendance, etc.) to a text- (or subject-) and student-centered pedagogy that others have identified as “classical”. The main thrust of his teaching has always been helping students learn to read-learning to attend to, reflect on, and respond to texts, whatever those texts may be (including poems, novels, Scripture, works of art and music, etc.). 

In the Templeton Honors College, he led undergrad courses on the Old and New Testaments, Hebrew, Greek, and seminars on Joseph Pieper, The Count of Monte Christo, and philosophy of education, and five masters-level courses in the MAT: "Classical Pedagogy I: The Culture of the Classroom", "Philosophy & History of Education II: The American Public School System", "The Ethos of a School", "Drama in the Classical School (With an Emphasis on Shakespeare)", and "Teaching the Bible as a Classic Text" (online through the Templeton Honors College). 

While homeschooling their daughters, Fred and his wife met weekly with homeschooled high-schoolers; he taught Shakespeare, poetry, literature, philosophy, Hebrew, and Greek, while his wife tutored individual students in reading and creative writing. 

Born in New Hampshire, he grew up on farms in northeast Connecticut, emigrated to PA in 1970, and insists that he is a New Englander on "southern assignment". He knows that hills are made of granite, Guernseys give the best milk, and continues to await a real northern-style winter. An ordained minister, he preaches in various churches in southeastern Pennsylvania, where he and his wife live near their daughters and grandchildren, and where he also reads, translates and analyzes the Hebrew and Greek Bible, and putters. 

Show Notes
In this episode, Adrienne and Dr. Putnam discuss the seminal works of Josef Pieper. They also do a deep dive into what a beautiful way of teaching really looks like. Some highlights include:

• How Dr. Putnam teaches (What is classical pedagogy?)
• Teaching & learning are relational activities-- the teacher's view of a student is central to the pedagogy
• His course: The Ethos of a School-- how a school can establish and maintain a humane identity even during major changes
• How Pieper can help teachers understand virtues and their applications in teaching
• How Pieper can help us understand what it really means to learn and how it affects being a teacher
• Understanding the nature of being a person and its implications for teaching

Resources Mentioned

• An Anthology by Josef Pieper
• Only the Lover Sings by Josef Pieper
• Leisure, The Basis of Culture by Josef Pieper
• The Courage to Teach: The Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life by Parker J. Palmer
• How Children Learn by John Holt
• Teaching with Your Mouth Shut
  by Donald L. Finkel 
• TedTalk: Kathryn Shultz on Being Wrong https://www.ted.com/talks/kathryn_schulz_on_being_wrong?language=en

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Beautiful Teaching online courses:

• BT online webinars, interactive courses, and book studies registration: https://beautifulteaching.coursestorm.com/
• Reading Josef Pieper with Dr. Fred Putnam will take place on Thursday evenings Sept-Dec. Space is very limited. This is a seminar experience. Interaction with Dr. Putnam is essential for this online course. If you are interested in having this immersive experience with him, you can enroll here: https://beautifulteaching.coursestorm.com/course/reading-josef-pieper-with-fred-putnam

________________________________________________________
This podcast is produced by Beautiful Teaching, LLC.
Support this podcast:

Credits:
Sound Engineer: Andrew Helsel
Logo Art: Anastasiya CF
Music: Vivaldi's Concerto for 2 Violins in B flat major, RV529 : Lana Trotovsek, violin Sreten Krstic, violin with Chamber Orchestra of Slovenian Philharmonic
 
© 2025 Beautiful Teaching LLC. All Rights Reserve