Classical Education

Show Notes

Something delightful is happening! Ben and Eden Lyda show the way to capture the heart of stories through Shakespeare plays. Ben, founder of Children’s Shakespeare Academy, along with his articulate teenage daughter Eden, delightfully spread a contagious love of Shakespeare and drama through this bedrock of English language. Hear how virtues win and are learned in a concrete and refreshing way.

Eden will invite you into the enchantment of joyful learning. Ben will encourage you to believe that children have a capacity for much, especially if you establish a wonder-filled atmosphere.

For understanding the over-all definition of Reader's Theatre, Ben recommends this as a non-classical, informative video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1mStaaIxA0

Books Mentioned In This Episode

Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare by Edith Nesbit

Tales from Shakespeare by Mary and Charles Lamb

Retelling of Shakespeare stories by Bruce Covell

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Ivanhoe by Walter Scott

The Odyssey by Homer 

Plays by William Shakespeare Mentioned in This Episode

Julius Caesar 1599

A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1600

The Tempest 1611

The Taming of the Shrew 1594

Macbeth 1623

Much Ado About Nothing 1623

Hamlet 1603

Credits:

Sound Engineer: Andrew Helsel

Logo Art: Anastasiya CF

Music: Used with permission. cellists: Sara Sant' Ambrogio and Lexine Feng; pianist: Alyona Waldo

Copyright © 2022 Beautiful Teaching. All Rights Reserved

What are the common arts? How do they relate to a classical education? How do we bring up the whole human being, thriving in wonders of life and right ordered relationships? Join us as we discuss the search for balance and bolster both common arts and liberal arts in education. We encourage discoveries and provide examples and ways of instruction that proceed outside the boundaries of paper assignments.

Chris Hall is the founder of Always Learning Education, an organization dedicated to teaching, learning, and propagating the common arts. Chris has a BA in philosophy and an MAT in elementary education. He has been a classroom educator and administrator for 25 years, having served in public, independent, and classical schools. Along with his professional pedigree, he is a lifelong practitioner of several of the common arts profiled in his book. He lives on a small, homesteaded farm in central Virginia with his wife and three homeschooled sons. On this episode,  we will specifically be discussing his book called The Common Arts Education: Renewing the Classical Tradition of Training the Hands, Head, and Heart.

Don't miss our BONUS 30 minute podcast for Patreon Supporters this month! Chris Hall shares a few of his favorite poems and discusses poetry for science lessons! This exclusive episode will inspire you in the delightfulness of incorporating poetry and stories into science lessons.

Books Mentioned In This Episode

• The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
• Common Arts Education: Renewing the Classical Tradition of Training the Hands, Head, and Heart by Christopher Hall
• The Didascalicon of Hugh of Saint Victor: A Guide to the Arts by Hugh of Saint-Victor
• The Odyssey by Homer
• The Bible
• A Philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason
• The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
• A New Natural Philosophy: Recovering a Natural Science and Christian Pedagogy by Ravi Scott Jain, Robbi Andreasen, Chris Hall
• The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis
• 1984 by George Orwell
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
• The New Atlantis by Francis Bacon
• The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien

Credits:

Sound Engineer: Andrew Helsel

Logo Art: Anastasiya CF

Music: Used with permission. cellists: Sara Sant' Ambrogio and Lexine Feng; pianist: Alyona Waldo

Copyright © 2022 Beautiful Teaching. All Rights Reserved

Four teachers join us to talk about their joyful experiences teaching Plutarch in both classrooms and homeschools. This episode highlights different perspectives and personal experiences with the writings of Plutarch. We discuss why classical schools ought to put forth effort to incorporate Plutarch in their curriculum. 

Our guests give a contagious love for Plutarch to this episode and they are all active members in our Facebook Group. 

• Philip Schaffer: Taught Plutarch in a number of high school courses: Rhetoric, Composition, Latin, and Ancient History. He adapted sections from the Lives into Latin for his students to translate.
• Dawn Garrett: Teaches Plutarch in homeschool co-ops using Anne White’s Guides. 
• Lisa Mayeux: Leads both middle school and high school students in Scholé Group with Classical Academic Press.
• Mrs. Peach Smith: Read and loved Plutarch as a child. She has passed her love of Plutarch to her children and her high school students. 

Books Mentioned In This Episode

Plutarch Translations for Parallel Lives

• John Dreyden Translation
• Sir Thomas North Translation
• A.H. Clough Translation

Children and Teen Versions

• Our Young Folk’s Plutarch by Rosalie Kaufman 
• The Children’s Plutarch: Tales of the Greeks by F.J. Gould
• The Children’s Plutarch: Tales of the Romans by F.J. Gould
• Plutarch's Lives for Boys and Girls by Weston

Essays by Plutarch

• Moralia by Plutarch
• Plutarch on Listening to Lectures

Paintings to teach Plutarch
The Eclectic Light Company 

Credits:

Sound Engineer: Andrew Helsel

Logo Art: Anastasiya CF

Music: Used with permission. cellists: Sara Sant' Ambrogio and Lexine Feng; pianist: Alyona Waldo

Copyright © 2022 Beautiful Teaching. All Rights Reserved

While wrestling with the great books and great ideas, this discussion enters the realm of educating with virtues. Podcast guest, Dr. Louis Markos discusses the true, the good, and beautiful, in contrast to values and man-made culture. This podcast explores the relevance of the message in The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis for today’s parents and teachers.

Essay by Dr. Markos about Charlotte Mason:
Raising a Child According to Wordsworth and Charlotte Mason by Dr. Louis Markos

Books Discussed in This Episode Include:

• Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis
• The Liberal Arts Tradition: A Philosophy of Classical Christian Education  by Ravi Jain and Kevin Clark
• “The Green Book” - Actual book: The Control of Language by Alec and Martin 
• Restoring Beauty: The Good, The Truth. and The Beautiful in the Writings of C.S. Lewis  by Louis Markos
• Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C. S. Lewis by: Michael Ward
• After Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis’s The Abolition of Man by: Michael Ward
• A Christian View of Philosophy and Culture by: Frances Schaeffer
• Mere Christianity by: C.S. Lewis
• Tao Te Ching by: Lao-Tzu
• The Myth Made Fact: Reading Greek and Roman Mythology through Christian Eyes by: Louis Markos
• The Golden Bowl by: Henry James
• An Experiment in Criticism by: C.S. Lewis
• For The Children’s Sake by: Susan Schaefer Macaulay 
• Consider This, Charlotte Mason and the Classical Tradition by: Karen Glass

Louis Markos is a Professor of English and Scholar in Residence at Houston Baptist University, where he teaches courses on British Romantic and Victorian Poetry, the Greek and Roman Classics, and C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. He speaks widely for classical Christian schools and conferences and has authored 22 books, including From Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics, On the Shoulders of Hobbits: The Road to Virtue with Tolkien and Lewis, The Myth Made Fact: Reading Greek and Roman Mythology through Christian Eyes, and From Plato to Christ: How Platonic Thought Shaped the Christian Faith. 

Credits:
Sound Engineer: Andrew Helsel
Logo Art: Anastasiya CF

Music: Used with permission. cellists: Sara Sant' Ambrogio and Lexine Feng; pianist: Alyona Waldo

Copyright © 2022 Beautiful Teaching. All Rights Reserved

Meet Trae and Adrienne and hear them discuss the goals for the podcast. The focus on the Great Conversation encompasses the art of teaching and learning. They give an overview of the art of asking questions, engaging in the Great Conversation, and the importance of well-ordered teaching and learning.
 
Books Discussed in This Episode Include:

• Norms and Nobility: A Treatise on Education, by David Hicks
• The Great Books of The Western World
• John's Senior's 1,000 Good Books List
• Aesop's Fables
• Beatrix Potter stories
• Plutarch's Lives
• The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, translated by Katherine Woods
• The Death of Christian Culture, by John Senior ( has 1,000 Good Books List)
• The Restoration of Christian Culture, by John Senior
• A Philosophy of Education (Volume 6), by Charlotte Mason
• Home Education (Volume 1), by Charlotte Mason
• Ourselves (Volume 4), by Charlotte Mason

Credits:
Sound Engineer: Andrew Helsel
Logo Art: Anastasiya CF