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Matt Skinner spent over two decades leading Christian schools—most notably as the longtime head of school at Heritage Preparatory School in Atlanta, Georgia. 

But he didn't start there. He's a Texas-raised athlete, former CPA, and reluctant educator who found his calling at a school board meeting in 1995—having never once set foot in a school as anything other than a student.

Today he does consulting work, helping schools and leaders think through the kind of formation and culture that actually sticks. 

What's in This Episode:

• How an athlete and CPA became a head of school—by accident
• Why easy schools produce fragile students
• The case against snowplow parenting and what to do instead
• How The Lost Tools of Learning flipped his view of Christian education
• What it actually takes to build a high school from scratch

Chapters:

• 00:00: Intro & Guest Welcome
• 02:32: Growing Up in Texas
• 04:55: Flaming Out at Rice
• 07:45: A Damascus Moment
• 10:05: Baseball, Tracy, and Starting Over
• 14:26: The Board Retreat That Changed Everything
• 28:04: Failure, Grit, and Snowplow Parenting
• 40:12: Stepping Into the Head of School Role
• 49:55: Discovering Classical Education
• 59:27: Building Heritage's High School

Resources:

• The Lost Tools of Learning — Dorothy Sayers
• Society for Classical Learning
• Arcadia Education
• Classical Learning Test (CLT)
• Heritage Preparatory School

Hosted by Ryan Klopak (Arcadia Education) and Alex Julian (CLT). The Furrows podcast features leaders in classical education who have been transformed by classical education.

Produced by Saint Kolbe Studios

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Dr. Kathleen O'Toole is the Associate VP for K-12 Education at Hillsdale College. However, she didn't arrive at classical education through a straight line. She grew up attending a good-but-not-classical school, survived a grueling private prep high school, found her footing at Hillsdale Academy, and finally experienced the full power of a classical curriculum at the University of Dallas. 

Today she leads Hillsdale's K–12 Schools office, helping communities around the country start and sustain classical schools. 

What's in This Episode: 

• The difference between a good school and a classical school 
• Joyful rigor vs. rigor for rigor's sake
• The moment classical education clicked
• What Hillsdale's K–12 office actually does
• Why K–12 matters for teachers; not just students 

Chapters: 

• 00:00 Intro & Guest Welcome 
• 01:30 Growing Up at St. Mark's Episcopal School 
• 07:30 The Power of Joyful Rigor 
• 10:30 School Culture & Traditions That Stick 
• 14:00 Classical Education at Home Before It Had a Name 
• 16:00 Rigor Without Purpose 
• 27:00 Moving to Michigan & Hillsdale Academy 
• 35:00 The Startup School Experience 
• 44:00 University of Dallas & the Core Curriculum 
• 52:00 Finding a Calling: Political Philosophy 
• 55:00 Teachers as Fellow Students 
• 1:01:00 Joyful vs. Joyless Rigor: The Key Difference 
• 1:05:00 Hillsdale's K-12 Office Today 

Resources:

Hillsdale K–12 Schools  

Arcadia Education 

Classical Learning Test 

Hosted by Ryan Klopak (Arcadia Education) and Alex Julian (CLT). The Furrows podcast features leaders in classical education who have been transformed by classical education. Produced by Saint Kolbe Studios

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