The Old School

Dr. Bourgeois and Mr. Miller welcome theater teacher extraordinaire Brian Ketcham to the podcast to discuss his pathway from history, also known as the backbone of American education, to theater. The hosts also delve into the many joys and challenges Mr. Ketcham's job entails. As with the other guests, the gentlemen also discuss the possibility of future conversations and topics.

Does the discussion over educational matters leave you wanting a deeper dive of such things in written form? Then, you are in luck. Please check out The Center Cannot Hold: A Critical Look at Contemporary Education, offered by Ahart Solutions and exclusively through Amazon. 

Once more calling in from Germany, Mr. Miller relays to Dr. Bourgeois the excitement as well as the political and economic tension of a soccer game with Borussia Dortmund creates.

Correction: In the episode, I characterized the protest as being about a breaking from the 50+1 policy that German clubs are suppose to have and the unwanted presence of corporations at the club level. This is a backdrop to but not the reason for this particular protest. The German Football League (DFL) voted to sell some of their broadcasting rights for over $1b to corportions as a means of raising money and expanding the brand. But the fans worried about the untold influence the corporations would have over German soccer, including higher prices across the board, and pushed to have the deal scuttled. In late February 2024, the DFL backed down from the deal and now, presumably, are going back to the drawing board. Sorry for the confusion.

If all this soccer talk has you ready to read about educational matters, then you are in luck. Check out The Center Cannot Hold: A Critical Look at Contemporary Education, written by yours truly, for a detailed list of issues facing American education and our humble solutions to said problems.

Dr. Bourgeois and Mr. Miller welcome back Dr. Alex Fingers to talk about the challenges, benefits and the methodology of building a great school culture.

If you are interested in the other characteristics that go into a great school, check out our book on the challenges of the American education system as well as our proposed solutions with The Center Cannot Hold: A Critical Look at Contemporary Education.

After a short but less than enthusiastic revisit of sandwiches, Dr. Bourgeois and Mr. Miller welcome former Superintendent Dr. Rick Westfall to discuss his new role in advising architectural firms on the building and designing of schools and how educational concerns factor into the buildings in which our students hope to excel. We also touch on what could be discussed on future episodes.

After this discussion, consider continuing the intellectual deep dive into our education system with the purchase of our book, The Center Cannot Hold: A Critical Look at Contemporary Education, available exclusively on Amazon.

Dr. Bourgeois and Mr. Miller dive into the cultural and social origins and impact of work in the United States, occasionally comparing it to other countries. The hosts also delve into the therapeutic qualities of work as experienced over the course of their careers.

We have written a book on the characteristics of the American education system as well as the problems, complete with solutions, insofar as we know the solutions. Check out The Center Cannot Hold: A Critical Look at Contemporary Education exclusively at Amazon. 

Mr. Miller takes advantage of the classically and jazz trained pianist in the room to ask Dr. Bourgeois questions on how the two styles are different, how listening to them are different and the qualities of each.

Dr. Bourgeois and Mr. Miller are joined by Dr. Alex Fingers about the motivational and teaching styles that can help teachers in relating to and connecting with their students. After this high brow discussion, we are subjected to an elegy for the PAC 12 and the future of Dr. Bourgeois' childhood heroes in the brave new college football world.

If you are facing the end of the college football season and looking for something to link to the burgeoning spring of baseball spring training that will intellectually edify you, check out our book on the American education system, The Center Cannot Hold: A Critical Look at Contemporary Education. 

Dr. Bourgeois and Mr. Miller bemoan recent changes in our favorite sports and the lurking influence and impact of technology on our national pastimes. 

If you'd also like to see our thoughts on the technological impact on our education system, as well as other problems we identify as critical, check out our book The Center Cannot Hold: A Critical Look at Contemporary Education.

Dr. Bourgeois and Mr. Miller contemplate the merits and problems with Homeschooling (and other forms of alternative education) in comparison to the public school system by first discussing the situation on the ground in...South Dakota?

Once hearing your two favorite Luddites pontificate on a podcast, read the revealing and pointed investigation of the American educaiton system in their five-star rated tome, The Center Cannot Hold: A Critical Look at Contemporary Education, available exclusively through Amazon.

Dr. Bourgeois and Mr. Miller address one of the more ancient forms of education as well as a new wave in educational thought - outdoor education. They discuss the traits and merits as well as the challenges in applying it to the current American public school model of outdoor education.

Just finished a hike or a week-long camping trip where you taught your children to survive if they were ever abandoned in a desert - your own form of outdoor education? Then, an intellectual deep-dive into the modern education system and its problems might be just for you. Check out The Center Cannot Hold: A Critical Look at Contemporary Education found exclusively through amazon.com.