Summary

In this conversation, Shannon Valenzuela interviews Charity Hill, an 11th grade integrated humanities instructor for Valor North Austin and host of the Bright Wings podcast on children's literature. They discuss the importance of discernment in selecting children's literature, the interconnectedness of truth, goodness, and beauty, and the transformative power of reading. Charity shares her experiences as a teacher and podcaster, emphasizing that children's literature is not just for children but holds profound significance for readers of all ages. The conversation highlights the role of literature in shaping values and understanding the human experience.

Resources & Links:

• Charity's Website and Podcast: https://www.brightwingschildrensbooks.com/
• Charity's Literature Discernment Worksheet

Topics Covered:

• Discernment in children's literature
• Children's literature as formation
• Truth, goodness, and beauty in literature 
• The benefits of reading aloud together
• Children's books that aren't just for children

Guest:

Charity Andrzejewski Hill is a 2002 University of Dallas graduate, where she majored in English. After graduating, Charity did youth and family ministry in Canada and Ireland and then earned a masters of theology at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage an Family. She is married to Conor Hill for almost 18 years and together they have four children. Charity started a podcast in 2020 on children's literature, and she authors the Family Supplement for Well-Read Mom, pairing children's literature with the material the women read each month. She also contributes yearly to the publication Magnificat. What currently dominates her time and her thoughts are her 11th grade students, to whom she teaches integrated humanities at the public charter school Valor North Austin.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

04:41 Evaluating Children's Literature

06:43 Truth, Goodness, and Beauty in Literature

08:36 Moral Clarity in Children's Books

10:57 The Significance of Children's Literature

12:25 Beauty in Literature and Its Impact

14:19 The Role of Beauty in Action

16:15 The Long Gaze: Discernment in Literature

22:06 Children's Literature Beyond Childhood

27:10 Literature and Formation

30:14 Transformative Books from Childhood

34:08 The Importance of Slowing Down in Reading

36:11 Teaching 11th Grade Literature

41:56 Conclusion

UD Links

• Classical Education Master’s Program at the University of Dallas: udallas.edu/classical-ed
• St. Ambrose Center Professional Development for Teachers and Administrators: https://k12classical.udallas.edu/

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If you enjoyed the show, please leave a rating and review — it helps others find us!

Summary

In this engaging conversation, Dr. Junius Johnson discusses the significance of fairy stories in cultivating wonder and imagination within classical education. He emphasizes the transformative power of fantastical narratives, drawing parallels with C.S. Lewis's Narnia and the importance of teachers as guides in exploring these realms. The dialogue explores how fairy stories can enrich the curriculum, broaden literary canons, and foster a love for learning through delight and engagement. We also discuss how to choose books for your curriculum, and what question you must ask of every text before it goes on your syllabus.

Topics Covered

• The role of fairy stories in a classical curriculum
• Fairy stories and the art of seeing
• Building a culture of wonder and exploration in the classroom
• The teacher as tour guide through worlds of wonder 
• Curriculum design and choosing a book list

Today's Guest

Dr. Junius Johnson is a writer, teacher, speaker, independent scholar, and musician. He is currently the executive director of Junius Johnson Academics, through which he offers innovative classes for both children and adults based in cutting edge scholarship that aim to ignite student hearts with wonder and intellectual rigor. Junius has scholarly expertise in philosophical and historical theology, especially the Medieval period, and in Classical and Medieval literature. His constructive work focuses on beauty, imagination, and wonder, and how these are at play in the Christian and Classical intellectual traditions. He holds a BA from Oral Roberts University, a Master of Arts in Religion from Yale Divinity School, and an MA, two MPhils, and a PhD from Yale University. He is the author of 5
books, including On Teaching Fairy Stories: A Guide to Cultivating Wonder in Students. He is also a professional french horn player and founder and horn emeritus for the quintet Brass.

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction
• 02:56 Defining Fairy Stories vs. Fairy Tales
• 04:48 Engaging Students Through Creative Expression
• 28:58 Building a Supportive Classroom Culture
• 30:45 The Power of Fantastical Literature
• 37:08 Evaluating Fairy Tales in Education
• 41:59 Connecting Classical Literature with Fantasy
• 46:12 The Role of Delight in Learning
• 47:30 Teachers as Guides in the Learning Adventure
• 50:52 Conclusion

Resources & Links

• Read On Teaching Fairy Stories: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1600514928/
• Find out more about Junius Johnson here: https://www.juniusjohnson.com/
• Hear more from Junius here: The Classical Mind podcast and the All Things Wild and Wonderful podcast
• Take courses with Junius here: Junius Johnson Academics

More from the University of Dallas:

• Classical Education Master’s Program at the University of Dallas: udallas.edu/classical-ed
• St. Ambrose Center Professional Development for Teachers and Administrators: https://k12classical.udallas.edu/

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If you enjoyed the show, please leave a rating and review — it helps others find us!

Summary

In this episode, we explore the profound purpose of education, emphasizing the importance of human flourishing, the role of wonder and beauty in learning, and the necessity of fostering imagination in students. We discuss some of the challenges faced by educators today and the need for community among teachers. The conversation highlights the integral connection between joy, wonder, and the holistic development of both students and teachers in the educational journey.

Topics Covered:

• Education and human flourishing
• The holistic vision of knowledge
• The poetic mode of learning, which engages the heart and imagination
• The importance of wonder, beauty, and the imagination in education 
• The need for community and friendship among teachers 

Guests:

Since his priestly ordination in 1985, Bishop James D. Conley has served the Catholic Church in a wide variety of ways—as pastor, college campus chaplain, director of Respect Life ministries, theology instructor, Vatican official and bishop. In all of these tasks, he has seen his life as a priest as a call to service and complete surrender to "God’s providential hand." For his episcopal motto, Bishop Conley, a convert to the Catholic faith, chose the same motto as the great 19th-century English convert, John Henry Cardinal Newman, "cor ad cor loquitur," which means "heart speaks to heart." On Sept. 14, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Conley as the bishop of the Lincoln Diocese in Nebraska. He was installed as the ninth Bishop of Lincoln on Nov. 20, 2012. 

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction
05:44 The Human Person and Education
08:39 The Role of Wonder in Education
12:38 Faith and Science: A Harmonious Relationship
15:58 The Poetic Imagination and Education
27:02 Mental Health and the Modern Generation
33:13 Engaging the Senses in Learning
34:19 Teacher Burnout and Finding Joy in Teaching
38:25 The Role of Humility in Teaching
40:36 The Human Element in Education
41:04 The Journey of Learning Together

Resources & Links:

Bishop Conley's Pastoral Letter on Mental Health (2024): https://www.lincolndiocese.org/afuturewithhope

Bishop Conley's Pastoral Letter on Catholic Education (2024): https://www.lincolndiocese.org/joyandwonder

Classical Education Master’s Program at the University of Dallas: udallas.edu/classical-ed

St. Ambrose Center Professional Development for Teachers and Administrators: https://k12classical.udallas.edu/

Support the show

If you enjoyed the show, please leave a rating and review — it helps others find us!

Summary

In this episode, we discuss some of the principles and practices of classical education, particularly as we understand it at the University of Dallas.  You’ll discover some of the aspects that make classical education distinctive and the importance of understanding the truth of the human person to education.

Topics

• Classical education and the understanding of the human person
• Art and experience in learning
• Awakening wonder in students 
• Learning is a continuous journey for both students and educators
• The study of classical education at UD

Guests

Dr. Paul Weinhold is the Director of the Classical Education Graduate Program, Assistant Dean of the Braniff Graduate School, and Affiliate Assistant Professor of Classical Education at the University of Dallas. For the past twenty years, he has been a teacher and leader in the classical education movement, serving as National Director of Continuing Education, Headmaster, Assistant Headmaster, Academic Dean, and Humane Letters Master Teacher for Great Hearts Academies.

Mr. William Perales is the Director of the St. Ambrose Center for Catholic Liberal Education and Culture at the University of Dallas. He has over twenty years of experience in Catholic education as a teacher and principal at both the elementary and high school levels. He assists schools transitioning to a classical liberal arts vision, has designed curriculum for grades K-12, and leads professional development workshops for teachers and administrators.

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome to the Podcast!

05:52 Personal Journeys into Classical Education

12:03 Diverse Expressions of Classical Education

20:01 Theoretical Foundations: Truth, Goodness, and Beauty

26:19 Enculturation and Human Flourishing

32:54 Understanding the Human Person in Education

36:00 Experiential Learning in Education

39:25 The Importance of Engagement with Literature

45:01 Classical Education's Holistic Approach

50:46 Distinctives of the University of Dallas

55:36 Practical Applications in Classical Education

01:01:07 Lifelong Learning and Community in Education

01:06:02 Conclusion

Resources & Links

The Classical Education Master’s Program at the University of Dallas: https://udallas.edu/classical-ed

The St. Ambrose Center for Catholic Liberal Education and Culture Professional Development for Teachers and Administrators: https://k12classical.udallas.edu/professional-development/

Support the show

If you enjoyed the show, please leave a rating and review — it helps others find us!

Willmoore Kendall has been called a man against the world, a "maverick," an "iconoclast." He was also a professor of politics at the University of Dallas in during its early years, from 1962 to 1967. Kendall is the subject of today’s conversation with Christopher Owen, a retired professor of history at Northeastern State University and author of a new book: Heaven Can Indeed Fall: The Life of Willmoore Kendall. We discuss Kendall’s wisdom for today, how he intriguingly combined positions associated with both the political left and right, as well as the locally famous bust of Kendall you can still find the politics department at UD today.

Link to photo: https://bit.ly/3FNMtqj
Link to Heaven Can Indeed Fall: The Life of Willmoore Kendall

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St. Ambrose Center: https://saintambrosecenter.udallas.edu/   
Free video series, “The Quest”: https://quest.udallas.edu/

When you hear the word “pan-Americanism,” what comes to mind, if anything does, is probably a defunct airline. But back in its day, “much bitter controversy” was waged about the slippery idea of pan-americanism. Why? What was the controversy about? We discuss these and other questions with Dr. Mark Petersen, Associate Professor of History at the University of Dallas and the author of the recent book, The Southern Cone and the Origins of Pan America, 1888-1933. Dr. Petersen explains how pan-Americanism developed from its origins as a US-led form of regional cooperation, what “the Americas” look like when you begin from Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, instead of Washington; and why one photograph that he found in an archive made him sit back, stunned, in his chair.

Link to photograph: https://drive.google.com/file/d/130Lo-N6d120vILgAdF0rZMDelceiGchB/view?usp=sharing

More about Dr. Mark Petersen: https://udallas.edu/constantin/academics/programs/history/faculty/petersen-mark.php
More about his book, The Southern Cone and the Origins of Pan America, 1888-1933: https://undpress.nd.edu/9780268202019/the-southern-cone-and-the-origins-of-pan-america-1888-1933/


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Free video series, “The Quest”: https://quest.udallas.edu/
St. Ambrose Center: https://saintambrosecenter.udallas.edu/   
Liberal Learning for Life @ University of Dallas: https://udallas.edu/liberal-learning/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lib_learning_ud
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liberallearningforlife/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liberallearningforlife 

Randy Boyagoda is a Catholic who has written four novels, most recently, Dante's Indiana. Though he loves reading Flannery O’Connor, he confesses that at one point he was thoroughly sick of hearing about her. We discuss why that is so in today’s conversation among Randy, myself, and Shannon Valenzuela of the University of Dallas. We also explore the pleasures of immersive reading and why it’s worth training oneself to read deeply, what happens when a writer doesn’t love her characters, and how stories can train both the mind and the heart.

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Free video series, “The Quest”: https://quest.udallas.edu/
St. Ambrose Center: https://saintambrosecenter.udallas.edu/   
Liberal Learning for Life @ University of Dallas: https://udallas.edu/liberal-learning/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lib_learning_ud
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liberallearningforlife/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liberallearningforlife 

"The Lord has really stripped me clean,” says Bishop James Conley of Lincoln. 

Bishop Conley had lived a varied and exciting life: chaplain, pastor, longtime Roman resident, and now, a bishop. But when he took a yearlong medical absence because of depression and anxiety in 2019, he entered a new phase.

In this Living The Quest podcast conversation, Dr. Shannon Valenzuela, writer and director of The Quest, speaks with Bishop Conley about his experience, the importance of silence, and how he came to see the truth that in giving ourselves away we discover who we really are.
 
Learn more about The Quest: https://quest.udallas.edu/

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Free video series, “The Quest”: https://quest.udallas.edu/
St. Ambrose Center: https://saintambrosecenter.udallas.edu/   
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lib_learning_ud
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liberallearningforlife/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liberallearningforlife

Six years ago, Ross Douthat had it all together: a growing family, a great job at the New York Times, and a beautiful house in the Connecticut countryside.

Then he fell mysteriously ill, sometimes struggling even to get through a day without horrific pain. What happened? How did he go on? Where was God in all of this?

In this Living The Quest podcast conversation, Dr. Shannon Valenzuela, writer and director of The Quest, speaks with Ross about his experience, his faith, and how his years-long illness brought him through unknown, difficult, deep places.

Learn more about The Quest: https://quest.udallas.edu/

Learn more about Ross Douthat : https://www.nytimes.com/column/ross-douthat

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Free video series, “The Quest”: https://quest.udallas.edu/
St. Ambrose Center: https://saintambrosecenter.udallas.edu/   
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lib_learning_ud
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liberallearningforlife/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liberallearningforlife