Who: Teachers of logic/dialectic, or anyone interested in learning

What: How can the Bible be used as a supplement for teaching logic and dialectic? The logic portion of the course will focus on 1 Corinthians 15 where Paul uses a series of conditional arguments for the resurrection in the first half of the chapter. The second half of the chapter looks at comprehension and extension (the properties of concepts). The dialectic portion will look at several of Jesus' dialogues (e.g., Matt. 16:13-16; Lk. 10:25-37; Mk. 12:35-37) and make some comparisons to Socratic dialogue. Together, these examples show us logic and dialectic at work, making it easier to understand principles and concepts in these areas.

Time: 5-6:30pm CENTRAL

Recorded: All courses are recorded and available 48-72 hours after the course and will be available for 1 month. You will be sent a YouTube link. 

About the Instructor: 

Drew Mery is a classical educator, having taught Logic/Philosophy and American Government/Economics at Paideia Academics, as well as serving on the board of Pietas Classical Christian in Brevard County, FL, providing vision and upper school curricular guidance. Drew holds an MA in Humanities (Great Books) and BSc in Biblical & Theological Studies. He has published papers in FORMA Journal (of the CiRCE Institute) and The Consortium Journal (of Kepler Education). Drew loves wisdom literature, discussing Great Ideas, engaging in Socratic dialogue, and reading and writing essays; you can explore his writings on his substack, The Philosopher’s Beard. Drew lives in central Florida with his wife and three children.

"So we should insist that gentleman should study each of these subjects to at least the same level as very many children in Egypt, who acquire such knowledge at the same time as they learn to read and write. First, lessons in calculation have been devised for tiny tots to learn while they are enjoying themselves at play."

-Plato, Laws 819 B

What: Plato says in his Laws that children should be taught Math according to the old Egyptian method of play. We will explore what it means to teach math (or as the Ancients called it "counting") in a way that is engaging and fitting for younger children. 

Who: Classroom or home educators particularly of elementary age children who wish to learn more about math instruction in the classical tradition.

Date and Time: Thursday, August 8, 7:00-8:30pm (Central)

Recorded: Our courses are interractive, so we encourage live attendance. All courses are recorded and available 48-72 hours after the course and will be available for 1 month. You will be sent a YouTube link. 

Cost: $25 (non-refundable)

About the Teacher:

Aaron Mitchell has been teaching various disciplines in classical schools since 2012. He received his B.A. from Cornell College with a triple major in Classics, Philosophy, and Religious Studies. Upon graduation, he began teaching at Great Hearts Academies in Phoenix, AZ. While there, he taught Middle and High School Latin, History, and Music. In 2017, Aaron was privileged to return to St. Peter’s Classical School, his High School Alma mater, as a faculty member. During his tenure there he taught Greek, Latin, Literature, and Euclidean Geometry. He has spent the last few years doing curricular development for Math and Classical Language instruction at St. Peter’s, particularly focusing on classical language instruction using both inductive and deductive methods, and how an ancient understanding of quantity effects math instruction. He enjoys reading poetry, playing music with his wife Corrie, and watching their son play youth baseball.

What: Discover the fascinating research that suggests that children who engage in undisturbed free play are more likely to develop self-regulation and healthy attention spans than children who are overly regulated by external mechanisms.  Consider ways to apply these principles in learning and leisure. 

Who: While especially relevant to homeschool families, teachers and administrators can also benefit from these principles. 

Cost: $20 (non-refundable)

Date & Time: Tuesday, August 27, 2024, 7:00-8:30 PM CENTRAL.

Recorded: Our courses are interractive, so we encourage live attendance. All courses are recorded and available 48-72 hours after the course and will be available for 1 month. You will be sent a YouTube link. 

About the Instructor: 

Benjamin Lyda holds a Master of Humanities degree from The University of Dallas and is certified by the state of Texas to teach 6-12 grade literature, history, speech communication, special education, and debate. He is the author of Scriptorium – Writing with the Progymnasmata, a 3rd-8th grade curriculum. 

He has been head of a classical charter high school and founder of a Charlotte Mason inspired K-12 school.  His more than 20 years of teaching experience is wide and varied including teaching in urban and suburban settings.  In addition Benjamin regularly works with both advanced and struggling students in public, private, and homeschool settings.  He founded and ran The Children’s Shakespeare Academy, directing full productions of the bard’s plays for homeschool children 9-18.   He is married to his high school sweetheart and together they are bringing up six children. 

"The end of education is not thinking; it is acting. It is not just knowing what to do; it is doing it. The sublime premise of a classical education asserts that right thinking will lead to right, if not righteous, acting."

David Hicks, Norms and Nobility

What: Online teaching and live discussion of Norms and Nobility every two weeks, plus access to study material to accompany your reading, as well as discussion space to explore ideas together and ask questions outside of live meetings. This book is an investment to purchase and requires an investment of time and thought as well; however, it has the potential to transform your thinking about education in a way that will be a positive benefit to a teacher, and that teacher's students, forever after.

Who: This study is for thoughtful educators who wish to deepen their knowledge of classical education and consider how ancient ideas about education and its purposes can be implemented in contemporary times. This book is for those who want to challenge themselves, as it requires effort to read.

Class Limit: Places are limited so we can all participate in discussion.

Course Dates: The course will run from September 3, 2024 to March 4, 2025.  There will be 13 live meetings, plus online discussion.

Recordings: Recording of live meetings will be sent within 24-48  hours after the meeting and available for two weeks after each class.

Time: Every other Tuesday, 7:00pm-8:00pm (CENTRAL TIME)

Cost: EARLY BIRD RATE: $199 if registered by August 6

 $249 if registered after August 6.

Course Map 

2024

September 3 - Preface and Prologue

September 17 - Chapter 1, Virtue is the Fruit of Learning

October 1 - Chapter 2, The Word is Truth

October 15 - Chapter 3, Teaching the Father of the Man

October 29 - Chapter 4, The Tyrannizing Image

November 12 - Chapter 5, Saving the Appearance

November 26 - Chapter 6, On the Necessity of Dogma

December 10 - Chapter 7, The Ennobling of the Masses

January 7 - Chapter 8, The Promise of Christian Paideia

January 21 - Chapter 9, A Curriculum Proposal (What Might Have Been)

February 4 - Chapter 10, Some Questions and Assumptions

February 18 - Chapter 11, Three Schools in One Academy

March 4 - Chapter 12, The School Within the School, and Epilogue

About the Teacher 

Karen Glass is a homeschool mother who has taught her four children through graduation and spent over two decades delving into educational philosophy, beginning with Charlotte Mason and extending to classical educators throughout history. She has a B.A. in English, but her real education has been self-education, and her passion for education has led her to write several books, including Mind to Mind (an abridgement of Charlotte Mason's Philosophy of Education), Know and Tell: The Art of Narration, In Vital Harmony: Charlotte Mason and the Natural Laws of Education, and A Thinking Love: Studies in Charlotte Mason's Home Education.  When she asked David Hicks, the author of Norms and Nobility, to read and consider writing a Foreword to her first book, Consider This: Charlotte Mason and the Classical Tradition, he graciously consented to do so.

    "Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all  

              Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."

-John Keats, Ode on a Grecian Urn

What: Stratford Caldecott's work Beauty for Truth's Sake is one of the most important books written about Classical Education, in particular for its emphasis on what was called in the Medieval world, the quadrivium. If you read anything about classical education, you will often hear the term trivium, bandied about. The Trivium had to do with literary arts (reading and writing) whereas the quadrivium had to do with the numerical arts (arithmetic). This work seeks to help us understand math as an integrated part of a classical education guided by ultimate questions about the world and how we relate to it properly.

Who: Educators and parents who are interested in the history of math and how math, or more properly, the quadrivium, relates to and is an integral part of classical education.

Class Limit: Places are limited so that we can all participate in discussion.

Course Dates: The course will run from September 6th to October 25th, 2024. There will be 7 live meetings.

Please note that this class is being held on Friday nights. There is also a Wednesday night option if Friday is not good for you. Please do not sign up for both.

Time: Fridays from 7:00pm-8:00pm (Central)

Please note that we will not meet on Friday, October 4th.

Course Overview: 

September 6th - Introduction, "To Sing with the Universe"

September 13th - Chapter 1, The Tradition of the Four Ways

September 20th - Chapter 2, Educating the Poetic Imagination

September 27th - Chapter 3, The Lost Wisdom of the World

October 4th - No Class

October 11th - Chapter 4 The Golden Circle

October 18th - Chapter 5, "Quiring to the Young-Eyed Cherubims"

October 25th - Chapter 6, The Liturgical Consummation of Cosmology 

and Conclusion, Beyond Faith and Reason

Requirements: 

A copy of Stratford Caldecott's Beauty for Truth's Sake

Recorded: Our courses are interractive, so we encourage live attendance. All courses are recorded and available 48-72 hours after the course and will be available for 1 month. You will be sent a YouTube link. 

Cost: $40 (non-refundable)

About the Teacher

Aaron Mitchell has been teaching various disciplines in classical schools since 2012. He received his B.A. from Cornell College with a triple major in Classics, Philosophy, and Religious Studies. Upon graduation, he began teaching at Great Hearts Academies in Phoenix, AZ. While there, he taught Middle and High School Latin, History, and Music. In 2017, Aaron was privileged to return to St. Peter’s Classical School, his High School Alma mater, as a faculty member. During his tenure there he taught Greek, Latin, Literature, and Euclidean Geometry. He has spent the last few years doing curricular development for Math and Classical Language instruction at St. Peter’s, particularly focusing on classical language instruction using both inductive and deductive methods, and how an ancient understanding of quantity effects math instruction. He enjoys reading poetry, playing music with his wife Corrie, and watching their son play youth baseball.

Who: Parents, administrators, and teachers of elementary grade students.

What: This seminar will provide specific and practical guidance on teaching the Bible to first through eighth-grade students with the scriptures as the primary text along with memory work, maps, and picture study.  We will seek to fulfill Charlotte Mason’s principle that "the knowledge of God ranks first in importance, is indispensable, and most happy-making." The session will include philosophy, pedagogy, curriculum pacing, lesson plan design, and more.

Date and Time: Saturday, September 14, 10:00-11:30 am CENTRAL

Cost: $25 (non-refundable)

Recorded: This course will be recorded and available 48-72 hours after the course and will be available to view for 1 month. You will be sent a YouTube link. 

About the Instructor: Robert Terry has twenty-five years of experience as a classical schoolteacher, administrator, and curriculum designer. He successfully implemented a Charlotte Mason-style Bible program at a large classical school and witnessed the fruit that it produced. Robert has a Master of Philosophy and is near completing a Doctorate in Theology.

David Hicks in Norms & Nobility says "Classical education is not, preeminently, of a specific time or place. It stands instead for a spirit of inquiry and a form of instruction concerned with the development of style through language and of conscience through myth" (p. 18).

Learn how to create a spirit of inquiry from beginner (PreK-4) to advanced levels (5-12 grades). Engage in practical activities in this interactive workshop. Learn how to identify “worksheet” or “textbook” questions and rewrite them into questions that truly engage the heart and intellect of students. Ideal for all teachers (classroom and home educators) for all grade levels and subjects.

Who: For classroom instructors or home educators at all levels seeking to  engage in intellectual and heart-felt conversations without the need of a curriculum or study guide.

What: 2 hour workshop applying the practical application of establishing a spirit of inquiry in your learning environment.  Participants will experience a lesson taught dialectically and will discuss the principles behind the crafting of such lessons. Participants will also gain hands-on experience formulating various categories of meaningful questions.

Requirements: Zoom app (courses are LIVE and not recorded) Participation is necessary for a classical experience. Zoom link will be provided prior to the class.

Date: Saturday, September 28, 2024

Time: 10am till Noon CST Central Time 

Recordings: Live attendance is encourged for an immersive experience. Recordings will be made available 48 hours after the session and will be available till Oct. 31.

Cost: $25, Limited class size; register today! (non-refundable)

About the Teacher 

Adrienne is the founder and director of Classical Education Podcast as well as Beautiful Teaching Consulting. Her expertise is in collaborating and guiding new, and established schools in classical curriculum and professional development needs. She has worked as the Classical Education Advisor for the K-12 Curriculum and Professional Development Project at University of Dallas and served as the Director of Classical Methods for Responsive Education Solutions. In both roles, Adrienne has collaborated with districts, boards, school leaders, and thousands of teachers, helping nearly 30 schools transition to a classical model. She has led teams creating classical professional development, leading parent education workshops, and writing customized educational materials that promote a strong virtue-based humanities curriculum for K-12 schools.

She specializes in Coaching and transitioning schools into the liberal arts tradition; K-8 classical curriculum development; Charlotte Mason pedagogy; Trivium-Based Lesson Planning, classical charter schools; Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant education; Homeschooling.

Adrienne has been married to Brian for 32 years. She is a retired homeschool mother of four adult children and the grandmother of eight. 

Couse Description: This course will cover the history, meaning, and theology of Icons and how to use them in school lessons with students. An Icon is more than just a painting. It is a window into the divine and a way, a physical representation of the good, the beautiful, and the true. Christians icons are an important part of early church traditions. The study of icons allows students to experience a holistic approach to integrating the Christian faith with history. 

Date: October 1, 2024

Time: 6-7 pm (CENTRAL)

(Live attendance is encourged for an immersive experience. Recordings will be made available 48 hours after the session and will be available till Oct. 31.)

Cost: $15 (non-refundable)

About the Instructor:

John Heitzenrater is the headmaster of St. John Chrysostom Academy in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Mr. Heitzenrater has nearly 20 years’ teaching and administrative experience in classical schools. He began his career teaching history and humanities at the Lady Margaret Roper School and St. Peter’s Orthodox Classical School in Fort Worth, Texas.

John received his A.B. magna cum laude from the College of St. Thomas More where he studied literature, philosophy, theology, classical languages, and history. In graduate school he attended the University of Dallas where he received his Master of Humanities with a concentration in history in 2016. He and his wife Christina have 11 children, seven girls and four boys, many of whom attend St. John Chrysostom Academy.