The Well-Trained Mind podcast

Latest Episodes:

Choosing the Right Online School w/ Julia Collier May 08, 2024

Show notes

Clarification on online class types:

Live = Students attend video call classes at a set time. During class they can interact with their instructor and peers. They may complete additional coursework on their own, but must submit it by a particular deadline.

Asynch = Students watch video instruction on their own. There are no set meeting times. They may or may not have deadlines for coursework.

Delayed (unique to WTM Academy) = Students can watch lectures on their own time (within 24hrs of the live class), but must complete all other coursework on the same timeline as live students. Here is a video about how delayed classes work at the WTM Academy.

Things to Look For When Choosing an Online School:

Is there an administration?
Is the school accredited?
Tuition
How much do you want to be involved?
Delivery method/Time online
Socialization opportunities
Viewpoint Diversity and/or Worldview
Website design

Nationally Recognized Accrediting bodies

MSA

(Also check out the agencies they cooperate with)

WASC

Cognia

(00:00) - Intro with Julia Collier
(02:39) - What are the benefits of online school?
(12:50) - Types of online programs
(27:23) - Break
(27:24) - Types of online programs
(33:40) - What a diploma does and whether or not it's important
(36:00) - What are *you* looking for in an online school?
(42:21) - Green flags, red flags, and things to look for in an online school
(01:01:36) - Wrapping up
(01:02:30) - Outro

Teaching Languages the Classical Way (with Elizabeth Weber Edwards) May 01, 2024

Show notes

German: Goethe Institute

Spanish: Instituto Cervantes

French: Alliance Francaise

Well-Trained Mind Academy

Beth Gibbons – singing Penderecki/Gorecki Symphony #3

ANNOUNCEMENT: We will record a Q&A episode at the end of this season. If you have questions for Susan or Susanna, send them to podcast@welltrainedmind.com.

(00:00) - Intro with Elizabeth Weber-Edwards
(01:59) - A brief introduction to learned languages
(08:15) - How do you learn languages?
(14:06) - Some principles for choosing a way to teach a language
(21:52) - Which language should you pick?
(30:41) - Break
(30:42) - How language learning fits into classical education
(40:31) - What to look for in a quality online language class
(53:59) - It's never too late to learn a language!

Teaching History in the Internet Age Apr 24, 2024

Show notes

Show notes:

What is History? How andWhy Should I Teach It by Susan Wise Bauer
Why Learn History When it’s Already on Your Phone? By Sam Wineburg
Resources for Teaching History:
- The Big History Project (skills taught: contextualization, sourcing, causation, comparison, continuity & change over time, close reading)
- Digital Inquiry Group (formerly Stanford History Education Group or SHEG). This organization offers free lesson plans and assessment ideas that emphasize historical thinking skills, perfect for logic stage students. The “Lunchroom I” and “Lunchroom II” lesson plans are a fun introduction to historical thinking skills.
- A great introduction to history for rhetoric stage students: Telling the Truth About History
Reading Lists for Hard History
- American Indians in Children’s Literature Web Page by Debbie Reese
- Heritage Mom Recommendations for Black History
- Annotated Reading list for Grammar Stage: Picture Books About Slavery and Freedom via Heritage Mom
- Annotated Reading list for Logic Stage: Age-Appropriate Books about the Holocaust via School Library Journal (you know your student, some of these may be too heavy for younger logic stage students).
- Another reading list with both grammar stage and logic stage titles on enslavement: Children’s Books about Slavery and Enslavement via Pragmatic Mom

(00:00) - Intro
(00:25) - History as a battleground
(05:21) - A Drag Queen example
(08:31) - History as a story and historical "accuraacy"
(16:49) - 4 historical approaches
(16:57) - Biographical history
(19:06) - Progressive history
(29:35) - Positivist history
(33:55) - Social history
(37:33) - How do we teach this?
(39:28) - History in the grammar stage
(47:10) - History in the logic stage
(54:39) - History in the rhetoric stage
(57:55) - Wrapping up
(58:40) - Outro

When Classics Curdle: Reading Children's Literature that Did Not Age Well Apr 17, 2024

Show notes

Summary: In this episode, Susan and Susanna discuss their thoughts on teaching children’s literature, particularly older books that have problematic or insensitive content.

Show Notes:

Articles We Reference:

Are some children’s classics unsuitable for kids? The Guardian
American Indians in Children’s Literature Web Page by Debbie Reese
Ted Talk: The Danger of a Single Story
Booklists and Resources for Finding Windows and Mirrors:

(00:00) - Intro
(00:14) - The inspiration for this episode
(01:03) - Revisiting classic books with objectionable content
(04:21) - Defining and discussing "objectionable content"
(18:19) - How do we read these books?
(25:04) - Break
(25:13) - Reading classic literature in the grammar stage
(39:53) - Susanna's experience with classic literature
(43:47) - Windows and Mirrors
(46:29) - Classic literature in the logic and rhetoric stage
(48:13) - There are definitely books that should be skipped
(51:50) - An important question to ask yourself
(55:08) - At the end of the day
(56:40) - Outro

Different Approaches to Teaching Writing w/ Julie Bogart Apr 10, 2024

Show notes

Summary: In this episode, Susan and Susanna are joined by Julie Bogart, the founder of the Brave Writer program. Susan and Julie compare their different approaches to teaching writing and discuss which approach might work best for different types of students.

Show Notes:

Julie Bogart’s Books:

(00:00) - Intro with Julie Bogart of Brave Writer
(07:29) - A perfect segue story
(09:17) - The basic philosophy of Brave Writer
(12:23) - Comparing and contrasting WTM and BW
(19:34) - An example of an inappropriate writing assignment and a fix!
(22:30) - The pressure to come up with original content
(26:54) - How to deal with writing-terrified parents
(32:23) - What are we going to do about AI?
(36:22) - Listener question: Left brain vs right brain thinkers?
(41:28) - Wrapping up

Teaching Writing, Stage by Stage Apr 03, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Susan and Susanna discuss Susan’s classical approach to teaching writing across all three stages of a classical education. Apologies, Susanna’s audio was a bit messed up in this episode!

Show Notes:

The Current State of Writing Instruction
Susan’s Youtube video on teaching writing: Teaching Writing, Stage by Stage
A Plan for Teaching Writing: Grades K-12, Audio Workshop
The Complete Writer (Our recommended writing program by Susan)

Bonus Episode: The Well-Trained Mind Essential Edition Apr 02, 2024

Show notes

Check out The Well-Trained Mind Essential Edition or head to our website to subscribe to the new recommendations portal.

Learning Before School -- Teaching Pre-Grammar Stage Students Mar 27, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Susan Wise Bauer and Susanna Jarrett discuss creating a positive learning environment for young children, before formal education begins.

Our Top Recommendations for Preschool Curricula:

(00:00) - Intro
(00:14) - Welcome to Season 2! (plus a little Season 1 recap)
(00:43) - The Nuts and Bolts of Classical Education
(01:28) - What Classical Education looks like before the grammar stage
(06:50) - The preschool years at a brain development level
(09:15) - The preschool years at a physical development level
(11:40) - Laying out some basic principles
(11:50) - Don't push into formal education activities
(12:44) - Create and environment for reading, math, and thinking
(20:24) - If your child does want to do school
(23:21) - How to create a learning environment
(23:55) - Don't confuse entertainment with education
(26:47) - Encourage drawing counter-clockwise circles
(28:12) - Incorporate counting into everyday life
(30:13) - Talk! (and listen!)
(33:18) - Read read read!
(37:20) - What your kid should know before 1st grade
(41:28) - Outro

Developing Virtue Through a Classical Education Nov 22, 2023

Show notes

The Marshmallow Experiment

Timecodes:

(00:00) - Intro
(00:35) - Susan's issues with "teaching virtue"
(06:18) - The four cardinal virtues of classical education | Temperance, Prudence, Courage, and Justice
(06:56) - Temperance: The practice of self-control
(16:00) - Prudence: The ability to determine the appropriate course of action in a given situation
(23:05) - Courage: Moving forward without knowing the outcome
(28:33) - Justice: Applying what you've learned to relationships
(34:37) - You can't make virtue happen
(36:22) - Outro (See you next season!)