The Well-Trained Mind podcast

Latest Episodes:

Homeschooled by Susan Wise Bauer w/ Chris Bauer Jun 18, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, Susan Wise Bauer and Susanna Jarrett interview Susan’s son, Chris Bauer, for the inside scoop on what it was like to be homeschooled by the author of The Well-Trained Mind.

As promised, here is the "Daniel fingers!" blog post Chris mentions.
At 50:53 Susan mentions her history growing up in a fundamentalist cult, for more on her story check out Season 1, Episode 1:
Our Education Journeys, or Season 4, Episode 1: Honest Reflections on My Homeschool Experience w. Susan Wise Bauer

(00:00) - Intro with Chris (Christopher) Bauer
(01:25) - Chris was the test case
(02:52) - Who is Chris?
(09:45) - Chris' homeschool experience in 3 words | Consistent, flexible, and varied
(10:30) - Earliest homeschool memories
(16:23) - Typical homeschool days
(23:51) - Susan invites negativity
(27:07) - The rest of Chris' homeschool day
(30:19) - Break
(30:21) - Chris' biggest challenges
(34:05) - How homeschooling shaped Chris' life
(39:17) - Beta testing WTM
(45:32) - What would Chris change?
(47:00) - What Chris is passionate about
(48:03) - Definite do and don't for Chris' hypothetical future children
(52:04) - Outro

Honest Reflections on My Homeschool Experience w/ Susan Wise Bauer Jun 11, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, Susan Wise Bauer shares an honest reflection on her journey—from being homeschooled herself to becoming a homeschool parent and a leading voice in the homeschooling community.

As promised in the episode, here is the link to Susan's blog posts about daily life homeschooling four young children!

(00:00) - Welcome to season 4!
(01:53) - Susan's homeschooling story
(13:28) - Susan's decision to homeschool
(20:50) - Break
(21:57) - The use of "Classical Education"
(24:03) - Managing life and The Well-Trained Mind
(29:55) - A picture of a homeschool day
(32:36) - Proudest thing as a homeschool parent
(35:51) - A piece of advice
(41:08) - Final thoughts
(41:44) - Thanks for listening!

Navigating College Admissions (pt. 2) with Holly Ramsey and Dr. Michele Evard Nov 13, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Susan Wise Bauer and Susanna Jarrett finish their discussion about college admissions for homeschoolers with two homeschool college admissions experts, Holly Ramsey and Michele Evard.

Holly Ramsey’s Website
Michele Evard’s Website
Holly and Michele’s Book (Use promo code: HOMESCHOOL10 for 10% off the book and everything else College UnMazed sells)

Show Notes:

2:06 Holly recommends Georgia Tech’s college admissions blog for ALL families in the college admissions process, regardless of whether or not you plan to apply to Georgia Tech. Here is the referenced article about the “highschool hallway test.”
7:58 Holly and Susan recommend creating a practice common app account.
11:40 Susan mentions her son’s homeschool transcript, which is available here for your reference.
21:16 Susan mentions that the CollegeBoard has an article about creating a school profile. You can find it here.
45:05 Holly recommends the College Unmazed College Data Organizer, a free tool for comparing colleges.
54:50 Holly recommends using the Student Aid Index Calculator to figure out which colleges you can afford.
55:11 Holly also recommends Big J Educational Consulting’s chart of schools that lists average merit award and what percentage of students get award.
56:45 Holly lists two reputable scholarship finders that aren’t selling your data: (1) CareerOneStop Scholarship Finder sponsored by the U.S Department of Labor and (2) JLV College Counseling.
58:50 Susan mentions Harvard as an example of a school that may be prohibitively expensive. However, while the sticker price is $60,000+/ year, the university has a large endowment and can cover most of that through merit and need-based scholarships. Here is a link explaining.

(00:00) - Intro with Holly Ramsey and Michele Evard (again!)
(00:13) - Make sure you listen to part 1!
(00:58) - Things you *can* do for college admissions
(01:28) - Do document your home school journey
(09:38) - Core 4 documents
(09:48) - 1 - An official transcript
(14:52) - 2 - Course descriptions
(19:55) - 3 - Home school profile
(23:16) - 4 - The counselor letter of recommendation
(31:47) - Break
(31:48) - The personal essay
(37:28) - Do make a list of "good fit" schools
(50:55) - Do consider price tags
(59:54) - Do consider alternatives
(01:10:11) - Wrapping up

Navigating College Admissions (pt. 1) with Holly Ramsey and Dr. Michele Evard Nov 06, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Susan Wise Bauer and Susanna Jarrett discuss what NOT to do when navigating the college admissions process as a homeschool family. They are joined by two educational consultants and college admissions experts, Holly Ramsey and Michele Evard.

Show Notes:

Holly Ramsey’s Website
Michele Evard’s Website
Holly and Michele’s Book (Use promo code: HOMESCHOOL10 for 10% off the book and everything else College UnMazed sells)

Links mentioned:

3:42: Independent Educational Consultants Association (Holly and Michele are part of this organization, the other association they mentioned is HECA)
19:49 Methodology on How US News and World Report Rank Colleges
28:48 Holly mentions Colleges That Change Lives as an example of the many smaller schools that may be a great fit for your student.
29:42 Holly’s recommendations for finding right fit colleges: New York Times Build Your Own College Rankings and Georgetown Return on Investment Chart.
32:29 Holly recommends MEFA Student Aid Index calculator to determine what kind of aid you can get.
37:52 Holly recommends Loper App (the dating app for colleges)

(00:00) - Intro with Holly Ramsey and Michele Evard
(06:11) - What not to do while thinking about the college application process
(06:35) - Don't worry about what your third grader is doing
(17:13) - Break
(17:14) - Keeping on topic
(17:38) - Don't worry about "Ivy Leagues"
(33:10) - Don't get emotionally invested
(39:15) - Don't shape your curriculum to have a good looking transcript
(47:24) - Come back next week for the "Do-s"!

Bonus Episode: An Important Story from a Listener Nov 01, 2024

Show notes

In this short bonus episode, Susan Wise Bauer and Susanna Jarrett talk to one of our amazing listeners, Kim! Kim shares an important personal story and a correction to our previous statement about IQ testing.

Where to find Kim:

Blog: www.kimrankin.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HoldMyWords

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holdmywords/

To Test or Not to Test w/ Dr. Julia Collier and Sandra Amoroso Oct 30, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Susan Wise Bauer and Susanna Jarrett are joined by Dr. Julia Collier and Sandra Amoroso from the Well-Trained Mind Academy to talk all things standardized testing.

Show Notes:

Resources for end-of-year testing:

Seton Testing
Susan’s book: Rethinking School: How to Take Charge of Your Child’s Education
Yearly Testing: How to Do It by Susan Wise Bauer

Resources for SAT and ACT Testing (college admissions tests):

CollegeBoard
Yes, standardized testing is coming back to college admissions. Here is the Dartmouth statement that Julia read.
More information on SAT Adaptive Testing
Correction for 21:20: Both the SAT and ACT are now offered seven times a year.
Correction at 16:18: Students can use a calculator during the math portions of the SAT.
Preparing for the SAT:
- Schoolhouse.World
- Official SAT prep book
PSAT information

Resources for AP Testing

CollegeBoard official website
AP essay writing tips
Articles to dive deeper into CollegeBoard controversies:
- Follow the Money, History of CollegeBoard Finances
- How the SAT Failed America via Forbes (this is an older article, but it gets into some issues with the CollegeBoard that stand the test of time)
- Scandal about Student Data via Reuters

(00:00) - Intro with Julia Collier+
(00:55) - Talking about testing
(01:38) - End of grade testing
(09:36) - College admissions testing
(28:32) - Break
(28:33) - Advanced placement tests
(33:06) - Pros of AP exams
(45:03) - Cons of AP exams
(55:18) - Closing statements
(58:00) - Outro

Questions We Wish You'd Stop Asking Us w/ Chief Editor Justin Moore Oct 23, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Susan Wise Bauer and Susanna Jarrett are joined by Well-Trained Mind Press editor Justin Moore to talk through the quirkier questions we receive at Well-Trained Mind Press.

Justin’s movie recommendation: The Magnificent Seven (the 1960 version!)

Resources for Planning your own Homeschool Plan:

Well-Trained Mind Recommendations Portal

Well-Trained Mind Learning Services

FAQ answer to this question
FAQ Section on our Website

(00:00) - Intro with Justin Moore
(05:24) - Questions not to ask
(07:10) - Don't send your manuscript
(14:29) - Don't ask for custom curricula
(20:12) - Break
(20:13) - Don't ask us to win history
(29:20) - Don't ask if Susan has "gone woke"
(37:17) - Susan's at the mercy of the shearer
(39:41) - Don't ask if we can do your homework
(44:11) - Wrapping up

Reflections on the Homeschool Movement w/ Julie Bogart Oct 16, 2024

Show notes

Julie Bogart’s Books:

Julie’s Other Reading Recommendations:

How to Really Love Your Child by Ross Campbell
The Well-Trained Mind: Essential Edition by Susan Wise Bauer
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards
Authors Julie recommended: Charlotte Mason, John Holt, John Taylor Gatto, and Peter Gray.

If you enjoyed this episode, check out our episode from Season Two with Julie Bogart, Different Approaches to Teaching Writing.

(00:00) - Intro with Julie Bogart
(01:32) - Julie's early years homeschooling
(09:03) - Experiences with public school
(11:59) - Finding homeschool community
(22:04) - A brief(ish) aside on parenting styles
(28:12) - Break
(28:13) - We're figuring this out as we go
(33:31) - Dealing with outside gaze through the years
(45:15) - Being a parent and an educator
(55:01) - Check out "Becoming a Critical Thinker" by Julie!
(56:23) - Outro

Homeschool Fails Oct 09, 2024

Show notes

Be encouraged! Nobody gets it right all the time. In this episode, Susan Wise Bauer and Susanna Jarrett share hilarious homeschool "fails" from our wonderful listeners.

Click here for a link to our Facebook Post with more homeschool fails (some have pictures)!

On this episode of the podcast we briefly discuss Hurricane Helene. If you are able and willing to support ongoing disaster relief efforts, consider donating to World Central Kitchen: https://wck.org/

(00:00) - Intro
(00:56) - Consider donating to disaster relief for the victims of Hurricane Helene
(04:14) - Susan's homeschool fail
(07:15) - Your homeschool fails
(07:44) - Things You Should Know
(15:05) - Never Test a Homeschooler
(20:24) - Break
(20:25) - False Starts
(28:25) - That Got Messy
(33:04) - Unexpected Turns
(36:55) - Wrapping up

Screens, Technology, and Education -- What's the Right Balance? Oct 02, 2024

Show notes

Technology Reading List:

Marshall McLuhan
- The Medium is the Message
- The Global Village
- The Gutenberg Galaxy
- Understanding Media
Neil Postman
- Amusing Ourselves to Death
- Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology
Ray Kurzwell
- The Age of Spirtual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence
Kirkpatrick Sale
- Rebels Against The Future: The Luddites And Their War On The Industrial Revolution: Lessons For The Computer Age Paperback