The Scholé Sisters Podcast: Recent Episodes
The Scholé Sisters Podcast
At Schole Sisters, we want to remind ourselves and our listeners that we shouldn’t be the White Witch in our homes – making it always winter, but never Christmas. Christmas is worth the effort of celebration.
But what about when times are tight? Gas is high, inflation is high, and most of us are feeling the pinch. Does this mean Christmas is off the table?
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Keyword Intro [2:33-20:00] Scholé Everyday segment
* [23:38] Why we celebrate Christmas in the first place
* [29:05] Responding to poverty
* [45:14] Christmas with or without presents?
Today’s Hosts and SourceBrandy Vencel*
makes homemade Christmas ornaments every year with her kids.
Mystie Winckler
carries on her family’s tradition of presents under the tree appearing overnight Christmas morning.
Abby Wahl
takes live lambs to the church Christmas pageant where her kids sing and act.
“Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents.”
Little Women
Scholé Everyday: What We’re Reading Nothing Found For the Family’s Sake, Susan Schaeffer MacauleyBrandy is reading the companion book to Macauley’s For the Children’s Sake for the first time.
Peak Mind, Amishi JhaAbby is reading this airport bookstore find and enjoying the productivity and attention hacks presented.
Law & Liberty, RushdoonyMystie is reading this because her husband read it for a men’s book club; it’s her first Rushdoony title, although many books she’s read in the past two decades have cited him.
What are we celebrating?Before we begin talking about Christmas and how to celebrate it, we have to remember that we are celebrating the incarnation. The incarnation of Christ is about Christ coming as God in the flesh, interrupting people’s lives, and messing up people’s plans and expectations. Christ gave Himself to us, and so at Christmas it is appropriate to imitate him in giving generously and practicing receiving gifts gratefully.
Responding to povertyThe first thing we see in Little Women is the girls’ poor responses to poverty. They complain and grumble and compare their current circumstances to their past abundance and to their neighbors. Comparison is the thief of joy.
Marmee herself, in suggesting they do no presents at all, inadvertently opens the door to the girls – who would be happy to purchase presents for others – to consider using their money for themselves instead.
But the point of Christmas is not getting new things. The point of Christmas presents is practicing generosity in gratitude for the generous grace we have received in Christ.
Generosity in lean timesIt’s still possible to be generous even when you have little yourself, as the March family shows when they take their meager breakfast to a family with less than they have.
Celebrating in lean timesCelebrating is about much more than getting and giving cool presents. There’s the food, there’s the decorating, there’s the singing – all of which can be joy-filled and abundant without spending much money.
Mentioned in the Episode Nothing Found * Why Mystie isn’t keen on Louisa May Alcott & why Brandy said she was raised in a cult Listen to related episodes:SS #116 – Feasting in a time of fastingAt Schole Sisters, we want to remind ourselves and our listeners that we shouldn’t be the White Witch in our homes – making it always winter, but never Christmas. Christmas is worth the effort of celebration. But what about when times are tight? Gas is high, inflation is high, and most of us are feeling…Read More SS #116 – Feasting in a time of fastingSS #46: What the Dickens?Today’s episode features a discussion of Charles Dickens’ famous story A Christmas Carol, which is Brandy’s FAVORITE Christmas story. Naturally, Mystie and Pam tried to ruin it for her, but she was undaunted, and thinks you will be, too. Thank you to our sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Mystie’s Brain Dump…Read More SS #46: What the Dickens?SS #30: Putting the Merry Back in ChristmasToday, the Scholé Sisters get real about Christmas. Mystie says we can be classical not just in our approach to education, but also in our approach to happiness. Does the classical tradition have something to offer us at Christmas as well? We talk about depression and grief, yes, but also bad attitudes and dangerous expectations,…Read More SS #30: Putting the Merry Back in ChristmasSS #16: Don’t Be the White WitchIn spite of empty platitudes and trite sayings, we get — philosophically speaking — to the bottom of Christmas, after all. Are our homes the equivalent of Narnia without Aslan? Always winter and never Christmas? Don’t be the white witch! The work of Christmas can actually be an integral part of scholé. Can we simplify…Read More SS #16: Don’t Be the White WitchWant to talk about the ideas presented here? The conversation is happening inside Sistership.The post SS #116 – Feasting in a time of fasting appeared first on Scholé Sisters.
We’ve all heard it said, and maybe even said it ourselves: “I don’t want to tell my kids what to think, but how to think.”
Is that possible? What is indoctrination, and is it always bad?
Indoctrination has a negative connotation in society today, but what if that’s only so parents refrain from teaching their kids so that the schools can fill in for them?
How can you learn to think without having knowledge with which to think? What if indoctrination is necessary precisely for learning how to think?
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Teaching, Thinking, & Indoctrination* [2:25-16:09] Scholé Everyday segment * [18:10] Definitions of indoctrination * [20:30] Dogma & doctrine * [24:34] Critical thinking & skepticism * [28:53] Paideia is indoctrination * [36:27] Knowledge v. propaganda * [44:22] Parents should guide opinions * [52:40] Parents should not force opinions * [55:33] Doctrine is good, and it should be in us Today’s Hosts
Brandy Vencel
has been indoctrinated to think California is a great place to live.Mystie Winckler
now lives in the indoctrination capital of the reformed world.Abby Wahl
wants to indoctrinate us all to believe exercise is fun.
Scholé Everyday: What We’re Reading Nothing Found Foundations of Christian Education, Berkhof & VanTilMystie is finally reading an education book that’s been on her shelf for over a decade and wondering why she waited so long because it’s so, so good!
Church History in Plain Language, Bruce ShelleyAbby is reading this with her teens for school.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert Heinlein Brandy is rounding out her distopian category for the year with a libertarian take.
What does it mean to indoctrinate?Doctrine means teaching, so indoctrinatation means to teach. So indoctrination is education in the strictest sense. Indoctrination is to give an idea to someone else.
indoctrinate (v.)Formerly also endoctrinate, 1620s, “to teach,” formed as if from Latin (but there seems to have been no word indoctrinare), perhaps modeled on French endoctriner or extended from earlier (now obsolete) verb indoctrine, endoctrine*, “to instruct” (mid-15c.); see in- (2) “in” + doctrine + -ate (2)). Meaning “to imbue with an idea or opinion” first recorded 1832. Related: Indoctrinated; indoctrinating.
The Dictionary
The resistance we feel with the world indoctrination is that a part of indoctrination can be imbuing someone with opinions
Doctrine refers to the fundamental principles of a field of knowledge, so in one sense, we should be firmly committed to giving our children doctrine. Each person should not have to start from scratch to discover the fundamentals. Part of giving our children their inheritance is giving them the doctrines we also have received.
The word can also mean, particularly now,
But archaically, the word did not include the “uncritically” part.
Taking a position is mandatoryWe don’t really have the capacity to think unless we have material to think about, unless we have ideas to consider.
In Norms and Nobility, Hicks discusses teaching dogma – held beliefs or doctrines – as a positive and necessary thing for dialectic education.
To teach and learn dialectically, one must take a position. Only by taking a position can you begin to see another perspective. With no commitment to an idea, you can’t actually understand someone else’s commitment.
How to we raise critical thinkers?The current emphasis on critical thinking is actually an emphasis of skepticism. Students are told to begin with a blank slate, with doubt, and from that they will discover their own truth.
It’s an emphasis on information coming from analysis rather than the Charlotte Mason and classical approach of knowledge coming from connections and synthesis, which requires a foundation, a starting place.
Mentioned in the Episode Nothing Found Listen to related episodes:SS #115 – Indoctrinate MeWe’ve all heard it said, and maybe even said it ourselves: “I don’t want to tell my kids what to think, but how to think.” Is that possible? What is indoctrination, and is it always bad? Indoctrination has a negative connotation in society today, but what if that’s only so parents refrain from teaching their…Read More SS #115 – Indoctrinate MeWant to talk about the ideas presented here? The conversation is happening inside Sistership.The post SS #115 – Indoctrinate Me appeared first on Scholé Sisters.
We know the college scene these days is not healthy, and it’s also ridiculously expensive. Yet it’s the default path we tend to set for our high school graduates.
The boys, we think, need to go to university in order to get careers so they can provide for a family. Should our girls also get career-oriented degrees as “insurance” in case they don’t get married or end up needing to provide for a family? What if our girls are not the types to pursue higher education in liberal arts?
What options can we prepare for and present to our girls that will help them continue their education in healthy ways, whether or not college is involved?
Rebekah Merkle joins us today to talk about “finishing school” options for our graduating daughters.
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Higher Education for Girls [2:45-10:11] Scholé Everyday segment
* [11:23] Being more than anti-feminist
* [14:25] The history of higher education in America
* [18:02] Sending girls away to college
* [24:55] What about our girls who do prepare for a job?
* [28:39] Being a homemaker is being an entrepreneur
* [39:51] It takes women to have a culture
* [48:52] Be more creative in your post-high-school options
Today’s Hosts and SourceBrandy Vencel*
homeschools two daughters, both of whom are teens.
Mystie Winckler
homeschools two daughters, 14 and 10.
Today’s Guest: Rebekah MerkleRebekah Merkle has dabbled in a number of occupations ranging from manning her own clothing label to designing her own fabrics to becoming a full-time high-school humanities teacher. Her designs have been featured in a number of magazines, she has written the books Eve in Exile and Classical Me, Classical Thee, and she has edited a Brit Lit curriculum for Canon Press. However, her proudest accomplishment is her crew of five outrageous, hilarious, high-speed teenage children, and her favorite role is that of wife to her similarly outrageous, hilarious, and high speed husband, Ben Merkle, who serves as president of New Saint Andrews College. She co-hosts the podcast What Have You with her sister Rachel.
“Because we women are the glory, it makes sense that we tend to be preoccupied with glorifying. We do this innately and without even having to think about it, in the same way that our bodies can create another human inside of us without us having to stop and read a manual about how to do it. God created us for this purpose, and we beautify and we glorify constantly. Sometimes we do this in obedient ways, sometimes in rebellious ways; sometimes we revolt against our innate desire to do this at all, but this is a deeply ingrained trait that God has built into womankind, and it just can’t be completely smothered.”
Rebekah Merkle, Eve in Exile and the Restoration of Femininity
Also, check out Rebekah’s fun designs to liven up your kitchen!
Scholé Everyday: What We’re Reading Nothing Found Kristin Lavransdatter, Sigrid UndsetMystie’s book club is reading this novel about the devastation sin causes, while recognizing the innumerable opportunities for repentance we all have.
Down the Garden Path, Beverley NicholsRebekah just finished rereading this gardening classic.
Sissinghurst, Vita Sackville-West & Sarah RavenBekah’s second pick in her category of “Gardens created by messes of humans.”
Medical Apartheid, Harriet WashingtonBrandy finishes out her medical controversy genre for the year.
We need to be more than anti-feministSimply reacting to modern feminists and defining ourselves in opposition to their positions is not the same as having a Christian understanding of femininity. Biblical principles
Going back far enoughThe purpose of the land-grant government universities was to use the wealth of land in our young country to train up young people in the useful arts, as opposed to the liberal arts. At this time, education came to be seen as training for a job rather than the development of a certain kind of person.
The land-grant universities named degrees after jobs. The older method of education formed habits of the mind.
This concept of education cheapens education.
Daughters will not have a similar career path as sons, so if education is job training, then of course they need a different kind of education.
However, if education is the shaping of the mind, if education is in the liberal arts, then both boys and girls will benefit from that education, regardless of what they do with their work later.
The liberal arts are for both boys and girls, sons and daughters.
Often the best way to get the training you want for a job or a skill is to go directly to getting job experience rather than a degree for certification.
The pitfalls of sending girls away to collegeThe college years are still formative in a young adult’s life. It is not true that a solid K12 education sets the stone and makes our kids – boys or girls – solid enough to withstand the influences of a state university education.
Our identity is often actually set in our late teens and early twenties, when we are also making life-path decisions. The setting we live in during those years is formative and significant to the trajectory of our lives.
Our expectation needs to be set on something more solid than whether or not the college has a good football team. The landscape of the college campus has changed dramatically, so we need to be willing to think outside the box.
What about opportunities for daughters who do want to do work that requires a university program like nursing? We need to be sure they’re prepared for the reality of the situation – and even that we know the reality of the situation, instead of going in blind and assuming it will all be fine. Is your kid – boy or girl – is not ready to be opposed in their Christianity, they probably aren’t ready to be on a university campus.
What about girls who are not college-bound?They can have an adventure! There are many ways skills can be built without signing on the the university model.
One of Rebekah’s twenty-something daughters is currently in England at a Courdon-Bleu Cooking School, with no intention of using that skill to start a career or earn a living, but rather to build up skills – including doing hard things in challenging environments – to serve her family and community.
Have you swallowed the feminist lie?Should girls who want to be homemakers stay at home and help their own mom with chores and meals? Does being a homemaker require anything more than that?
Assuming you can go from being mom’s chore-girl to a skilled homemaker is swallowing the feminist’s lie about homemaking – that it is only for the unambitious, the underachievers. The feminists say anyone can do homemaking without any thought or development needed and the “stay at home daughter” concept pretty much agrees with the feminists. It simply says, “Yup, and we like it that way.”
However, homemaking is a significant role that demands more of us than simply knowing how to do laundry and roast a chicken. Developing skills and wisdom and accumulating experience in a variety of responsibilities serves a future – and current – homemaker well.
If you want to embrace homemaking, you need to embrace the significance of the calling. It’s not something any ol’ underachiever can excel at.
Rebekah Merkle
Should girls prepare for careers?If you want to be a lawyer, do you go to school to become a dental assistant, work as a dental assistant, and just wait for someone to ask you to represent them in court before you begin training to be a lawyer?
Why do we do that with homemaking?
You want to do work that will increase your ability and capacity for the responsibilities of wife and mother so that when you arrive there, you’re ready for it. We don’t want our daughters – like many of us – to show up and have to learn everything on the job after preparing and practicing a totally different path for years.
If you want to end up as a homemaker, don’t go the opposite direction until God gives you the position.
There are so many skills involved with homemaking and so many of them that can be done excellently. Pick one and really go all in with it.
Homemaking is not cookie-cutter. It’s not one look. There are so many possibilities. Throw yourself at a possibility or two and try to get really good at it.
Make the most of the opportunities you have and get on the path, getting good at the things that you know will help you out.
“Just” a homemaker?!Being a homemaker is not a waste of an opportunity
It is not a shame that we have wasted ourselves, our abilities, in the home rather than spend ourselves on a 9-5 job. It is not a shame that we work with and for our husbands rather than for a boss for a paycheck.
There are enough Christian women living and working as homemakers. If we would simply capture the vision for the glory of the role, it would be transformative in the society at large. It has been women who dismantled Western society. Women could build it back with the proper vision, with their eyes on Christ and truth rather than the world’s opinions and lies.
In any war, you don’t see one side spending huge amounts of time and money on a site that is not strategic. The battle for the attention and energy and hearts of the women has been intense for the last century. That is because homes are where the gospel is potent and where the gospel is most effectively spread. The world has spent considerable focus in taking down the woman’s role in the home. It matters. It is strategic. It is worth defending because it is so significant.
It takes women to have a culture.A woman’s power lies in being an excellent woman, not in being a second-rate man.
Men by themselves can have a club or a business, but not a culture. Women take the work of men and transform it into home, into beauty, into culture. The more we step up to the work we’re called to, the more transformative we can be.
A paycheck is not the vindication for the value of our work.
Mentioned in the Episode Nothing Found * Watch the Eve in Exile Documentary * New St. Andrews College, where Mystie’s son attends and where Rebekah Merkle’s husband is president Listen to related episodes:No posts
Want to talk about the ideas presented here? The conversation is happening inside Sistership.The post SS #114 – A Well-Educated Daughter (with Rebekah Merkle!) appeared first on Scholé Sisters.
Are classical educators idealists? Is an Ideal Type necessary to an educational philosophy? What even is an Ideal Type and why is it capitalized?
Today’s conversation, recorded on location in Dallas while the sisters were together for the annual retreat. We discussed chapter 4 in Norms & Nobility and the claims it makes about education and persons.
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What is an ideal type? [2:45-13:28] Scholé Everyday segment * [15:46] Ideal Type – a definition * [21:50] The Ideal Type is timeless * [23:25] The Ideal Type is not perfectionism * [26:09] Virtue is not a permanent state * [28:10] Modernity has dispensed with the Ideal Type * [30:57] Failure is not optional * [33:27] Story & history teach the Ideal Type * [41:23] A moral preoccupation * [42:42] Don’t hit the easy button * [43:43] Overcoming the victory of relativism Today’s Hosts and SourceBrandy Vencel*‘s ideal type is both a politician and honest.
Abby Wahl‘s ideal type is both a good shot and a good dad.
Mystie Winckler‘s ideal type is both a gentleman and a handyman.
Norms and Nobility, by David Hicks, lays out a richer and more nuanced vision for education than teaching with the grain so that students will not fall prey to fallacies. He claims that having and pursuing an ideal type is fundamental to classical education.
“This Ideal Type was at once immutable yet ever in need of refinement. It was the metaphorical incarnation of wisdom and truth, empowered by education to metamorphose the diligent student. Both an elaborate dogma and a man, it defied comparison with any man, yet all men discovered themselves in it. The Ideal Type embraced Gilgamesh’s love for Enkidu and David’s love for Jonathon, Odysseus risking his precarious safety to hurl gratuitous insults at the Cyclops, and Achilles deciding at the dawn of human history to die at the supreme moment of glory rather than to live through the long, wizening, connubial years. What made these stories valuable was not their historical authenticity or experimental demonstrability, but their allegiance to a pattern of truth. Whatever fit this pattern was retained and added to the education of future generations. What fell outside this pattern was judged superfluous to the education of the young“
Norms & Nobility, David Hicks
Scholé Everyday: What We’re Reading Nothing Found Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, John BunyanMystie’s next book club pick is the Pilgrim’s Progress story of the author himself.
Natural Born Heroes, Christopher McDougallAbby is reading this as a health book pick on the recommendation of Brandy.
Bechamp or Pasteur?: A Lost Chapter in the History of Biology, Ethel HumeBrandy is feeding her skepticism of Big Pharma, which turns out to not be a new problem.
What is the ideal type?The Ideal Type is a standard, but not an achievable standard. It gives us what to aim out, but there is no arrival at the Ideal Type.
The true Ideal Type is Jesus. We are to imitate Him. We are called to become Christ-like. So sanctification is a process guided by an Ideal Type.
Myths whether they sang of the exploits of demigods or of heroes, caught in their perpetual flames a unifying vision and standard of man, an Ideal Type striding between the poles of human strength and human frailty.
Norms and Nobility
The Greek Ideal Type was a composite type, not an actual perfect man they believed had existed.
The Ideal Type is transcendantThe Ideal Type points to virtue outside of cultural or trending trappings. The essence is universally applicable, even if set and told in particular ways.
[The Ideal Type was] thoughtful in action and active in thought.
Norms and Nobility
The Ideal Type is universal and timeless, because it is based on being an excellent human, which goal beyond cultures and trends.
When you measure men by statisticsYou don’t get perfectionism when you have an Ideal Type. Perfectionism comes when the standard is “statistical man,” man measured by man. That measure someone could attain, but the Ideal Type looks not at what is but what ought to be.
When our forebears asked – What is a man? – they did not expect a detailed examination of some Saturday morning shopper, Mr. John Q. Public, snatched at random from the crowded agora and forced under a microscope or onto a psychiatrist’s couch. Nor did they want a statistical analysis of some cross-section of the demos for an answer. Of what good to sound learning is a man who looks like every man but in whom no man sees himself? The only use for such analyses, as our modern era shows, is in various forms of exploitation. Statistical man makes a useful abstraction for advertisers and propagandists.
Norms and Nobility, David Hicks
By the standard of the ideal type, each and every choice is considered. The type is not a level that you attain and then are good to go.
Each choice mattersWhen you have an unattainable goal, you stop asking whether or not you’ve arrived and start looking at whether or not each choice moves you closer or farther away. Humans actually don’t do well when they finally attain a “top of the field” award like an Olympic medal and then have no farther to go.
The Ideal Type, even though it can’t be fully won, is more motivating.
Even achievements like an Ironman, that are done and won, still don’t work lasting change. If you don’t keep up your skills, you lose them. It’s the same with virtue. You don’t get to check virtue off as something you’ve accomplished. Virtue resides in each choice, and you can lose virtue more easily than you can gain it.
Modernity has rejected the Ideal TypeTruth, goodness, and beauty are all a package deal. Cultural decay doesn’t happen overnight, but we are seeing a loss of beauty after losing goodness which came after denying truth.
The Ideal Type is a way to imagine and communicate truth, goodness, and beauty in a human form. It’s a picture of what we’re striving for as we work and educate. But you can’t have an Ideal Type without objective truth, goodness, and beauty.
Classical education is judgyBecause modernity has rejected objective truth and standards, we’re not supposed to judge. However, judgement is also merely the ability to discern and decide well. As we have succumbed to removing what’s been called judgemental comments, we’ve also lost our judgement.
The Ideal Type requires us to discern, to judge, to decide, to measure. It requires us to think and act with prudence and a long view.
A just man is able to judge well. Judging well means risking making a bad judgment – and a just man comes back to apologize and rectify a previous poor judgement.
The virtues come from testing, not from ease.
Don’t avoid failureWe learn through the failure. Avoiding failure is often caused by perfectionism – not wanting to do anything at all until we’re sure we’ll do it right. But that’s not the way learning or maturing works.
We learn by making attempts, assessing, and trying again. The Ideal Type provides us a measure by which we can assess and course-correct as we try making better and better choices.
The Ideal Type is taught by storyYou don’t need to whitewash history to teach the Ideal Type by story and history. Learning and wisdom are dialectical. We need the whole picture, to see the good and address the bad.
We’re not talking about idealism, where we want only and all what is best and ideal, thinking we can make our reality actually ideal.
Stories give us the opportunity to discern and judge with low-stakes practice. Making arguments as devil’s advocate also teaches us to reason and judge and see what’s really going on.
So history and stories aren’t teaching didactically, but dialectically and imaginatively.
Mentioned in the EpisodeListen to related episodes:SS #116 – Feasting in a time of fastingAt Schole Sisters, we want to remind ourselves and our listeners that we shouldn’t be the White Witch in our homes – making it always winter, but never Christmas. Christmas is worth the effort of celebration. But what about when times are tight? Gas is high, inflation is high, and most of us are feeling…Read More SS #116 – Feasting in a time of fastingSS #46: What the Dickens?Today’s episode features a discussion of Charles Dickens’ famous story A Christmas Carol, which is Brandy’s FAVORITE Christmas story. Naturally, Mystie and Pam tried to ruin it for her, but she was undaunted, and thinks you will be, too. Thank you to our sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Mystie’s Brain Dump…Read More SS #46: What the Dickens?SS #30: Putting the Merry Back in ChristmasToday, the Scholé Sisters get real about Christmas. Mystie says we can be classical not just in our approach to education, but also in our approach to happiness. Does the classical tradition have something to offer us at Christmas as well? We talk about depression and grief, yes, but also bad attitudes and dangerous expectations,…Read More SS #30: Putting the Merry Back in ChristmasSS #16: Don’t Be the White WitchIn spite of empty platitudes and trite sayings, we get — philosophically speaking — to the bottom of Christmas, after all. Are our homes the equivalent of Narnia without Aslan? Always winter and never Christmas? Don’t be the white witch! The work of Christmas can actually be an integral part of scholé. Can we simplify…Read More SS #16: Don’t Be the White WitchWant to talk about the ideas presented here? The conversation is happening inside Sistership.The post SS #113 – The Ideal Type appeared first on Scholé Sisters.
Everyone has an educational philosophy, whether they’ve thought about it or not. But it’s so much better if we think about it, especially if we’re spending half our days (or more!) educating people!
In episode 110 we discussed the first essential question for an educational philosophy: What is a human? After all, every education starts with an anthropology.
Then in episode 111 we discussed what education actually means. If we don’t know what it is, what is its nature, how can we give it or get it?
Today we’ll be putting the two together as we discuss what an educated person is. What is our end goal?
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A Portrait of a Graduate [2:30-16:56] Scholé Everyday segment
* [19:04] An educated person can read and think
* [25:25] An educated person can rule his emotions
* [28:14] An educated person acts according to what he knows
* [36:46] An educated person cares about many things
* [45:34] An educated person walks the path of wisdom
* [52:34] An educated person is humble and listens well
* [58:51] Education does not stop with graduation
Today’s Hosts and SourceBrandy Vencel*
continued her own education while homeschooling her 4 kids and investing herself in knowing & applying Charlotte Mason’s wisdom.
Abby Wahl
continued her own education while homeschooling her 5 kids, working a sheep ranch, and lifting weights. She didn’t let dyslexia prevent her from giving her children a love of books.
Mystie Winckler
continued her own education while homeschooling her 5 kids, researching and working out what classical Christian education really means.
Scholé Everyday: What We’re Reading Nothing Found Confessions, AugustineMystie is finally reading this classic with her new local book club.
Vision of the Annointed, Thomas SowellAbby is learning about the pride and power of those who set themselves up as visionary leaders.
100 Cupboards Series, N.D. WilsonBrandy is amusing herself to leisure after an intense summer of school administration.
Educated people read and thinkYou can’t be educated if you don’t read and if you don’t think about what you read. The ability to read thoughtfully, and to think for yourself about what you read is essential to being well educated.
One of the main goals of our homeschool ought to be graduating readers. The quality of “being a reader” doesn’t mean being someone who always chooses to read in their spare time, it means being someone who has the ability to read and engage with what they’re reading.
“People are naturally divided into those who read and think and those who do not read or think; and the business of schools is to see that all their scholars shall belong to the former class; it is worthwhile to remember that thinking is inseparable from reading which is concerned with the content of a passage and not merely with the printed matter.”
Charlotte Mason, Philosophy of Education
Educated people rule their emotions.You can’t be educated without exercising self-control. Being educated necessarily changes the patterns of your life, true education brings maturity.
Knowledge truly possessed should be applied to how you conduct yourself. And being a reader is part of that also, reading widely and experiencing many different situations and challenges through literature gives us an idea of how to rightly respond.
Educated people put knowledge into practiceYou can’t be educated merely by knowing a lot of information. Does that information affect the way you live? Can you take what you know and act on it?
Education is the habituation of the mind and body to will and act in accordance with what one knows.
David Hicks, Norms & Nobility
For our small children, this can begin as pretend play, having the opportunity to apply and act out the things they’ve been learning about. Another way we can encourage doing and not just learning is by give children real, meaningful work, this gives them a genuine way to be helpful and a sense of accomplishment.
Educated people care about many thingsIf you don’t care, do you really understand? Teaching our kids to be interested in many things actually gives them a more interesting life. Being educated looks like caring deeply about things and caring about many different kinds of things.
““The question is not,––how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education––but how much does he care? and about how many orders of things does he care? In fact, how large is the room in which he finds his feet set? and, therefore, how full is the life he has before him?”
Charlotte Mason, School Education
An educated person has discernmentEducation makes you difficult to manipulate. You approach texts and media and people with insight and discernment because you’ve been exposed to a broad range of ideas and you’re anchored in history. You pay attention and are able to use what you observe and what you read to evaluate what people tell you. Educated people have gotten true wisdom and apply that to how they live.
An educated person listens to instructionEducation does not make you arrogant or proud. An educated person is humble and teachable, always. Truly educated people can admit what they don’t know, and when they’re wrong.
A good starting place is reading Proverbs a lot as a family, hearing that practical wisdom again and again is a great way to learn humility. Realizing that people aren’t all good or all bad, and having the humility to change your opinion is also important, and reading authors like Plutarch or Shakespeare helps with that.
Education does not stop with graduation.We as moms can still become educated, and we don’t have to bring our children to the point of finished product. When a student graduates from high school, they won’t have any of the above points down perfectly, but our goal is to have them firmly set on the path to becoming more and more educated.
Mentioned in the Episode Nothing Found Listen to related episodes:SS #116 – Feasting in a time of fastingAt Schole Sisters, we want to remind ourselves and our listeners that we shouldn’t be the White Witch in our homes – making it always winter, but never Christmas. Christmas is worth the effort of celebration. But what about when times are tight? Gas is high, inflation is high, and most of us are feeling…Read More SS #116 – Feasting in a time of fastingSS #115 – Indoctrinate MeWe’ve all heard it said, and maybe even said it ourselves: “I don’t want to tell my kids what to think, but how to think.” Is that possible? What is indoctrination, and is it always bad? Indoctrination has a negative connotation in society today, but what if that’s only so parents refrain from teaching their…Read More SS #115 – Indoctrinate MeSS #114 – A Well-Educated Daughter (with Rebekah Merkle!)We know the college scene these days is not healthy, and it’s also ridiculously expensive. Yet it’s the default path we tend to set for our high school graduates. The boys, we think, need to go to university in order to get careers so they can provide for a family. Should our girls also get…Read More SS #114 – A Well-Educated Daughter (with Rebekah Merkle!)SS #113 – The Ideal TypeAre classical educators idealists? Is an Ideal Type necessary to an educational philosophy? What even is an Ideal Type and why is it capitalized? Today’s conversation, recorded on location in Dallas while the sisters were together for the annual retreat. We discussed chapter 4 in Norms & Nobility and the claims it makes about education…Read More SS #113 – The Ideal TypeSS #112 – What is an educated person?Everyone has an educational philosophy, whether they’ve thought about it or not. But it’s so much better if we think about it, especially if we’re spending half our days (or more!) educating people! In episode 110 we discussed the first essential question for an educational philosophy: What is a human? After all, every education starts…Read More SS #112 – What is an educated person?SS #56: A Time to LaughWe are pleased to have Cindy Rollins back on the show today. Cindy homeschooled her nine children for over 30 years. She is co-host with Angelina Stanford of the popular Literary Life Podcast and curates the Over the Back Fence Newsletter. She is the author of some wonderful books. My favorite is Mere Motherhood: Morning…Read More SS #56: A Time to LaughSS #55: Make Your Retreat a Treat!In today’s episode, Mystie and Brandy are talking all things Scholé Sisters fall retreat planning with Jenn Discher and Danielle Cyrus. Jenn and Danielle both hosted large retreats last year and have lots of great tips for you. Jenn Discher and her husband and three kids (ages 9, 7, and 4) live in North Georgia,…Read More SS #55: Make Your Retreat a Treat!SS #54: Gainsaying SayersDorothy Sayers invented and introduced the idea that the three elements of the trivium correspond to the three stages of development in school children. On this idea many classical schools, coops, and programs are founded. But is it actually a classically sound idea? How does she describe and defend her position? The Scholé Sisters tackle…Read More SS #54: Gainsaying SayersSS #53: You’ve Got a Friend in MeIn today’s episode, Mystie and Brandy use part of CS Lewis’ book The Four Loves to discuss friendship – how Lewis defines it, if we womenfolk are capable of it, and how it’s different from other things like companionship and affection. We wrap up by applying this to … yes! … book clubs. We think…Read More SS #53: You’ve Got a Friend in MeSS #52: Philosophy for Mommies (with Eric Hall!)Eric Hall is back on the show today. He received rave reviews when he appeared in Episode 29 called I’m Not the Holy Spirit. So many of you wanted to hear more from him, but let us introduce him in case you haven’t yet heard that episode. Eric Hall is an adjunct professor of English…Read More SS #52: Philosophy for Mommies (with Eric Hall!)SS #51: Unschool to ClassiCOOL (with Amanda Gauthier-Parker!)Our guest on the show is Amanda Gauthier-Parker. Amanda is as a Christian, a wife, a mother, and a homeschooler. Her journey from John Holt unschooling to Charlotte Mason and classical education has taken its twists and turns, while always chasing truth, goodness and beauty, and the path God has set before her. This spring…Read More SS #51: Unschool to ClassiCOOL (with Amanda Gauthier-Parker!)SS #50: A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action (with Abby Wahl!)This is, however, a fantastic conversation we had with Abby in which we jump off of Neil Postman’s thoughts on the need to not just take in information, but also take action, and apply this to the reading and thinking we do in our scholé time.Read More SS #50: A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action (with Abby Wahl!)SS #49: Dorothy Sayers’ InsightsThe Sisters on Sayers – not the podcast you expected This is the first of two episodes in which the Sisters say things about Dorothy Sayers — specifically, they say things about her famous essay, The Lost Tools of Learning. What sort of things, you ask? Today, we’re talking good stuff: the good, the true, the beautiful….Read More SS #49: Dorothy Sayers’ InsightsSS #48: Someone Stole My SocratesThis episode, Brandy and Mystie discuss the Socratic Method. Is it really classical? Is it progressive? Does it have anything to do with Socrates? Has he been kidnapped and, if so, it is right to hunt him down and steal him back?? This conversation was great fun for us. We think you’ll enjoy it, too!…Read More SS #48: Someone Stole My SocratesSS #47: Rightly Dividing (with Karen Glass!!)Mystie and Brandy are glad to have Karen Glass back on the show to help us kick off Season 8. Karen is the author of Consider This: Charlotte Mason and the Classical Tradition and Know and Tell: The Art of Narration and a member of the Advisory of AmblesideOnline. She has four children, mostly grown…Read More SS #47: Rightly Dividing (with Karen Glass!!)SS #46: What the Dickens?Today’s episode features a discussion of Charles Dickens’ famous story A Christmas Carol, which is Brandy’s FAVORITE Christmas story. Naturally, Mystie and Pam tried to ruin it for her, but she was undaunted, and thinks you will be, too. Thank you to our sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Mystie’s Brain Dump…Read More SS #46: What the Dickens?SS #45: Need Scholé? Just Add Joy!If you have ever smelled smoke at your house and wondered if you were starting to burn out at this homeschooling thing, this episode is for you. Brandy was tempted to burnout early this year and so she and Mystie chatted about homeschooling, minimalism, and why sometimes adding something is a better approach that cutting…Read More SS #45: Need Scholé? Just Add Joy!SS #44: Prioritizing Words (with Angelina Stanford!)Our guest today is Angelina Stanford! Angelina Stanford has a Master’s degree in English literature and has been teaching, writing, speaking, and training teachers for over 20 years. She is the co-star of the popular Close Reads podcast, as well as the new Shakespeare podcast, The Play’s the Thing. You can find Angelina at her…Read More SS #44: Prioritizing Words (with Angelina Stanford!)SS #43: Forgotten Classics (with Martin Cothran!)In this episode, Mystie and Brandy talk with Martin Cothran from Memoria Press. Martin is known for (among other things) his knowledge of forgotten classics – really good books almost no one remembers. It was our pleasure to discuss with Martin the nature of these books and how to find them. Thank you to our…Read More SS #43: Forgotten Classics (with Martin Cothran!)SS #42: Carpe Librum (Seize the Booklist)If you were bummed that you were unable to attend the Scholé Sisters session at GHC in Cincinatti, and then extra disappointed we were unable to offer you a recording … this is for YOU! Brandy, Mystie, and Pam have redone the whole thing, and you can even get a download of the document handout…Read More SS #42: Carpe Librum (Seize the Booklist)SS #41: Living Books Are Books for LifeIn today’s episode, Brandy, Mystie, and Pam kick off Season 7 of Scholé Sisters with a discussion about living books. What are they, what is their significance, and how can you identify them? This is a totally fun discussion about reading — and how picky should we be anyway? — that you don’t want to…Read More SS #41: Living Books Are Books for LifeSS #40: Moms: Learn and Grow! (Part II — with Cindy Rollins!)In this special bonus summer season episode, the Scholé Sisters meet up with Cindy Rollins for a special, 2-part podcast. Catch the first part over on The Mason Jar podcast, and then come back here for Part II. In Part I, we discussed Charlotte Mason’s views on self-education and how that applies to moms. In…Read More SS #40: Moms: Learn and Grow! (Part II — with Cindy Rollins!)SS #39: Plan an Amazing Local Retreat (with Brittany Lindvall)Welcome to our special 2-episode summer season of Scholé Sisters!! (Try saying that three times fast!) Today, we’re chatting with Brittany Lindvall, leader of one of our Scholé Sisters Local Retreats last year. She’ll tell you what worked, what didn’t, and why she’s doing it again this year. We hope this gets your creative juices flowing…Read More SS #39: Plan an Amazing Local Retreat (with Brittany Lindvall)SS #38: An Education by Any Other Name…In today’s episode, Mystie, Pam, and Brandy discuss the power of educational metaphors – are we using the right images to picture our homeschools? Metaphors aren’t absolute — it’s what we mean by them and how we apply them that matters. Join the Scholé Sisters as they hash out metaphors and discuss what makes a…Read More SS #38: An Education by Any Other Name…SS #37: Livin’ La Vida Latin (with Angela Reed!)Brandy is talking at length about Latin today with Angela Reed. Angela is a homeschooling mother of five in the Sunshine State of Florida. A former classroom teacher, degreed in Classics and Latin and persuaded by Charlotte Mason’s educational philosophy, she channels these enthusiasms onto Instagram: building community with friends @charlottemasonirl, researching how Latin fits within…Read More SS #37: Livin’ La Vida Latin (with Angela Reed!)SS #36: Is Scholé for Everyone?In today’s episode, Brandy, Pam, and Mystie raise the question of whether scholé is for everyone. Or is it just for the bookish and more academic? They had to begin by defining scholé, of course. This episode is about scholé in real life with our kids and FOR our kids. How do we help them “do scholé”?…Read More SS #36: Is Scholé for Everyone?SS #35: Twaddlicious!On today’s episode, Mystie, Pam, and Brandy have a rousing discussion on the subject of twaddle. What is it? What isn’t it? Is it ever acceptable? Some of us have unconventional opinions on this subject. Thank you to our sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Plan Your Year. Plan Your Year is the homeschool…Read More SS #35: Twaddlicious!SS #34: Bling Your Pre-Reading with a Notebook Makeover (with Celeste Cruz)Our guest today is Celeste Cruz. Celeste is the Catholic homeschooling mother of nine children ages 11 and under, blogger at Joyous Lessons, and one of the hostesses of CharlotteMasonIRL on Instagram. In this episode, Pam, Brandy, and Celeste have an in-depth conversation about transforming the chore of pre-reading for our children’s lessons into a…Read More SS #34: Bling Your Pre-Reading with a Notebook Makeover (with Celeste Cruz)SS #33: Narration: The Act of Knowing (with Karen Glass!)In today’s episode, Brandy and Karen dig deeply into the connection between narration and knowledge. Unfortunately, because Karen is in Poland, the sound is below our normal quality. We guarantee, however, it is still worth listening! Listen to the podcast: TUNE IN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher Narration is how you come to know…Read More SS #33: Narration: The Act of Knowing (with Karen Glass!)SS #32: Paideia Is All Greek to MeIn today’s episode, Mystie Winckler and Brandy Vencel discuss Werner Jaeger’s introduction to his three-volume series, what Paideia: The Ideals of Greek Culture, Jaeger’s definition of education, what culture is, why Christians are resistant to honoring the Greeks, and much more. Download to listen, subscribe and be a Sister! Thank you to our sponsor: This episode…Read More SS #32: Paideia Is All Greek to MeSS #31: Being Impervious: Now it’s [Not] Personal (with Cindy Rollins!)Welcome to SEASON FIVE of Scholé Sisters! Mystie and Brandy are kicking this season off right with the one and only Cindy Rollins. Today’s discussion centers on the idea of being impervious. We discuss not allowing “things” to get to us, absorbing emotion, self-control, menopause (gulp), and more! This is a conversation you don’t want…Read More SS #31: Being Impervious: Now it’s [Not] Personal (with Cindy Rollins!)SS #30: Putting the Merry Back in ChristmasToday, the Scholé Sisters get real about Christmas. Mystie says we can be classical not just in our approach to education, but also in our approach to happiness. Does the classical tradition have something to offer us at Christmas as well? We talk about depression and grief, yes, but also bad attitudes and dangerous expectations,…Read More SS #30: Putting the Merry Back in ChristmasSP #2: Leading Well (You Had Questions, We Had Answers)This episode is a something of a bonus for those of you who attended our Leading Well retreat this past summer. If you DIDN’T attend the retreat, we think you’ll still enjoy the episode. But more importantly, a lot of you have asked if we offer replays of the retreat for those who missed it,…Read More SP #2: Leading Well (You Had Questions, We Had Answers)SS #29: Educating for Virtue (I’m Not the Holy Spirit)Mystie and I are pleased to welcome Eric Hall as our guest today. Eric is a classical scholar and teacher who is local to Brandy. That’s right! She gets to know him in real life. Eric has studied at The Master’s College, the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and Clemson University. When he’s not…Read More SS #29: Educating for Virtue (I’m Not the Holy Spirit)SS #28: Education is a LifeThe third and final episode in our series on education as an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life, today’s discussion is all about LIFE. What is meant by “education is a life?” How do we procure this life for ourselves and our children? Don’t forget to download our free Life Audit at the bottom of…Read More SS #28: Education is a LifeSS #27: Education is a Discipline“Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life.” Today, in the second of our three-part series, we’re discussing education as a discipline. What do we mean by discipline? How do we use it as a tool of education? The Scholé Sisters get real about this topic. Don’t forget to download your free Discipline Audit…Read More SS #27: Education is a DisciplineSS #26: Education is an AtmosphereToday, we kick off a series of three episodes that were recorded live online with some of our Forum members. This series is organized around Charlotte Mason’s motto that education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life. Today’s episode is all about atmosphere. BONUS: Scroll down to the bottom of these show notes to…Read More SS #26: Education is an AtmosphereSS #25: To Pre-Read or Not to Pre-Read (Why Is It Even a Question?)Today’s episode was recorded when we had the joy of all being together in the same room (along with our friend, Dawn Garrett) for the Scholé Sisters Leadership Retreat in Portland. We had so much fun! We hope you enjoy this episode, even though there are a couple places where the sound is sub-par. (What…Read More SS #25: To Pre-Read or Not to Pre-Read (Why Is It Even a Question?)SS #24: The Late Great Memory DebateThis summer, we shared an article from The Atlantic on memorization, and WOW did the discussion explode on Facebook! We couldn’t help chatting about it ourselves, and that conversation eventually became this podcast episode. We don’t pretend to have the last word on memory work, but we do think this is a great beginning place…Read More SS #24: The Late Great Memory DebateSP #1: Leveraging Summer for SuccessToday, Mystie, Pam, and Brandy are chatting about summer. Instead of letting summer slowly slip through our fingers, we can leverage summer and set ourselves up for greater success in our upcoming homeschool years. And you don’t have to do it alone! You’ll want to listen all the way to the end because Scholé Sisters is announcing…Read More SP #1: Leveraging Summer for SuccessSS #23: The Nitty-Gritty Guide to Homeschooling High School Boys (with Cindy Rollins)In her book Mere Motherhood, Cindy Rollins made the passing comment that she was not as big of a fan of homeschooling high school boys as she had been in the past. This turned into a rumor: Cindy Rollins doesn’t think boys should be homeschooled in high school. Um. NOT TRUE. Today, Mystie and Brandy chat…Read More SS #23: The Nitty-Gritty Guide to Homeschooling High School Boys (with Cindy Rollins)SS #22: Don’t Lose That Lovin’ Feelin’For today’s episode, we had quite the discussion surrounding the idea of interest and being interested – what does it mean, are we born interested, how do we lose interest over time, how do we gain it, what do we do when our children aren’t interested? We talked about a lot! Thank you to…Read More SS #22: Don’t Lose That Lovin’ Feelin’SS #21: Amusing Ourselves to LeisureIn today’s episode, Mystie and Brandy discuss amusement and entertainment. Does our commitment to scholé mean that there’s no room in life for things that are completely frivolous and entertaining? Believe it or not, Aristotle had something to say on this subject! Thank you to our sponsor: This episode is sponsored by The Art of Homeschooling….Read More SS #21: Amusing Ourselves to LeisureSS #20: Mothers, Don’t Let Your Methods Grow up to Be Systems (with Karen Glass)We are thrilled to have our friend Karen Glass on the show today. Karen is the author of Consider This: Charlotte Mason and the Classical Tradition, and also the brain behind Mind to Mind, an abridgment of Charlotte Mason’s sixth volume. Karen Glass is part of the Advisory of AmblesideOnline. She has four children, ages…Read More SS #20: Mothers, Don’t Let Your Methods Grow up to Be Systems (with Karen Glass)SS #19: The Intersection of Effortlessness and Hard Work (with Dr. Christopher Perrin!)Our guest on today’s show is none other than Dr. Christopher Perrin from Classical Academic Press! Dr. Perrin is an author, consultant and speaker, who specializes in classical education. He is committed to the national renewal of the liberal arts tradition. Dr. Perrin serves as a consultant to charter, public, private, and Christian schools across…Read More SS #19: The Intersection of Effortlessness and Hard Work (with Dr. Christopher Perrin!)SS #18: The Low-Down on NarrationIn today’s episode, Brandy, Mystie, and Pam have a conversation that gives you the low-down on narration. It’s not so much about the how as it is about the why. With that said, we ask for your patience with the sound. We had some trouble with Mystie’s microphone, and we couldn’t get rid of all…Read More SS #18: The Low-Down on NarrationSS #17: Give Your Homeschool a Personality CheckWe’re back!!!! That’s right! Today we’re kicking off Season 3. You really want to take Mystie up on her offer below — the 1-page reference on MBTI cognitive functions — because cognitive functions are exactly what we’re talking about today. What if knowing your child’s cognitive functions could help you foster an atmosphere that allows your…Read More SS #17: Give Your Homeschool a Personality CheckSS #16: Don’t Be the White WitchIn spite of empty platitudes and trite sayings, we get — philosophically speaking — to the bottom of Christmas, after all. Are our homes the equivalent of Narnia without Aslan? Always winter and never Christmas? Don’t be the white witch! The work of Christmas can actually be an integral part of scholé. Can we simplify…Read More SS #16: Don’t Be the White WitchSS #15: Thankfully ClassicalToday’s show is all about thankfulness and Brandy is extremely thankful for Mystie. You see, we had recorded a different episode, but the recording had technical difficulties, and we weren’t able to use it. Mystie was willing to do a special recording, and we are all THANKFUL for her and that she was willing to…Read More SS #15: Thankfully ClassicalSS #14: Reading Pagan Literature with Highly Resistant Children (with Wes Callihan)Brandy’s guest today is the one and only Wes Callihan and she is thrilled! If you can believe it, she got through the entire interview without acting like a total fan girl. Wes and Brandy discuss why some children (the hypothetical Boy A and Girl B) are resistant to pagan literature and what to do about it. Two types…Read More SS #14: Reading Pagan Literature with Highly Resistant Children (with Wes Callihan)SS #13: Learning Styles Are BunkOn today’s show, Pam and Brandy discuss learning styles and the fact that there is no scientific evidence whatsoever to back them up. (Obviously, Pam is trying to get us into trouble.) But REALLY, it was a great discussion, even if somewhat controversial. Also, if you’ve ever wondered how learning styles intersect — or not —…Read More SS #13: Learning Styles Are BunkSS #12: Close Encounters of the Other Kind (with Kathy Wickward)My guest today is Kathy Wickward, former homeschool mom (she’s graduated, folks!), one of the founders of CM West, and one of the masterminds behind AmblesideOnline‘s living science curriculum. On today’s show, Kathy and I discuss leading our children through encounters with viewpoints with which we don’t agree. Is there ever an age not to do…Read More SS #12: Close Encounters of the Other Kind (with Kathy Wickward)SS #11: Will the REAL Multum Non Multa Please Stand Up?On today’s show, Mystie and Brandy discuss the ancient Latin motto multum non multa – meaning, much not many. Applied to education, and somehow misapplied to education, we chat about who used the motto in reference to education, what they meant, and what this has to do with Charlotte Mason and The Latin-Centered Curriculum. We also…Read More SS #11: Will the REAL Multum Non Multa Please Stand Up?SS #10: Which Comes First? The Principles or the Practical?Today’s show is our version of the which-came-first-the-chicken-or-the-egg dilemma. In this case, though, it’s which comes first – the principles or the practices. And how do we practice when we know that we don’t know all we NEED to know? We go around and around in circles, drawing on folks like James K.A. Smith, Cindy…Read More SS #10: Which Comes First? The Principles or the Practical?SS #09: Finding the Right Scholé for Your TypeIn today’s episode, Mystie and I explore the relationship between personality types and scholé. Mystie draws a distinction I had never thought about before — that some types of scholé are restorative, while others bring about more of a stretching and growing — and different types serve these purposes for different personality types. The bottom…Read More SS #09: Finding the Right Scholé for Your TypeSS #08: Making the Most of Summer with Habits and VirtueIn today’s episode, Mystie and Brandy use Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics to discuss the connection between habits and virtue, and then proceed to convince themselves to work on shoring up good habits over the summer to pave the way for a better school year. They talk about different types of habits to build, as well as how…Read More SS #08: Making the Most of Summer with Habits and VirtueSS #07: Virtual Scholé Sisters Groups and Technology Tools (with Amber Vanderpol)In today’s episode, Brandy discusses virtual Scholé Sisters groups and technology tools with Amber Vanderpol. What happens when you live in an isolated place? Are you doomed to loneliness? Or are virtual groups a possibility? And, if so, how are they best organized? What technology exists to support them? And how hard is it to learn…Read More SS #07: Virtual Scholé Sisters Groups and Technology Tools (with Amber Vanderpol)SS #5: Balancing Work and Wonder (with Ravi Jain)In this episode, Pam and Brandy have a great conversation with Ravi Jain, co-author of The Liberal Arts Tradition, on the subject of balancing work with wonder. How do both of those fit together? What happens when our students seem to have lost the wonder? What if we seem to have lost the wonder? Ravi had some great…Read More SS #5: Balancing Work and Wonder (with Ravi Jain)SS #04: We Dare You to Read the ClassicsIn this episode, Mystie and I are daring you to be brave and read a classic, even if you don’t feel like you’re qualified. We tackle questions like why we feel intimidated by reading classic books, what are strategies for helping ourselves read them, and a whole lot more. In addition, our nitty gritty homeschool…Read More SS #04: We Dare You to Read the ClassicsSS #03: The Wonder-Based Classical Co-opPam is not only my co-host in this one, but she’s also the guest this time around. That’s because I really wanted to hear more about her classical co-op and all the changes they have made over the years and how those have come about. Since I don’t have a co-op myself, what I really wanted to do was…Read More SS #03: The Wonder-Based Classical Co-opSS #02: What’s Love Got to Do with It?In today’s episode, Mystie and Brandy have a conversation about the connection between love and learning. Is it important that our students love their subjects? Is it important that WE love the subjects we’re teaching? What do we do if we’re without love? It’s a big topic, and probably one we’ll need to come back…Read More SS #02: What’s Love Got to Do with It?SS #01: Preventing Burnout Through LevityFebruary is often called “Homeschool Burnout Month” for a reason — because a lot of us are tempted to lose heart during this short but tricky month in which winter has surely overstayed its welcome. To combat the inevitable build-up of frustration and exhaustion, homeschool moms must have a sense of humor. Levity — not taking…Read More SS #01: Preventing Burnout Through LevitySS #00: Welcome to Scholé Sisters (Our Introductory Episode!!)An introductory episode, naturally, needs to cover all the basics. In this episode, we start by introducing ourselves. Then, we discuss the word scholé – how is it pronounced? What does it mean? After that, we discuss Scholé Sisters groups. Pam and Brandy have more formal groups, while Mystie has mastered the fine art of informal scholé with…Read More SS #00: Welcome to Scholé Sisters (Our Introductory Episode!!)Want to talk about the ideas presented here? The conversation is happening inside Sistership.The post SS #112 – What is an educated person? appeared first on Scholé Sisters.
We are pleased to have Cindy Rollins back on the show today. Cindy homeschooled her nine children for over 30 years. She is co-host with Angelina Stanford of the popular Literary Life Podcast and curates the Over the Back Fence Newsletter. She is the author of some wonderful books. My favorite is Mere Motherhood: Morning...
In today’s episode, Mystie and Brandy are talking all things Scholé Sisters fall retreat planning with Jenn Discher and Danielle Cyrus. Jenn and Danielle both hosted large retreats last year and have lots of great tips for you. Jenn Discher and her husband and three kids (ages 9, 7, and 4) live in North Georgia,...
Dorothy Sayers invented and introduced the idea that the three elements of the trivium correspond to the three stages of development in school children. On this idea many classical schools, coops, and programs are founded. But is it actually a classically sound idea? How does she describe and defend her position? The Scholé Sisters tackle...
In today’s episode, Mystie and Brandy use part of CS Lewis’ book The Four Loves to discuss friendship – how Lewis defines it, if we womenfolk are capable of it, and how it’s different from other things like companionship and affection. We wrap up by applying this to … yes! … book clubs. We think...
Eric Hall is back on the show today. He received rave reviews when he appeared in Episode 29 called I’m Not the Holy Spirit. So many of you wanted to hear more from him, but let us introduce him in case you haven’t yet heard that episode. Eric Hall is an adjunct professor of English...
Our guest on the show is Amanda Gauthier-Parker. Amanda is as a Christian, a wife, a mother, and a homeschooler. Her journey from John Holt unschooling to Charlotte Mason and classical education has taken its twists and turns, while always chasing truth, goodness and beauty, and the path God has set before her. This spring...
This is, however, a fantastic conversation we had with Abby in which we jump off of Neil Postman’s thoughts on the need to not just take in information, but also take action, and apply this to the reading and thinking we do in our scholé time.
The Sisters on Sayers – not the podcast you expected This is the first of two episodes in which the Sisters say things about Dorothy Sayers — specifically, they say things about her famous essay, The Lost Tools of Learning. What sort of things, you ask? Today, we’re talking good stuff: the good, the true, the beautiful....
This episode, Brandy and Mystie discuss the Socratic Method. Is it really classical? Is it progressive? Does it have anything to do with Socrates? Has he been kidnapped and, if so, it is right to hunt him down and steal him back?? This conversation was great fun for us. We think you’ll enjoy it, too!...
Mystie and Brandy are glad to have Karen Glass back on the show to help us kick off Season 8. Karen is the author of Consider This: Charlotte Mason and the Classical Tradition and Know and Tell: The Art of Narration and a member of the Advisory of AmblesideOnline. She has four children, mostly grown...
Today’s episode features a discussion of Charles Dickens’ famous story A Christmas Carol, which is Brandy’s FAVORITE Christmas story. Naturally, Mystie and Pam tried to ruin it for her, but she was undaunted, and thinks you will be, too. Thank you to our sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Mystie’s Brain Dump...
If you have ever smelled smoke at your house and wondered if you were starting to burn out at this homeschooling thing, this episode is for you. Brandy was tempted to burnout early this year and so she and Mystie chatted about homeschooling, minimalism, and why sometimes adding something is a better approach that cutting...
Our guest today is Angelina Stanford! Angelina Stanford has a Master’s degree in English literature and has been teaching, writing, speaking, and training teachers for over 20 years. She is the co-star of the popular Close Reads podcast, as well as the new Shakespeare podcast, The Play’s the Thing. You can find Angelina at her...
In this episode, Mystie and Brandy talk with Martin Cothran from Memoria Press. Martin is known for (among other things) his knowledge of forgotten classics – really good books almost no one remembers. It was our pleasure to discuss with Martin the nature of these books and how to find them. Thank...
If you were bummed that you were unable to attend the Scholé Sisters session at GHC in Cincinatti, and then extra disappointed we were unable to offer you a recording … this is for YOU! Brandy, Mystie, and Pam have redone the whole thing, and you can even get a download of the document handout...
In today’s episode, Brandy, Mystie, and Pam kick off Season 7 of Scholé Sisters with a discussion about living books. What are they, what is their significance, and how can you identify them? This is a totally fun discussion about reading — and how picky should we be anyway? — that you don’t want to...
In this special bonus summer season episode, the Scholé Sisters meet up with Cindy Rollins for a special, 2-part podcast. Catch the first part over on The Mason Jar podcast, and then come back here for Part II. In Part I, we discussed Charlotte Mason’s views on self-education and how that applies to moms. In...
Welcome to our special 2-episode summer season of Scholé Sisters!! (Try saying that three times fast!) Today, we’re chatting with Brittany Lindvall, leader of one of our Scholé Sisters Local Retreats last year. She’ll tell you what worked, what didn’t, and why she’s doing it again this year. We hope this gets your creative juices flowing...
In today’s episode, Mystie, Pam, and Brandy discuss the power of educational metaphors – are we using the right images to picture our homeschools? Metaphors aren’t absolute — it’s what we mean by them and how we apply them that matters. Join the Scholé Sisters as they hash out metaphors and discuss what makes a...
Brandy is talking at length about Latin today with Angela Reed. Angela is a homeschooling mother of five in the Sunshine State of Florida. A former classroom teacher, degreed in Classics and Latin and persuaded by Charlotte Mason’s educational philosophy, she channels these enthusiasms onto Instagram: building community with friends @charlottemasonirl, researching how Latin fits within...
In today’s episode, Brandy, Pam, and Mystie raise the question of whether scholé is for everyone. Or is it just for the bookish and more academic? They had to begin by defining scholé, of course. This episode is about scholé in real life with our kids and FOR our kids. How do we help them “do scholé”?...
On today’s episode, Mystie, Pam, and Brandy have a rousing discussion on the subject of twaddle. What is it? What isn’t it? Is it ever acceptable? Some of us have unconventional opinions on this subject. Thank you to our sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Plan Your Year. Plan Your Year is the homeschool...
Our guest today is Celeste Cruz. Celeste is the Catholic homeschooling mother of nine children ages 11 and under, blogger at Joyous Lessons, and one of the hostesses of CharlotteMasonIRL on Instagram. In this episode, Pam, Brandy, and Celeste have an in-depth conversation about transforming the chore of pre-reading for our children’s lessons into a...
Brandy is pleased to have Karen Glass back on the show today. Karen is the author of Consider This: Charlotte Mason and the Classical Tradition, she’s the brain behind Mind to Mind, an abridgment of Charlotte Mason’s sixth volume, and her third book, Know and Tell: The Art of Narration just debuted last month. Karen...
In today’s episode, Mystie Winckler and Brandy Vencel discuss Werner Jaeger’s introduction to his three-volume series, what Paideia: The Ideals of Greek Culture, Jaeger’s definition of education, what culture is, why Christians are resistant to honoring the Greeks, and much more. Download to listen, subscribe and be a Sister! Thank you to our sponsor: This episode...
Welcome to SEASON FIVE of Scholé Sisters! Mystie and Brandy are kicking this season off right with the one and only Cindy Rollins. Today’s discussion centers on the idea of being impervious. We discuss not allowing “things” to get to us, absorbing emotion, self-control, menopause (gulp), and more! This is a conversation you don’t want...
Today, the Scholé Sisters get real about Christmas. Mystie says we can be classical not just in our approach to education, but also in our approach to happiness. Does the classical tradition have something to offer us at Christmas as well? We talk about depression and grief, yes, but also bad attitudes and dangerous expectations,...
This episode is a something of a bonus for those of you who attended our Leading Well retreat this past summer. If you DIDN’T attend the retreat, we think you’ll still enjoy the episode. But more importantly, a lot of you have asked if we offer replays of the retreat for those who missed it,...
Mystie and I are pleased to welcome Eric Hall as our guest today. Eric is a classical scholar and teacher who is local to Brandy. That’s right! She gets to know him in real life. Eric has studied at The Master’s College, the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and Clemson University. When he’s not...
The third and final episode in our series on education as an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life, today’s discussion is all about LIFE. What is meant by “education is a life?” How do we procure this life for ourselves and our children? Don’t forget to download our free Life Audit at the bottom of...
“Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life.” Today, in the second of our three-part series, we’re discussing education as a discipline. What do we mean by discipline? How do we use it as a tool of education? The Scholé Sisters get real about this topic. Don’t forget to download your free Discipline Audit...
Today, we kick off a series of three episodes that were recorded live online with some of our Forum members. This series is organized around Charlotte Mason’s motto that education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life. Today’s episode is all about atmosphere. BONUS: Scroll down to the bottom of these show notes to...
Today’s episode was recorded when we had the joy of all being together in the same room (along with our friend, Dawn Garrett) for the Scholé Sisters Leadership Retreat in Portland. We had so much fun! We hope you enjoy this episode, even though there are a couple places where the sound is sub-par. (What...
This summer, we shared an article from The Atlantic on memorization, and WOW did the discussion explode on Facebook! We couldn’t help chatting about it ourselves, and that conversation eventually became this podcast episode. We don’t pretend to have the last word on memory work, but we do think this is a great beginning place...
Today, Mystie, Pam, and Brandy are chatting about summer. Instead of letting summer slowly slip through our fingers, we can leverage summer and set ourselves up for greater success in our upcoming homeschool years. And you don’t have to do it alone! You’ll want to listen all the way to the end because Scholé Sisters is announcing...
In her book Mere Motherhood, Cindy Rollins made the passing comment that she was not as big of a fan of homeschooling high school boys as she had been in the past. This turned into a rumor: Cindy Rollins doesn’t think boys should be homeschooled in high school. Um. NOT TRUE. Today, Mystie and Brandy chat...
For today’s episode, we had quite the discussion surrounding the idea of interest and being interested – what does it mean, are we born interested, how do we lose interest over time, how do we gain it, what do we do when our children aren’t interested? We talked about a lot! Thank you to...
In today’s episode, Mystie and Brandy discuss amusement and entertainment. Does our commitment to scholé mean that there’s no room in life for things that are completely frivolous and entertaining? Believe it or not, Aristotle had something to say on this subject! Thank you to our sponsor: This episode is sponsored by The Art of Homeschooling....
We are thrilled to have our friend Karen Glass on the show today. Karen is the author of Consider This: Charlotte Mason and the Classical Tradition, and also the brain behind Mind to Mind, an abridgment of Charlotte Mason’s sixth volume. Karen Glass is part of the Advisory of AmblesideOnline. She has four children, ages...
Our guest on today’s show is none other than Dr. Christopher Perrin from Classical Academic Press! Dr. Perrin is an author, consultant and speaker, who specializes in classical education. He is committed to the national renewal of the liberal arts tradition. Dr. Perrin serves as a consultant to charter, public, private, and Christian schools across...
In today’s episode, Brandy, Mystie, and Pam have a conversation that gives you the low-down on narration. It’s not so much about the how as it is about the why. With that said, we ask for your patience with the sound. We had some trouble with Mystie’s microphone, and we couldn’t get rid of all...
We’re back!!!! That’s right! Today we’re kicking off Season 3. You really want to take Mystie up on her offer below — the 1-page reference on MBTI cognitive functions — because cognitive functions are exactly what we’re talking about today. What if knowing your child’s cognitive functions could help you foster an atmosphere that allows your...
In spite of empty platitudes and trite sayings, we get — philosophically speaking — to the bottom of Christmas, after all. Are our homes the equivalent of Narnia without Aslan? Always winter and never Christmas? Don’t be the white witch! The work of Christmas can actually be an integral part of scholé. Can we simplify...
Today’s show is all about thankfulness and Brandy is extremely thankful for Mystie. You see, we had recorded a different episode, but the recording had technical difficulties, and we weren’t able to use it. Mystie was willing to do a special recording, and we are all THANKFUL for her and that she was willing to...
Brandy’s guest today is the one and only Wes Callihan and she is thrilled! If you can believe it, she got through the entire interview without acting like a total fan girl. Wes and Brandy discuss why some children (the hypothetical Boy A and Girl B) are resistant to pagan literature and what to do about it. Two types...
On today’s show, Pam and Brandy discuss learning styles and the fact that there is no scientific evidence whatsoever to back them up. (Obviously, Pam is trying to get us into trouble.) But REALLY, it was a great discussion, even if somewhat controversial. Also, if you’ve ever wondered how learning styles intersect — or not —...
My guest today is Kathy Wickward, former homeschool mom (she’s graduated, folks!), one of the founders of CM West, and one of the masterminds behind AmblesideOnline‘s living science curriculum. On today’s show, Kathy and I discuss leading our children through encounters with viewpoints with which we don’t agree. Is there ever an age not to do...
On today’s show, Mystie and Brandy discuss the ancient Latin motto multum non multa – meaning, much not many. Applied to education, and somehow misapplied to education, we chat about who used the motto in reference to education, what they meant, and what this has to do with Charlotte Mason and The Latin-Centered Curriculum. We also...
Today’s show is our version of the which-came-first-the-chicken-or-the-egg dilemma. In this case, though, it’s which comes first – the principles or the practices. And how do we practice when we know that we don’t know all we NEED to know? We go around and around in circles, drawing on folks like James K.A. Smith, Cindy...
In today’s episode, Mystie and I explore the relationship between personality types and scholé. Mystie draws a distinction I had never thought about before — that some types of scholé are restorative, while others bring about more of a stretching and growing — and different types serve these purposes for different personality types. The bottom...
In today’s episode, Mystie and Brandy use Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics to discuss the connection between habits and virtue, and then proceed to convince themselves to work on shoring up good habits over the summer to pave the way for a better school year. They talk about different types of habits to build, as well as how...
In today’s episode, Brandy discusses virtual Scholé Sisters groups and technology tools with Amber Vanderpol. What happens when you live in an isolated place? Are you doomed to loneliness? Or are virtual groups a possibility? And, if so, how are they best organized? What technology exists to support them? And how hard is it to learn...
In today’s episode, Pam and I have a great conversation with Ravi Jain, co-author of The Liberal Arts Tradition, on the subject of balancing work with wonder. How do both of those fit together? What happens when our students seem to have lost the wonder? What if we seem to have lost the wonder? Ravi...
Today, Mystie and I are daring you to be brave and read a classic, even if you don’t feel like you’re qualified. We tackle questions like why we feel intimidated by reading classic books, what are strategies for helping ourselves read them, and a whole lot more. In addition, our nitty gritty homeschool question is...
Pam is not only my co-host in this one, but she’s also the guest this time around. That’s because I really wanted to hear more about her classical co-op and all the changes they have made over the years and how those have come about. Since I don’t have a co-op myself, what I really wanted to do was...
In today’s episode, Mystie and Brandy have a conversation about the connection between love and learning. Is it important that our students love their subjects? Is it important that WE love the subjects we’re teaching? What do we do if we’re without love? It’s a big topic, and probably one we’ll need to come back...
February is often called “Homeschool Burnout Month” for a reason — because a lot of us are tempted to lose heart during this short but tricky month in which winter has surely overstayed its welcome. To combat the inevitable build-up of frustration and exhaustion, homeschool moms must have a sense of humor. Levity — not taking...
An introductory episode, naturally, needs to cover all the basics. In this episode, we start by introducing ourselves. Then, we discuss the word scholé – how is it pronounced? What does it mean? After that, we discuss Scholé Sisters groups. Pam and Brandy have more formal groups, while Mystie has mastered the fine art of informal scholé with...
