Basecamp Live

Dr. Mark Phillips has been on a lifelong journey to the science classroom. From Vanderbilt to Oxford, from comedy clubs with Steve Martin to Classical Christian Education, he has pursued God’s calling. Listen in to hear him describe the two scientific discoveries that he believes should be taught to every student in classical Christian schools. You also don’t want to miss his amazing conversion story!

Jeremy Tate explains how the Classic Learning Test (CLT) counters the SAT and ACT as a better resource to assess your student for college, and well as new tests for the high school and middle school years. Standardized tests are a necessary hoop to jump through on the way to college but have changed since their beginnings. Colleges are having to adapt to the changing landscape and more and more are recognizing the CLT as a valuable tool. Listen in to hear how your child can benefit!

Adolescence can be one of the most difficult and challenging seasons of our lives, whether you are a middle schooler, a parent, or teacher of middle schoolers. And sometimes all three collide. But with a measure of grace and some practical tips in your pocket, those in-between years can be redeemed, treasured and used for good. Nathan Jordan is a longtime educator of middle schoolers. He reminds us that our children's fluctuating emotions are actually developmentally normal! So take a deep breath and listen in…

Alexander the Great considered stories his most prized possession and Jesus deemed stories worthy of the secrets of the Kingdom of God. Storytelling is more than something we do around a campfire… it is what drives how we learn and engage the world. But when the average American spends upwards to 84 hours a week in front of a screen, how can educators and parents combat this? Aaron Ames shares the science behind our two brain hemispheres as well as what you can do as a parent or teacher to capture the imagination…through storytelling.

The headlines tell stories of persecution of Christians in China. As we pray for them, how do we help our students in the United States and elsewhere meet and overcome the challenges right where they are in the classical Christian classroom and in the world? Our guest today, “John Smith”, speaking under his alias name, shares stories from the field and how the lessons in China can inspire parents, teachers and students. You will be encouraged by John Smith’s faith and vision for us regardless of what part of the world you are in…

How do children with learning challenges fare in classical Christian schools? And how should CCE schools respond to the special needs of children and families? Leslie Collins has worked within special education for years, both in public and private schools, and her response may surprise you. Learn about the framework and infrastructure that she recommends for CCE schools to meet these needs and how all children benefit when their peers may learn differently. It’s not easy but it is possible! Don’t miss today’s special BCL Backside where Davies, Kelly and Leslie discuss meeting the needs of children who have been adopted and how Leslie's eyes were opened to their special needs.

One of the critical issues of our time is the disconnect between the humanities and sciences in both secondary schools and in higher education. Lack of crossover hurts both, says Dr. Mitch Stokes, Senior Fellow of Philosophy at New St. Andrews, engineer, and author. In fact, most people don’t realize that western thought and civilization grew up around people responding to the math and sciences! Dr. Stokes gives practical advice to administrators and teachers from the top down who want to understand and pass on both of these disciplines to students. Sometimes opening your eyes is the first step to realizing what goes together…like bow ties and jackets.

Have you heard the wise saying, “You cannot teach what you do not have”? Yet, in this busy world, we often get distracted and end up running on fumes as we respond to the urgent more than the important. George Grant encourages parents and educators to heed the moments, delight in what we teach and pass that mindset on to our children and students. Most importantly, he shares his own method for putting “first things first” which involves his Keystones Scripture memory system based on the example of the great 19th century theologian Thomas Chalmers.

Today, more voices than ever give us parenting advice…yet we have a poverty of wisdom when it comes to parenting the way God designed. In this interview, Keith McCurdy highlights the most common parenting struggles and current cultural and psychological dynamics he sees in his counseling practice. He points us back to to the order God put in place so that kids can function best in this challenging world. Every family will benefit from the practical and timeless advice he offers.

Classically-educated teens are trained to argue logically…but do they also know how use the gift of logic wisely and appropriately? If not, then we are raising mechanistic citizens who only want to win arguments and slay dragons. Brian Daigle, author of Street-fighting Logic, shares practical advice from his book that shows educators, parents and kids how to maturely apply the tools of logic. Often not included in logic curriculum, these methods are a gamechanger for rounding out the logic and rhetoric stages. Children are going to argue, so teach them how to argue well!

Good news, parents and teachers...according to Bill Carey, every student is a math person. But today's schools often rob students of their natural curiosity and they end up experiencing math as something incoherent and frustrating. Carey shares the fascinating and somewhat shocking history of mathematics and encourages educators to shape the curriculum in a way that ignites the mathematical curiosity of students. Listen in for practical advice for the classroom and some genuinely good mathematical word problems to spark interest. Be encouraged when some students declare from the get-go that they are not math people. Get equipped to change their minds!

Did Aristotle do pushups? Or was he a couch potato who only did mental calisthenics? Jenny Crockett says that the Greeks highly valued physical exercise and spent more than 50% of their time on physical activity. Unlike those mental and physical giants, modern students lag far behind and often sacrifice form for speed. Crockett challenges schools and parents to raise children who are “physically literate." Packed full of practical advice, helpful links and inspiration, this episode will give you a framework for making physical education intentional in your school and home.

Is the current system of grading undermining students today and their long-term formation? Dr. Williams, a college dean at Eastern University, offers a fascinating history lesson about the origin of grades (hint: it’s a late modern invention) and challenges teachers and parents to consider separating true assessment from number and letter grades. Lots of practical advice in this episode about how to actually do this in our world today. Listen in to this fascinating discussion!

In 2016, the Oxford English Dictionary named “post-truth” as their word of the year. In 2019, Westerners are quite possibly even more confused about what is real and what is not. In today’s episode, host Davies Owens asks Abdu Murray about his new book, Saving Truth: Finding Meaning and Clarity in a Post-Truth World. Murray shares his faith journey to Christianity, defines what it means to live in a post-truth culture, and encourages Christians, especially college students, to respond with integrity to the arguments swirling around them.

Echoing C.S. Lewis’ arguments in The Abolition of Man, Dr. Steve Turley cautions that modernity robs us of our humanity and leads to an abolition of sanity with regard to what is true, good and beautiful.  Educators should urge students to consider their divine purpose over and against the mechanistic messages that culture throws at them. When given truth, time, and classical tools, students are better equipped to navigate a world falling apart. They begin to see that everything from rock music to math to Mozart reflects a theology and they learn how to order their affections. Help the next generation take back sanity today!

ENCORE: This critical episode was originally aired in March of this year. The battle continues...What are technology’s latest sneaky maneuvers to get to our kids? How do parents combat the bad while accepting the good? Like Cyclops, the one-eyed giant who battled Odysseus, technology is the stranger in our midst attempting to get a grip on our children’s hearts, minds, and souls. Tune in to learn about the latest technology dangers online, the lack of helpful ratings in apps designed for children, and what you can do to protect your kids.

Today's episode originally aired in June of 2018 and is more relevant than ever before. Nancy Pearcey has been called "America’s preeminent evangelical Protestant female intellectual." Her book Total Truth was a best seller along with the book she authored with Chuck Colson: How Now Shall We Live. In this interview she talks about her latest book, Love Thy Body, which asks the hard questions about life and sexuality that we hear in many of the conversations and debates in the broader culture. It is an excellent resource for anyone raising the next generation… Listen in….

The bad news…temptations exist even in the classical Christian world. The good news…uncovering these temptations means parents and educators are more informed and can think wisely about the challenges they and their students might encounter. Having served as a classical Christian educator, Brian Douglas critiques from within, shares the struggles he fought and how to best overcome wrong thinking and practices in the classroom. Listen in as he tackles five of the biggest temptations that parents and educators face when raising the next generation in a classical environment.

Isn’t competition as American as apple pie and Chevrolet? Yes, but all too often, modern society’s fixation with competition, performance and metrics erodes our children’s identity and the Christian faith we are trying to build. Even worse, well-intentioned parents are often the worst culprits! Ben Bost shares compelling research about the harm that our competitive society inflicts on kids today…and how parents and classical Christian schools can offer children stability in an unstable world.

Author Tony Reinke’s newest book, Competing Spectacles: Treasuring Christ in the Media Age, addresses the tension between seeing as God sees versus what we see all around us… anything from Facebook to Twitter, from Netflix to a kiss cam. This constant media barrage means that what is not explicitly sinful still pulls our gaze away from the greatest spectacle of all - Jesus. In this interview, Tony Reinke shares how to find balance, spiritually thrive again and even how to pray for your children in this important area!