Kolbecast

84 The Essence of Catholic Education with Patrick Reilly

AMDG.  The fundamental question of defining education is one of our favorite and most frequent topics.  Today, president and founder of the Cardinal Newman Society, Patrick Reilly, joins Bonnie, Steven, and Jordan to discuss education beyond the K-12 years.  Patrick proposes the idea of education as a window into God’s mind and explains how this perspective—along with a healthy dose of frustration—led him to look deeply at the state of Catholic education at the college level.  He also elucidates some the difference between Newman Guide schools and schools with Newman Centers (stay tuned for an upcoming episode on the latter).
Links mentioned and helpful:
Cardinal Newman Society, publisher of The Newman Guide
Playlist of presentations at Kolbe’s Virtual College Fair Oct 2021, including Patrick Reilly’s Keynote Address
 
related Kolbecast episodes
Episode 59 The Secret Whiteboard with Everett Buyarski and Erica Treat
Episode 40 Windshield Time with Dr. Don Prudlo
Episode 77 The Road Less Traveled with Celeste Cuellar
 
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Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at podcast@kolbe.org.
Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.    
 

83 This Is Only a Test

AMDG.  The words “standardized testing” may induce anxiety in parents and students alike, but today’s episode is all about a calm and competent approach. Jon & Chris Bates join Bonnie, Steven, and Steven’s wife Maggie to speak with experience as both homeschool parents and academic advisors. The group discusses why and what to test, paper and online options, and the information that testing can and cannot highlight. They also touch on environmental considerations for testing, how to navigate and mitigate student panic over tests, and how to approach test scores as a healthy assessment tool while keeping your unique students in mind.
Links mentioned and helpful:
Kolbe Academy’s testing services
Episode 62 Due Diligence with Darren Jones of the Home School Legal Defense Association
Episode 68 Grace for the Nitty Gritty with Celeste Cuellar and Ashley Massey
Episode 80 The Journey That Is with Margaret Walsh of Secret Garden Educational Pathways
Episode 31 Veteran Homeschoolers – the Kolbecast debut of Jon and Chris Bates
Episode 47 Among the Pots and Pans with Chris Bates and Kelly Powers
Episode 50 Cast Party
 
Look for the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app and subscribe for effortless episode delivery.
Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at podcast@kolbe.org.
Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.    

82 Move and Groove

AMDG. Last week’s elementary school tour continues today with meeting two of Kolbe’s lower elementary teachers, Eileen Duryea and Sarah Lee.  These ladies share their expertise and enthusiasm for teaching Kindergarten through second grade students in Kolbe’s unique hybrid platform. They explain how limited online time and plentiful movement keep students physically and mentally engaged, how they foster fine motor development and a love of reading, and how parent involvement is a crucial component for success.
Links mentioned and related:
Kolbecast Episode 81: The When and the How of Online Elementary with 3 teachers from Kolbe’s upper elementary online program
Classical Education in the Elementary Years, a presentation by Sarah Foulkes during Catholic Schools Week 2021
The Classical Approach at Kolbe Academy, a webinar hosted by Nicole O’Connor, director of the Online Elementary Program
Look for the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app and subscribe for effortless episode delivery.
Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at podcast@kolbe.org.
Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.    

81 The When and the How of Online Elementary

AMDG.  Tour the metaphorical halls of Kolbe’s elementary program today with teachers Sarah Foulkes, Anna Havens, and Emily Thibodeaux.  These ladies discuss with Bonnie and Steven the practicalities of the parent-teacher partnership that helps young students thrive.  From the hybrid combination of homeschooling and online education to the highlights of what the Kolbe elementary program is and is not, the discussion is a microcosm of Kolbe’s ancient and cutting-edge approach.
Links mentioned and related:
Classical Education in the Elementary Years, a presentation by Mrs. Foulkes during Catholic Schools Week 2021
Ep 7 Et Tu, Iordane? in which the newly-launched online elementary program is discussed
Ep 61 Middle Ground
Ep 70 First Draft: A Parent In-Service discusses rubrics, which Mrs. Thibodeaux mentions among her suggestions
The Classical Approach at Kolbe Academy, a webinar hosted by Nicole O’Connor, director of the Online Elementary Program
Look for the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app and subscribe for effortless episode delivery.
Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at podcast@kolbe.org.
Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.    

80 The Journey That Is

AMDG.  What causes a learning disability or difficulty and how can we help a student exercise that part of their mind?  Margaret Walsh of Secret Garden Educational Pathways joins Bonnie and Steven today to discuss the Ignatian idea of cura personalis, or care of the whole person, in the context of special education.  Margaret shares how she draws on both her liberal arts degree from Thomas Aquinas College and her advanced specialized training in special ed to provide accessible support through remediation and education therapy.   Topics touched on today include strengthening students’ capabilities, the 13 categories of learning needs, how to distinguish diagnosable struggles from emotional immaturity or stubbornness, and the hesitance and stigma surrounding diagnoses.
 
Links referenced:
Secret Garden Educational Pathways, Margaret’s company
Margaret’s Facebook Friday presentation
org, which Margaret says is “an amazing resource for easy reading and exploring different struggles, symptoms, testing questions, etc. for families to use. Their platform and website is far easier to follow than many other "special education" websites.” Articles on that Margaret selected to go with this episode:
How to Get a Free or Low-Cost Evaluation for Your Child
The Difference between Tutors and Educational Therapists
13 different IDEA disabilities
https://www.mindware.orientaltrading.com/, according to Margaret, “has some great games to use to build skills. Often the students don't even realize they are doing something challenging, because they are more focused on the game.”
Kolbecast Ep 68 Grace for the Nitty Gritty with Kolbe advisors Ashley Massey and Celeste Cuellar
Kolbecast Ep 74 Special Teams: Kolbe Dads, during which Greg Simia recommends Margaret’s services
Kolbe's Special Needs Support 
 
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Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at podcast@kolbe.org.
Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.    

79 Doors to Your Memories

AMDG.  A familiar voice rejoins Bonnie, Steven, and Jordan today: Bonnie’s sister Hope, originally one of the relaunched Kolbecast’s co-hosts and now a frequent behind-the-scenes collaborator.  As the quartet gathers in the space between the old year and the new, we hear about Jordan’s newly published book and Hope’s introduction to Kolbe, as well as the long slow road of conversion and the significance of routines.
Referenced in this episode:
Jordan’s book When the Earth Was Flat
The Screwtape Letters
Kolbecast Episode 7 Et Tu, Iordane?
 
Look for the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app and subscribe for effortless episode delivery.
Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at podcast@kolbe.org.
Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.    

78 The Kolbe Man Show

AMDG.  Four of Kolbe’s wisest guys—Jordan, Steven, Everett, and Don—gather for a virtual men’s night on this week’s episode.  Their discussion is one for the ages, spanning stories of childhood role models and adult cross-country moves before settling into a reflection on what strength is and isn’t.  With sacrificial love and the golden mean as their foundation, the gentlemen talk about virtues to encourage in young men, how the idea that “boys will be boys” works against healthy masculinity, the commonalities between Marcus Aurelius and Marvel, the revolution of Christian leadership, Augustine’s idea that those who give orders are the servants of those whom they appear to command, and so much more.
The impetus for the Buyarskis’ move to Tulsa: Ep 50 Backstage (Cast Party)
Articles mentioned:
How to Be on the Right Side of History by James Hankins in First Things
John Hardon, SJ, on the importance and necessity of homeschooling
Dr. Don Prudlo can be heard on these other Kolbecast episodes:
Ep 39 Reclaiming the Territory
Ep 40 Windshield Time
Ep 50 Backstage (Cast Party)
Kolbe Academy’s Academic Services Director Everett Buyarski is featured on these other Kolbecast episodes:
Ep 11 Truth, Wisdom, Virtue
Ep 30 Guiding the Ship and Ep 69 Temperature Check with Megan Lengyel and Nicole O’Connor
Ep 43 The Grade Examen and Ep 59 The Secret Whiteboard with Erica Treat
Ep 50 Backstage (Cast Party)
Look for the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app and subscribe for effortless episode delivery.
Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at podcast@kolbe.org.
Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.    

77 The Road Less Traveled

AMDG.  Today Celeste Cuellar rejoins the Kolbecast to discuss non-college paths—trades, military service, religious life discernment, and more.  Celeste, Bonnie, and Steven muse on how God doesn’t require saints to have college degrees, how many of the activities and interests we’re drawn to indicate our paths, and how the preparation for life is indirect.  Along with these profound and accessible topics, they touch on personality and skill assessments such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, what gap years are and aren’t, and reckoning parents’ experience within themselves as their children grow to the age of adventuring beyond the nest.
 
Celeste can be heard on these other Kolbecast episodes
Ep 12 Phone a Friend
Ep 68 Grace for the Nitty Gritty also with Ashley Massey
Also referenced:
Ep 59 The Secret Whiteboard with Everett Buyarski & Erica Treat
Highlands Ability Battery
The Myers & Briggs Foundation
Labor Day Statement by Bishop John Barres of Rockville Center, NY
Harmel School of the Trades in Grand Rapids, MI
Kateri College of the Liberal and Practical Arts in Gallup, NM
Vocations week Ep 32 Reflections of His Light with Sr. Margaret Mary & Sr. Anne
Discerning a Path after High School section in Program Support Guide (in Welcome Packet)
 
Look for the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app and subscribe for effortless episode delivery.
Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at podcast@kolbe.org.
Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.