Kolbecast

30: Guiding the Ship

AMDG. Familiar voices Everett Buyarski, Megan Lengyel, and Nicole O’Connor join the crew today for a review of the past year and a preview of the next. They discuss the challenges that came with Summer 2020’s amazing growth in enrollment, as well as the increased service and support infrastructure they’ve developed. They also share exciting developments for 2021-2022, including improvements to the elementary grade scheduling, expanded AP class offerings, Kolbe’s new National Honor Society chapter, and the addition of Homework Hangouts. We bring it home with how the Kolbe team has seen the benefits of the Kolbe Difference in their own homes. 
Kolbe admissions events, including webinars and shadow week
Kolbecast Episode 11 featuring Everett Buyarski discussing Kolbe’s history, mission and philosophy 
Kolbecast Episode 14 featuring Nicole O’Connor 
Kolbecast featuring Megan Lengyel 
Are you (or do you know) a Latin teacher? Kolbe is hiring!
Kolbecast Episode 18 Homer and the Hunger Games featuring Charlie Mihaliak 
Kolbecast Episode 4 Workspaces 
 
Have a question or suggestion for the Kolbecast team? Send it to podcast@kolbe.org. Subscribe to the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast player for effortless episode delivery. 

29: The February Staredown

Ep 29 The February Staredown 
AMDG. The weather’s bad, we’re tired of pushing through, we can’t quite see the end of the year yet, and yet we’re already thinking about next year. Jordan, Bonnie, and Hope muse today on how we can honor the needs for both rest and progress in these winter (or winter-like) conditions. They discuss tangible markers of progress, the idea of learning to rest but not quit, the benefits and differences of internal and external motivation, how they gear up for a new year, and more. 
 
We’d love to hear how families stay the course and make the best of a long-haul season. Send your strategies to podcast@kolbe.org.  
 
Mentioned in this podcast: 
Josef Pieper’s book Leisure, the Basis of Culture
Kolbecast Ep 17 Secure to Explore 
Kolbe admissions events 
Are you (or do you know) a Latin teacher? Kolbe is hiring! 
 
Subscribe to the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast player for effortless episode delivery. 

28: Pessimist with Hope: A Conversation with Anthony Esolen

AMDG. On this very special episode of the Kolbecast, Dr. Anthony Esolen joins the crew to provide advice to families who are intrigued by but have no idea where to start with classical education. Dr. Esolen begins by explaining how the imagination is the driver of the person. From there, he preaches encouragement—don't be afraid to teach your children!—and describes how formation of the human person through classical education contrasts with the “lackadaisical utilitarianism” prevalent today. We don’t shy away from the big questions, either. Is classical education too rarefied for those on the path toward blue collar jobs, and why or why not? If we’re called to be salt and light, should children instead be evangelizing within public schools around them? And what about the ~socialization question~? Listen in and find out. 
 
Content warning: Dr. Esolen’s direct and vivid style includes some analogies and language that, depending on your family, may make this episode most suitable for listening when little ears are not around. 
 
John Senior’s book list
Horatio Hornblower series
Bishop Barron on evangelizing through beauty

27: An Appreciation of Wonder

AMDG. Today Kolbe alumnus Gregory, a current student at Wyoming Catholic College, reminds us of both the richness of books and the importance of getting outside and reading the book of creation. In conversation with Bonnie and Hope, Gregory reminisces about his favorite Kolbe courses, reflects on lessons he learned through experience with the alluring artifice of procrastination, and recounts with disarming candor his path to college. By his endearing yet understated enthusiasm, Gregory invites us to encounter the world with a sense of wonder and curiosity, attentive to our commission as stewards of nature and open to the path toward holiness. 
Have a question or suggestion for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at podcast@kolbe.org.   

26: Truth in Person

AMDG. Kolbe 2019 graduate Aviva Lund joins us today with insatiable curiosity and infectious enthusiasm. A current neuroscience major and philosophy minor at Notre Dame, Aviva shares stories and insights ranging from an internship at Yale Medical School to her family’s experience with the Homeschool Legal Defense Association. She describes the way sciences and humanities interlace and addresses the specifics of interviewing at Ivy League colleges. Ultimately, Aviva’s far-flung adventures come from two foundational ideas. First, a guiding tenet: when you give time to God, he’ll give time to you tenfold. Second, a question: what are you going to do with the present moment? 
 
Aviva’s 2019 Kolbe graduation address 
Ecuadane, Aviva’s family’s shop 
Homeschooling Legal Defense Association (HSLDA)  
 http://www.guaranteed4.com 
 
https://www.ecuadane.com 
 
https://medicine.yale.edu/obgyn/discovery/education/internships/hs/ 

25: Backstage

AMDG. On this special edition of the Kolbecast – released during the 12 Days of Christmas and marking our 25th episode since this school year’s relaunch – fix some popcorn (if Bonnie’s picking the snack) or some cheese and crackers (if Hope is) and settle in for a behind-the-scenes tour of the podcast. The team talks about how the idea to collaborate developed, what Jordan’s recent promotion to Director of Public and Alumni Relations entails, how episode titles come about, and more. Listen all the way through for a preview of the spring episodes and a little Christmas gift from us to you: a blooper reel.
Have a question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at podcast@kolbe.org.  

24: Rise and Shine

AMDG. Last week we talked to Beth Gath, veteran homeschool mom of six and Kolbe parent ambassador. Today we talk to her eldest two children, Anthony (a junior at Ave Maria University) and Clare (a freshman at Wyoming Catholic College). They share their experience being homeschooled, the way they helped younger siblings, and the connections they developed through extracurriculars such as swim team and the Kolbe newsletter, of which Clare was editor-in-chief. Anthony and Clare also reflect on doing class on a cruise ship, their college application process, and the experience of moving geographically far away from home for college. Along the way, topics including the logical similarities between mathematics and the classics, the importance of encountering nature as well as academics, and building rapport with teachers and professors. 
 
Have a question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at podcast@kolbe.org.   

23: Family is the Center

AMDG. Veteran homeschool mom of six and Kolbe parent ambassador Beth Gath joins Bonnie and Hope today to discuss her experience with various seasons of homeschooling. From starting first grade with her eldest when she and her husband also had a four-year-old, a two-year-old, and newborn twins to now having multiple college students and high schoolers in the family, Beth discusses what a typical day has looked like at various points; how she’s mixed online, self-paced, and homeschool courses to meet her family’s needs; and the benefits of older children helping younger children. Beth also discusses tailoring homeschooling to fit the needs of her twins, who are dyslexic, such as the reading programs and accommodations she’s used, as well as what their preparation for college looks like. Finally, we talk about the community aspect of Kolbe and what the behind-the-scenes work of supporting and building the Schoology discussion groups looks like.  
Make sure to tune in next week when we visit with Beth’s eldest two children, Anthony and Clare! 
https://diannecraft.org/ 
https://learningally.org/ 
https://bartonreading.com/ 
 
Have a question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at podcast@kolbe.org.