In the final of the four part series about what is wrong with modern or progressive education, Difff and James discuss anthropology. As James KA Smith says, every pedagogy assumes an anthropology.  Without realising it, anthropology - what...

Having discussed the metaphysical and epistemological ruptures that have impacted education, Difff & James move to ethics. If all education points students towards some conception of good, what is good? How can we come to understand good, e...

In the second episode asking the question of what is wrong with modern progressive education, Difff & James discuss epistemology - the branch of philosophy that deals with questions of what is knowledge, what is knowable, and how we come to...

In the first of four episodes attempting to detail some of the major differences between classical and modern or progressive education, Difff and James discuss metaphysics. Rather than going after specific particular elements of modern educatio...

Difff and James have another amiable argument about a contentious issue in education. This time, we're asking how much say teachers should have over what and how they teach in the classroom?  Does a top-down approach stifle teacher autonom...

What role does the concept of harmony play in education? This episode is a talk that was presented by Difff at the Brisbane Classical Education Conference in June 2024. Focusing on the work of St John Henry Newman, Difff discusses how true educ...

Difff adopts his real name - Kenneth Crowther - and discusses St John Henry Newman College with James. Newman College is a new classical school starting in 2026 in Brisbane, and Kenneth is the school's first principal. In this episode, he expla...

Difff & James are joined by Ben McCabe, who runs the Augustine Academy. The Academy offers a Certificate IV for students between 16 and 19 years of age. Primarily designed for homeschoolers as a way for them to gain an accredited certificat...

You've probably heard the saying before, that parents are the primary educators of their children. In fact, it has been said on this very podcast. But are they?  And if they are, what does this really mean?  Difff and James engage in ...

The Paideia Approach is a theory and practice of education proposed by a number of luminaries including Mortimer Adler. In this episode, James discusses the Paideia way to think about curriculum design, such as anchoring subjects of study in Th...

C.S. Lewis' 'On the Reading of Old Books' is the topic of discussion in this episode of Educating Humans. James reads most of the excerpt unabridged, and then the conversation ensues, touching on various topics based upon Lewis' main point that...

Can the Australian National Curriculum be redeemed? The question itself implies that there might be something wrong with the curriculum provided by ACARA, and indeed listening to the pundits and commentators, apparently there may be. For propon...

Difff & James read and discuss Josef Pieper's short essay Learning How to See Again. As the essay begins: "Man's ability to see is in decline."  Why is this?  Pieper, writing in the 1950s, suggested that one of the r...

And we're back for 2024! Difff and James chat about what has been happening in classical education in Australia, including updates from new schools starting up, a visit from Andrew Kern and Katerina Hamilton, and Difff's upcoming presentation a...

Difff is joined by Heidi White, a classical education consultant with the CIRCE Institute to discuss, well, a whole lot of good stuff. Beginning with some foundational questions about the classical education renewal, Heidi talks about the forma...

In our short series on conversation topics for things we're reconsidering: subjects - yes, we're even reconsidering subjects. Something as foundational to the structure of schools is often overlooked, but what are the pitfalls that can sneak in...

In another short conversation starter, James and Difff chat about the place of homework, specifically in relation to the classical classroom. As usual, the conversation comes back to considering first principles of purpose. Often homework is gi...

What is assessment?  What is its purpose, and how do we know if we're achieving it? This episode is a shorter discussion starter, aimed at provoking some questions in listeners' minds about the purpose of assessment; ways that it can be he...

Wisdom is one of the most common stated intentions of a classical education, but what exactly is it?  Using the work of St John Henry Newman and John Ozolins, Difff and James discuss Newman's definition of it and how he saw it fitting into...

In the final episode of the mini series about good books that we recommend for those interested in Classical Education, Difff talks about Jacques Maritain's Education at the Crossroads and the importance of teleology and therefore...

Difff & James spend some time answering questions from the audience. These questions are all about how to start the classical education journey, both at home with young children and as a teacher in a non-classical school. They also discuss ...

In the penultimate episode of the Good Books series, Difff and James focus in on two classic pieces of literature. Starting with Shakespeare's Hamlet, they discuss the importance of Shakespeare in the classroom before diving into ...

Difff speaks with Dr Laura Eidt from the University of Dallas about the new Latin program she is writing for teaching Latin to young children through stories. The conversation covers the reasons for teaching Latin as well as methods for effecti...

As James and Difff start to wrap up their series on some great books, they discuss two works of cultural criticism that have significantly impacted them. James discusses G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy, and in particular the chapter '...

Difff and James speak with Father Stephen David, who is the founder of St John of Kronstadt Academy, a new Orthodox Classical school starting in Brisbane in January 2024. They discuss how Fr Stephen became interested in classical education, and...