{"id":55511,"date":"2016-04-04T17:01:15","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T22:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=55511"},"modified":"2025-11-17T17:09:49","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T23:09:49","slug":"podcast-189-the-classical-education-you-never-had","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/leisure\/books\/podcast-189-the-classical-education-you-never-had\/","title":{"rendered":"Podcast #189: The Classical Education You Never Had"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"art19-web-player awp-medium awp-theme-dark-blue\" data-episode-id=\"d3237dac-f090-40aa-b788-bc17b38d2e08\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<p>Beginning in the Middle Ages, young people who received a formal education did so using a set pattern called the trivium. This &#8220;classical education&#8221; method was&nbsp;how many of history&#8217;s great minds were educated, including America&#8217;s Founding Fathers. But beginning in the late 19th century, the classical education methodology was seen as old-fashioned and outdated for our modern, industrial society, and so different methods of education began springing up. Slowly the classical education pattern used for centuries in the West faded away.<\/p>\n<p>But what have we missed out on both individually and as a culture by eschewing a classical education? Could abandoning the trivium for more modern education methods be one of the sources of a decline in the intellectual&nbsp;ability of students, as well as decreasing cultural literacy levels amongst educated adults? If you missed out on a classical education growing up, is it possible to get one even though you&#8217;re finished with school?<\/p>\n<p>My guest today on the podcast, Susan Bauer, has the answers to those questions. She&#8217;s the author of <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/039308096X\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=039308096X&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=stucosuccess&amp;linkId=FSXA3GZUT5SFDAZ4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had<\/a>, <\/em> as well as&nbsp;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Well-Trained-Mind-Guide-Classical-Education\/dp\/0393067084\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1459798553&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=the+well+trained+mind&amp;linkCode=sl1&amp;tag=artofmanliness03-20&amp;linkId=666a65dda4a31fdd205b5b630fc9ef14\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to a Classical Education at Home<\/a>.<\/em>&nbsp;In today&#8217;s show, we discuss what a classical education is, the benefits of it, and how you can create a&nbsp;curriculum for yourself which can accommodate even the busiest of schedules. We also discuss how you can provide your children a classical education even if they go to public schools and how Susan&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wtmacademy.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Well-Trained Mind Academy<\/a> can help your middle schoolers and high schoolers get a classical education from classically trained teachers right at home.<\/p>\n<h3>Show Highlights<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The three-part pattern of a classical education<\/li>\n<li>How a classical education differs from the education philosphy used in most American public schools<\/li>\n<li>How our &#8220;opinion culture&#8221; is a direct result of&nbsp;deviating from a classical education pattern<\/li>\n<li>What the &#8220;Great Conversation&#8221; is<\/li>\n<li>How a classical education can give your intellectual life more texture and nuance<\/li>\n<li>Why being able to just read&nbsp;isn&#8217;t really literacy<\/li>\n<li>How to read a book actively using the classical education pattern<\/li>\n<li>What books to start off with in your own classical education<\/li>\n<li>Why you should get a reading partner just like the Founding Fathers had<\/li>\n<li>Why you shouldn&#8217;t feel pressured to read every. single. Great Book ever written<\/li>\n<li>How to treat your personal classical education as a Great Conversation<\/li>\n<li>How to incorporate the principles of a classical education into your children&#8217;s lives<\/li>\n<li>How to encourage a love of reading in your children&#8217;s lives from a young age<\/li>\n<li>Why you shouldn&#8217;t pressure your five-year-old son to start writing even if he can read<\/li>\n<li>Books to read to your youngsters<\/li>\n<li>How to foster number literacy in your younger children<\/li>\n<li>How to continue a classical education for your children when they get to middle school and high school<\/li>\n<li>And much more!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Resources\/Studies\/People Mentioned in Podcast<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Trivium\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Trivium<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Great_Conversation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Great Conversation<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Crossing_the_Rubicon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Crossing the rubicon<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mortimer_J._Adler\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mortimer Adler<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/How-Read-Book-Intelligent-Touchstone\/dp\/0671212095\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1459796606&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=how+to+read+a+book&amp;linkCode=sl1&amp;tag=artofmanliness03-20&amp;linkId=a7bca5a25c52d82149cf2a40df738c63\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>How to Read a Book<\/em><\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/articles\/how-to-read-a-book\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">see our post summarizing the book<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Great_Books_of_the_Western_World\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Great Books<\/a>&nbsp;(the complete set is available on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Great-Books-Western-World-Mortimer\/dp\/0852295316\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1459796336&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=great+books&amp;linkCode=sl1&amp;tag=artofmanliness03-20&amp;linkId=389b66a0b8a509ced1e322d01600e871\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Amazon<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Don-Quixote-Miguel-Cervantes\/dp\/0060934344\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1459796416&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=don+quixote&amp;linkCode=sl1&amp;tag=artofmanliness03-20&amp;linkId=9f9c5532848f9b86e3830a0e1c2807ee\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Don Quixote<\/a>&nbsp;<\/em>by&nbsp;Miguel De Cervantes<\/li>\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Road-Cormac-McCarthy\/dp\/0307387895\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1459796775&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=the+road&amp;linkCode=sl1&amp;tag=artofmanliness03-20&amp;linkId=f35d3619de4d1a61187da37bad996b15\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Road<\/a><\/em> by Cormac McCarthy<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.read52booksin52weeks.com\/p\/well-educated-mind.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">List of books that Susan recommends in&nbsp;<em>The Well-Educated Mind<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cliffsnotes.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CliffNotes<\/a> (don&#8217;t rely on them; use them to help your understanding)<\/li>\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Iliad-Penguin-Classics-Deluxe\/dp\/0140275363\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1459796980&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=illiad&amp;linkCode=sl1&amp;tag=artofmanliness03-20&amp;linkId=8b078b7d5a3af0a4dc05b4722b836578\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The&nbsp;<\/a><\/em><span style=\"color: #0000ee;\"><i><u>Iliad<\/u><\/i><\/span><\/li>\n<li>Aristotle&#8217;s&nbsp;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Prior_Analytics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Prior Analytics<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/articles\/the-power-of-conversation-a-lesson-from-cs-lewis-and-jrr-tolkien\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Our post on conversation as the key to learning and personal transformation<\/a><\/li>\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Ordinary-Parents-Guide-Teaching-Reading\/dp\/0972860312\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1459797556&amp;sr=8-1-fkmr1&amp;keywords=The+Ordinary+Parent%C2%92s+Guide+to+Teaching+Reading&amp;linkCode=sl1&amp;tag=artofmanliness03-20&amp;linkId=8b1b03d816b8e607b4b6d334c9681d22\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Ordinary Parent\u2019s Guide to Teaching Reading<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/The-Trumpet-of-the-Swan\/dp\/B000LV6QCE\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1459796060&amp;sr=8-1&amp;linkCode=sl1&amp;tag=artofmanliness03-20&amp;linkId=46dc99d55545298dc64e363bc77dfb1f\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Trumpet of the Swan<\/em> audio book<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wtmacademy.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Well-Trained Mind Academy<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/039308096X\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=039308096X&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=stucosuccess&amp;linkId=FSXA3GZUT5SFDAZ4\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-55518 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2016\/04\/well-educated-mind.jpg\" alt=\"Book cover, the well educated mind by Susan wise bauer. \" width=\"329\" height=\"499\" srcset=\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2016\/04\/well-educated-mind.jpg 329w, https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2016\/04\/well-educated-mind-320x485.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 329px) 100vw, 329px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I highly recommend picking up a copy of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/039308096X\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=039308096X&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=stucosuccess&amp;linkId=FSXA3GZUT5SFDAZ4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>The Well-Educated Mind<\/em><\/a>. Susan makes a compelling case as to why every adult should strive for a classical education, but more importantly, provides a detailed guide on how to do it. And if you&#8217;re a parent, be sure to pick up a copy of&nbsp;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Well-Trained-Mind-Guide-Classical-Education\/dp\/0393067084\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1459798553&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=the+well+trained+mind&amp;linkCode=sl1&amp;tag=artofmanliness03-20&amp;linkId=666a65dda4a31fdd205b5b630fc9ef14\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Well-Trained Mind<\/a><\/em>. Susan provides a detailed guide on providing your child a classical education through every step of their young life. What I like most about the book is she has a list of recommend resources to check out to teach different concepts. I&#8217;ve picked up a few to use with both my kids and plan on picking up more. And if you want to take your child&#8217;s classical education up a notch, check out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wtmacademy.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Well-Trained Mind Academy<\/a>, where your kids can follow a classically inspired curriculum online with classically trained teachers. Great for parents who homeschool or do home charter schooling.<\/p>\n<h3>Listen to the Podcast! (And don\u2019t forget to leave us a review!)<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/the-art-of-manliness\/id332516054?mt=2\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-49206 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2015\/07\/available-on-itunes.png\" alt=\"Available on itunes.\" width=\"250\" height=\"92\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-49207 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2015\/07\/available-on-stitcher.png\" alt=\"Available on stitcher.\" width=\"250\" height=\"92\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/artofmanliness\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-49208 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2015\/07\/soundcloud-logo.png\" alt=\"Soundcloud logo.\" width=\"250\" height=\"127\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pcasts.in:443\/NwCI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-49655\" src=\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/\/2015\/08\/pocketcasts.png\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" srcset=\"\" alt=\"Pocketcasts.\" width=\"225\" height=\"225\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/art19.com\/shows\/the-art-of-manliness\/episodes\/d3237dac-f090-40aa-b788-bc17b38d2e08\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Listen to the episode on a separate page.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/rss.art19.com\/episodes\/d3237dac-f090-40aa-b788-bc17b38d2e08.mp3\">Download this episode.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"hs-rss-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.omnycontent.com\/d\/playlist\/aaea4e69-af51-495e-afc9-a9760146922b\/6081eee7-c459-4e12-a1ab-aadc000fc4a7\/413a6904-4d72-4be8-9421-aadc000fc4ba\/podcast.rss\">Subscribe to the podcast in the media player of your choice.<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Read the Transcript<\/h3>\n<p>Coming soon!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Beginning in the Middle Ages, young people who received a formal education did so using a set pattern called the trivium. This &#8220;classical education&#8221; method was&nbsp;how many of history&#8217;s great minds were educated, including America&#8217;s Founding Fathers. But beginning in the late 19th century, the classical education methodology was seen as old-fashioned and outdated [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":55518,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42275,42273,156],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-55511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-living","category-podcast"],"featured_image_urls":{"large":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2016\/04\/well-educated-mind-329x280.jpg","reactor-320":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2016\/04\/well-educated-mind-320x485.jpg","rpwe-thumbnail":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2016\/04\/well-educated-mind-45x45.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55511"}],"version-history":[{"count":45,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":142267,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55511\/revisions\/142267"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55511"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=55511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}