Life of the Mind: Brookewood & Avalon Schools

Ep. 32 Kevin Davern: "Cultural Attitudes That Work Against Educating Children"

This episode is a recording of a talk Kevin Davern, Headmaster of Avalon School, gave to parents.  The talk, “Cultural Attitudes That Work Against Educating Children:  Help Your Children Do Well in Virtually Any School” identifies eight errors that might befall even thoughtful parents and offers remedies to them.  The main backdrop is St. Josemaria Escriva’s statement about the beauty of the Catholic faith, in its ability to clarify and offer hope.  Kevin’s talk is itself clear, insightful, practically helpful, and inspiring.  I hope you enjoy it.

Ep. 31 The Religion of the Day, with David Booz

David and I talk about The Religion of the Day, the sequel to From Christendom to Apostolic Mission from the University of Mary's Msgr. James Shea and Dr. Jonathan Reyes of the Knights of Columbus and others.  The first book calls for a change of mindset among Catholics, asking us to think of ourselves in an apostolic age--the change is appropriate to the situation and allows us to be more creative and more hopeful.  The second book looks at what has replaced the Christendom mindset in our culture, and the last two chapters offer some guidance about what we can do to help people see the degree to which they are acting out of this problematic secular mindset and help them to understand other, healthier ways to seek the truth.  David is always an entertaining speaker, and we hope you enjoy this episode.

Ep. 30 The Second Camino of Maryland, with Rich McPherson

Camino visionary Rich McPherson and I talk about his experience of walking the Camino of Maryland the second time.  The first experience of the Camino had to do with the route and with camaraderie among friends, along with prayer, penance, and graces.  The second Camino brings in new people from other places and a whole variety of different experiences.  Rich has made something beautiful, with and for Brookewood and Avalon, for the world, and, as he keeps reminding me, primarily for God.  There are at least 112 sign-ups for the third Camino, to take place next June, as more and more people are excited by the prospect of walking and praying together in this way.

Ep. 29 From Christendom to Apostolic Mission, with Rich McPherson

Rich McPherson joins me to discuss Fr. James Shea's long essay From Christendom to Apostolic Mission: Pastoral Strategies for an Apostolic Age.  The essay asks that we first acknowledge we are no longer living in a culture governed by Christian values and institutions and then that we adopt approaches commensurate with this shift.  The apostolic age brings with it an optimism as Christians find themselves sharing a sacramental vision with others, rather than being disappointed that others don't always already hold that vision.  This conversation is especially fun and successful because Rich and I have each immersed ourselves pretty fully in this inspiring text.

Ep. 28: David Steiner's A Nation at Thought, with Rich McPherson

David Steiner, the executive director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy, is the author of A Nation at Thought and spoke at the New York Encounter, where he spent his day with Avalon and Brookewood president, Rich McPherson.  Steiner's dark view of the current ed scene is interesting to us, as is his book.  Steiner believes in teaching for content (not skills in isolation, as has been the emphasis in contemporary education for decades) and connecting great texts to the deep, meaningful questions they raise.  He thinks American teaching in general lacks urgency.  Rich and I had a wide-ranging conversation, and I hope you enjoy it.

Ep. 27 On Reading Whole Books, with Elizabeth Eames

The podcast is back!  We apologize for the hiatus, technical in origin, and are delighted to have returned, now with this conversation with fellow English teacher Elizabeth Eames.  Together we discuss The Atlantic's article "The Elite College Students Who Can't Read Books" by Rose Horowitch.  At Brookewood, especially in the upper school English department, we make a point of teaching students to read books in their entirety, rather than rely on an anthology of excerpts.  Teaching with excerpts has its place, but too often the result is an overly simplified understanding of ideas, and excerpts leave the door too open to an over-emphasis on one point or another, often to promulgate a particular theory, philosophy, or stand.  In general, we like our literature more complex than that.

Ep. 26 The Extinction of Experience, with Fr. José Medina and Andrea Francois

In this new episode, I (host Cherie Walsh) talk with Andrea Francois and Fr. José Medina about Christine Rosen’s new book, The Extinction of Experience.  Building from our previous work on Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation, our conversation begins where Rosen’s book does:  the degree to which our experiences are increasingly mediated by our technological choices and how, as a result, we become spectators rather than agents of our activities.  This change in how people live of course has implications for our students and for ourselves, as we all strive to embrace our lives as fully present, embodied creatures.

Ep. 25 Anxious Generation, with Andrea Francois and Fr. José Medina

I am excited to talk with Andrea Francois and Fr. José Medina about Jonathan Haidt's book The Anxious Generation.  Haidt's book was the faculty summer reading at Brookewood, and we like his thesis.  We talk about the phone-free school day in terms of attention, embodiment, reflection, and reasonable physical risk.  For us, going outside in what Haidt calls "Discovery Mode" has been part of the curriculum for years, and we've tightened up our phone policies this summer as the data has come in about the clear correspondence of social media use and the rise of anxiety and depression, especially among girls.

Quentin Walsh ended up producing this one after all, so we thank him for helping to balance us out, as it were.

Ep. 24 The Goldfinch, with Andrea Francois and Ann Vitz

Andrea Francois and Ann Vitz join me for a discussion of Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch.  The novel uses its contemporary idiom (and some rough material) to discuss some of the great themes of literature:  art vs. life, mortality, the role of tradition in modern life, and so on.  We read the books behind the book (Keats, Dostoyevsky, Dickens, and so on).  Finally, we appreciate the novel's ultimately Catholic worldview and find the characters and world fully drawn and ineluctably memorable. (NB:  One of us quotes a vulgar word from the text, and maybe this is an episode not to listen to with the kids in the car anyway...)

Ep. 23 Brief Loves that Live Forever by Andrei Makine, with David Booz and Andrea Francois

David Booz and Andrea Francois join me to discuss Brief Loves that Live Forever, Andrei Makine's 2013 novel exploring the end of the USSR.  David was keen to talk about Makine, as Erik Varden mentions him in The Shattering of Loneliness, among the non-Christian writers whose works feature a longing for meaning beyond ideology or pleasure.  The novel explores the childhood and later life of its nameless narrator in chapters that read as luminous vignettes with moments of real emotion that allow for glimpses of the transcendent.