Clarification on online class types:

Live = Students attend video call classes at a set time. During class they can interact with their instructor and peers. They may complete additional coursework on their own, but must submit it by a particular deadline.

Asynch = Students watch video instruction on their own. There are no set meeting times. They may or may not have deadlines for coursework.

Delayed (unique to WTM Academy) = Students can watch lectures on their own time (within 24hrs of the live class), but must complete all other coursework on the same timeline as live students. Here is a video about how delayed classes work at the WTM Academy.

Things to Look For When Choosing an Online School:

1. Is there an administration?
2. Is the school accredited?
3. Tuition
4. How much do you want to be involved?
5. Delivery method/Time online
6. Socialization opportunities
7. Viewpoint Diversity and/or Worldview
8. Website design

Nationally Recognized Accrediting bodies

MSA

(Also check out the agencies they cooperate with)

WASC

Cognia

• (00:00) - Intro with Julia Collier
• (02:39) - What are the benefits of online school?
• (12:50) - Types of online programs
• (27:23) - Break
• (28:16) - Types of online programs
• (34:32) - What a diploma does and whether or not it's important
• (36:52) - What are *you* looking for in an online school?
• (43:13) - Green flags, red flags, and things to look for in an online school
• (01:02:28) - Wrapping up
• (01:03:22) - Outro

German: Goethe Institute

Spanish: Instituto Cervantes

French: Alliance Francaise

Well-Trained Mind Academy

Beth Gibbons – singing Penderecki/Gorecki Symphony #3

ANNOUNCEMENT: We will record a Q&A episode at the end of this season. If you have questions for Susan or Susanna, send them to podcast@welltrainedmind.com.

• (00:00) - Intro with Elizabeth Weber-Edwards
• (01:59) - A brief introduction to learned languages
• (08:15) - How do you learn languages?
• (14:06) - Some principles for choosing a way to teach a language
• (21:52) - Which language should you pick?
• (30:41) - Break
• (31:34) - How language learning fits into classical education
• (41:23) - What to look for in a quality online language class
• (54:51) - It's never too late to learn a language!

Show notes:

• What is History? How andWhy Should I Teach It by Susan Wise Bauer
• Why Learn History When it’s Already on Your Phone? By Sam Wineburg
  • Sam Wineburg for CBS
  • Research on middle schoolers ability to interpret information on the internet
  • A helpful introduction to teaching historical thinking skills
• Resources for Teaching History:
  • The Big History Project (skills taught: contextualization, sourcing, causation, comparison, continuity & change over time, close reading)
  • Digital Inquiry Group (formerly Stanford History Education Group or SHEG). This organization offers free lesson plans and assessment ideas that emphasize historical thinking skills, perfect for logic stage students. The “Lunchroom I” and “Lunchroom II” lesson plans are a fun introduction to historical thinking skills.
  • A great introduction to history for rhetoric stage students: Telling the Truth About History
• Reading Lists for Hard History
  • American Indians in Children’s Literature Web Page by Debbie Reese
  • Heritage Mom Recommendations for Black History
  • Annotated Reading list for Grammar Stage: Picture Books About Slavery and Freedom via Heritage Mom
  • Annotated Reading list for Logic Stage: Age-Appropriate Books about the Holocaust via School Library Journal (you know your student, some of these may be too heavy for younger logic stage students).
  • Another reading list with both grammar stage and logic stage titles on enslavement: Children’s Books about Slavery and Enslavement via Pragmatic Mom

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:25) - History as a battleground
• (05:21) - A Drag Queen example
• (08:31) - History as a story and historical "accuraacy"
• (16:49) - 4 historical approaches
• (16:57) - Biographical history
• (19:06) - Progressive history
• (29:35) - Positivist history
• (33:55) - Social history
• (37:33) - How do we teach this?
• (40:10) - History in the grammar stage
• (47:52) - History in the logic stage
• (55:21) - History in the rhetoric stage
• (58:37) - Wrapping up
• (59:22) - Outro