Michael Farris:
Leigh, your classical education program, Classical Conversations, emphasizes weekly group classes. Why do you feel that these are helpful?

Leigh Bortins:
Well, two reasons: one, moms appreciate the additional accountability—they like the idea that somebody else is helping their child understand the importance of education and get through some difficult material; and then two, students appreciate practicing their rhetorical and dialectic skills with a small group of friends. You can be totally successful homeschooling without participating in a regular weekly program, but it’s a lot easier to practice policy debate, discuss classical literature, and participate in science labs with a few students studying the same material.

Mike:
What else is unique about Classical Conversations?

Leigh:
The mothers all have to attend, because the classical model can be intimidating and by participating with their students once a week, they get to see how to train their own children classically at home. And so we work together to improve our teaching skills for the classical model. And then in our programs that are for 7th–12th grades we emphasize integration of subjects, which is fairly unusual in modern times. So in other words, when we teach, say, chemistry, we are also teaching math, history, and theology. We encourage our students to see creation as a universe and not a “multiverse” of disconnected subjects. So they apply the tools they’re learning in one subject to other subjects.

Mike:
Leigh, thanks so much. I’m Mike Farris.