Speaker 1: Seven oh six on Thursday here at fifty five krc
Speaker 1: DE talk station, Brianton is happy to walking on with
Speaker 1: the five CARC Morning Show from an amazing institute. It's
Speaker 1: the Cincinnati Classical Academy and joining me this morning, doctor J. D.
Speaker 1: Harding's president of the Sincanti Classical Academy. Welcome, doctor, it
Speaker 1: is a pleasure to have you on the program.
Speaker 2: Good to be back, Thanks, Brian.
Speaker 1: I always love talking to you and it's really inspiring
Speaker 1: what you're doing at the Sincant Classical Academy. I will
Speaker 1: let my listeners know they too can find out for
Speaker 1: themselves since he with a y, since heclassical dot org.
Speaker 1: That's where you can learn about the classical education that
Speaker 1: your children will learn at the Sincant Classical Academy. First off, question,
Speaker 1: I'm staring at your web page right now. The news
Speaker 1: school with a time tested tradition. We're talking about classical
Speaker 1: education with I've in into some of the detail of
Speaker 1: what that means, but doctor, it's time tested. The methodology,
Speaker 1: the the the the the the classical education practices that
Speaker 1: you teach children that's in Sant Classical Academy are time tested,
Speaker 1: proven to educate children, period, full stop. I mean it works,
Speaker 1: why did we move away from it? I mean phonics,
Speaker 1: for example, is just a great point. You know, you
Speaker 1: can learn to read when you use phonics to learn
Speaker 1: to read, and yet our children are not using phonics,
Speaker 1: and sadly, so many public schools report that they're you know,
Speaker 1: the testing other eighth graders reflects that a very small
Speaker 1: percentage can even read at eighth grade level. So that's
Speaker 1: just one of many points we can talk about this morning.
Speaker 1: But why did we move away from what worked?
Speaker 3: That's a great question, Brian, and then I can't fully
Speaker 3: answer it, but it's been it's been progressing in that
Speaker 3: direction for practically one hundred years now. And there's a
Speaker 3: great podcast asked out there called Sold a Story that
Speaker 3: documents through a five part series, how phonics got pushed
Speaker 3: out of schools beginning like in the nineteen seventies and
Speaker 3: really accelerating through the eighties and nineties. There was a
Speaker 3: big battle in the early two thousands, and yeah, phonics
Speaker 3: was completely replaced by a method called you know, three
Speaker 3: queuing and whole language learning, whereby essentially kids are taught
Speaker 3: just to guess at what words are when they're reading
Speaker 3: by looking at pictures. I mean, it's just absolutely absurd.
Speaker 3: I recommend anyone to go ahead and read that. But
Speaker 3: you know, thankfully the or listen to it. But thankfully,
Speaker 3: the state of Ohio last year just passed the law
Speaker 3: requiring schools to use the traditional approach. So going back
Speaker 3: to the method that the Hillsdale affiliated classical schools have
Speaker 3: been using since they started phonics, sentenced diagramming orthography, which
Speaker 3: is the science of spelling, just teaching them actually to
Speaker 3: sound out words and understand the structure of the language
Speaker 3: as it was intended, you know, And.
Speaker 1: That we have to have this conversation as bizarre because
Speaker 1: the time tested, proving strategy or proven teaching methodology of
Speaker 1: phonics always worked to be replaced by this whole language
Speaker 1: method which now we know is time tested to not work.
Speaker 1: I mean, we have to pass laws to put something
Speaker 1: that common sense should have should have told us that
Speaker 1: worked in the first place. We need to bring that
Speaker 1: back because this currently doesn't work. So anyhow, the idea
Speaker 1: that the legislative branch, or the that that Columbus had
Speaker 1: to do I had to do something about that is preposterous.
Speaker 1: And these decisions are made on a school board level.
Speaker 1: Correct the curriculum the children consume in public schools, for example,
Speaker 1: isn't that governed by local school boards primarily or not?
Speaker 2: Yep? Mostly, and the state legislature.
Speaker 4: Jeez.
Speaker 1: Well, anyway, back to Cincinna classical academy, phonics just one
Speaker 1: of the things. But along the same lines, I know
Speaker 1: that you teach Latin to the students. That's insane classical
Speaker 1: as well, and that's a component of reading and understanding.
Speaker 3: Absolutely, and that begins in sixth grade. Actually it starts
Speaker 3: earlier than that, but by teaching them the word roots
Speaker 3: creak and Latin word roots. But it begins formally in
Speaker 3: sixth grade, seventh grade, eighth grade, ninth grade. It's required,
Speaker 3: and they'll get through three years of Latin by the time,
Speaker 3: you know, they finished their first year of high school,
Speaker 3: which is really exceptional. I mean, there's just so many
Speaker 3: incredible advantages to learning Latin, but you know, I think
Speaker 3: the greatest one is that you're you're forced really have
Speaker 3: an understanding of the structure of the English language to
Speaker 3: be able to translate it into an inflected language like
Speaker 3: Latin and translate the Latin back into English. You can't
Speaker 3: do that unless you really understand grammar and parts of speech.
Speaker 1: Well in grammar and sentence structure and actual following English
Speaker 1: language rules guidelines, isn't even taught anymore. I mean, we're
Speaker 1: all living in this text society where we abbreviate words,
Speaker 1: we aren't required to use proper grammar, and no one
Speaker 1: corrects children for inappropriate grammar usage. I remember being at
Speaker 1: one of the schools there was an event that was
Speaker 1: they borrowed one of the local K through twelve schools
Speaker 1: or one of the middle schools to do this event
Speaker 1: over the weekend. So I was looking at art and
Speaker 1: drawings and work that students had done that was hanging
Speaker 1: all over the walls, and many of the depictions there
Speaker 1: are many of the words that were used weren't even
Speaker 1: grammatically correct, and yet there they hung on the wall.
Speaker 1: There wasn't an X through with a red marker saying
Speaker 1: wrong and correcting it. It was just up there for
Speaker 1: all to observe. And what I was observing is, well,
Speaker 1: children who don't understand basic tenets of grammar.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, it's all over the place.
Speaker 3: I agree with you, and you know, so many people
Speaker 3: have said, well, you don't need to teach spelling anymore.
Speaker 2: You don't need to teach.
Speaker 3: Grammar because you know, we have technology. We have autocorrect,
Speaker 3: we have grammarly you know, to to write and correct
Speaker 3: our sentences and word processing programs. I mean, that's it's
Speaker 3: just crazy, because you're depriving children of the opportunity to
Speaker 3: learn how to think and to form good habits of attention,
Speaker 3: to detail and to and to go through the struggle
Speaker 3: of writing a good sentence and and and uh, you know,
Speaker 3: we're turning back to the traditional approach. We don't use
Speaker 3: technology in the classroom. We don't use computers. We require,
Speaker 3: you know, human intelligence to be developed rather than relying
Speaker 3: on software.
Speaker 1: Well, and part of the knowledge and uh that you
Speaker 1: teach there the idea of logic and reason. And I
Speaker 1: circled these two words, Socratic dialogue. I loved college because
Speaker 1: and this back when I was in college, you actually
Speaker 1: engaged in debates and discussion and the exchange of ideas
Speaker 1: and the breaking down of ideas. Law school was great
Speaker 1: for the Socratic method, and I really enjoyed law school
Speaker 1: for that matter, for that as well. It's just a
Speaker 1: wonderful teaching mechanisms. The Socratic method.
Speaker 3: Yep, absolutely and uh, you know you mentioned rhetoric and logic.
Speaker 3: These are required courses and you know in a in
Speaker 3: a classical curriculum, so these are not optional or elective.
Speaker 3: But you know this is core stuff that every you know,
Speaker 3: well furnished educated mind needs to have the skills to
Speaker 3: execute well.
Speaker 1: In the other area that children seem to be suffering
Speaker 1: these days, and the numbers prove it out, mathematics. And
Speaker 1: I know you have a very strong emphasis at the
Speaker 1: Sincin Classical Academy on the better way, the classical way
Speaker 1: to teach mathematic mathematics. Tell my listeners about that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, well that that follows the Singapore Math curriculum is
Speaker 3: what we use.
Speaker 4: Uh.
Speaker 3: You know, the country of Singapore, you know, was number
Speaker 3: one in the world for I don't know a decade
Speaker 3: straight in mathematics instruction. So uh, Hillsdale College uh uh
Speaker 3: took up their approach and use uses that curriculum.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 3: And yeah, I mean our our our math and science.
Speaker 3: Some people look at you know, classical liberal education uh
Speaker 3: and think, well, it's all literature and reading, but in
Speaker 3: fact our our science and math scores are are off
Speaker 3: the charts as well. In fact, in fact, our schools.
Speaker 3: Just just this past year and it's in its second year,
Speaker 3: was one of the only I think there are maybe
Speaker 3: two schools in the state of Ohio recognized that the
Speaker 3: State Science Fair by the Ohio Academy of Science, and
Speaker 3: when we were one of them, which was really pretty gratifying.
Speaker 1: Yeah, in just two years, doctor, I mean, and this
Speaker 1: irks me, you know, you you pointed the Singapore mathemathod
Speaker 1: it has worked so wonderful for the country that yes,
Speaker 1: it's a worthy endeavor to look into it and find
Speaker 1: out why they're so great at math. Maybe we might
Speaker 1: want to adopt that approach. Welcome to the right way
Speaker 1: to do things. It's like critical analysis of the of
Speaker 1: the education landscape. Much like you teach critical analysis to
Speaker 1: your students at the classical academy. Maybe more educators should
Speaker 1: be involved in critical analysis of what's working and what's
Speaker 1: not and adopt what's working, like the methodology. It's since
Speaker 1: a classical academy, which got you the state recognition in
Speaker 1: just two years, gollly Chacter pretty.
Speaker 3: Unbelievable, it really is. Yeah. And then in the first
Speaker 3: year last year, you know, we were we were rated
Speaker 3: the number one charter school in the state of Ohio
Speaker 3: for early literacy, that's two hundred and fifty charter schools.
Speaker 3: We finished number one in the state, and actually we
Speaker 3: were if you consider all the public schools in southwest
Speaker 3: Ohio across like ten counties, all the later Cincinnati area,
Speaker 3: of all the public schools, whether charter or district, we
Speaker 3: were number four in early literacy.
Speaker 2: That was in our first year.
Speaker 3: So even when you're talking about, you know, some of
Speaker 3: the great public schools that we have in Indian Hill
Speaker 3: and Wyoming or Madeira number four, and our test results
Speaker 3: this year have been even better. So I mean, we're
Speaker 3: just off to a lightning start, and the demand for
Speaker 3: the school and its growth has just been a really
Speaker 3: pretty exceptional We've got we're going to be full kindergarten
Speaker 3: through eighth grade this year with seven hundred and fifty
Speaker 3: kids and north of four hundred students on the wait
Speaker 3: list to get in.
Speaker 1: See you anticipated where I was going. If you build it,
Speaker 1: and you build it better, they will come and they
Speaker 1: will stand in line and get on a wait list
Speaker 1: to go. This is what I think is the biggest
Speaker 1: concern for the public schools. They don't want free choice
Speaker 1: and they don't want school choice for the students. They
Speaker 1: don't want to have to compete with a Sincinni classical
Speaker 1: academy because they can't. I mean, that's really what this
Speaker 1: boils down to. And you know what, doctor Harding's my
Speaker 1: point being, ultimately they could compete if they adopted these
Speaker 1: teaching methodologies. That's so heartbreaking.
Speaker 2: Absolutely I agree.
Speaker 3: So what is the battle?
Speaker 2: You know a lot of people try to get on the.
Speaker 3: School boards and change things. But you know, my brother
Speaker 3: was the president of the Maryland State School Board a
Speaker 3: while ago, and he fought that battle for ten years
Speaker 3: and he can get nowhere. The interests are just so entrenched.
Speaker 1: The interests which are not the interests of the students
Speaker 1: and interest in teaching students and educating students, but.
Speaker 3: They're the interest of the adults and of the educators
Speaker 3: and of the publishing companies.
Speaker 2: Which you're absolutely right.
Speaker 1: Publishing companies can teach the can print classical education materials,
Speaker 1: they wouldn't be out of a job. I mean, this
Speaker 1: is just crazy, and it's not in their interest because
Speaker 1: they're demonstrably failing the country and the student I mean,
Speaker 1: your school is an illustration of it. You got people
Speaker 1: standing around the block trying to apply and get in.
Speaker 1: You know, it doesn't benefit them. Their failure hurts them
Speaker 1: as well because people want to flee that learning environment
Speaker 1: because it's not one. That's what creates the demand for
Speaker 1: educational choice. My child is in a failing school. They're
Speaker 1: not learning anything. I want a better choice. Their failure
Speaker 1: has facilitated your success.
Speaker 3: I agree, but they're not held accountable because they have
Speaker 3: monopolies on you know, publicly funded education, and they fight
Speaker 3: like heck to maintain those monopolies.
Speaker 1: So well, doctor Harding's, I want to congratulate you for
Speaker 1: the amazing successes since I Classical Academy has had in
Speaker 1: just the two short years it's been around. Now they
Speaker 1: are currently is K through eight. Of course of the
Speaker 1: school year is filled seven hundred and fifty. Are you
Speaker 1: currently taking applications for the twenty four twenty five school
Speaker 1: year or have you already got a waitlist on that one?
Speaker 2: No, that opens up.
Speaker 3: That will open up in December December through story next year,
Speaker 3: and next year we'll be adding a ninth grade class
Speaker 3: and then we'll keep going until until we have our
Speaker 3: first graduating class in about five four years from now.
Speaker 3: So we do have exciting news on the campus front.
Speaker 3: You know, we went through quite a saga trying to
Speaker 3: find a permanent location where we could locate, you know,
Speaker 3: all K through twelveth grade, thirteen hundred students.
Speaker 2: Right, and we've decided to have two campuses.
Speaker 3: We're going to be purchasing our currently leased campus and
Speaker 3: reading for K through four and we're going to be
Speaker 3: purchasing and developing a nine acre property, the former Bellcan
Speaker 3: building in Blue ash that's going to be home to
Speaker 3: grades five through twelve. So and we're going to be
Speaker 3: moving in there next summer. So we're really excited now
Speaker 3: to know where we're going to be for the next
Speaker 3: several decades.
Speaker 1: Amazing, amazing results, great news, fantastic, it's good for everybody.
Speaker 1: UH find out about it online. Good since yclassical dot com,
Speaker 1: you'll find them right there. Since I'm sorry dot org,
Speaker 1: since he with the y Classical dot org. Doctor Harding's
Speaker 1: congratulations on the success. Thank you for what you're doing
Speaker 1: on behalf of the young people actually getting educations in
Speaker 1: this classical environment. And I wish you all the success
Speaker 1: of the world as you rapidly expand because of your success.
Speaker 3: Thanks so much, Brian, My pleasure.
Speaker 1: You always welcome here in the morning show. I love
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