May 13, 2025 • 46 mins
This hour I host THREE lovely ladies from Chrysostom Classical Academy on Mama Bears Radio.... Head of Academy Nancy Dayton, teacher Christie Reynolds and student Hazel talk about this school's mission of providing an ecumenical, classical, Christian education to shape students who are rich in wisdom, virtue, and joy. It was a JOY to hear their passion for the school and, again, I love supporting independent education!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
The California Mama Bears have been forced out of hibernation. Wow,
fierce guardians of our future. Mama Bear's fight for parents, rice,
defense of the family, and God given freedoms everywhere. You're
listening to Mama Bear's Radio with your host, the New Normal,
(00:31):
Kristin Hurley.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
All right, everybody, welcome back to our number two of
Mama Bears Radio. Kristin Hurley here, safe and effective radio,
as I like to say, gold standard broadcasting. Actually now
is my new Maha Moniker. But I have guests with
me for this hour, So let me just, without further ado,
turn everybody's microphones on and welcome the crew from Chris
(00:55):
Stone Classical Academy. Am I saying that correctly? Chris Asten.
I had to learn that myself. Oh darn it, well, Chrysostom. Shoot, okay,
I'm sorry for having watched that. I can't speak for
the languages here, so I'm.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Like English girl. All right, well, welcome.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
So we have Nancy with us, Nancy Dayton, and you're
the head of the school, correct.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Okay, since early February. Nice okay.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
And then we have Christy, Mom Christy and daughter Hazel.
That's correct, Yes, I'm also the sixth grade teacher at
Chrisostom Academy. I have two hats. Yeah, well, yeah, don't
we all have many many hats.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Well, welcome to the.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Show, Hazel. Welcome, you say, hello, there you are. Is
this your first time on radio?
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Yeah, this is my first time.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Okay, cool, you're gonna You're gonna leave wanting to do
it again. It's super infectious. Well, ladies, welcome. So a
little bit of background. I had been talking with one
of your board of directors, Joyce, months and months ago,
just through the grapevine.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
We knew one another through town and your new.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
School, and she had said that, you know, you were
interested in doing some promoting and moving getting out and
known in the community, and I was gonna have you
guys on. And then my show was off air for
a few months there. So here we are back in action,
and I'm very glad to speak with you because if
you know anything about me and my show over the years,
(02:24):
I love independent education. I love people thinking outside of
the box, not only of like well, you know, get
away from the public school environment, but also different pedagogy,
different way that of teaching young things, young students, and
different approaches to what actually is education. So you guys
(02:46):
have a couple of you check a couple of those boxes.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
So Nancy, why.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Don't you just start with you and a little bit
about yourself and how you came to christas chriss Well,
I started, and I'll tell you a story about that.
When I was approached to consider joining the Chrisostom Classical
Academy family, one of the first things I did was
look up how to pronounce Chrisostom. You know how on
(03:12):
Google you can look it up and they'll say so
the first sight I listened to the pronunciation was Chrisisdom,
and so I went into my interview in beginning weeks
of conversations with people saying Chrisisdom, and all the people
around me I noticed they were saying chrisaustom and I.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
Was so confused. I thought, surely these people must know
how to pronounce the name of their own school. But
that's that's not what I had heard.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
And finally somebody said to me so very kindly, she said,
we say Chrisostom and I. So I looked it up,
and I said, here, let me play it for you.
So I looked it up. So but the first link
that I hit, said Chris saustom and my heart sank
and I said, no, no, that's not the one I
(04:03):
listened to. So I found it that I learned because
we're learners.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
There we go, case in point. Well, you know, it's
one of those like everybody hears you listen to a song,
and everybody hears different lyrics because you can kind of
insert your own dialect or whatever into it. So, now
that we've got that established, Yeah, so you've been in education. Yeah,
well walk me through your history and your interest in
(04:29):
career and education.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
Well, thank you.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
Yes, I have about thirty years of education education experience
in a variety of settings, and that includes public education.
After about ten years in public education, when my husband
and I started our family, through conversations with other moms
in the park and with people in our church community,
(04:53):
I learned about homeschooling as an option. I had never
really been introduced or exposed to home schoo when I
was part of the public education system, and it's an
idea that began to grow on us, and at some
point we realized this is.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Something we could do.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
We could do this, and then what started as that
feeling grew into this is something that we probably should do.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
We think that we could do a very fine job.
Speaker 4 (05:24):
So then embarked years of homeschooling my own children and
along the way facilitating co ops with friends with our church,
family participation with the organizational called Classical Conversation for some years,
various positions of leadership, tutoring, area manager, tutoring different levels
(05:51):
middle school, high school, That was a lot of fun.
Then my students, my two children, we put them in public.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
School, and I know, people go, ah, how could you
do that? Has everyone?
Speaker 4 (06:07):
Well, we were convicted at that moment in time that
it would be a good experience for our children to
have exposure, to break out of the safe and comfortable
bubble that they had been in, to learn how to
navigate the world while they were still in our home,
and we could truly have those classical conversations.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
We don't regret it. It was a wonderful experience.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
I believe they received a very good education, and they're
in college now and thriving.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
Since they left home.
Speaker 4 (06:43):
Though, I had to figure out what I was going
to do with the rest of my life, and so
I began teaching in online platforms with the Sarcey Institute
classes also classes with an organization called Scola Academy, and
that was a very good experience also. And then I
(07:05):
retired from teaching because I decided I could not grade
one more English essay, not even one. So I decided
to take a break, and I actually worked.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
At a winery for some time. I did some administrative.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
Work for some time, and then one day my friend
sent me an email out of the blue and said
that Chrysostom Classical Academy might be looking for a headmistress
and would I be interested. And I thought about it
and decided yes, I think that I might be interested.
(07:47):
So then began a conversation over a period of few weeks,
and the meetings and the discussions, and I decided to
take the leap to join this beautiful family. I should
mention that one of the things I did right before
I retired was I participated in the Sarce Institute Teacher
(08:09):
Apprenticeship Training program, which is a culminating experience probably of
my career up to that point. So I am certified
as a Classical Master teacher in Classical Education. And I
say that not to boast, but rather to emphasize that
(08:30):
we are lifelong learners. It was a very humbling experience
for me, even after twenty five years of teaching experience,
to put myself in that situation of humility and learning
and being poured into and then pouring into others. So
(08:51):
I view it now as my calling and my mission
to support teachers to provide wonderful educations for for students.
And I couldn't be more happy or humbled or blessed
than to be a Chrysostom.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Super cool.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
I love that we all have to just take on
new things and learn and grow, you know, don't get
stagnant obviously, you know, or that's it's not beneficial to anyone,
to you or your family, your children, or the community.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Christine, do you want to talk a little bit so
you teach there. Have you been with them since the
founding of the school? I have.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Yeah, So this is my I'm finishing my third year
with Chrysostom, and I've been there since the beginning.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
And so let's just talk a little bit about that.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
So you guys are in ap Toss. The campus is
an apt toss and where do tell me? Can you
tell me a little bit about the founding of the
school and how it came.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
To be sure.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
We were founded out of a hunger and a great
need for a true ecumenical classical school. We wanted to
partner with other believers and have a full, safe place
for people of all Christian backgrounds to come and learn together.
(10:13):
And that is that's pretty much what bred the founding
of Chrisostom Classical Academy. And had you been a teacher elsewhere?
I was, Yes, I was a teacher at another brick
and mortar classical academy for I taught there for six years.
The first year I taught there, I was their literature teacher,
(10:34):
So I taught for one hour a shake, she's gonna
start shaking. And following that, I spent five years as
their third grade teacher.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
And it was a great time. It was a great time.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
But it's been so exciting to found a classical academy
with a group of other teachers who are like minded
and really have a love of learning and a great
respect for the expanse of the Christian faith and what
that looks like far and wide beautiful. Well, let's take
(11:10):
a break and then we'll talk. People are wondering what
is a classical academy like?
Speaker 3 (11:15):
What do you mean by that? So let's get into
that after the break.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Here, everybody, you're listening to Mama Bear's Radio. I'm Kristin Hurley.
My guests today Nancy Dayton and Christy and her daughter Hazel. Right, yes,
from Chrysostom. How am I doing very good? Excellent classical
Academy and APTOS will be right back.
Speaker 5 (11:36):
Thank you, Mama Bear's Radio. We'll be right back.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Welcome back to Mama Bear's Radio.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Kristin Hurley here, my guests from Chrystosom Classical Academy.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
Here in APTOSS.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
I want to talk to Hazel a little bit and
then we're going to get back to kind of the
what do we mean.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
By classical education? So, Hazel, what grade are you in?
Speaker 6 (12:17):
I'm in seventh grade?
Speaker 3 (12:18):
Oh okay, you're getting up there.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
And what's your favorite thing about school in general?
Speaker 6 (12:24):
What do you like and what interests you? I like
the assemblies. I like my teachers. They explain things very well,
and they're very good teachers. And I like how they
do the character traits as well at the assemblies.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Oh nice, nice?
Speaker 2 (12:41):
And so do you? You guys are still growing? So
you're a smallish campus. How many kids in your grade
or are you grouped with a different another grade?
Speaker 6 (12:51):
Yeah, there's the seventh and eighth grade class.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
We're combined.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Okay, cool? And so do you have friends there that
you know you've how much the years have you been
there now as well since the founding?
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Three years? Oh this would be my third year?
Speaker 4 (13:07):
Well?
Speaker 3 (13:07):
Fun? And what do you like to do outside of school.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
As to school?
Speaker 6 (13:11):
I do swim, and I like to play piano and
hang out with my family and my pets.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Piano huh nice, one of those things I dropped and
didn't get back to and should have stayed with. Probably
every adult in your life uves you that lecture, So sorry,
but well, cool, well, and thanks for joining us here today.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
I'm super grateful. So I do want to talk about.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
You know, so you come into a classroom and a
classical education is not something you're gonna find in obviously
like public school. I do know there is there. There's
Latin involves, which is you know, I don't think you
get anything decide Spanish these days and in other classrooms.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
So that's that's unique. Christy.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Do you want to talk a little bit more about
what the curriculum Crosossom works through in the classrooms and
what is a classical education? Sure, so let's tackle this question.
What is classical education? So we look to the trivium
and there are we see students in we categorize them,
(14:19):
I think that's safe to say in three levels. So
there's the grammar stage that's typically a TK through student
through about fifth to sixth grade. Then we have the
logic stage. Those are our advanced sixth graders through about
eighth grade. And then after that is rhetoric. And that
makes the question, well, what is the grammar stage, what
(14:40):
is logic and what is rhetoric? So the grammar stage
of learning is where we are teaching children through song,
through chants, We give them a lot of facts, we
teach through story, and we really are targeting what is
natural to their stage of learning.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
They're very curious at that stage, so.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
We like to teach them truth through facts and they
start building up what we like to imagine as a
tool belt, and they gain all of these tools and
maybe they don't necessarily know why they have this particular tool,
but with that tool that they've gained, that fact that
(15:24):
they've learned, they start to unpack it. During the logic stage,
which is right where Hazel is. During the logic stage,
we are looking at students who are curious in a
different way and that they like to argue, and they
have a lot of questions and they want to know
the why to everything.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Yeah, yeah, it's sometimes it's nice right about eight years old?
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Nine years old?
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Is that you're saying, yeah, And we want to teach
our logic students to learn how to ask questions, to
understand why they've had to learn these facts and how
it plays out in the world around them. We don't
(16:14):
offer a rhetoric school yet. Rhetoric is ninth through twelfth grade,
and we don't have We don't offer that yet, not yet,
not yet, someday, we hope someday. Yeah, we've had some
parent inquiry about it. But what we do offer is
a hardy tk TK next year, so a K through
eighth grade program.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
And so facts. So this is history.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
This is dates and dates and wars and eras and
historical figures and that sort of thing. Yes, math, yes,
what you know, are there other subjects I mean beyond
just kind of the general what you think reading and
writing and math and history?
Speaker 3 (17:00):
Sure?
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Language, yes, language, And because we're a Christian a classical
Christian academy. We also get to talk about the Bible.
We get to read through the scriptures and talk about
the different stories that are that are really important to
the Christian faith. And when we think of history, we
we visualize a timeline and we put stories and we
(17:23):
put key events on that timeline. And in the grammar phase,
we're really just touching on like an introduction, you know,
a little glimpse of what happened, and then when Hazel
gets to the logic stage, she gets to really unpack
what really happened when Marco Polo went on his journeys
and and what took place there. So we yeah, it's
(17:47):
an introduction in the grammar school and then a more
of an unpacking in the logic school. Kind of a
circular spiral development, as my husband, the engineer would say,
where it's not just a straight shot. It's it's like
you said, little bits and building on bits, building on stories,
and then being able to utilize that to move forward
(18:12):
to start critical thinking and putting two and two together,
so to speak. Yes, well, so you mentioned Nancy is
Circe education or certification on your ends?
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Do you want to talk a little bit more about that,
is that an acronym.
Speaker 4 (18:28):
Yes, it's the Center for Integrated Research on Classical Education.
And in the classical education world, you know, there are
some stall warts who are passing on this tradition, and
Circe the SIRC Institute is one of them. So they
provide teacher training mostly, they do some publishing as well.
(18:50):
They provide just all kinds of They do a huge
conference in the summer, and I'm so much looking forward
to going and attending that in July. But their mission
really is to keep alive this tradition of classical education.
Everything that Christie described is accurate about her depiction of
(19:12):
classical education. But I would say, in a nutshell, a
classical education is one that teaches students how to think,
and it gives them the tools for learning anything. And
so the stages that Christie described are very commonly understood
that way, the grammar, the dialectic, and the rhetoric.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
But I would also propose.
Speaker 4 (19:36):
That those that trivium, that grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric are
also modes of learning. And I would say that any
of us sitting here would have to walk through those
stages in order to learn something new.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
So if we were.
Speaker 4 (19:52):
Going to learn anything, let's say how to play the piano,
for example, our grammars stage would look something like understanding
that the piano is actually a percussion instrument and looking
at how the hammer hits the keys, noticing that the
keyboard is composed of black and white keys, how to sit,
(20:15):
how to read notes on a staff, time signatures, the different.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Keys, the sharps and flats.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
The playing notes, different terms, understanding different genres of music composers.
That grammar stage, if someone were starting new, might be
pretty deep and pretty long, until we progress into that
dialectic stage.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
Where we were able to play.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
A wide variety of compositions over a period of time,
comparing different composers, different genres, different time periods. We might
participate in a program called i think it's called Certificate
of Merit, where students compete at various recitals and competitions.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
And when we would reach that rhetoric stage.
Speaker 4 (21:02):
Finally we would begin composing our own music. We might
be teaching other students, We might become a virtuoso performer
at concerts. So classical education really is for everyone at
every age. But these terms of the grammar, the dialectic
and the rhetoric are very commonly understood. I think a
(21:26):
lot of people new to classical education.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
As I was new, we read.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
Books such as Susan Wisebauer's The Well Trained Mind to Learn.
We read Dorothy Sayer's essay The Lost Tools of Learning,
And so that's where we learn about the terms and
how we might access a classical education in our own
homes or in a classical school.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
I'm going to write those books names down. I'm always
on the lookout for good resources and good nuggets. Certificate
of Merit for piano students. My kids actually did that
for a couple of years.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
Thank you for reminding me. Have you done that.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
It's a couple of day or a week long kind
of a thing where you go and play. You do
a performance and you have to run through scales and
all of that, memorize and pieces.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
Hazel's gotten out of that. My son did that as well.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
Oh okay, yes, I remember kind of a lot of
stress and practicing around that. Do you play for your
family or are where are you and your piano journey
just for the fun of it, Hazel, I like.
Speaker 6 (22:35):
Play by myself sometimes and I play for my family
sometimes as well. And I did piano lessons like a
while ago, and then I just tried to like just
play piano pieces like by watching videos or just like
looking in the piano book.
Speaker 3 (22:53):
Thank you YouTube.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
Actually, if you want to fix a car or learn
an instrument, YouTube's pretty handy.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
All right, Well, let's take a break, everybody. When we
come back. What I want to go through a few
things on.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
Your website, talk a little bit about mission and your
four pillars and all that.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
We'll get back into it.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
So my guests today here are for Chris Awesome. Sorry,
Chris Astoin. That's correct. Oh my gosh. Now I'm gonna
second guess myself. Chris Asto Classical Academy. Here in apt toss.
This is Mama Bears Radio. We are going to take
our break and we'll be right.
Speaker 5 (23:26):
Back Mama Bear's Radio.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
We'll be right back, all right, Welcome back to Mama
(23:58):
Bear's Radio.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
Kristen really here, chit chatting our.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Way through our number two of mam of Bear's Radio.
I don't know about you, guys, but it rained this morning.
I was so happy. I am the weirdo in town
where I'm like, yes it's raining, or yes, there's a
big storm coming. I get all excited. So I start
out my show this morning.
Speaker 3 (24:21):
Going, I know God loves me because it rained. Yes,
we certainly need the rain.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Yes, well one last little you know bit a.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
Rain for the year.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
That way the flowers bloom just like a few weeks longer,
and the falls the.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
Way I look at it.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
All right, everybody, So my guests here Chrysostom Classical Academy,
we're chit chatting about independent.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
Schools and education.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Was a classical education? Look like I loved the you
know learning piano description, Nancy said, with a different grammar, stage, logic,
and rhetoric. Then if you're looking at kind of a
K through twelve approach to learning, I was just calling
up your website to your mission. Chrisostome Classical Academy provides
(25:08):
an ecumenical, classical Christian education to shape students who are
rich in wisdom, virtue, enjoy. Now did I say ecumenical?
Speaker 3 (25:18):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Do you guys want to what I heard Christy say
that earlier? What is that word? What does that mean?
Speaker 3 (25:24):
So?
Speaker 4 (25:24):
What that means is that we are Christian. All the
families who attend and the teachers all affirm their belief
and the niceen creed that is the thing that unifies us.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
But there are many.
Speaker 4 (25:39):
Different denominations in Christianity, and we just unite around that
niceing creed and understand that we are here to love
each other as Christians and build each other up. Understanding
that different denominations sometimes have different beliefs about minor issues,
different practices is and so ecamenical means that we're just
(26:03):
all together.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
It's true.
Speaker 4 (26:06):
I was.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
I don't know if you guys were listening to my
earlier hour, but a couple of weeks ago, my pastor said,
you know that you've got a dash, right, You're the
year you were born and then the year you pass away,
and in between that's a dash that you get on
you know, your gravestone or whatever, and such a tiny,
short little time and what do you do with it?
Speaker 3 (26:27):
And I appreciate so much a school built.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
On the values that we want to raise our kids with.
And I homeschooled for a number of years.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
Is. And that's funny you said tool.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
Belt because I always used to say that because people
would be like, well.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
How do you know you're following state standards?
Speaker 2 (26:46):
And I'd be like, well, state standards Pshaw, it would
I and I would say, I, who knows in ten years,
twenty years, what the world's gonna look like, what you
know they're gonna want to do professionally, And I can't
predict anything at this point, but I can give them
a tool belt of how to be a whole person,
(27:08):
how to treat people kindly, how to conduct yourself, how
do you communicate? What are your values set that you're
gonna approach the world with.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
And then it's like you can learn anything.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
You darn will want to if you've got if you
can be self educators, if you know how to go
out and teach yourself what you need to know, and
all that. So again, you know, learning piano with YouTube,
Thank you YouTube. That kind of a thing. So I
appreciate a school that is sort of a topsy turvy approach,
not saying that sounds negative, but turning things upside down,
(27:43):
where your priorities are at the baseline, raising and growing
people that live in faith, that understand who they are
in God and are going to approach life with that
sort of foundation, rather than perhaps so there are things
that are placed as important in other classrooms, and so
(28:04):
the school like yours models what parents and Christian homes
are teaching their kids at home, and they're getting the
same focus in the classroom.
Speaker 4 (28:16):
That is our priority. Very well stated, Yes, there you.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
Go that shell.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Well, so what else do you guys want to talk about?
There's so much to delve into. So you have been
here for about three years and you are looking to
continue to grow in your campus. Is here in aptos?
Do you want to talk a little bit about the
vision for your school and who you guys have on
(28:42):
board and where you want to be in the next
few years.
Speaker 4 (28:45):
Well, I regard us as a startup. The families that
started the school, that founded a school leaped out in faith.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
They stepped out in faith. They're pioneers.
Speaker 4 (28:57):
They really it has been a sacrificial un taking. I
find that one of our most basic challenges is letting
people know that we exist Christen. So this radio show
is an opportunity, Thank you for that, to let people know.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
That we are here.
Speaker 4 (29:16):
I would say that there were a few things that
when I came on board, the board really saw as
a vision.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
In the short term.
Speaker 4 (29:24):
One is to develop and really deepen our Logic school,
which is the seventh and eighth grade classes. So in
the short time that I've been here so far, we
have developed an academy within an academy, and we're for
seventh and eighth grades. It is called lions Gate lions
(29:49):
Gate Academy.
Speaker 3 (29:50):
And so next year, beginning.
Speaker 4 (29:52):
Next year, this seventh and eighth grades will be separate classes.
But Christy and another a very experienced teacher by the
name of Kelly Clawson, they have developed a curriculum for
lions Gate, and I'm going to let Christy really share
about that. But in general, these students will receive very
(30:15):
special privileges and also have some very special responsibilities both
to our school.
Speaker 3 (30:22):
Community and the community in general.
Speaker 4 (30:25):
And I'm gonna I'm gonna let Christy take it from there,
because I'm very excited to share about this.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
Yeah, Kelly and I had a wonderful time brainstorming the
seventh and eighth graders. It's often an age where schools
don't quite know what to do with the kids because
there's a lot of change happening and the kids are
morphing out of a young.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
Age of Okay, I'll do that, Okay, I'll do that.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
I want to do that to I don't want to
do that. Why are you making me do this? Wait
a minute, I have heard this exactly. So we wanted
to craft something that gives them privileges, but not without
a responsibility. So some of the responsibilities that the seventh
and eighth graders will have first is just being a
role model. Because we are an academy that has young
(31:13):
kids as young.
Speaker 3 (31:14):
As four up to the eighth grade.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
We want them to exemplify and demonstrate for the younger
kids their responsible age, what does it look like to
be a leader in a school the seventh and eighth graders.
So Hazel mentioned earlier how we give character awards at
our assemblies on Monday morning, and something that we want
(31:38):
the seventh and eighth graders to do is to study
these character traits. So, for example, this morning at our assembly,
we recognized a few students who demonstrate the trait of
servants servants heart. And next year, our seventh and eighth graders,
they will each have a character trait that they have
(32:00):
to study and then they will present on that character
trait at the morning assembly, and then with the responsibility
of learning this character trait, they will get to help
the teachers identify students who actually demonstrate that character trade
and nominate those students to be recognized. So that is
(32:22):
what we mean by responsibility. They also will do two
mission oriented trips, but not going to another country. It
will really be focusing on the local community. So in
the fall or the winter, during the advent season, we
will go to elm Street Mission. It's a mission that's
(32:45):
run by a man of the name Mike Crane, and
they minister to the homeless population. So the kids will
go early in the morning and they'll make breakfast and
serve breakfast and do the kitchen cleanup. And then in
the spring there's another opportunity to partner and I have
(33:05):
forgotten the name of the church, but the ministry is
for single moms, and so they will have an opportunity
to go and minister to these moms by helping with
the kids and helping with just general responsibilities that a
single mom might have where she's working and.
Speaker 3 (33:23):
How can they bless her.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
So mission oriented but in the local community, so that
Santa Cruz is benefiting. And then privileges. It'll be things
like an off campus lunch. Thanks to our wonderful location,
we have access to places like Eric's Delhi and the
farm and so we can walk with our students there
and hold classes in the afternoon, and then likewise, we
(33:49):
will be doing an East Coast trip.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
Bi annually. Am I saying that right? Every other year?
Every other year?
Speaker 2 (33:57):
That's right. Yeah, So we want to you the kids
will have had the opportunity to learn about American history,
and then we'll take them to the East Coast and
let them see the museum and let them see the
documents of the founding fathers. Yeah, so that's just a
little glimpse of what's going to be happening. Not to
mention they'll have some great teachers, Kelly Clausen and myself,
(34:21):
they will.
Speaker 3 (34:22):
I have to say.
Speaker 4 (34:23):
That this is a very unique program. I don't think
you will find this kind of opportunity at any other school.
As you mentioned, Christian, what we're doing is contrarian in
the first place, but we're really honing in and focusing.
I would like to add to another outreach that we're
doing is to the local homeschool community. So we are
(34:46):
going to be offering a Friday afternoon learning clubs for
science and art that's open also to our enrolled students.
But we really want to provide an option for homeschool.
There's homeschooling families to be to come on campus and
be part of our community. And that's called Afternoon it's
(35:08):
called learning clubs, and on our website you can register
for them right now.
Speaker 3 (35:13):
Super cool.
Speaker 2 (35:13):
Homeschoolers are always looking for something to get out and
go and do. But what I liked Christy talking about
Hazel's crew coming up for lions lions Gate Lionsgate, it's
the adage of like see you one, do one, teach one,
And that sounds like that that's you know, applicable, like
you're going to allow allow the kids to take what
(35:36):
they've learned and turn around and start teaching and start
engaging and giving back in that way too.
Speaker 3 (35:43):
So that sounds super cool.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
Yeah, yeah yeah, And getting out in the community absolutely awesome. Well,
we're going to take another break, our last little break here.
When we come back, we'll finish up my guest today,
Nancy Dayton. She's the head of the Chrysostom Classical Academy.
We have Christy, one of the sixth grade teacher right
and her daughter Hazel here. So we are going to
take our break and get my computer up and ship
(36:09):
shape and then we will polish off this episode of
Mama Bear's Radio. Okay, everybody stay tuned, We'll be right back.
Speaker 5 (36:22):
Mama Bear's Radio. We'll be right back.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
Welcome back to Mama Bears Radio.
Speaker 3 (36:55):
Kristin Hurley, here we are.
Speaker 2 (37:00):
But we have one last little segment before the top
of the hour here, so I'll make sure we get
in everything we want to say.
Speaker 3 (37:05):
About Chrisostom Classical Academy.
Speaker 2 (37:07):
I'm here with Nancy Dayton, the head of the school,
and the teacher, Christy and her daughter Hazel. It's been
so much fun to have you guys on. But Nancy,
do you want to pick up where we left off? Sorry, Well,
we were talking about the seventh and eighth grade program
is coming up lions Gate, and you had said there
was something you wanted to something on top of that.
Speaker 4 (37:29):
Well, you had asked me to think about how do
classical there we can Christian education merge, and so I
did want to address that. I think Christy did a
fantastic job of explaining what classical education looks like. And
again I would say that classical education is one that
teaches students how to think and provides them the tools
(37:50):
to learn.
Speaker 3 (37:50):
For themselves.
Speaker 4 (37:52):
Classical education focuses on mastery. It's much more deep than
it is broad. And all that merges with Christian education
is that would as Christians, we would like to lead
our students to right thinking, and then right thinking should.
Speaker 3 (38:15):
Lead to right action.
Speaker 4 (38:17):
That's where the developing and the discipleship and helping students
to grow in wisdom and virtue. I think I could
not end our discussion without discussing how wonderful our teachers
are and classical education curriculum. The books, they are tools
(38:42):
when I talk about resources, but we really regard the
teachers as the curriculum. The teachers are the curriculum because
they are modeling for students both how to learn and
how they pursue virtue with humility. So that's this very
(39:04):
special about our teachers mission. They are truly invested in
our students as people, not just as cogs or not
just as buckets that need need filling with information. It's
very special. You wrote down some names of books that
(39:25):
I mentioned. One another one that was very important to
me was David Hicks Norms and Nobility. He's the one
that gave me that idea that the teachers are the
curriculum and Christian education, and classical Christian education is truly
for everyone. Classical education, classical Christian education has a very
(39:51):
high view of human beings of humanity. It can be
uplifting for everyone. Everyone can then fit from classical education.
Speaker 2 (40:04):
Yeah, and I think that these days, I'm sorry to say,
what passes for education and happening in the classroom.
Speaker 3 (40:12):
I think there's a.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
Lack of as you were talking about the grammar, years
and facts, right, setting a foundation, especially history, biblical history,
a timeline, valuing the lessons that we can learn from that,
and setting a stage of students being able to refer
back to different time periods and different the stories and
(40:39):
the world players and how time has moved on and
different civilizations coming and going and all that. All of
that again is a tool belt to be able to
look at the world today and evaluate and think critically
and have that history and those facts to draw on
is a wonderful way to ground students in you know,
(41:01):
in having an assurance that they know that they can
rely on certain principles and certain foundations and certain truths
about life. And I think students and sort of in
general education may not get that perspective.
Speaker 4 (41:17):
Yes, and as wonderful as these modern books are the
well trained Mind and Dorothy Sayers Lost tools of learning,
they are accessible and they're very good resources for us.
But classical education did not begin with them. It began
back with at the time of Socrates, you know, back
(41:38):
in three ninety nine BC. He said, an unexamined life
is not worth living. And that's what classical education teaches
us to do. There is no evidence that that Socrates
ever became a Christian, but I did learn in my
studies that he was always searching for or the unknown God,
(42:01):
because he seemed to perceive the frailties of the gods
that his culture had created, and he knew he perceived
that there was something something beyond that. Also, classical education
focuses on the truth, the beauty, and the goodness that
can be observed in the world all around us. Of
(42:24):
course that comes from God, but there's also an elegance
in the simplicity. Socrates in his recorded dialogue Meno, he
was teaching a slave boy about geometry using a stick
and the sand, and so we focus on that. Also
(42:46):
in classical education, these are things that are special, that
are contrarian that are wonderful about our school. We try
to implement those practices back to basics.
Speaker 2 (42:59):
Yes, it's not the gadgets, it's not the high tech.
It's a stick and some sand. Well, Hazel, before we
have a couple of minutes left. I just wanted it
just for the fun of it. Bring you in again again,
thanks for joining us here today.
Speaker 3 (43:12):
So what do you want to do when you grow up?
Speaker 2 (43:14):
Do you what do you like to do? And how
do you see yourself in the future. What would you
like to do?
Speaker 6 (43:20):
I would like to be a veterinarian when I grow.
Speaker 3 (43:22):
Oh good girl, do you have pets yourself?
Speaker 2 (43:25):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (43:25):
We did.
Speaker 6 (43:26):
We have two dogs and one cat and a six chickens.
Speaker 3 (43:31):
Nice. Well, I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (43:35):
Yeah, caring for animals, you know, it's a basic level
of care for other Creek God's creatures and I appreciate
that so much. I wish you all the best. I'm
really glad you came in today. Do you guys want
to let everybody know where they can find you and
if they're interested in more info about the school, how
do they reach you and get a hold of you.
Speaker 3 (43:55):
Come for a campus tour.
Speaker 4 (43:56):
They can come for a campus tour they can. The
best way to reach us is at office at CCA
Santa Cruz dot com. You can send an email there
and that's an of course. Check our website at Ccasanta
Cruz dot com. We have a lot of information there.
We would love to meet with you. We would love
to arrange a visit and give you a tour.
Speaker 2 (44:20):
Christy, any last words for anyone listening or any advice
for parents. I'm always big on parenting advice. If you
had one thing to advise.
Speaker 3 (44:29):
For either current or future parents, what would you say.
Speaker 2 (44:33):
I would definitely say if you if you value education
and if you have a check in your mind that
maybe something isn't just right where your kids are being schooled,
if it's in the public.
Speaker 3 (44:45):
School, come give us a try.
Speaker 2 (44:48):
Come have your student shadow one of our classes, Come
and sit and talk with the teachers or missus Dayton.
What CCA is doing is something special and we are
a group of lead learner and we love the Lord
and we want to train up the next generation because
one day they're going to make the decisions for us.
(45:08):
And yeah, we come, give us a visit. And we're
also on Instagram and Facebook, CCA Santa Cruz, so check
us out there as well. Oh good, and even like
Nancy were saying resources for homeschooling families as well.
Speaker 3 (45:22):
You'll have classes.
Speaker 4 (45:23):
Actually, we have a program for homeschoolers. They join us
for half the day, so that's that's one way of
enrolling out our school. And we will have those Friday
afternoon art and science learning clubs that are open to them.
Well cool, get engaged on any level with you, ladies.
Thank you so much for your work, and thank you.
Speaker 3 (45:43):
It's been a pleasure.
Speaker 4 (45:44):
We were in the grammar stage of learning how to
do a radio show.
Speaker 3 (45:48):
You're going to come back. You'll be at the next level,
you'll be the logic level.
Speaker 2 (45:52):
Thanks for joining me. Everybody. This is Mama Bear's Radio.
Kristin Hurley here. I will be back next week. Everybody,
keep your claws out.
Speaker 5 (46:00):
A constant information, a losive affiliation of millionaires and billionaires
and babies, these other days of miracle and wonder.
Speaker 3 (46:09):
This is a long.
Speaker 5 (46:11):
Ball do in the camera follows.
Speaker 2 (46:15):
This is slow mode.
Speaker 5 (46:21):
You're listening to kom y le Selva Beach home of
Schoolhouse Radio.
The California Mama Bears have been forced out of hibernation. Wow,
fierce guardians of our future. Mama Bear's fight for parents, rice,
defense of the family, and God given freedoms everywhere. You're
listening to Mama Bear's Radio with your host, the New Normal,
(00:31):
Kristin Hurley.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
All right, everybody, welcome back to our number two of
Mama Bears Radio. Kristin Hurley here, safe and effective radio,
as I like to say, gold standard broadcasting. Actually now
is my new Maha Moniker. But I have guests with
me for this hour, So let me just, without further ado,
turn everybody's microphones on and welcome the crew from Chris
(00:55):
Stone Classical Academy. Am I saying that correctly? Chris Asten.
I had to learn that myself. Oh darn it, well, Chrysostom. Shoot, okay,
I'm sorry for having watched that. I can't speak for
the languages here, so I'm.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Like English girl. All right, well, welcome.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
So we have Nancy with us, Nancy Dayton, and you're
the head of the school, correct.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Okay, since early February. Nice okay.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
And then we have Christy, Mom Christy and daughter Hazel.
That's correct, Yes, I'm also the sixth grade teacher at
Chrisostom Academy. I have two hats. Yeah, well, yeah, don't
we all have many many hats.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Well, welcome to the.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Show, Hazel. Welcome, you say, hello, there you are. Is
this your first time on radio?
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Yeah, this is my first time.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Okay, cool, you're gonna You're gonna leave wanting to do
it again. It's super infectious. Well, ladies, welcome. So a
little bit of background. I had been talking with one
of your board of directors, Joyce, months and months ago,
just through the grapevine.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
We knew one another through town and your new.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
School, and she had said that, you know, you were
interested in doing some promoting and moving getting out and
known in the community, and I was gonna have you
guys on. And then my show was off air for
a few months there. So here we are back in action,
and I'm very glad to speak with you because if
you know anything about me and my show over the years,
(02:24):
I love independent education. I love people thinking outside of
the box, not only of like well, you know, get
away from the public school environment, but also different pedagogy,
different way that of teaching young things, young students, and
different approaches to what actually is education. So you guys
(02:46):
have a couple of you check a couple of those boxes.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
So Nancy, why.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Don't you just start with you and a little bit
about yourself and how you came to christas chriss Well,
I started, and I'll tell you a story about that.
When I was approached to consider joining the Chrisostom Classical
Academy family, one of the first things I did was
look up how to pronounce Chrisostom. You know how on
(03:12):
Google you can look it up and they'll say so
the first sight I listened to the pronunciation was Chrisisdom,
and so I went into my interview in beginning weeks
of conversations with people saying Chrisisdom, and all the people
around me I noticed they were saying chrisaustom and I.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
Was so confused. I thought, surely these people must know
how to pronounce the name of their own school. But
that's that's not what I had heard.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
And finally somebody said to me so very kindly, she said,
we say Chrisostom and I. So I looked it up,
and I said, here, let me play it for you.
So I looked it up. So but the first link
that I hit, said Chris saustom and my heart sank
and I said, no, no, that's not the one I
(04:03):
listened to. So I found it that I learned because
we're learners.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
There we go, case in point. Well, you know, it's
one of those like everybody hears you listen to a song,
and everybody hears different lyrics because you can kind of
insert your own dialect or whatever into it. So, now
that we've got that established, Yeah, so you've been in education. Yeah,
well walk me through your history and your interest in
(04:29):
career and education.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
Well, thank you.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
Yes, I have about thirty years of education education experience
in a variety of settings, and that includes public education.
After about ten years in public education, when my husband
and I started our family, through conversations with other moms
in the park and with people in our church community,
(04:53):
I learned about homeschooling as an option. I had never
really been introduced or exposed to home schoo when I
was part of the public education system, and it's an
idea that began to grow on us, and at some
point we realized this is.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Something we could do.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
We could do this, and then what started as that
feeling grew into this is something that we probably should do.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
We think that we could do a very fine job.
Speaker 4 (05:24):
So then embarked years of homeschooling my own children and
along the way facilitating co ops with friends with our church,
family participation with the organizational called Classical Conversation for some years,
various positions of leadership, tutoring, area manager, tutoring different levels
(05:51):
middle school, high school, That was a lot of fun.
Then my students, my two children, we put them in public.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
School, and I know, people go, ah, how could you
do that? Has everyone?
Speaker 4 (06:07):
Well, we were convicted at that moment in time that
it would be a good experience for our children to
have exposure, to break out of the safe and comfortable
bubble that they had been in, to learn how to
navigate the world while they were still in our home,
and we could truly have those classical conversations.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
We don't regret it. It was a wonderful experience.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
I believe they received a very good education, and they're
in college now and thriving.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
Since they left home.
Speaker 4 (06:43):
Though, I had to figure out what I was going
to do with the rest of my life, and so
I began teaching in online platforms with the Sarcey Institute
classes also classes with an organization called Scola Academy, and
that was a very good experience also. And then I
(07:05):
retired from teaching because I decided I could not grade
one more English essay, not even one. So I decided
to take a break, and I actually worked.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
At a winery for some time. I did some administrative.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
Work for some time, and then one day my friend
sent me an email out of the blue and said
that Chrysostom Classical Academy might be looking for a headmistress
and would I be interested. And I thought about it
and decided yes, I think that I might be interested.
(07:47):
So then began a conversation over a period of few weeks,
and the meetings and the discussions, and I decided to
take the leap to join this beautiful family. I should
mention that one of the things I did right before
I retired was I participated in the Sarce Institute Teacher
(08:09):
Apprenticeship Training program, which is a culminating experience probably of
my career up to that point. So I am certified
as a Classical Master teacher in Classical Education. And I
say that not to boast, but rather to emphasize that
(08:30):
we are lifelong learners. It was a very humbling experience
for me, even after twenty five years of teaching experience,
to put myself in that situation of humility and learning
and being poured into and then pouring into others. So
(08:51):
I view it now as my calling and my mission
to support teachers to provide wonderful educations for for students.
And I couldn't be more happy or humbled or blessed
than to be a Chrysostom.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Super cool.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
I love that we all have to just take on
new things and learn and grow, you know, don't get
stagnant obviously, you know, or that's it's not beneficial to anyone,
to you or your family, your children, or the community.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Christine, do you want to talk a little bit so
you teach there. Have you been with them since the
founding of the school? I have.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Yeah, So this is my I'm finishing my third year
with Chrysostom, and I've been there since the beginning.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
And so let's just talk a little bit about that.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
So you guys are in ap Toss. The campus is
an apt toss and where do tell me? Can you
tell me a little bit about the founding of the
school and how it came.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
To be sure.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
We were founded out of a hunger and a great
need for a true ecumenical classical school. We wanted to
partner with other believers and have a full, safe place
for people of all Christian backgrounds to come and learn together.
(10:13):
And that is that's pretty much what bred the founding
of Chrisostom Classical Academy. And had you been a teacher elsewhere?
I was, Yes, I was a teacher at another brick
and mortar classical academy for I taught there for six years.
The first year I taught there, I was their literature teacher,
(10:34):
So I taught for one hour a shake, she's gonna
start shaking. And following that, I spent five years as
their third grade teacher.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
And it was a great time. It was a great time.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
But it's been so exciting to found a classical academy
with a group of other teachers who are like minded
and really have a love of learning and a great
respect for the expanse of the Christian faith and what
that looks like far and wide beautiful. Well, let's take
(11:10):
a break and then we'll talk. People are wondering what
is a classical academy like?
Speaker 3 (11:15):
What do you mean by that? So let's get into
that after the break.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Here, everybody, you're listening to Mama Bear's Radio. I'm Kristin Hurley.
My guests today Nancy Dayton and Christy and her daughter Hazel. Right, yes,
from Chrysostom. How am I doing very good? Excellent classical
Academy and APTOS will be right back.
Speaker 5 (11:36):
Thank you, Mama Bear's Radio. We'll be right back.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Welcome back to Mama Bear's Radio.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Kristin Hurley here, my guests from Chrystosom Classical Academy.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
Here in APTOSS.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
I want to talk to Hazel a little bit and
then we're going to get back to kind of the
what do we mean.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
By classical education? So, Hazel, what grade are you in?
Speaker 6 (12:17):
I'm in seventh grade?
Speaker 3 (12:18):
Oh okay, you're getting up there.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
And what's your favorite thing about school in general?
Speaker 6 (12:24):
What do you like and what interests you? I like
the assemblies. I like my teachers. They explain things very well,
and they're very good teachers. And I like how they
do the character traits as well at the assemblies.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Oh nice, nice?
Speaker 2 (12:41):
And so do you? You guys are still growing? So
you're a smallish campus. How many kids in your grade
or are you grouped with a different another grade?
Speaker 6 (12:51):
Yeah, there's the seventh and eighth grade class.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
We're combined.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Okay, cool? And so do you have friends there that
you know you've how much the years have you been
there now as well since the founding?
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Three years? Oh this would be my third year?
Speaker 4 (13:07):
Well?
Speaker 3 (13:07):
Fun? And what do you like to do outside of school.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
As to school?
Speaker 6 (13:11):
I do swim, and I like to play piano and
hang out with my family and my pets.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Piano huh nice, one of those things I dropped and
didn't get back to and should have stayed with. Probably
every adult in your life uves you that lecture, So sorry,
but well, cool, well, and thanks for joining us here today.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
I'm super grateful. So I do want to talk about.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
You know, so you come into a classroom and a
classical education is not something you're gonna find in obviously
like public school. I do know there is there. There's
Latin involves, which is you know, I don't think you
get anything decide Spanish these days and in other classrooms.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
So that's that's unique. Christy.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Do you want to talk a little bit more about
what the curriculum Crosossom works through in the classrooms and
what is a classical education? Sure, so let's tackle this question.
What is classical education? So we look to the trivium
and there are we see students in we categorize them,
(14:19):
I think that's safe to say in three levels. So
there's the grammar stage that's typically a TK through student
through about fifth to sixth grade. Then we have the
logic stage. Those are our advanced sixth graders through about
eighth grade. And then after that is rhetoric. And that
makes the question, well, what is the grammar stage, what
(14:40):
is logic and what is rhetoric? So the grammar stage
of learning is where we are teaching children through song,
through chants, We give them a lot of facts, we
teach through story, and we really are targeting what is
natural to their stage of learning.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
They're very curious at that stage, so.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
We like to teach them truth through facts and they
start building up what we like to imagine as a
tool belt, and they gain all of these tools and
maybe they don't necessarily know why they have this particular tool,
but with that tool that they've gained, that fact that
(15:24):
they've learned, they start to unpack it. During the logic stage,
which is right where Hazel is. During the logic stage,
we are looking at students who are curious in a
different way and that they like to argue, and they
have a lot of questions and they want to know
the why to everything.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Yeah, yeah, it's sometimes it's nice right about eight years old?
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Nine years old?
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Is that you're saying, yeah, And we want to teach
our logic students to learn how to ask questions, to
understand why they've had to learn these facts and how
it plays out in the world around them. We don't
(16:14):
offer a rhetoric school yet. Rhetoric is ninth through twelfth grade,
and we don't have We don't offer that yet, not yet,
not yet, someday, we hope someday. Yeah, we've had some
parent inquiry about it. But what we do offer is
a hardy tk TK next year, so a K through
eighth grade program.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
And so facts. So this is history.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
This is dates and dates and wars and eras and
historical figures and that sort of thing. Yes, math, yes,
what you know, are there other subjects I mean beyond
just kind of the general what you think reading and
writing and math and history?
Speaker 3 (17:00):
Sure?
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Language, yes, language, And because we're a Christian a classical
Christian academy. We also get to talk about the Bible.
We get to read through the scriptures and talk about
the different stories that are that are really important to
the Christian faith. And when we think of history, we
we visualize a timeline and we put stories and we
(17:23):
put key events on that timeline. And in the grammar phase,
we're really just touching on like an introduction, you know,
a little glimpse of what happened, and then when Hazel
gets to the logic stage, she gets to really unpack
what really happened when Marco Polo went on his journeys
and and what took place there. So we yeah, it's
(17:47):
an introduction in the grammar school and then a more
of an unpacking in the logic school. Kind of a
circular spiral development, as my husband, the engineer would say,
where it's not just a straight shot. It's it's like
you said, little bits and building on bits, building on stories,
and then being able to utilize that to move forward
(18:12):
to start critical thinking and putting two and two together,
so to speak. Yes, well, so you mentioned Nancy is
Circe education or certification on your ends?
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Do you want to talk a little bit more about that,
is that an acronym.
Speaker 4 (18:28):
Yes, it's the Center for Integrated Research on Classical Education.
And in the classical education world, you know, there are
some stall warts who are passing on this tradition, and
Circe the SIRC Institute is one of them. So they
provide teacher training mostly, they do some publishing as well.
(18:50):
They provide just all kinds of They do a huge
conference in the summer, and I'm so much looking forward
to going and attending that in July. But their mission
really is to keep alive this tradition of classical education.
Everything that Christie described is accurate about her depiction of
(19:12):
classical education. But I would say, in a nutshell, a
classical education is one that teaches students how to think,
and it gives them the tools for learning anything. And
so the stages that Christie described are very commonly understood
that way, the grammar, the dialectic, and the rhetoric.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
But I would also propose.
Speaker 4 (19:36):
That those that trivium, that grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric are
also modes of learning. And I would say that any
of us sitting here would have to walk through those
stages in order to learn something new.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
So if we were.
Speaker 4 (19:52):
Going to learn anything, let's say how to play the piano,
for example, our grammars stage would look something like understanding
that the piano is actually a percussion instrument and looking
at how the hammer hits the keys, noticing that the
keyboard is composed of black and white keys, how to sit,
(20:15):
how to read notes on a staff, time signatures, the different.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Keys, the sharps and flats.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
The playing notes, different terms, understanding different genres of music composers.
That grammar stage, if someone were starting new, might be
pretty deep and pretty long, until we progress into that
dialectic stage.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
Where we were able to play.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
A wide variety of compositions over a period of time,
comparing different composers, different genres, different time periods. We might
participate in a program called i think it's called Certificate
of Merit, where students compete at various recitals and competitions.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
And when we would reach that rhetoric stage.
Speaker 4 (21:02):
Finally we would begin composing our own music. We might
be teaching other students, We might become a virtuoso performer
at concerts. So classical education really is for everyone at
every age. But these terms of the grammar, the dialectic
and the rhetoric are very commonly understood. I think a
(21:26):
lot of people new to classical education.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
As I was new, we read.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
Books such as Susan Wisebauer's The Well Trained Mind to Learn.
We read Dorothy Sayer's essay The Lost Tools of Learning,
And so that's where we learn about the terms and
how we might access a classical education in our own
homes or in a classical school.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
I'm going to write those books names down. I'm always
on the lookout for good resources and good nuggets. Certificate
of Merit for piano students. My kids actually did that
for a couple of years.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
Thank you for reminding me. Have you done that.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
It's a couple of day or a week long kind
of a thing where you go and play. You do
a performance and you have to run through scales and
all of that, memorize and pieces.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
Hazel's gotten out of that. My son did that as well.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
Oh okay, yes, I remember kind of a lot of
stress and practicing around that. Do you play for your
family or are where are you and your piano journey
just for the fun of it, Hazel, I like.
Speaker 6 (22:35):
Play by myself sometimes and I play for my family
sometimes as well. And I did piano lessons like a
while ago, and then I just tried to like just
play piano pieces like by watching videos or just like
looking in the piano book.
Speaker 3 (22:53):
Thank you YouTube.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
Actually, if you want to fix a car or learn
an instrument, YouTube's pretty handy.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
All right, Well, let's take a break, everybody. When we
come back. What I want to go through a few
things on.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
Your website, talk a little bit about mission and your
four pillars and all that.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
We'll get back into it.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
So my guests today here are for Chris Awesome. Sorry,
Chris Astoin. That's correct. Oh my gosh. Now I'm gonna
second guess myself. Chris Asto Classical Academy. Here in apt toss.
This is Mama Bears Radio. We are going to take
our break and we'll be right.
Speaker 5 (23:26):
Back Mama Bear's Radio.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
We'll be right back, all right, Welcome back to Mama
(23:58):
Bear's Radio.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
Kristen really here, chit chatting our.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Way through our number two of mam of Bear's Radio.
I don't know about you, guys, but it rained this morning.
I was so happy. I am the weirdo in town
where I'm like, yes it's raining, or yes, there's a
big storm coming. I get all excited. So I start
out my show this morning.
Speaker 3 (24:21):
Going, I know God loves me because it rained. Yes,
we certainly need the rain.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Yes, well one last little you know bit a.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
Rain for the year.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
That way the flowers bloom just like a few weeks longer,
and the falls the.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
Way I look at it.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
All right, everybody, So my guests here Chrysostom Classical Academy,
we're chit chatting about independent.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
Schools and education.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Was a classical education? Look like I loved the you
know learning piano description, Nancy said, with a different grammar, stage, logic,
and rhetoric. Then if you're looking at kind of a
K through twelve approach to learning, I was just calling
up your website to your mission. Chrisostome Classical Academy provides
(25:08):
an ecumenical, classical Christian education to shape students who are
rich in wisdom, virtue, enjoy. Now did I say ecumenical?
Speaker 3 (25:18):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Do you guys want to what I heard Christy say
that earlier? What is that word? What does that mean?
Speaker 3 (25:24):
So?
Speaker 4 (25:24):
What that means is that we are Christian. All the
families who attend and the teachers all affirm their belief
and the niceen creed that is the thing that unifies us.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
But there are many.
Speaker 4 (25:39):
Different denominations in Christianity, and we just unite around that
niceing creed and understand that we are here to love
each other as Christians and build each other up. Understanding
that different denominations sometimes have different beliefs about minor issues,
different practices is and so ecamenical means that we're just
(26:03):
all together.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
It's true.
Speaker 4 (26:06):
I was.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
I don't know if you guys were listening to my
earlier hour, but a couple of weeks ago, my pastor said,
you know that you've got a dash, right, You're the
year you were born and then the year you pass away,
and in between that's a dash that you get on
you know, your gravestone or whatever, and such a tiny,
short little time and what do you do with it?
Speaker 3 (26:27):
And I appreciate so much a school built.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
On the values that we want to raise our kids with.
And I homeschooled for a number of years.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
Is. And that's funny you said tool.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
Belt because I always used to say that because people
would be like, well.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
How do you know you're following state standards?
Speaker 2 (26:46):
And I'd be like, well, state standards Pshaw, it would
I and I would say, I, who knows in ten years,
twenty years, what the world's gonna look like, what you
know they're gonna want to do professionally, And I can't
predict anything at this point, but I can give them
a tool belt of how to be a whole person,
(27:08):
how to treat people kindly, how to conduct yourself, how
do you communicate? What are your values set that you're
gonna approach the world with.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
And then it's like you can learn anything.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
You darn will want to if you've got if you
can be self educators, if you know how to go
out and teach yourself what you need to know, and
all that. So again, you know, learning piano with YouTube,
Thank you YouTube. That kind of a thing. So I
appreciate a school that is sort of a topsy turvy approach,
not saying that sounds negative, but turning things upside down,
(27:43):
where your priorities are at the baseline, raising and growing
people that live in faith, that understand who they are
in God and are going to approach life with that
sort of foundation, rather than perhaps so there are things
that are placed as important in other classrooms, and so
(28:04):
the school like yours models what parents and Christian homes
are teaching their kids at home, and they're getting the
same focus in the classroom.
Speaker 4 (28:16):
That is our priority. Very well stated, Yes, there you.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
Go that shell.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Well, so what else do you guys want to talk about?
There's so much to delve into. So you have been
here for about three years and you are looking to
continue to grow in your campus. Is here in aptos?
Do you want to talk a little bit about the
vision for your school and who you guys have on
(28:42):
board and where you want to be in the next
few years.
Speaker 4 (28:45):
Well, I regard us as a startup. The families that
started the school, that founded a school leaped out in faith.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
They stepped out in faith. They're pioneers.
Speaker 4 (28:57):
They really it has been a sacrificial un taking. I
find that one of our most basic challenges is letting
people know that we exist Christen. So this radio show
is an opportunity, Thank you for that, to let people know.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
That we are here.
Speaker 4 (29:16):
I would say that there were a few things that
when I came on board, the board really saw as
a vision.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
In the short term.
Speaker 4 (29:24):
One is to develop and really deepen our Logic school,
which is the seventh and eighth grade classes. So in
the short time that I've been here so far, we
have developed an academy within an academy, and we're for
seventh and eighth grades. It is called lions Gate lions
(29:49):
Gate Academy.
Speaker 3 (29:50):
And so next year, beginning.
Speaker 4 (29:52):
Next year, this seventh and eighth grades will be separate classes.
But Christy and another a very experienced teacher by the
name of Kelly Clawson, they have developed a curriculum for
lions Gate, and I'm going to let Christy really share
about that. But in general, these students will receive very
(30:15):
special privileges and also have some very special responsibilities both
to our school.
Speaker 3 (30:22):
Community and the community in general.
Speaker 4 (30:25):
And I'm gonna I'm gonna let Christy take it from there,
because I'm very excited to share about this.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
Yeah, Kelly and I had a wonderful time brainstorming the
seventh and eighth graders. It's often an age where schools
don't quite know what to do with the kids because
there's a lot of change happening and the kids are
morphing out of a young.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
Age of Okay, I'll do that, Okay, I'll do that.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
I want to do that to I don't want to
do that. Why are you making me do this? Wait
a minute, I have heard this exactly. So we wanted
to craft something that gives them privileges, but not without
a responsibility. So some of the responsibilities that the seventh
and eighth graders will have first is just being a
role model. Because we are an academy that has young
(31:13):
kids as young.
Speaker 3 (31:14):
As four up to the eighth grade.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
We want them to exemplify and demonstrate for the younger
kids their responsible age, what does it look like to
be a leader in a school the seventh and eighth graders.
So Hazel mentioned earlier how we give character awards at
our assemblies on Monday morning, and something that we want
(31:38):
the seventh and eighth graders to do is to study
these character traits. So, for example, this morning at our assembly,
we recognized a few students who demonstrate the trait of
servants servants heart. And next year, our seventh and eighth graders,
they will each have a character trait that they have
(32:00):
to study and then they will present on that character
trait at the morning assembly, and then with the responsibility
of learning this character trait, they will get to help
the teachers identify students who actually demonstrate that character trade
and nominate those students to be recognized. So that is
(32:22):
what we mean by responsibility. They also will do two
mission oriented trips, but not going to another country. It
will really be focusing on the local community. So in
the fall or the winter, during the advent season, we
will go to elm Street Mission. It's a mission that's
(32:45):
run by a man of the name Mike Crane, and
they minister to the homeless population. So the kids will
go early in the morning and they'll make breakfast and
serve breakfast and do the kitchen cleanup. And then in
the spring there's another opportunity to partner and I have
(33:05):
forgotten the name of the church, but the ministry is
for single moms, and so they will have an opportunity
to go and minister to these moms by helping with
the kids and helping with just general responsibilities that a
single mom might have where she's working and.
Speaker 3 (33:23):
How can they bless her.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
So mission oriented but in the local community, so that
Santa Cruz is benefiting. And then privileges. It'll be things
like an off campus lunch. Thanks to our wonderful location,
we have access to places like Eric's Delhi and the
farm and so we can walk with our students there
and hold classes in the afternoon, and then likewise, we
(33:49):
will be doing an East Coast trip.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
Bi annually. Am I saying that right? Every other year?
Every other year?
Speaker 2 (33:57):
That's right. Yeah, So we want to you the kids
will have had the opportunity to learn about American history,
and then we'll take them to the East Coast and
let them see the museum and let them see the
documents of the founding fathers. Yeah, so that's just a
little glimpse of what's going to be happening. Not to
mention they'll have some great teachers, Kelly Clausen and myself,
(34:21):
they will.
Speaker 3 (34:22):
I have to say.
Speaker 4 (34:23):
That this is a very unique program. I don't think
you will find this kind of opportunity at any other school.
As you mentioned, Christian, what we're doing is contrarian in
the first place, but we're really honing in and focusing.
I would like to add to another outreach that we're
doing is to the local homeschool community. So we are
(34:46):
going to be offering a Friday afternoon learning clubs for
science and art that's open also to our enrolled students.
But we really want to provide an option for homeschool.
There's homeschooling families to be to come on campus and
be part of our community. And that's called Afternoon it's
(35:08):
called learning clubs, and on our website you can register
for them right now.
Speaker 3 (35:13):
Super cool.
Speaker 2 (35:13):
Homeschoolers are always looking for something to get out and
go and do. But what I liked Christy talking about
Hazel's crew coming up for lions lions Gate Lionsgate, it's
the adage of like see you one, do one, teach one,
And that sounds like that that's you know, applicable, like
you're going to allow allow the kids to take what
(35:36):
they've learned and turn around and start teaching and start
engaging and giving back in that way too.
Speaker 3 (35:43):
So that sounds super cool.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
Yeah, yeah yeah, And getting out in the community absolutely awesome. Well,
we're going to take another break, our last little break here.
When we come back, we'll finish up my guest today,
Nancy Dayton. She's the head of the Chrysostom Classical Academy.
We have Christy, one of the sixth grade teacher right
and her daughter Hazel here. So we are going to
take our break and get my computer up and ship
(36:09):
shape and then we will polish off this episode of
Mama Bear's Radio. Okay, everybody stay tuned, We'll be right back.
Speaker 5 (36:22):
Mama Bear's Radio. We'll be right back.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
Welcome back to Mama Bears Radio.
Speaker 3 (36:55):
Kristin Hurley, here we are.
Speaker 2 (37:00):
But we have one last little segment before the top
of the hour here, so I'll make sure we get
in everything we want to say.
Speaker 3 (37:05):
About Chrisostom Classical Academy.
Speaker 2 (37:07):
I'm here with Nancy Dayton, the head of the school,
and the teacher, Christy and her daughter Hazel. It's been
so much fun to have you guys on. But Nancy,
do you want to pick up where we left off? Sorry, Well,
we were talking about the seventh and eighth grade program
is coming up lions Gate, and you had said there
was something you wanted to something on top of that.
Speaker 4 (37:29):
Well, you had asked me to think about how do
classical there we can Christian education merge, and so I
did want to address that. I think Christy did a
fantastic job of explaining what classical education looks like. And
again I would say that classical education is one that
teaches students how to think and provides them the tools
(37:50):
to learn.
Speaker 3 (37:50):
For themselves.
Speaker 4 (37:52):
Classical education focuses on mastery. It's much more deep than
it is broad. And all that merges with Christian education
is that would as Christians, we would like to lead
our students to right thinking, and then right thinking should.
Speaker 3 (38:15):
Lead to right action.
Speaker 4 (38:17):
That's where the developing and the discipleship and helping students
to grow in wisdom and virtue. I think I could
not end our discussion without discussing how wonderful our teachers
are and classical education curriculum. The books, they are tools
(38:42):
when I talk about resources, but we really regard the
teachers as the curriculum. The teachers are the curriculum because
they are modeling for students both how to learn and
how they pursue virtue with humility. So that's this very
(39:04):
special about our teachers mission. They are truly invested in
our students as people, not just as cogs or not
just as buckets that need need filling with information. It's
very special. You wrote down some names of books that
(39:25):
I mentioned. One another one that was very important to
me was David Hicks Norms and Nobility. He's the one
that gave me that idea that the teachers are the
curriculum and Christian education, and classical Christian education is truly
for everyone. Classical education, classical Christian education has a very
(39:51):
high view of human beings of humanity. It can be
uplifting for everyone. Everyone can then fit from classical education.
Speaker 2 (40:04):
Yeah, and I think that these days, I'm sorry to say,
what passes for education and happening in the classroom.
Speaker 3 (40:12):
I think there's a.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
Lack of as you were talking about the grammar, years
and facts, right, setting a foundation, especially history, biblical history,
a timeline, valuing the lessons that we can learn from that,
and setting a stage of students being able to refer
back to different time periods and different the stories and
(40:39):
the world players and how time has moved on and
different civilizations coming and going and all that. All of
that again is a tool belt to be able to
look at the world today and evaluate and think critically
and have that history and those facts to draw on
is a wonderful way to ground students in you know,
(41:01):
in having an assurance that they know that they can
rely on certain principles and certain foundations and certain truths
about life. And I think students and sort of in
general education may not get that perspective.
Speaker 4 (41:17):
Yes, and as wonderful as these modern books are the
well trained Mind and Dorothy Sayers Lost tools of learning,
they are accessible and they're very good resources for us.
But classical education did not begin with them. It began
back with at the time of Socrates, you know, back
(41:38):
in three ninety nine BC. He said, an unexamined life
is not worth living. And that's what classical education teaches
us to do. There is no evidence that that Socrates
ever became a Christian, but I did learn in my
studies that he was always searching for or the unknown God,
(42:01):
because he seemed to perceive the frailties of the gods
that his culture had created, and he knew he perceived
that there was something something beyond that. Also, classical education
focuses on the truth, the beauty, and the goodness that
can be observed in the world all around us. Of
(42:24):
course that comes from God, but there's also an elegance
in the simplicity. Socrates in his recorded dialogue Meno, he
was teaching a slave boy about geometry using a stick
and the sand, and so we focus on that. Also
(42:46):
in classical education, these are things that are special, that
are contrarian that are wonderful about our school. We try
to implement those practices back to basics.
Speaker 2 (42:59):
Yes, it's not the gadgets, it's not the high tech.
It's a stick and some sand. Well, Hazel, before we
have a couple of minutes left. I just wanted it
just for the fun of it. Bring you in again again,
thanks for joining us here today.
Speaker 3 (43:12):
So what do you want to do when you grow up?
Speaker 2 (43:14):
Do you what do you like to do? And how
do you see yourself in the future. What would you
like to do?
Speaker 6 (43:20):
I would like to be a veterinarian when I grow.
Speaker 3 (43:22):
Oh good girl, do you have pets yourself?
Speaker 2 (43:25):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (43:25):
We did.
Speaker 6 (43:26):
We have two dogs and one cat and a six chickens.
Speaker 3 (43:31):
Nice. Well, I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (43:35):
Yeah, caring for animals, you know, it's a basic level
of care for other Creek God's creatures and I appreciate
that so much. I wish you all the best. I'm
really glad you came in today. Do you guys want
to let everybody know where they can find you and
if they're interested in more info about the school, how
do they reach you and get a hold of you.
Speaker 3 (43:55):
Come for a campus tour.
Speaker 4 (43:56):
They can come for a campus tour they can. The
best way to reach us is at office at CCA
Santa Cruz dot com. You can send an email there
and that's an of course. Check our website at Ccasanta
Cruz dot com. We have a lot of information there.
We would love to meet with you. We would love
to arrange a visit and give you a tour.
Speaker 2 (44:20):
Christy, any last words for anyone listening or any advice
for parents. I'm always big on parenting advice. If you
had one thing to advise.
Speaker 3 (44:29):
For either current or future parents, what would you say.
Speaker 2 (44:33):
I would definitely say if you if you value education
and if you have a check in your mind that
maybe something isn't just right where your kids are being schooled,
if it's in the public.
Speaker 3 (44:45):
School, come give us a try.
Speaker 2 (44:48):
Come have your student shadow one of our classes, Come
and sit and talk with the teachers or missus Dayton.
What CCA is doing is something special and we are
a group of lead learner and we love the Lord
and we want to train up the next generation because
one day they're going to make the decisions for us.
(45:08):
And yeah, we come, give us a visit. And we're
also on Instagram and Facebook, CCA Santa Cruz, so check
us out there as well. Oh good, and even like
Nancy were saying resources for homeschooling families as well.
Speaker 3 (45:22):
You'll have classes.
Speaker 4 (45:23):
Actually, we have a program for homeschoolers. They join us
for half the day, so that's that's one way of
enrolling out our school. And we will have those Friday
afternoon art and science learning clubs that are open to them.
Well cool, get engaged on any level with you, ladies.
Thank you so much for your work, and thank you.
Speaker 3 (45:43):
It's been a pleasure.
Speaker 4 (45:44):
We were in the grammar stage of learning how to
do a radio show.
Speaker 3 (45:48):
You're going to come back. You'll be at the next level,
you'll be the logic level.
Speaker 2 (45:52):
Thanks for joining me. Everybody. This is Mama Bear's Radio.
Kristin Hurley here. I will be back next week. Everybody,
keep your claws out.
Speaker 5 (46:00):
A constant information, a losive affiliation of millionaires and billionaires
and babies, these other days of miracle and wonder.
Speaker 3 (46:09):
This is a long.
Speaker 5 (46:11):
Ball do in the camera follows.
Speaker 2 (46:15):
This is slow mode.
Speaker 5 (46:21):
You're listening to kom y le Selva Beach home of
Schoolhouse Radio.
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