Hannah grew up in Chicagoland, receiving a classical education – which she loved. She knew, at seventeen, that she wanted to be an educator, and so started student teaching Latin at her Consortium. For two years, she taught 4th-9th, using Latin for Children and Latin for the New Millennium. These classes confirmed her delight in teaching and seeing students gain mastery. In 2016 she left for New Saint Andrews College, teaching elementary throughout. In the last seven years, she has primarily taught humanities & writing, K-8th at The Jubilee School, becoming their Elementary Dean in 2023. Be it a pictorial history class or vocab flyswatter games, her goal is that students are relationally engaged and working towards mastery through interacting with texts personally, versus lecture. Hannah resides in Moscow Idaho, where she can be found hosting dinner parties, international student nights, and Bible studies! God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good. Teaching Philosophy True learning is shown when mastery is achieved. This extends beyond memorization—it happens when a student can internalize the material and apply it with their own understanding and creativity. Mastery can only happen when a student connects new information to something they already know, then applies it to a real-life scenario. This is why Picta Dicta Primer I integrates reading, writing, and speaking, engaging all a student’s faculties. At the end of this process, you will know a student has mastered the content by testing: “Can you explain this to someone else, and help them understand it?” This moves a student through the consecutive steps of recitation, imitation, and individuation. Hannah encourages students not just to learn Latin but also to discover how to learn other languages and think critically. Learning Latin offers students a unique window into the structure of language itself, enriching their understanding of English and other modern tongues. From sequencing, matching endings, and labelling grammar, Latin challenges the mind to both utilize analysis, as well as to develop a deeper understanding of how we read. From sharpening brain pathways, to understanding English root words, to reading source texts in their original languages, Latin opens up language(s) & the knowledge hidden within them, for decades to come. Statement of Faith Hannah is a committed Christian who believes in the Apostles' Creed. She was raised in an Evangelical Free household, baptized at sixteen, and is a current member at Emmanuel Reformed Church in Moscow, Idaho. Her hope personally, and for her students, is that we can delight in and desire God more. “And so we will always be with the Lord.”

I live in Moscow, Idaho, and come from a long line of University of Idaho professors and graduates. Learning to love language was something that started for me in elementary school when my parents took us to live in the tiny desert town of Bobo Dioulasso in what had just become Burkina Faso. My siblings and I, not knowing a word of French, were dropped off at the local French school to sink or swim in a new language, country, and culture. Eventually, I was learning all of my subjects in French—math, grammar, history, music and everything else, and reading voraciously in both languages. I studied French and English at the University of Idaho, technical translation in France on a Rotary scholarship, and returned to the University of Idaho to complete my master’s degree in Teaching English as a Second Language. I went on to teach English in Japan for several years. My three children and I love to read together, cook, sew, learn about electronics, practice karate, and seek to bring everything we do under the banner of Christ. Teaching Philosophy The bedrock of my educational philosophy is Jesus. “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17). Because He is our Creator, we can count on such things as order and meaning, and we can assume that truth, beauty, and goodness exist, and we can aspire to them. “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honor of kings is to search out a matter” (Proverbs 25:2). What we call an education is simply learning how to search out a matter. Learning is hard but not pointless work, although I don't think students need to see the point of everything they learn right away. We aren’t just teaching them for the final exam or to get a good job. Rather, we’re preparing our students to fulfill their calling as kings. Statement of Faith I grew up in a loving Christian home, which had the most consistent impact on my faith because we had to move every couple of years and find new churches along the way, discovering that the body of Christ is beautiful everywhere and that God is our loving and faithful Father no matter where we are. For the last 15 years or so, I have been an evangelical Reformed Christian. I’m a member of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, holding to the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Westminster Confession, among other confessions. Weekly communion, Biblical teaching, singing all the Psalms, and a godly, prayerful, hospitable, and Bible-reading community are a few of my favorite things about our church. Video Introduction [object Object]

New England Consortium of Classical Educators was founded by Sarah Abbott, Timothy Knotts, and Heatherly Sylvia in 2022 in partnership with Kepler Education. NECCE exists to point New Englanders to the unifying Truth found in Christ and His creation, the Good of fellowship with like-minded individuals, and the Beauty reflected in great works of literature, science, and art, through teaching, conversation, and conferences. Whether you are affiliated with a classical school, are a classical homeschooler, or are a life-long learner interested in redeeming your education alongside fellow New Englanders, the NECCE will have something to support you.

THE CONSORTIUM OF CLASSICAL EDUCATORS IS AN INITIATIVE OF KEPLER EDUCATION TO PROVIDE RESOURCES AND REGIONAL CONNECTIONS FOR CHRISTIAN FAMILIES, TEACHERS, AND EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS TO EXPAND THE REACH OF CLASSICAL EDUCATION AND FOSTER HUMAN FLOURISHING FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.

Cheryl Floyd, married since 1990 and homeschooling seven children since 1996, earned a Humanities degree with honors at Faulkner University. She is pursuing an MA in Classical and Liberal Arts Education at Belmont Abbey and will finish a Latin certification with CiRCE in May 2026. She has tutored, directed, and spoken for Classical Conversations, taught at local co-ops, proposed, prepared, and presented a Homeschooling 101, two-day conference, offered Vacation Mom School in the summer, and presented at CiRCE's Gathering Conference, as well as taught with CiRCE's Online Academy. Cheryl obtained her CiRCE Apprenticeship Master Teacher Certificate under the mentorship of Dr. Matthew Bianco in 2021. She often brings up Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter. #geekteacher Teaching Philosophy: My teaching philosophy includes that students are made in the image of God and therefore deserve to be respected, and also to show respect, as this dignifies their souls. Ideally, every lesson ought to encompass a form of truth, goodness, and/or beauty. Every student is created to know truth, goodness, and beauty. These things want to be known, which means they can be perceived. Because God has made things this way, students can be taught to perceive them. In the midst of this is the art of crafting lessons and assessments that help students acquire the skills of perception, wonder, and expression.

I am from rural Iowa where I enjoy fishing, horseback riding, and archery. My mother homeschooled me starting in the 3rd grade and began teaching me Latin. At the time, I did not enjoy Latin. As I entered middle-school and was required to take online Latin classes, I merely tolerated them and tried to get good grades, but I did not attempt to learn the language. My passion for languages didn’t start until I took Spanish in high school. I enjoyed soaking in Spanish until I could think and even dream in it. As I approached college, my bucket list item was to learn Greek and Hebrew, so I could read the Bible in its original language. To that end, I attended New Saint Andrew’s College (NSA), because I saw that they had a strong language program that pushed students to compose and speak in classical languages. In my freshman year, I was required to take a year of Latin, before I could move on to Greek and Hebrew. I was determined to excel in Latin, so I could easily get into the biblical language classes my sophomore year. As I poured my time into Latin, I began to love this language too and did something I never thought I would do. I took extra classes in Latin. I did go on to complete my bucket list item of learning Greek and Hebrew, but I am always glad to spend extra time in Latin, pursuing an understanding of this accessible and historically important language. I am very excited to be joining the Kepler team to share with students my love and appreciation of Latin. Teaching Philosophy I firmly believe that the goal of education is to equip students with tools useful for understanding and living out God’s Word, so they can know and obey their Creator. While there are a range of subjects useful to this end, including literature, geography, writing, and even math, I am especially excited to teach Latin to equip students with linguistic analysis tools that I hope students will apply to enriching their understanding of the words of Scripture. I am passionate about helping students to understand Latin as a real language. I do not believe in the tedious methods of memorizing charts and English translations of vocabulary to turn the Latin into English. Modern language teachers do not use this method, so why should ancient language teachers? Instead, I want to help students to change themselves into understanders of Latin. Statement of Faith I am a Reformed Christian, who holds to the Apostle’s Creed, Nicene Creed, Athanasian Creed, Definitions of Chalcedon, and the Westminster Standards. I am a member of Ascension Reformed Church in Red Oak, IA.

Born and raised in the small midwestern city of Taylorville, I grew up absorbed in my own imagination: reading all the fantasy stories I could get my hands on, watching all of the adventure movies that came through the local theater, and trying my own hand at the craft of storytelling...as evidenced by a bedroom cluttered with spiral notebooks containing dozens of half-finished stories. It was good that my interests lay in the creative sphere, as there was never much else to do in a city surrounded on all sides by undulating vistas of cornfields. My love for Star Wars movies, Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the Disney animated classics inspired me to become a filmmaker, and I made it all the way to my senior year of high school in possession of some vague notion that I would probably go to film school. A handful of circumstances, however, dissuaded me from that notion. First, I grew frustrated that my amateur attempts at filming were constantly thwarted due to unreliable/unmotivated actors (which, in retrospect, is entirely understandable...after all, the casts consisted entirely of my unpaid circle of friends who had nothing else to do on the weekends). At the same time, my imagination was beginning to be captured not by movies, but by literature. I had always been an avid reader, but I now began to read not just with an eye toward entertainment, but toward emulation. Literature appealed to me over movies in that the creator was limited by nothing except their own imagination...and their grasp of the English language. Actors, props, CGI budgets...what mattered these to a novelist? I began to study how to paint the perfect scene in my readers' minds, how to write smooth-flowing and natural dialogue, how to structure a story so that all the elements came together into a harmonious whole. And the more I wrote, the more I read; these two loves nurtured each other and led me to the determination of seeking a degree in English studies. I attended the University of Illinois in Springfield, which was conveniently only a thirty minute drive or so from home, and for years I was kept pleasurably busy with readings both required by coursework as well as wherever my inclination led. Shakespeare, Dickens, and Victor Hugo became as familiar friends to me as Tolkien and C.S. Lewis had been (and still are). I earned my Bachelor's in English, and then stayed on for my Master's as well. All the while, I continued with my own writing and eventually produced a novel that I believed was at least worth a publisher's passing glance. After a year or so of failing to solicit the attention of either a literary agent or a publisher, I determined to start my own publishing company, CirrusPress. The company is still in existence (as is the novel) although the anticipated release date for the latter is forthcoming...though I can only hope not indefinitely. During this time, I worked as a substitute teacher at all grade levels in the various local school districts, as well as an independent tutor and a graduate assistant. I have also put on puppet shows for kindergarten classrooms, and started a YouTube channel on which I (admittedly infrequently) upload mini-lectures on Shakespeare's plays and other great books. Since then, I have worked as an adjunct English instructor at the University of Illinois, alongside my old professors. My students have been mostly freshman, and my courses include Critical Reading, Rhetoric and College Writing, and College Writing and Civic Engagement. These courses all have a heavy emphasis on rhetoric and composition, as well as research writing. As for hobbies...did I mention that I read a lot? Aside from that, I enjoy cycling on the 15-mile bike trail that cuts through many of those aforementioned cornfields, as well as playing chess and backgammon with friends at the local pizza restaurant where I used to work as a busboy. Teaching Philosophy To undertake the task of teaching is no small thing. I believe that it requires someone with a very specific personality and outlook on life. At the risk of sounding grandiose, it is more of a calling than a career, and for those who profess the Christian faith, it is a duty. "And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves" (2 Timothy 2:24-25a). Regardless of the subject, a poor teacher with little patience and no sense of purpose in their own vocation can turn a student away from that subject forever. I begin every class I have taught by encouraging my students to question, "So What?" of any topic we might be covering. It can be a nerve-wracking question sometimes, but it is one that is equally important for both the teacher to be able to answer and for the student to assure themselves of. The teacher must believe that what they are doing has value, has meaning, and the student must be convinced that their time in the classroom is well-spent. My answer to such a question (especially in regard to humanities courses) invariably comes back to the same idea. It's not just about teaching the texts, it's about a type of self-betterment: the growth of the student's worldview and critical thinking skills, as well as a deeper appreciation for the common heritage that they share with the great thinkers and writers of the past. Great literature shows us the heights and the depths of the human soul from enough of a distance to be able to reflect rationally upon what we have witnessed. Composition enables us to crystalize our wayward thoughts and see them laid out in an orderly fashion, as well as to express our desires to others without resorting to brute force; as the critic Wayne Booth says, "The only real alternative to rhetoric is war." I can only hope that, even on bad days, my teaching style reflects the seriousness with which I take the profession. But how is one to instill this sense of importance in the students? It was my high school English teacher who inspired me to want to teach, and to this day my teaching philosophy largely strives to accomplish in my students what his lectures accomplished in me: he made these strange, seemingly inaccessible texts relevant to our daily lives. In his classroom, Beowulf and Macbeth became living personalities in which I and many other students recognized a shocking resemblance to ourselves and our relatively mundane struggles. Reading great works of literature never felt like homework...it was entertaining, and it felt like growth. I also try to emulate his habit of responding to student writing with earnest engagement, so that the students feel that their instructor is taking what they have to say seriously, and that they are making unique contributions to the class' undertaking of whatever text is being discussed. One of my greatest enjoyments of teaching is when a student writes an essay or makes a comment that makes me see a treasured novel or a familiar topic in an entirely new light. It is then that I know that the student thought about the text and made it their own, and also that my understanding of the text has deepened as well. Statement of Faith Though I grew up in a nominally Christian household with a belief in God, the resurrection of Christ, heaven, and hell, I do not believe that I became a truly born-again Christian until around the time I was twelve or thirteen years old. And after that, I do not believe that I became serious about my faith until I was twenty-three. The ten-year gap was mostly spent worrying about the things that teenagers tend to worry about, and it was only when I began attending college that I started to earnestly search for the reasons as to why I believed what I professed to believe, which led me to the study of apologetics. At the same time, a better understanding of my own sinful nature (and that I wasn't really the "pretty good person" I had always presupposed myself to be) led me to a deeper understanding of my relationship to God and of why the substitutionary death of Christ was so necessary for me to be accepted of God. Since then, time spent in prayer and reading the Bible has become an integral part of my daily routine. Although I attend a local nondenominational church (Taylorville Christian Church) and consider myself a nondenominational Christian (I have long held concerns that to align oneself with one particular group approximates the "Apollos vs. Paul" controversy of 1 Corinthians) I have found that my personal beliefs most closely resemble those of Baptist denominations. Below is my statement of faith regarding what I would consider to be essential doctrines; 1. I believe that the Eternal God created all things by Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3:9) in the beginning of time (John 1:1-3); that God created mankind in his own image (Genesis 1:26-27) and that through experience of the created world man could come to know God (Romans 1:20-21). However, by the transgression of Adam sin entered into the world (Romans 5:12) and all of mankind are dead in trespasses and sin (Romans 3:10-12). 2. I believe that Jesus Christ came to earth, God manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16), in order to free mankind from the wages of sin and save us by grace through our faith (Ephesians 2:1-9) in his death, burial, and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4); that through acceptance of Jesus Christ as one's personal savior and asking for the forgiveness of one's sins (Romans 10:9-10), we can know that we have eternal life (John 3:16). I believe that after salvation, the Christian is eternally secure (Ephesians 1:13 & 4:30) through God's grace, not by any works of righteousness that man can do (Titus 3:5). 3. I believe in the nature of the triune Godhead of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Ghost (1 John 5:7); that these three are separate, yet equal in power and authority (Colossians 2:9). 4. I believe that the Bible is the divinely inspired, perfectly preserved word of God (Psalm 12:6-7) and is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice for Christians today (2 Timothy 3:15). It is through scripture that we can learn about God and his purpose for us, as well as be assured of our salvation through Jesus Christ (1 John 5:10-13). I'm almost surely leaving something out, so perhaps it would be best to say in summation that I'm confident my beliefs accord with both the Apostles' and the Nicene Creeds, as well as Church thought throughout the centuries. Video Introduction [object Object]

Danae grew up in Salem, Oregon and attended a local classical Christian school. In 3rd grade she was introduced to Latin, and it quickly became her favorite subject. In high school she had a dynamic Latin teacher who really made Latin come alive and feel like a real language; it was then, at age 15, she knew God was calling her to be a Latin teacher who makes Latin fun and profitable for her students. With that goal in mind, Danae moved to Moscow, Idaho in 2010 and attended New Saint Andrew's College (NSA), where she took every Latin class she could. While in college she taught a few math and science classes at a local homeschool coop, and also worked for NSA tutoring other Latin students. She then spent the next 8 years teaching junior high and high school Latin at Logos School (Moscow, ID), where she spent her days acting out Latin words and scenes, simplifying difficult grammar concepts, and encouraging students to make Latin their own. Jordan Harlow married Danae in 2017, and they now have two children with one on the way. Danae is thankful to be able to still teach Latin by teaching online for Kepler. Danae's hobbies include teaching horse riding lessons, acting in community theater, and singing in the church choir. Teaching Philosophy To know the facts is not enough - true learning only takes place when a student can use the material in their own way, and understand it on its own terms. This is why Danae's goal in teaching is to get the students to go beyond memorizing paradigms and vocabulary, and to rather understand Latin as a real and living language. Through reading, composing, and speaking, students are taught not only how to learn Latin, but how to learn any language. God created this wonderful world, and to learn another language is to learn a whole new way to understand and discuss his creation. Danae loves to see her students realize that they can, even in a first or second year Latin class, start to see words and ideas in a different way, and that they can read and understand this other language like their own. In a few short years, students would then be able to access first-hand rich classical and Christian texts, and to read them almost like they would read English. Statement of Faith Danae is a Reformed Christian who believes in the lordship of God the Father, the atonement of God the Son, and sanctification of God the Spirit. She grew up in a Christian home, and was baptized as a young believer. She is a member at Emmanuel Reformed Church (a recent plant of Trinity Reformed Church) in Moscow, ID. Video Introduction [object Object] [object Object]

George Harrell grew up in the foothills of northern Idaho, where he immersed himself in the classics, both old and new, as well as the historical worlds that created them. He graduated with an MA in Trinitarian Theology and Letters from New Saint Andrews College in 2013. Since then he has developed and taught online high school courses in the humanities, in addition to writing and public lecturing. Teaching Philosophy One of the greatest gifts we can give our children is a lifelong passion for learning. Teachers should exemplify this mindset, emphasizing that learning is a gift that extends beyond formal education. We need to honor the wisdom of our ancestors, striving to understand their beliefs and not take them for granted or reject them out of hand. Our education should always pursue what is true, beautiful, and good, and should seek out the embedded order and design that God has built into creation, while also creatively exploring its complexity and nuance. Statement of Faith I hold to the historic Christian faith taught in scripture and the ecumenical creeds. Christ is the unapproachable and everlasting light that guides our understanding, and it is through the love shared in Him, for one another and all creation that we are able to apprehend His love for us. This continually motivates us to apply that love in our study of ourselves, our world, and our Maker as we seek to be conformed to the image of our God. Parent and Student Feedback "George (Mr. Harrell), Just wanted to thank you, as a homeschool mom, for the way that you teach and pour into your online classes. The boys always enjoy having you. Your excitement is what keeps them engaged and trying hard. The way that you get to personally know them is also greatly appreciated because often the 'personal' is lost in online settings. You try to get to know your students a little better which causes them to enjoy the class and look forward to the meeting time each week. You really want them to have fun learning and I think you pull it off very well. It has been a pleasure to have you teach several of our children. I only wish we had found you sooner. We highly recommend your classes. Thanks for everything! Kelly Rietema" "Thank you so much Mr. Harrell for teaching me this year! This class was wonderful! It both stretched and interested me and I am very thankful to have learned US history from you!" - Grace "Definitely the best history class I have ever taken. I’ve never been so invested in a topic, and also so sad to leave a class." - Dylan Podcast Interviews with George Harrell: Kepler Consortium Podcast: Ep. 53 – George Harrell and Our Classical Inheritance More Christ: Episode 128: George Harrell: Idols of American History, Kepler Education & the George Buchanan Forum Kepler Conversations: Kepler Conversations - George Harrell

Barbara S. Helmkamp has a Ph.D. in physics from Louisiana State University (1995) and an engineering degree in physics from Colorado School of Mines (1986). Between undergraduate and graduate studies she worked in petroleum engineering (petrophysics) for the Shell Companies in New Orleans. This is where she met her husband, Bob. Barbara’s goal in obtaining her doctorate in physics was to teach at the college level, preferably at a Christian school, or to return to Shell Oil Company and work in a research capacity. However, being home with and for her children won out over working full-time, and she has since found much joy in secondary education. In 2007, having been asked to teach “Integrated Physics and Chemistry” at her daughters’ church school (St Mark, Houston), she also completed a course of study in theology through Concordia University Texas including studies in Old Testament, New Testament, Church History, and the Lutheran Confessions. Barbara especially enjoys speaking the gospel of Jesus Christ to students in a teaching context while bringing Scriptures and theology to bear on the subject matter. Now, for various reasons, she prefers teaching at a classical Christian high school or college via distance learning; that is, online. Barbara and Bob are members at Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church (LC‒MS) in Elizabeth, Colorado. Now fully retired, Bob had done engineering consulting out of the home, having retired from Shell Oil Company in 2008 when the family moved from Houston to Denver. Their daughters were schooled from home for their secondary grades (8-12+) with their mother teaching them all of their mathematics (geometry through calculus and statistics) and physical sciences (physics and chemistry). Both now grown and flown, the older daughter (married with children) works parttime as an ICU rehab nurse, and the younger daughter (married) is a nuclear engineer. Most importantly, both are faithful Christians in their confession and life. Besides teaching physics/chemistry and mathematics, Barbara’s interests include creation science apologetics, classical and sacred music (as her church pianist/organist), and various sports (tennis, skiing, hiking). Notably, she has presented numerous lectures relating science and Scripture in Sunday Bible classes and other venues ranging from Vacation Bible School to talk-radio. Teaching Philosophy My philosophy of education is that content is of primary importance, being normed by the Scriptures as God’s word, the only infallible words of truth. For example, the books and articles that are read by students, including those used to teach reading, are of greater important than reading for the sake of being able to read. The same idea certainly carries over into the sciences (natural philosophy). Teaching that which is good, beautiful, and true, in all subject areas and at all academic levels (trivium, quadrivium), is unquestionably the goal of a classical Christian education. A faithful, confessing Christian teacher is of co-prime importance, being essential because education necessarily encompasses works (including textbooks) that fall short of these virtues to varying degrees and need norming. In fact, teaching that which is good, beautiful, and true must also include works depicting the opposite characteristics, by way of helping students distinguish good from evil, ugliness from beauty, and lies from truth in this fallen world where Satan, the father of lies, disguises himself as an angel of light (John 8:44; 2 Cor. 11:14), though such studies should generally wait until students are past the grammar stage in the literary sense as well as in age/maturity. Thus, the teacher himself must be normed by God’s word, having a worldview founded on the Triune God as Creator and Redeemer – which necessarily means he understands the Creation and Redemption accounts in Genesis and the Gospels to be truthful (factual, historical) – as he facilitates critical engagement in any given topic. That is, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” (Prov. 9:10) Importantly, this science teacher acknowledges the historicity of the Genesis account as does the Lord Himself (Matt. 24: 37-39; Mark 10:6; Luke 3:38, 11:50-1, 17:26-7) and his apostles (Acts 17:24-7; Rom. 1:18-20, 5:12, 8:19-20; I Cor. 15: 21-2; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5, 3:3-6), albeit implicitly. That is, Genesis chapter one is God’s own account (penned by Moses) of His Creation Ex Nihilo in six natural days some 6000 years ago (Gen. 5, 11; Luke 3) and Genesis chapters 6-9 describe a catastrophic global flood that profoundly impacted the earth's geology and in which all land animals and mankind perished save those on the ark. Statement of Faith Barbara and her husband Bob are members at Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church (LC‒MS) in Elizabeth, Colorado (Rev. Geoffrey Wagner). I (Barbara) confess the Faith using the Apostles' Creed and related portions of Luther's Small Catechism, as follows: I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. What does this mean? I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason, and all my senses, and still takes care of them, he also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals and all that I have; He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life, protects me from all danger, and guards me and defends me from all evil; and all this he does out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me; for all this it is my duty to thank, praise, serve and obey him. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. What does this mean? I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, in order that I may be [wholly] His own, and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, even as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true. I believe in the Holy Ghost; one holy Christian Church, the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen. What does this mean? I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith; even as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith; in which Christian Church He forgives daily and richly all sins to me and all believers, and at the last day will raise up me and all the dead, and will give to me and to all believers in Christ everlasting life. This is most certainly true.

Reuben Jansen graduated from New Saint Andrew’s College with a B.A. in Liberal Arts and Culture. He is the author of Latin Primers I and II from Picta Dicta and the co-author of Latin Grammars III and IV. Since graduating from New Saint Andrews College in 2016, he has taught in classical schools for almost a decade and now resides in West End, North Carolina, with his wife Annie and their six children, whom they homeschool. A classically trained cellist, Reuben credits his early Suzuki instruction with shaping his incremental approach to Latin grammar for young students. Reuben also serves as the choir director and a deacon at Sandhills Presbyterian Church. Teaching Philosophy repetitio est mater studiorum When it comes to Latin, it's all about the work you put in. I often tell my students, "There are no smart students and dumb students, there are only foolish students and wise students." Natural ability can only get you so far, and when it comes to Latin, that's not very far at all. You can't memorize thousands of new words without hard work and daily diligence. You don't conjugate verbs on the fly after seeing them once, or twice, or even a dozen times. Fluency can only be achieved through repetition, no matter what your IQ. Wisdom is far more important than smarts. Because of this, Latin class will focus on developing the habits necessary for success. In class, students will drill vocab and grammar, and they will get to see the concepts they are learning in action in readings and composition. Statement of Faith I am committed to the Reformed faith and currently serve as a deacon at Sandhills Presbyterian Church in Southern Pines, North Carolina, a congregation of the CREC.

Amanda loves good stories, especially about people: telling them, hearing them, and reading them. Her own story began in Southwest Missouri listening to tall tales in her grandfather’s tackle shop. Although Amanda attended school, it was her mother that instilled a love of creating, teaching, and lifetime learning. In 2003 she ventured south to attend the University of Arkansas, where the grandest of adventures would unfold. While attending the University of Arkansas, Amanda made the most of the available opportunities. She worked for two vastly different organizations: a private school and a non-profit organization that served children of low-income families. During this season, Amanda’s degree path shifted from Interior Design to Human Environmental Science. In 2004, she married Scott, and they would soon start a family. The adventure continued in 2011 when Amanda began homeschooling her three children. Along the way, she discovered classical education and has been on the journey of redeeming her own education. She is a graduate of the CiRCE Gulf Coast Apprenticeship. Teaching Philosophy I believe in the "Imago Dei" of every student. I believe in the importance of building trust between a teacher and student, so that a student feels comfortable asking for help. I believe all students possess souls that are worthy of knowing what is true, good, and beautiful. Statement of Faith I believe in God, the Father of Jesus Christ. I believe in Jesus Christ as my savior. I believe He was born, died on the cross, and was raised from the dead after three days. He now sits in heaven at the right hand of God, and we wait for His return. I believe in the five solas. I belong to Trinity Grace Church in Rogers, Arkansas. It is a member of the Presbyterian Church of America.

Gladys Kober has a master’s degree in Extragalactic Astrophysics from Observatório Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She currently works as a data analyst and image processor at GSFC/NASA. Her tasks at NASA include producing color composite images from the Hubble Space Telescope for press release. She also works as adjunct faculty at Montgomery College where she teaches Astronomy 101. She was born in Brazil, lived 3 years in Chile and has been living in the USA since 1999. In 2015, together with other professional astronomers who are believers, she published a high school textbook to teach astronomy and introduce students to the science & faith dialogue. The curriculum includes many interviews with Christian professional astronomers that we hope will inspire the next generation. Teaching Philosophy Research shows that young adults are leaving the church at alarming rates and confusion between science and faith plays an important role in this unfortunate abandonment of faith. I want to make a difference and contribute to change these statistics. I believe that a classroom should be a safe place to ask difficult questions as we navigate the crossroads of science and faith. I like to encourage students to search for truth in every area. I want them to understand that Christians have nothing to fear concerning recent advances in science but should always be prepared to give a sound answer in defense of their faith. I have a passion for sharing with students about the fingerprints of God in the universe that science unveils. My goal is to equip them to face the secular world with confidence by engaging in thoughtful dialogue. Statement of Faith I grew up going to church and became a Christian very early in life. During my college years, while pursuing a career in Astronomy I had a deep existential crisis and started to question my faith. Being aware of the amazing wisdom and ingenuity that underlies the laws of physics, I would never choose atheism. I knew there was a Creator, a great Architect for this universe and I knew He was very POWERFUL. However, for 2 long years, I wasn’t sure about the identity of the Designer of the universe. If He was an impersonal deity, force or someone I could have a relationship with. The God of Christianity was everything I would like to exist: a God that forgives, loves, calls you by name and shows amazing grace. But at the time there was a disconnect between these two Gods: One, the Creator of the universe that I knew existed and was extremely powerful. The other, the God of Christianity, that I would like to exist but wasn’t sure. At the time I could not see the power of God in my own life, so I kept searching and asking questions. The church I was attending in Rio at the time had a ministry with the homeless. In this ministry I observed deep life transformations. I saw the power of Jesus to restore and change lives rescuing people from addiction, violence, crime, abandonment. Not only Jesus’ power convinced me, but I also realized the love and forgiveness offered by Jesus was too generous to be a story invented by humans. Even though I have experienced other crisis in life, Jesus keeps showing me His grace when I fail. I’m fascinated by His personality and by His love. He is my reason for hope and joy, and I could not imagine living without Him.

Tracey Leary is a seasoned educator with more than 20 years of experience teaching in public, private, and homeschool settings. She was born and raised in Panama City, FL, and has lived in Alabama for 30 years, where she attended Huntingdon College on a piano scholarship and graduated with a degree in both Music and English before pursuing a Masters degree in Education at the Auburn campus in Montgomery. She taught at a classical school for four years before homeschooling her three boys. For most of her homeschool years, she was heavily involved in a classical co-op which grew to well over 100 moms and kids, in which she taught, served on the board of directors, and wrote and compiled the humanities curriculum for the secondary grades. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and baking, and her family enjoys traveling, cheering on the Auburn Tigers, and debating everything from Dante to Star Wars. Teaching Philosophy To paraphrase Charlotte Mason, I believe that what a student knows is not as important as how much a student cares about what he or she knows. To that end, I believe that a quality education for students consists both of reading works that inspire and challenge them and providing a format for them to discuss those works in a group setting with a teacher who is herself inspired and challenged by them. As an educator, my desire is that no student feel intimidated by the Great Books. Rather, I want to help students to see first and foremost, that the reason these books have endured for centuries and are still being read today is not because they are lofty and worthy of being contemplated by the wisest thinkers of our day, although they are that, but because they are at heart Great Stories, which can be read and enjoyed by people of all ages. I provide reading guides for student support as they tackle their focal weekly assignments to help them identify major points and themes in their reading and to formulate questions and ideas they can bring to class discussion. I also pair each literature selection with a selection from history in order to allow the student to simultaneously hear more than one voice from the time period being studied as well as a “living book” which provides a more recent but still valuable exploration of the periods or themes under discussion, all of which are read simultaneously at a moderate pace over several weeks in order to facilitate the student’s ability to ponder the books and make connections among two or three related streams of thought. I also provide an optional assignment drawn from movies, music, and other media that students are encouraged to complete, and which I will use in class discussion, as we explore how the Great Conversation is still taking place all around us. In class, I incorporate a Book of Centuries for chronological understanding as well as other tactile challenges and activities such as map work which dialectic students enjoy, in addition to the discussion that is the heart of our weekly meetings. Statement of Faith I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He died for our sins, was resurrected and lives at the right hand of God. I believe this was necessary because mankind’s sin in a historical Garden of Eden irreparably separated him from God, and that from that time we have all been born with a sin nature. Only Christ, who is fully human and fully divine, was born sinless and lived a perfect life, which enabled Him to become the satisfactory sacrifice for sin that God’s justice required. I am a member of an Anglican (ACNA) church in Montgomery and teach with an ecumenical perspective in mind. Testimonials >Mrs. Tracy Leary was a wonderful teacher. She was very helpful when we had questions, very kind in her evaluations, and encouraging to my son. He thrived in this class! *- Cassie Minter, Kepler parent*

Dr. Stacy Lung is the Executive Director of Lutheran Island Camp in Henning, MN. Stacy has a Ph.D. in Educational Studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL. and an M.S. in Environmental Education from Concordia University Wisconsin. Her research is focused on the significance of facilitating experiences of wonder in education, particularly in science education, where wonder can help point us to the Creator. Stacy has taught online courses in both adult learning and K12 contexts since 2013. She educated her children in the forests of northern Wisconsin. Stacy seeks to invoke the inquisitive awe of children in the woods for learners of all ages and in all settings. Teaching Philosophy I believe education is important because it is a feature of God’s design for His image-bearers. We are unique in our ability to not only experience the creation in which God placed us but to reflect upon those experiences, understand the underlying principles that God uses to govern creation, and act in accordance with those principles. The ability to learn and change is part of our image-bearing, and participation in learning facilitates this collective image-bearing. Perhaps most importantly, I can project a genuine wonder about the subjects I teach and invite the students along for an opportunity to discover how God’s world works with the reassurance that they have important contributions to make to the class’ journey. Ultimately a meaningful education will provide students with an eternal perspective to help inform their decisions. Education is not limited to the classroom and the school; it is part of every aspect of life and every experience. It is everything that brings us closer to the one who gives us not only meaningful life but eternal life. Statement of Faith I grew up in a rural community at a small church with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and distant relatives. Prayer was part of mealtime, bedtime, and the beginning and end of all family events. I watched my grandmother pray through tears when my grandfather died, and I saw parents on their knees whenever there were struggles. My family continuously modeled reliance on a loving, involved Savior. The faith that my parents and grandparents passed on to me through their teaching would be strengthened after several years of marriage as we were told that I would likely not be able to have children. In these worst days, only strength from a God who did not spare His own Son allowed me to move forward. I would see the work God can do in a weak, fragile pot when, despite the words of that doctor, God blessed me with five children and developed in me a personal faith and total reliance on Him. I am still a member of a small church, St. Paul's Lutheran. Video Introduction [object Object] [object Object]

I grew up in Georgia where I was home schooled K-12 and had the privilege to study under Wes Callihan (Schola Classical Tutorials) throughout high school. I have a Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of South Carolina (2025) and earned an M.A. in Liberal Arts at St. John’s College, Annapolis (2013). My undergraduate work was done at LaGrange College, in LaGrange, Georgia, where I earned a B.A. in English, a B.A. in Music, and minored in Philosophy (2010). My Philosophy minor was awarded in recognition of my studies at Oxford University, UK, where for a term I studied Ancient Philosophy and Philosophical Hermeneutics (2009). I also teach at Memoria Academy (2013 – present), and taught Literature, Composition, Logic, Rhetoric, Geometry, Physics, and Precalculus for a number of years. Since 2022, I have also been Head of the Math Department at Memoria Academy. In addition to teaching online, I taught Freshman English for two years at the University of South Carolina (2017-18, 2019-20). My wife, Haley, and I live in a cabin in the woods with our three children. In my free time, I enjoy music (classical guitar, piano, and occasional bouts of accordion), poetry, backpacking, and dabbling in languages. Teaching Philosophy All my teaching is informed by 3 convictions. First, that the main purpose of primary and secondary education is to grow the kingdom of God, and that this is done by equipping and ennobling students through the transmission of our ecclesiastical and cultural heritage and tradition. Second, that classical education provides the ideal form and content for primary and secondary education. Third, that classical education should be understood as an education that 1) respects human nature and purpose, 2) seeks to cultivate a love for goodness, truth, and beauty, 3) is primarily formative rather than informative insofar as it seeks to cultivate habits of mind and soul. Statement of Faith I was raised in a Christian home and came to understand my need for Christ at the age of 4. Since then, Christ has been my only hope in the face of sin and death, notwithstanding certain periods of backsliding & doubt, and my frequent failures in the struggle against sin. I unreservedly confess the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed. I have a deep appreciation for protestant, Roman catholic, and orthodox traditions and attend a local Anglican church.

Originally from south Arkansas, Cyndi McCallister moved to South Carolina to attend Columbia International University where she earned a BA in Biblical Theology and Education in 1985. After homeschooling her three children, she completed the CiRCE Apprenticeship in 2019 and has served as a literature, writing, and rhetoric instructor with CiRCE Academy Online for five years. In 2022, she was trained as a CiRCE consultant and workshop leader. She has a Masters in Liberal Arts and Classical Education from Belmont Abbey College. Over the past several years, Cyndi has developed a classical Christian teacher apprenticeship in Nigeria, where she serves as the head mentor. Cyndi was interviewed by FORMA Journal concerning classical education abroad. This article appeared appeared in the 2025 Winter Issue. Cyndi has been teaching Lost Tools of Writing for over 12 years and is currently writing the LTW Senior Thesis text. Cyndi and her husband Karl have three grown children and five grandchildren and lives in South Carolina where her husband is a pastor. Her favorite activities are reading to her grandchildren and hiking. Teaching Philosophy: I began learning about classical Christian education while I was homeschooling our three children. At the beginning of our homeschooling journey, I read For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay. These beautiful truths based on Charlotte Mason about the education of children were the gateway and foundation to learning more about classical education. To teach classically involves understanding the nature of truth, the nature of the teacher, and the nature of the student. Truth can be known. Proverbs 25:2 states, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, and it is the glory of a king to search it out." God delights in revealing the truth of His Word and His world to us. Classical teachers are the humble lead learners who enliven the spirit of inquiry, love what is beautiful, and inspire their students to live the life of virtue. They recognize the extraordinary God-given capacity of their students to know and act on the truth. Education is a life endeavor that encompasses the body and the soul. To teach is more than cultivating a mind, it is nurturing an eternal soul. Statement of Faith As a young child, I made a profession of faith in Christ. I was nurtured in that faith by my loving Christian family and the local church. This nurturing environment surrounded me with Christian mentors and opportunities to exercise my faith in service. I was encouraged to use my gifts in the local church, at Christian camps, and on mission trips. Led by a desire to dedicate my life to vocational Christian ministry, I attended a Christian college where I met my husband, who is a Presbyterian pastor. (PCA) This living and active faith has led me to use my gifts of teaching in Nigeria where I currently serve as head mentor of the KA Classical Teacher Apprenticeship. I joyfully and gratefully hold to the truths as stated in the Apostles Creed, Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. After serving in ministry for more than 40 years, the truth of my daily need to come to Christ and learn from Him as a child rings just as true as the day I first encountered Him.

Jonathan McIntosh is a philosopher, Tolkien scholar, native Idahoan, and Fellow of Humanities at New Saint Andrews College, where he teaches courses on God, ethics, political philosophy, and economics. He earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Dallas (2009) and is the author of The Flame Imperishable: Tolkien, St. Thomas, and the Metaphysics of Faërie (Angelico Press, 2017). He, his wife Annie, and their four daughters live in Moscow, Idaho. Teaching Philosophy My teaching philosophy is literally to teach philosophy, the love of wisdom, or the knowledge of the order of things, of how to reason back to first principles, and then to reason back again. Statement of Faith I believe in the Lord, the origin or first cause of all existence, who eternally subsists in three persons, Father, Son and Spirit, and who reveals Himself in all that He has made and all that He does, in His holy Scriptures, and above all in His Incarnate Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, by whom all things were made and then remade in His Death and Resurrection, and who is the sovereign Lord of History that will return at the Last Judgment and the restoration of all things. The human race fell in Adam and is saved in Christ, whose saving grace is apprehended through faith, which is itself a gift of God. All Christians are called to a life of joyful sacrifice and obedience.

Dr. Karla Memmott is a long-time resident of the Sacramento, California area where she lives with her husband, Kyle and dog, Kona. She home-schooled her children. She continues to support homeschooling parents by teaching online and in-person courses which include history, literature, writing, public speaking, and German. Additionally, she and her husband have coached high school mock trial. Teaching Philosophy My teaching philosophy intentionally focuses on the development of a student’s mind and soul as a human being. My responsibility as a teacher is to interactively guide the student to through literary works which encourage the student toward mature and reasonable thought. Teaching and learning are established based on a relationship mutual respect whereupon the student and I actively work together toward a common goal of student success. I believe that students gain ownership of their respective educational experience by reading participating in interpretive discussions about original source material. Learning becomes a community event within the venue of active Socratic discussion. Statement of Faith I believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, who came to earth to interact with and redeem His creation. This act of redemption was necessary due to the fallen, sinful nature of humanity which is the result of the disobedience of our original parents - Adam and Eve. Through the death, burial and resurrection Jesus demonstrates that God is a just, but loving God who seeks restoration and relationship with His people. The invitation is extended to all people. The Church has the privilege and responsibility of introducing people to Jesus by sharing the Gospel with grace, love, and truth. Whereas the Church has the duty to share the invitation of the Gospel, only the Holy Spirit can convict any person. I believe that the triune nature of God is a beautiful mystery that is not fully comprehensible to humankind but is nonetheless experienced by one who walks with God in truth and wisdom. I believe in the unity but diversity of the Church. The unity is based on the core essentials of the Gospel which transcends culture and race. Subsequently the Church unity provides strong testimony in a very divided modern culture. I believe that humans are called to worship the Lord with body, mind, and soul. When the body, mind and soul actively seek and participate in truth, beauty, and goodness genuine worship takes place. I believe that a challenged and engaged mind is a necessary part of worship. I belong to a local church where I teach and participate in adult Bible study courses. Video Introduction [object Object]

I am a C.S. Lewis Institute Fellow with a Master of Arts degree in Cultural Apologetics from Houston Christian University. My authorship includes contributing and editing for the apologetics quarterly "An Unexpected Journal"; the online magazine "Cultivating" from Cultivating Oaks Press; columnist for Anselm Society; and several poetry anthologies. Facebook site Literary Life Book of the Month feature reviews on classical and recent books with a focus on the enduring beauty and truth found in literature and the arts. After traveling to Oxford for the C.S. Lewis Summer Institute, I was asked to write a monthly travel blog for Clarendon Press. I wrote a historic cookbook for The Mystery of History and Bright Ideas Press, as well as contributed to Wild Things and Castles in the Sky-A Guide to Choosing the Best Books for Children and The Lost Tales of Galahad through Square Halo Press. Teaching Philosophy My academic passion focuses on the significance and reintegration of the arts and humanities with theology and the Christian imagination. We find rich insights in the writings of the church fathers and in ancient and medieval books, and I believe these beautiful texts are an essential element to education at every level. Primary sources are key to understanding our Christian perspective and purpose. I believe that a love of learning is fostered by good literature and shared adventure. The world is embedded with the goodness, beauty, and Truth of God and we are witnesses to it each day if we choose to truly see. Statement of Faith I believe that the Bible is the inerrant word of God. I believe in the eternally existing, holy omniscient, Triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and in the redemptive work of Christ through his death and resurrection. I affirm the Nicene and the Apostle's Creeds. Meet Annie [object Object]

Biography I grew up on the south coast of England and read Medicine at Oxford, initially intending to become a doctor. Towards the end of my studies, however, I was recommended for training for ordained ministry in the Church of England. It was at about this time that I met my wife, Brooke. I read Theology at Cambridge and was awarded the Gibson Prize for Distinction in New Testament Greek. After being ordained in 2013, I served in parishes on the south coast, near London, and in the countryside. We moved to Moscow, Idaho in July 2022. I have taught Rhetoric and Philosophy at Logos School and I currently work at New St Andrews College as Director of Student Affairs, providing pastoral care for students and overseeing student leaders, and a Lecturer in Theology. Brooke and I have six children. In my spare time, I enjoy fencing. Teaching Philosophy God is restoring all things through his word. As the mediaeval scholastics understood, the liberal arts lead us back to the knowledge of God, especially through the understanding of Holy Scripture. The linguistic arts employed in the study of the Greek of the New Testament serve this end. I have embraced a ‘mixed methodology’ of language teaching which combines instruction in grammar, graded reading, and active use of the language. My goal is what C. S. Lewis achieved with the Great Knock: “I very soon became able to understand a great deal without (even mentally) translating it; I was beginning to think in Greek. This is the great Rubicon to cross in learning any language.” This approach to language-learning also cultivates in students the virtue of risk-taking, and they become better readers and communicators in general. Statement of Faith Although I didn’t grow up in a Christian household, I heard the gospel and believed from a young age thanks to the ministry of my local church and the influence of a Christian friend. I came to Reformation Anglican convictions whilst at university. I hold to the Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds. I believe that Jesus died on the cross to reconcile us to the Father, that Scripture contains all things necessary to salvation, that we are justified by faith alone and not by works, that God is sovereign in salvation, and that Jesus is the only name by which we may be saved. Since moving to Moscow, Idaho, I have become a member at Christ Church.

Vanessa is the wife of a diehard Cowboys fan and the mother of three young men who watch their father's Superbowl dream die each December only to see it rise from the ashes with the coming of fall. While her husband watches football, Vanessa relishes the feel of a paperback in her hand as she sips hot coffee in an overstuffed chair. She usually has music playing in the background as well. As a mother of boys, she has watched her fair share of action movies and picked up a few ninja moves, but learning has always been central in her home. From the beginning, she homeschooled her boys with the intent of guiding them to love the Lord and the many stories that reflect His truth. Each boy has received books to begin his own family library. Her two oldest have graduated from college, married their sweethearts, and brought the books to their new homes. Their youngest plans to move into his college dorm before the Cowboys return to the field in September. Sharpening his grill master skills with a series of steaks as he recites his list of the most flavorful cuts of beef should help her husband's heart heal in time for next season's woes. Fall means football, but it also signals the beginning of a new school year. This has always excited Vanessa. Over the last two decades, she has taught several types of classes in homeschool co-op and tutorial settings. While educating her sons and their peers, she led two mock trial teams, coached novice Lincoln Douglas debaters, and assisted with coaching students in competitive speech events through a local Stoa Christian Homeschool Speech and Debate club. Three years ago, she expanded her educational offerings to online writing classes for CiRCE and a Christian classical university model academy. She has enjoyed mimetically teaching levels one and two of The Lost Tools of Writing for several years and teaches the Comparison Essay as well. Presenting examples of the skills she asks her students to emulate, Vanessa walks through the examples and asks questions to aid her class in contemplating how and why to add the new tool to their kit. She then provides an opportunity for students to receive individual feedback on their own attempt to practice the skill during weekly lessons. Portions of the currently assigned story will be read aloud and discussed in class. In this way, she will model attending to detail. Vanessa firmly believes that good readers make good writers and attempts to help students see how the unchanging human nature revealed in myths and fairy tales shows itself in rollicking ancient epics, Shakespearean plays, and the story of a girl whose humanity is awakened by a red-breasted robin, who invites her into a garden. Yes, the beauty of God's truth may be found and relished in all these places. Vanessa is a CiRCE Certified Master Teacher and is pursuing a Master of Arts in the Great Books through Memoria College. She delights in sharing a sense of wonder with her students, encourages questions, and takes pride in the fact that her corgi is descended from fairy warhorses. It’s true! She is most excited to invite students and families to enter the Great Conversation. It is never too late to join! Statement of Faith: I adhere to truths summarized in the Nicene and Apostles' Creeds, believe the Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God, and worship Jesus Christ as the risen Son of the triune God. My family and I are members of a local church that is part of the the Presbyterian Church in America. While we agree with the Westminster Shorter Catechism, we submit all teachings to the authority of the Bible. We are grateful to be a small part of the larger body of Christ.

Rocky Ramsey was born and lives in Indiana with his lovely wife and daughter. His wife manages the home while Rocky works as an environmental consultant based out of Indianapolis. He graduated from Indiana University - Bloomington in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science. He then obtained a Masters of Science in Ecological and Environmental Engineering at Purdue University. His research in his Masters program consisted of a landfill technology based application for carbon sequestration (although he is skeptical of the underlying assumption to sequester carbon at all). Rocky earnestly desires to see Christians more thoroughly equipped to handle the climate alarmism and fear mongering that occurs in current society. He truly believes that the modern environmental movement is a religion with the claims of doom as its eschatology. However, after thorough investigation, he found a strong environmental ethic not only in the scriptures, but in the western tradition. He hopes to equip students with the ability to rebut the modern environmental religion with a sober-minded view of God's creation. Rocky became a Christian eight years ago and is thankful to be a part of God's kingdom. Being a product of the public school system, Rocky is now in a constant pursuit to read as much of scripture, classics, and ancient literature as possible. He is continually refined by the word of God and the classical Christian tradition based upon that word. Teaching Philosophy My goal in teaching is to cultivate and encourage learning in the mind of the student to the best of my ability. Learning always originates in the mind of the learner rather than being forced by the instructor. I want to encourage internal learning and foster the development of curious minds, which yearn to discover the world. To accomplish this, I believe that a combination of lecture, seminar, and coaching are optimal teaching techniques. The most important part of learning is a transformation of character in the student. The teaching of any subject ought to cultivate piety, virtue, and wisdom in the student. This transformation always comes from the work of the Holy Spirit, and therefore a distinctly Christian life and worldview must be ever present in the act of teaching. All truth is God’s truth and anywhere we find it he ought to be honored and recognized. Teaching ought to cultivate wonder and awe in the mind of the student at the way God has designed the world. My hope is that every student walks away from this course understanding creation as a cosmos rather than a chaos. Statement of Faith I hold to the Nicene and Apostles Creeds. I also hold to the Westminster Confession of Faith. I would describe myself as a Reformed Protestant. I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Carter Rendall is a husband, a father, and a teacher at the Sacred Heart Private School in Welland, Canada. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in History from Queens University and will graduate from the CiRCE Master Educator Apprenticeship in May 2025. Carter stumbled upon Christian Classical Education a number of years ago and has been on fire with a passion for educating ever since. He is blessed with the opportunity to live out his vocation to lead his family and to teach the youth. Carter hopes to play a small part in bringing the Christian classical renewal to Canada. Carter loves playing guitar, camping, hiking, reading the Great Books and discussing deep ideas. However, what he loves most is spending undistracted time with his family and watching his daughter grow. Teaching Philosophy Having been trained by the CiRCE Apprenticeship, I look at education through the lens of Nature, Purpose, and Propriety. Some questions I ask are, what is the nature of the student? The content, skill, or idea I am trying to teach? What are their purposes? This helps lead me to finding the proper or appropriate way to teach, assess, and guide my students. The student being an image bearer of God colours my entire teaching philosophy. I teach each lesson following the Mimetic sequence which provides consistent and ample opportunities for students to contemplate, narrate, and apply their skills. As a part of the mimetic lesson, and in literature discussions, I also teach with Narration. Narration helps students solidify knowledge, clarify thoughts, and put content into long-term memory. It also provides for a deeper understanding of the text and therefore a richer discussion. All of this, however wonderful, must be rooted in the firm Tradition that has been handed down to us, and in Christ the incarnate Word. I believe Christ the Logos is the unifying principle of Gods Cosmos and by teaching in the Mimetic way, incarnating the truth of our lesson to the students, we can bring students closer to Christ. Statement of Faith I am a Roman Catholic committed to traditional Christianity affirmed in the Nicene and Apostles Creeds. I believe in both Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, and strive daily to pick up my cross and follow the one true Lord. I am a member of St. Anns parish in Fenwick, Ontario, where I was married and my daughter baptized.

Greetings! I live in the great state of Texas in the rapidly growing city of McKinney. I began homeschooling my two children in 2010, graduating my youngest in May 2024. While homeschooling, I served on the board of our homeschool cooperative and taught various middle school and high school courses. I earned a Bachelor of General Studies from Texas Women’s University in 2011 and graduated from the CiRCE Institute Apprenticeship in 2022. When not teaching, you can usually find me snuggled up on the couch, crochet hook in hand, watching a British Detective show. Teaching Philosophy My philosophy of education is built on the truth Paul declares in Colossians 1:17: "Christ is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." Christ is both the source of all knowledge and the one who brings all parts of knowledge into one whole. He is the Logos, the reason for all of creation. Believing this, I see all areas of academic study as a means to know Christ, and as a result, a means to know ourselves rightly. On this foundation, I add the assertion of David Hicks in Norms & Nobility that the supreme task of education is "the cultivation of the human spirit: to teach the young to know what is good, to serve it above self, to reproduce it, and to recognize that in knowledge lies this responsibility." It is not enough to know what is right; one must also do what is right. One must be both wise and virtuous. The goal of my instruction is love. Through the art of rhetoric, we learn to write and speak in ways that bless and harmonize our community. Reflecting on the actions of the characters we encounter in literature helps us practice the skills necessary for sound judgment, self-discipline, and good-faith deliberation. By learning how best to persuade another to the truth, we are learning to love our neighbors well. The goal of my assessment is mastery. Rarely do we master a skill on the first attempt; therefore, students should expect writing assignments to require revisions before they are accepted as complete. Statement of Faith I believe in the historic Christian faith as expressed in the Nicene Creed. My family and I attend Frisco Bible Church, a non-denominational community of believers.

I was born and raised in Osaka, Japan. I earned my teaching credentials at KEC Japanese School and received my B.A. in Japanese Linguistics from Osaka International College in 2007. At the age of 13, I started studying English at school since every student was required to learn a foreign language. Although it was a requirement, I really enjoyed it because I believe English is a language that allows me to communicate with people from different countries. To improve my listening and pronunciation skills, I used the radio for practice. Later on, I went to a community college in Australia to study English for four months. It was tough at first because I had never heard an Australian accent before, but about a month later, I suddenly started to understand what they were saying! After returning from Australia, I had the opportunity to continue speaking with English speakers. I later taught Japanese privately to missionaries and other students in Japan. I currently live in Lynchburg, VA, and am homeschooling my two young children. I enjoy remodeling the house, cooking, and playing with my kids. Teaching Philosophy I believe the best way to teach a language is to speak to my students primarily in Japanese and use English only when necessary. We start off with learning large amounts of vocabulary and memorizing grammar patterns. This will give us plenty to work with as we move deeper into the language. I will use pictures, audio, flash cards, and videos to help students understand, remember, and use Japanese. My prayer is that my students will take their new language skill to proclaim the gospel to the people of Japan. I strongly encourage students to learn Japanese because as you learn a language, you will also learn a new culture. Many students have studied Latin expecting to move on to a modern Romance language. Why learn Japanese? The grammar you learned in Latin and also in your native language will not be exactly the same as what you’ll find in Japanese. But if you have studied the grammar of any language, you will find Japanese grammar familiar in some ways and a challenging stretch in others. For example, we use subjects and verbs, just like any other language. In English, you have a subject, verb, object (SVO) word order: ‘I eat sushi." But Japanese has a subject, object, verb (SOV) word order: ‘I sushi eat.’ This is one of many grammar differences that can be confusing at first for new learners, but it is definitely possible to learn. It just takes a lot of practice. Also, the Japanese writing system is unique. It consists of three different sets of characters: 1) Kanji, which has several thousand Chinese characters. 2) Hiragana, which is used for native or naturalized Japanese words, and for grammatical elements, 3) Katakana, which is used for foreign words and names, scientific words, etc. Regarding culture, Japanese people are well-mannered and polite. In fact, this is even seen in their speech. Japanese have what is called ‘keigo.' Keigo is used as an honorific speech in order to show consideration and respect to a person who is older than them, or to someone who has a higher position than them. So their speech will differ depending on the person they are talking to whether it is a friend, a colleague, a client, etc. When Japanese people say いいえ, そんなことないです (iie, sonna koto nai desu), it is used as a way for them to humbly say 'You're welcome,' but it really means ‘No, I am not the one you should thank.' I think these words show their care for others and it also represents how Japanese people value humility and respect. This is one reason why I find Japanese culture to be so interesting, and I think you will too! Statement of Faith I hold to the essentials of the Christian faith as displayed in both the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. Additionally, I affirm the five solas of the Reformed tradition. I currently live in Virginia.

I live in New Hampshire with my husband and children, but I have lived all across the United States and have visited all fifty. I am an Air Force veteran with 10+ years of experience turned homeschool educator with 20+ years of experience; I homeschooled our three children birth through 12th and beyond; we are life-long learners. Growing up as a preacher’s kid, I cut my teeth on the church pews; growing up as a teacher’s kid, I considered my mom’s classroom my second home. If I did not have my nose in a book, I was probably on a local tennis court. After graduating from the United States Air Force Academy in 1994 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Operations Research, I earned my Master’s Degree in Operational Analysis at the Air Force Institute of Technology, then served as an Air Force Space Systems Analyst in California and Information Warfare officer in Texas. I honorably separated from the Air Force to raise our children in 2000. My husband is a retired Air Force officer, now defense program manager, and we have three children: Our eldest graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2023 and is now a Black Hawk helicopter pilot in the US Army. Our middle is a soccer referee, completed her Accounting degree from Southern New Hampshire University, is an Auditor and a soccer/futsal referee, and is engaged to be married in March of 2026. Our youngest attends Colorado Christian University, majoring in Engineering Project Management and minoring in Computer Information Systems, and is a senior (Class of 2026). Informally commencing homeschooling in 2001, we started with *Sign with Your Baby*, then moved to KONOS, Sonlight, and My Father’s World. In 2013 we discovered Classical Conversations, and I jumped in as a Director for Foundations and Essentials, then Challenge a year later. My years as a Challenge director in the math seminar and working with my own children tie my background of graduate-level mathematics to my present reality of teaching Algebra, Geometry, Calculus, and sometimes Physics with Kepler Education and Statistics with CCU Academy (Colorado Christian University.) As I learned to "see" math and was trained to have math conversations, I am a self-proclaimed Math Geek-in-training. In addition to homeschooling, learning more about classical education, and especially spending time with my family, I enjoy traveling, coffee, and scrapbooking. Teaching Philosophy The first question in the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “What is the chief end of man?” and answers, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” God’s word directs us how we may glorify and enjoy Him, including the following: seek Him, love Him with all we have, love our neighbor, pursue wisdom, make disciples, and train up a child (Matthew 6:33, 22:37, 39; Proverbs 4:5; Matthew 28:19; Proverbs 22:6) I believe in pursuing wisdom through knowledge and understanding, using the classical tools of grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric viewed through a biblical lens. I believe our study is a form of worship to glorify God; that He reveals Himself as we seek Him in academic subjects. I believe in didactic instruction, dialectic questioning, and deliberate conversations. I believe education is more than utilitarian, that we should pursue truth, goodness, and beauty as we practice skills and tools of learning. I believe in a lifelong pursuit of learning, and God has a plan for the lives of all of us. I believe we are educating for eternity, not only this life’s servant-leaders and world-changers. Statement of Faith I am committed to historic Christianity in doctrine and morality and hold firmly to the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds. Born and raised in the Reformed tradition, I am currently a member in good standing at Gate City Church in Nashua, New Hampshire, a Word and Spirit Church.

Wesley Santos was born and lives at Aracaju/SE, Brazil. Graduated in Biological Sciences at the Universidade Federal de Sergipe (UFS – Brazil) in 2010. Early in graduation he figured out that God had given him the talent for teaching. In 2010 he debuted as a teacher, teaching for a class of 60 people, in a program called EJA (youngs and adults education). That was a big challenge for the first day, but it became more natural class after class. At the same school, he had the opportunity to teach for high school students, with whom he felt a strong affinity. As soon as he finished the graduation, he started the mater’s degree Biological Oceanography at the Universidade Federal de Rio Grande (FURG – Brazil), one of the most prestigious institutions in oceanography studies on Brazil. After the conclusion, he started teaching in 2014 on the private educational system and in 2019 he was invited to teach in junior high at a confessional institution, the Colégio Americano Batista (Sergipe – Brazil), when he teaches nowadays. Married to Sanny, father of Matias and Ana Clara. He has a love for music and plays the violin at church with other musicists who, like him, like to develop their musical talents, to enjoy the beauty of music, but specially to praise the Lord. ###Teaching Philosophy As a teacher I believe that was entrusted to me the responsibility of being the intermediary between the student and the knowledge, so it is up to me to choose methodologies and materials that may help the student through the path. Different students may have different needs in this process, which brings the necessity of a sensibility to evaluate the individual needs and come up with solutions to each possible case, always working in partnership with the families to have more effectiveness in the learning/teaching process. As a Christian, I know that all truth is a truth of God, including the scientific truth, therefore, all knowledge is subordinate to the Holy Bible and under the major truth that God is the Lord of the universe and rules it according to predetermined laws, and reveals Himself to mankind through the things that have been made, according to Rm.1:20. To raise a fully virtuous human being it is necessary to look at him in a holistic way, it is mandatory that the knowledge has a rational, personal and spiritual value, meaning that when teaching about the winds and the oceans, the student learn about Jesus, who has the power to command the winds and the ocean, when learn about the physiology of breath, the student also learns the everything that breaths, awes praise to the Lord. ###Statement of Faith I believe in God almighty, the one and only, the true and live God. He, that knows me before time, the Father. He that came in flesh and died my death, so I could live His life, Jesus Christ, the Son. He who lives inside me and guides me through the paths of this life, the Holy Spirit. They, that are one, and revealed himself through history, the God of the covenant, that gave us Jesus Christ, whose blood washes away my sin and the evilness of my heart. I believe that I am a foreign in this world, going to a home I never saw, but that by faith I know, has a place for me, besides my God, where I shaw live for the eternity. Amen. I am a calvinist christian and attent to the Igreja Presbiteriana de Aracaju (Sergipe - Brazil). ###Video Introduction <iframe title="vimeo-player" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/437211182" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Dr. Gregory Soderberg and his wife have five children and enjoy hiking, boating, reading, and traveling. He has served in a wide range of church ministries and non-profits, ranging from church planting and prison ministry to foster care and Safe Families for Children. He has spoken at conferences in the US, Germany, and South Korea and has taught at Grace Life College and Seminary in Liberia, with Training Leaders International. He has 20+ years of experience in Christian education, both in brick and mortar schools and online. Besides earning Permanent Teacher Certification in the Association of Classical Christian Schools, he holds a B.A. in Liberal Arts and Culture (New St. Andrews College), an M.A. in Church History (University of Pretoria), and a Ph.D. in Historical Theology (Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam). He also studied theology at Reformed Theological Seminary and Trinity Theological College, in Bristol (UK). He served as the founding Academic Dean of LAMP Seminary RDU in Raleigh, and an Adjunct Instructor at New St. Andrews College. Besides teaching at Kepler, he is a Teaching Fellow for the Alexandrian Institute and the BibleMesh Institute, a Mentor-Professor at Redemption Seminary, and a Fellow of Classical Humanities and Theology at the Beza Institute for Reformed Classical Education. He has published articles in Intellectual Takeout, Common Good, Touchstone, American Reformer and SALVO magazine. His dissertation on communion frequency in Reformed churches was published in V&R's "Reformed Historical Theology" series. In addition to publishing book reviews in various academic journals he was a contributing author to the Omnibus VI: The Modern World textbook, and the books More Than Luther: The Reformation and the Rise of Pluralism in Europe and Reforming the Catholic Tradition: The Whole Word for the Whole Church. He currently serves on the editorial board of The Consortium: A Journal of Classical Christian Education. A Note About Special Needs: Classical Christian education should be accessible to as many types of students as possible. Families with students who have learning differences/challenges are welcome to contact Dr. Soderberg about whether his classes would be a good fit for their child. Two of Dr. Soderberg's classes (The Greeks: Old Western Culture and The Romans: Old Western Culture) are specifically open to Spellers. “Spellers” are individuals who use a letterboard to communicate. They have apraxia, which limits their ability to speak reliably. Apraxia is common with Autism and Down Syndrome, and various other diagnoses. Frequently, people with apraxia are thought to have cognitive deficits. However, these individuals routinely demonstrate normal and higher than normal cognition once they are fluent on their letterboards. For more, see this FAQs on what this option entails for families, and how this might affect the overall class experience. Teaching Philosophy I love investing in students and leaders of all ages through teaching, writing, and speaking. I aim to help people learn lessons from the past, to inspire them to live wisely in the present. I love teaching because I love learning, and the pursuit of wisdom, in community with other learners. As a teacher, my goal is to help equip and train students to embark on a lifetime of learning. As a Christian, my goal is to help them think about everything in a way grounded in the Scriptures, and informed by the wisdom of the Christian tradition. Statement of Faith I believe in the historic doctrines of the Christian church. I affirm the absolute priority of the Holy Scriptures, and the interpretive authority of historic documents like the Nicene Creed. I affirm the points of belief and practice that have traditionally been part of Christian teaching (in regards to the sanctity of life, the meaning and practice of marriage, the nature of gender, etc.). Beyond my commitment to “core,” or “mere” Christianity, I love and value the Reformed tradition. By training and inclination, I affirm many of the distinctives of Reformed churches. But, like John Calvin and the other reformers, I also love and value our church fathers and church mothers. I feel most at home in churches that worship according to the ancient liturgies of the church, but I also realize that God works through all sorts of worship styles and denominational structures, for His own purposes. Video Introduction [object Object] Testimonials > The Rhetoric class taught by Mr. Soderberg is excellent. Even though...the Phaedrus dialogues are difficult, he presented it in the way that is relatable, which inspired students to be interested in the subject and have lively discussions. The review games and speech assignments that illustrate the learnings kept my student interested and motivated. It is a wonderful opportunity learn rhetoric. *- Peiwen Lu, Kepler parent* > Mr. Soderberg is an excellent teacher. He makes tough material engaging. [My child] was never bored during class, but rather looked forward to the weekly meetings. *- Kimberly Locke*

Debbie Sonnenfeld graduated from the CiRCE Apprenticeship in July 2024. She has been involved in education for a number of years, beginning with working in colleges and universities before deciding to homeschool her own children through multiple moves to various states and continents. She has been classically educating her own children for the past thirteen years and assisting other scholars and parents to classically homeschool for the past four years.

An attorney-turned-homeschooling mom and rhetoric teacher, I have more than 20 years of experience working with private schools, co-ops, and homeschool families. Not only have I taught many humanities, informal/formal logic, composition, theology, and advanced thesis classes, but I also have been honored to come alongside many students and parents as they plan for high school and college. I ask the hard questions, engage in planning out high school courses, narrow college lists, and help students put together applications and essays that shine. Teaching Philosophy I tend to embrace two maxims, the first from probably too many sources to count and the second from a true friend to classical education, Charlotte Mason. The first? “The enemy of the excellent is the good.” It recalls a principle of Pliny the Younger: multum non multa, meaning “not many, but much.” As a culture we are convinced that more is better, and as a result we tend to invest—with the best intentions—in too many classes, too many activities, too many THINGS to allow our children to dive deep into any one idea or passion, or to breathe and enjoy the process. Given our limited time, we should rather slow down whenever possible, resisting the temptation to add one more class, one more experience, if those good things compete with the things that matter most. The second comes courtesy of Miss Mason, who wisely reminded us that “Children are born persons.” Because each child is an individual—with different interests, abilities, passions, etc.—no one curriculum, no one approach, no one philosophy is necessarily going to work best for all children…even children who have the same blood flowing through their veins. The path our oldest took to college looks a bit different than our second, radically different than our third, and a world away from our fourth. As homeschoolers, we have the opportunity to structure our children’s education to meet individual needs and aspirations while still spreading a gentle and varied feast before them. Statement of Faith I know that I am not my own, but I belong to Christ...and I lay all that I am—my sin, my loves, my dreams, everything—at the foot of His cross, for Him for His glory. Raised in the evangelical church, my husband and I embraced Reformed theology early in our marriage and have served in the PCA and now URC for more than 25 years. We are members of Providence Reformed Church (Meridian, Idaho).

Biography Joffre lives in Moscow, Idaho. He is a dual citizen, holding American and Brazilian passports. He was raised in several cities throughout Brazil, Canada, and the United States. He is an English as a Second Language teacher who homeschools his kids, just as his mother was an ESL teacher who homeschooled her kids. Joffre spent fifteen years teaching ESL, Spanish, and Portuguese in a corporate setting, as well as giving cultural training and management coaching. It was his special joy during that time to teach poetry and pop music to German electrical engineers. He also owned a used bookshop and served for a time as a missionary in Brazil. He has had a special passion for ministering to men in a way that helps them understand how they can build the Kingdom of Christ at home, in the Church, and in the world. This has led him to start men's groups oriented around fellowship, song, and ale. He has ministered to a diversity of places, including Mexico, Mozambique, and Peru. Joffre married Kimberly in 2000. They have five children, Renata, Joffre, George, Ward, and Mara Esperança. The boys play rugby and Renata is a mean rebounder of basketballs. Joffre has coached varsity boys’ and girls’ basketball, as well as rugby and volleyball. Joffre attended Christian churches from infancy, thanks to his mother Carolyn, who came to the Lord just before he was born. But Joffre first understood who the Lord Jesus was when he saw his father's repentance later on. He made a commitment to follow the Lord Jesus Christ when he was nine years old at a Baptist Church in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Today Joffre and his family are Presbyterian and are members of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho. In his spare time, Joffre enjoys writing poetry, playing rugby, making YouTube videos, and video chatting with strangers from around the world. Teaching Philosophy My main goal in teaching is to help the student make the subject their own, not only in consistently showing growing dominion in the subject, but by fostering enjoyment and love for it. As a language teacher, that has meant building a connection between the student and the life of the language. Culture, conversation, and history have as prominent a place in the classroom as syntax and vocabulary do. This attachment to the subject of study is developed through practical engagements that bring it to life, such as conversational activities and games that allow the student to handle the living language at a level they are comfortable with while making them grow. This provides a platform from which to push students to excel, and to not only memorize but understand. Enthusiasm for the subject is an integral part of any teacher’s success. It is therefore always my desire to use my own passion for diversity of expression, poetry, grammar, and colloquialisms to build a bridge for the student that helps them find their own enthusiasms in the language of study. Nothing is more engaging to a student than a teacher who loves their subject and makes that love accessible. Statement of Faith I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth; in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, through whom all things were made; I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of Life. I believe that the Lord Jesus was made man, was crucified, dead, and buried, ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father. I believe that by this work he saves me, and us, and that he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and that he will reign forever. I believe in one holy catholic Church. And I look forward, with the Church, to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Testimonials - Mr. Swait made the class time and the outside of class time very interactive, which really made this a great course. Stephanie, Kepler parent - Prof. Swait was patient and provided helpful tips that he wouldn't have received without a good in-person teacher. Laurie Lamar, Kepler parent - Not only did our son end up with a desire to learn more Spanish, he formed friendships that are continuing to stay in contact even though the class is done. Andrea Ross, Kepler parent - I’d like to express my appreciation and gratitude for Prof. Swait as a teacher and how he managed to engage with his students from online. Rebecca Richard, Kepler parent [object Object]

Felicity graduated from the CIRCE Teacher Apprenticeship in 2021 and will graduate from the Tirocinium Latin Apprenticeship in July 2025. She lives in the beautiful state of Colorado with her husband and four children. She has been teaching and home-schooling for over a decade and is passionate about learning that promotes deep thinking, individual growth, and a sense of place. Felicity graduated from the University of Kentucky with a B.A. in Russian and Eastern studies and received a J.D. from the University of Colorado Boulder Law School. She has taught literature, writing, Latin, and various other classes. She enjoys language and stories, travel and learning, hiking, and yoga. Teaching Philosophy Students are Divine Image Bearers, and as we journey together through the course, we will seek to find harmony by identifying the logos, nature, or species in the language, literature, or skill we are practicing. Our meetings will explore the logos of each lesson through Mimetic and Socratic teaching modes. As David Hicks in Norms and Nobility states, "This kind of teaching, and this kind of learning, is intrinsically personal, not analytic or abstract." I aim to know each student and provoke curiosity as we look upon the good, true, and beautiful. Statement of Faith I am a member of the Church of the Advent in Denver, CO, and I believe that the Bible shapes our imagination, worship, values, practices, and common life. I hold to the Reformational Anglican Theology, which recaptures the ancient and biblical truths of the grace and good news of the gospel and is rooted in the rhythms and beauty of worship shaped over the centuries. I believe that liturgy is a form of hospitality, enabling people from all walks of life to participate together in worship, and I am completely dependent on the Holy Spirit’s presence, power, and movement.

Introduction A lifelong resident of the Tupelo, MS area, I serve as the Director of Spiritual Life and Head of the Bible Department at Tupelo Christian Preparatory School, where I have taught Bible and Mathematics for nearly twenty years. Some of the extracurricular activities I lead at the school include Book Club, Praise Band, and Quiz Bowl. My family is quite blessed as not only do my wife and I teach at the same school, but our son attends there as well. We are all members of a Southern Baptist church in Tupelo, where I lead a Life Group and play drums in the praise band. I am in the midst of writing my dissertation, which focuses on the ways in which the earliest Christians faced death, how these differed from other philosophies around them, and how all of this shaped Christian history. In my leisure, I love reading, cinema, playing music, and kayaking. Teaching Philosophy I am the product of a Christian Higher Education, am in my twentieth year of working in Christian Secondary Education, and have placed my own child in Christian education for all of his schooling. Therefore, I cannot help but teach “Christianly”—to show others how to see the world through the lens of Scripture. Augustine rightly says, “[W]hatever truth may be found, it belongs to [the] Master” (On Christian Doctrine 2.16.28). Indeed, Christian Education is only ever “Christian” when it wrangles all of academia under the authority of God’s Word. Whereas a secular education concerns itself with merely materialistic success and simple regurgitation of facts, Christian education introduces students to the true nature of the world and its Creator. Philip Ryken described this type of education as being infused with “the liberating arts,” an education that “prepares students for active service in the kingdom of God.” Such education is what I was created to do. Statement of Faith Typical of so many who grow up in the deep south, I walked an aisle and repeated a prayer at a revival when I was quite young, though without any actual belief or repentance. After years of panic attacks and depression and by the time I was ready to graduate high school, I had come to the conclusion that there was no God. My condition worsened so that I was eventually housebound. At the end of my wits, I cried out, “God, if you’re real, prove it!” The Father, being rich in mercy, answered me as I opened my Bible to Ecclesiastes. I immediately found myself in agreement with Solomon’s conviction that this world, by itself, offers nothing but futility. At the end of Ecclesiastes, however, Solomon concludes that meaning can only be found in God and His commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Over the next few days, the Gospel rolled around in my soul, with me pulling over my vehicle at a simple car wash and asking Christ to save me. Within weeks of my conversion, I began to realize a general call to ministry. Eventually, this call narrowed to Christian education. In Chariots of Fire, Eric Lidell says, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.” In my nearly twenty years of teaching at a Christian school and through leading various discipleship programs, I know that I feel God’s pleasure most strongly when I am equipping others with the tools necessary to better understand His Word and His world. Regarding particular creeds, I adhere to the Nicene Creed and what C.S. Lewis would affectionately call “Mere” Christianity. Furthermore, my church adheres to the Heidelberg Catechism and the Baptist Faith & Message.

Dr. Christy Anne Vaughan holds an Ed.D. from Liberty University in Educational Leadership. Her doctoral dissertation, published in February of 2020 through the Journal of Research on Christian Education, is titled: DIFFERENCES OF MEAN SCORES ON THE PRELIMINARY SCHOLASTIC APTITUDE TEST (PSAT) FOR CLASSICAL CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS COMPARED TO NON-CLASSICAL CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS. She holds an M.A. Ed. with a concentration in special education from Georgetown College and a B.A. from the University of Baltimore in English, concentration in business and professional writing. She recently completed a 40-hour certificate in Orton-Gillingham method literacy instruction. Dr. Vaughan serves as Secretary and Educational Consultant for Classical Christian Education International, Inc. (www.2CEI.ORG); tutor for students with special needs and private instructor for Schole Academy, Classical Academic Press, and homeschools two of her grandchildren in Ohio. Teaching Philosophy The Classical Christian method encompasses the seven liberal arts of grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music; liberal from the Latin liber meaning “free” meaning the virtuous, wise, and self-controlled man is free toward self- governance. As the Apostle Paul stated in Galatians 5:23, against such there is no law. Our Founding Fathers understood this, as John Jay, First Supreme Court Justice, stated, our system of liberty and self-governance was designed for a Christian nation with elected Christian rulers. Or, as John Adams, the second President of the U.S., stated, our system of liberty and self-governance with the Bible as its basis would be wholly unsuitable for any group other than a virtuous, Christian people. And to that end, a couple of working definitions: The Christian educator believes we are called to teach Truth, Goodness (Godliness), and Beauty. Teaching is a calling to parents first and the church (Ephesians 6:4 and Deuteronomy 6:4-7). Teaching as a profession is a calling (Ephesians 4:11-16). There is Truth, and God’s Word reveals it (John 17:17). Virtue is to be co-taught with knowledge (2 Peter 1:5-8). We are commanded to think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). The Classical educator teaches a man to fish by providing the tools of learning and inculcating the joy of learning. The Classical Christian educator accomplishes both--molding the heart toward God and inculcating discernment of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty through tried and true methods of teaching. If we are to recover our nation’s moral compass, we must reignite educational excellence through a rediscovery of the centrality of Truth. There is Truth, and we are called to teach it to the next generation (Deuteronomy 6 and Ephesians 6). Statement of Faith I was baptized in public testimony of my accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord of my life in a Southern Baptist Church. I have been discipled by the local church, Koinonia House, and Liberty University Bible studies. My husband and I are missionaries through Ministers of Victory (Port Saint Lucie, Florida) and currently serve through Classical Christian Education International, Inc. We are members of Victory Baptist Church in Ohio, as well as maintaining membership and distance learning/Bible conferences through Kurt Owen Ministries. My medical expense sharing program, which also is a mission to others, is through Samaritan Ministries.

Stephen Wolfe completed his PhD in political philosophy at LSU in 2020. He is a member of the James Madison Society at Princeton University. He has several years of teaching experience, including college-level and online teaching, and has published many academic and popular articles. He was born and raised in Napa, California, served for several years in the US Army, and currently lives in North Carolina with his wife and four children. Teaching Philosophy I seek to form minds with Christian wisdom. I prepare students to navigate through and to contend with our modern world, without sacrificing principle, so that they might serve family, friends, nation, and church. Statement of Faith I affirm the Westminster Confession of Faith.

I was born in Rochester, NY but have spent the majority of my adult life in the south. I do love the south as a unique place in God's creation. I have been blessed to serve at a few different institutions of education. In addition to teaching at a few different colleges and universities, I have enjoyed consulting with numerous Classical Christian schools and being the Headmaster for the past twenty years. I am fully committed to “thinking Christianly” about all that is. To use Paul’s words, I feel God’s pleasure when I take “captive every thought for Christ.” I have been blessed for more than twenty years seeking to honor God with the life of the embodied mind. I have long enjoyed the Great Books. We are a family of readers. Among my favorite authors are Homer, Plato, Cicero, Dante, Petrarch, Erasmus, Christina Rossetti, Flannery O’Connor, George MacDonald, C. S. Lewis, Ray Bradbury, Wendell Berry, and Richard Wilbur. In recent years I have really come to enjoy the novels of Ross MacDonald (detective fiction), Zoran Živković (very unique fiction), and Michael D. O’Brien (contemporary Catholic novelist with the depth and insight of Dickens, Tolstoy, and Dostoevsky). Passionately committed to what C.S. Lewis described as “mere Christianity.” I acknowledge real differences that really matter. I also quickly affirm the truth of the consensus fidelium (consensus of the faithful) and its value against the onslaught of a divided Christendom and an anti-human humanism. My wife and children love camping and spending time with our families in Georgia and Alabama. At home, in North Carolina, we regularly have a seasonal puzzle underway and while loving our two cats, Lois and Lowry, have to discourage them from helping with the puzzle. Teaching Philosophy During my years as a student and continuing on as an institutional leader, I have drawn several conclusions that have shaped my philosophy of education. The teachers, and later professors, who influenced me as it specifically related to my convictions about education and the manner in which I conduct myself as an academic leader, were knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and of sound character. Moreover, those same people treated me as a significant person. As a result, I strongly believe that the best teaching transcends techniques and models and is an extension of excellent character. I am a zealous teacher who thoroughly enjoys life in the academy. During my years of service, I have continued to increase my knowledge and fine-tune my teaching skills. Since I have been conscientious about the importance of the leader as a role model, I have attempted to cultivate various qualities most conducive to my sense of calling as a leader/teacher. It has been my experience that the most respected teachers possess patience, clarity, humility, a keen sense of humor, and kindness. As a teacher, I am guided by the principle to consider the perspectives and feelings of others. Statement of Faith It was a summer, Sunday evening and the minister had been preaching from I John. He had been speaking about the Love of God and I felt moved by the Spirit that evening to give my life to Christ. I remember being so touched by the depth and breadth of God’s love and that He wanted me as His child and to be part of His family. I went forward that evening and accepted Christ as my Lord and savior and have, by God’s grace and mercy, been growing in the fruit of the Spirit since that time. Over the years, people have spoken to me of the most prominent spiritual disciplines they see in my walk with the Lord. My brothers and sisters in Christ have encouraged me by describing how they have been blessed by my Christ-like service and spiritual disposition. They often describe me in terms of a “humble, patient, and peaceful servant”. It is my hope that my Lord also describes me in these terms. While I have identified with the Restoration tradition (Disciples of Christ/Christian Church/Church of Christ) I am passionately committed to what C.S. Lewis described as “mere Christianity.” I acknowledge real differences that really matter among sincere believers. I also quickly affirm the truth of the consensus fidelium (consensus of the faithful) and its value against the onslaught of a divided Christendom and an anti-human humanism. I readily call all my brothers and sisters who affirm the Apostle's and Nicene Creed within Christendom. Thomas Oden's Systematic Theology has profoundly shaped my theological convictions. Video Introduction [object Object]