A

This show is a part of the Hillsdale College Podcast Network. If you like what you hear, please subscribe to your favorite. You'll get brand new episodes of all your favorite shows sent right to your device and you'll help us know that you're out there listening. Never miss another episode by going to podcast hillsdale.edu subscribe that's podcast hillsdale edu subscribe or click the Follow or Subscribe button on Apple podcasts, Spotify or YouTube.

B

Welcome to The Hillsdale College K12 classical education podcast, bringing you insight into classical education and its unique emphasis on human virtue and moral character, responsible citizenship, content, rich curricula and teacher led classrooms. Now your host, Scott Bertram.

A

Thanks for listening. The Hillsdale College K12 Classical Education Podcast is part of the Hillsdale College Podcast Network. More episodes at podcast hillsdale.edu or wherever you get your audio. You also can find more information on topics and ideas discussed on this show at our website k12 hillsdale.edu. we're joined by Michelle Dechristoforo. She's the lead third grade teacher at Cincinnati Classical Academy in Ohio, also a master teacher with Hillsdale's K12 education office. Michelle, thanks so much for joining us.

B

Thank you for the invitation, Scott. It's a privilege to speak with you.

A

We're talking today about the cultivation of wonder in the classical community. I know that you've spent a lot of time thinking about the role of wonder in education, but when you use that word, and when we use that word wonder, what exactly do we mean? What does it look like in a classroom?

B

Yes, wonder is the state of awe and astonishment where we simply marvel at something. I like how Josef Pieper states that the ability to experience wonder is one of the highest possibilities of human nature. It's this place of amazement and curiosity that leads us to want to pursue a deeper knowledge and understanding of that which we are observing. So in the classroom, wonder naturally occurs when you're in the presence of something amazing or beautiful. This could be a good story you're sharing in literature, or even an amazing word problem that you're reflecting on together. So wonder is really already present in many moments in the classroom, but students need to develop the habits of attention and observation to experience it. Teachers can also create moments of wonder by the way they teach and develop the culture of their classrooms. So, for example, integrating the themes across various disciplines evokes wonder because students begin to see that all of their learning is connected. So for example, we're studying the first colonists, and so I might write a word Problem about finding the area and perimeter of a plot of land that connects to history. Integrating art, music, and poetry also can evoke wonder in students. When students experience wonder, you might see their eyes widen, they might gasp, they ask good questions, or sometimes they might be just silent and captivated by the moment.

A

So why is the cultivation of wonder so significant in classical education specifically?

B

Yes, that's a great question. Education, or the formation of the human person must involve the cultivation of human affections rather than solely just stimulating the intellect. In the abolition of man, C.S. lewis reminds us that we make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. So in other words, if we remove the organ of feeling, of the will and a virtue, we still want to have human being, good human beings. But if we are men without chest, we're left with just the intellect and the appetites of the belly to direct our lives. Teaching and living with a sense of wonder cultivates the proper kind of emotion and wonder to develop that human chest. So that way, when we are in the presence of something beautiful, we know how to respond to it. In the same way, if we observe evil, we are repulsed by it. Ultimately, in classical education, we want students to embody this goodness, truth, and beauty, and teaching infused with wonder is a necessary part of that pursuit.

A

In practical terms, how do you cultivate wonder in the classroom? Are there habits or questions or practices that can help students develop that real sense of curiosity?

B

Yes. I love it. From the moment I greet students at the door in the morning to that final afternoon handshake, I am training the habit of attention and observation. We make eye contact during our handshake, and I'm trying to teach them to be present to one another when I'm teaching. I have taught my students to track the speaker, so we practice listening and paying attention to what is being shared. So this ability to pay attention and observe are essential precursors, really, to experiencing wonder. Without these elements, students are really unable to observe and learn. The sole focus becomes teaching them the habit of attention. Another necessary element is the steep is that the teacher must embody a sense of wonder and curiosity themselves. You simply cannot inspire something that you do not have yourself. This requires that we spend ample time with the content that we're teaching so that we can begin to love it. For example, in history, a good storyteller can naturally evoke wonder in students because human beings love stories. This is far more effective at evoking wonder than reading a dry history textbook. When an educator begins a class, curiosity is really ignited if you open with A good question that makes students think we were talking about the early explorers today and specifically the stowaway Balboa. And so I started by saying, imagine you were in trouble with the law due to some debts you owed. Where would you hide on a ship so you could not be found? Well, their eyes got big and all hands went up. So it's just this moment of kind of finding the drama or the mystery at the heart of your content and then forming your opening question from there. I learned a lot from listening to your podcast in and Dr. Gregg's presentation on asking wonderful questions. And that really inspired me to learn how to formulate good questions. Something else that evokes wonder is healthy competition. So having contests in class. So for example, in literacy we might have a contest between different parts of speech in a simple activity. So students will make a prediction regarding who's going to win the noun or the adjective, I'll dictate words and the students will place them accordingly. And when the tiebreaker comes, there's this palpable enthusiasm in the air. So simple activities can ignite wonder about anything. It doesn't have to be elaborate.

A

Are there any particular subjects or books or even moments in the school day when you see wonder spark most naturally in students?

B

Yes. So they love when I stop at a cliffhanger in literature or telling a good story in history and it leaves them wanting more and they can't wait till that next class to hear what happens. And really incorporating a story in any subject across the curriculum will naturally lead to moments of wonder. Daniel Willingham says that stories are psychologically privileged, so not only do we remember the content more, but it also evokes awe and curiosity of the story is told in a good fashion. Your approach to teaching also ignites wonder. So I try to take word problems and put in the students names or activities they enjoy and that increases their curiosity because they want to hear about their classmates. If there's an opportunity to incorporate some movement, this sparks wonder. For example, we're learning a preposition chant in grammar that has a gesture for each preposition. Engage the students through that movement and singing and chanting, which well ordered language has naturally in it, that can open the door to wonder. Then what I love to see where I know wonder is taking root in the students is they'll start searching for prepositions in their reading and they'll get all excited and want to show you. So wonder should lead to them wanting to explore more about that particular thing.

A

Talking with Michelle dechristoforo from Cincinnati Classical academy about cultivation of wonder in the classical community. You've also been exploring the idea of cultivating wonder outside the classroom. Why should we try to extend the cultivation of wonder to the broader classical community? That would include families and parents, maybe specifically, yes.

B

So classical education is aimed at the formation of the whole human being, so our efforts cannot solely be relegated to the classroom. A revival of the whole community is really required to truly make formative changes in both ourselves and our children. I like to think of classical education as this abundant feast of ideas and habits. This might include reading the finest literature, books to our students, corally analyzing sentences, reciting beautiful poetry, writing by hand. To benefit from such a feast, children need to be able to attend and observe effectively. Unfortunately, this has become a habit that many children have lost as a result of how they spend their leisure time outside of school. The family life of a child either helps or hinders this ability to experience wonder, which is really the beginning of knowledge and wisdom. For example, if your leisure activities solely involve screen based entertainment, you are training the habit of kind of detaching from reality through mere amusement, rather than really being awake to reality and the joy of being human. These activities are so highly addictive and detrimental to the child's ability to learn and experience wonder. On the other hand, when children play outside and they read good stories with their families, they cook together, play board games, converse about their day, you are really feeding the soil of a healthy child who is ripe for moments of wonder. Parents need to be aware that all the choices we make for our children do have consequences. Everything we consume forms our souls and becomes part of who we are and how we view reality. Many activities that children are engaged in destroy wonder and this connection with reality and disable the ability to attend and be in awe of the world. And that has led me to really reflect on this and want to make a difference in that way.

A

What does it then look like when an entire community begins to value wonder? What changes when that alignment happens between school and home?

B

I believe that this alignment would really cultivate very rich soil, leading to human flourishing. This means that we spend spend our time connecting through real relationships. That we'd be more awake and alive to see the beauty around us. We might be more selective about what we consume so that we're taking in good stories and music and art that nurture our soul and our children's souls and leave the mediocre selections behind. We begin to embody goodness, truth and beauty because our diet, that which we're consuming, echoes that if there's alignment between the school and the home. I think educators could make a much greater impact because you're taking away those major impediments that are affecting the children's ability to learn and become fully human. I would love to see parents really reflecting on the choices that their families make and to feel empowered to make changes that align more with their values.

A

And so what are the biggest impediments to the flourishing of wonder today?

B

I recently finished reading Joseph Pieper's very short work Only the Lover Sings on Art and Contemplation. And he stated that simple quote, that man's ability to see is in decline. And I think he's saying that the human ability to observe and see reality as it really is is declining. So the vis visual noise of screens dulls all the senses, making the experience of wonder just impossible. So without that wonder, we're not curious learners, we're not asking good questions. We wait for kind of the next flashy device to entertain us. So many children are spending significantly less time outdoors than in past generations due to the multitude of addictive electronic gadgets such as iPads, video games, social media, and the like. Recently, in a parent conference, I was speaking to a father who his son had invited a neighbor to jump on their trampoline with him, and after just a few minutes, the friend said he had to go inside because it was his screen time, even though it was a beautiful warm day and he was having fun with a friend. As a result of this increased screen time, many children have minimal attention spans, poor language skills, decreased literacy development, just to name a few concerning things. So I've also read Jonathan Haidt's the Anxious Generation and he's connecting smartphones and social media with anxiety, depression, and withdrawal from these in person relationships. So I think children are desperately trying to find some meaning in their lives and they're looking for this, looking for it through digital distraction. Thankfully, in classical schools we have a place of digital rest, but that doesn't mean that outside of school they should have a digital feast. So in training the affections of students, I think we really need to help them direct their attention to healthy leisure activities and ignore the flashy addictive devices that that seem to consume their attention. But children can't do that on their own. I think we need parents to help them make intentional decisions about their leisure activities and what things will come into the family and what things are really toxic. So I think together we can help our children make healthier choices. That also means that maybe we have to change our Activities as well. So let's say you remove video games, but you're always staring at your phone. Your children will be convinced that they should change. Right. So healthy leisure activities could take more effort to cultivate in your family, but will lead to much greater rewards without the detrimental consequences.

A

All right, so talking screens and electronics. So many students today are in this digital environment with constant stimulation, instant information. How can that affect a child's capacity for wonder? How can classical schools and families help recover the sense of curiosity?

B

Yes, thank you for that question. During the very first few days of school in August, I can actually observe my class and know the kind of leisure activities a child participates in on a regular basis. The children whose leisure consists of screen based entertainment, they have a glazed overlook, they have difficulty controlling their bodies. And being able to control your body is a necessary step to being able to focus and attend and wonder. These children have a hard time making eye contact and they can't really engage in wonder because they're used to detaching from reality. I have experienced students who told me that they have sensorial images from video games that are replaying in their mind and distract them from learning. I feel that we are in a dire crisis and our children need us to wake up and really help make better choices in our families. If classical schools and families could work together to recover the ability to wonder by being very intentional about the culture we build in our homes and classrooms, it is possible that I think we could reawaken the senses and the ability to wonder. But I do feel we need to remove some of these addictive electronic gadgets that numb the ability to see, observe, and wonder. We also need to model curiosity for our students, both at home and in the classroom. We want to really inspire children to ask questions. So rather than just turning to technology to answer a question, we want to encourage children to look up things in books and visit the library. Maybe you could go together and explore a topic together. We want them to see that learning requires some work, not just the push of a button. And that could be something you engage in together. Maybe you do an experiment on the weekend to explore something. So it's definitely going to take a collaborative effort between the parents and the teachers and the community to bring about

A

change for parents and teachers who might be listening. What are some specific ways we can help cultivating wonder in our homes and communities?

B

Yes, I think one of the best ways to do that is to model the importance of how to slow down and actually observe things to really marvel at the world around us. So we need to be alert to the presence of beauty and take time to experience it. In the book glow kids by Dr. Carderas, he talks about when children are used to being on screens. Going hiking is not very exciting for them. They might expect to see animals jumping and leaping like a National Geographic episode. So we we need to teach them to find the beauty in just simple things like skipping rocks. Again, we need to continue learning and developing wonder in ourselves and model healthy leisure activities like reading and hiking, playing board games. We want to really create a peaceful home environment where distractions are reduced and the digital gadgets are reduced, if not eliminated. It's really vital that we create literary rich homes where reading is just a normal part of the daily rhythm of life and not just a school assignment. I think we can really shepherd our children toward healthy leisure activities such as participating in sports and trying new hobbies, spending time in nature and building genuine human relationships with our family and friends.

A

As we conclude, why do we care so much about this? What happens to a student who grows up and goes through an education with a strong sense of wonder about the world?

B

Yes, I think supporting the growth of these types of students is really our goal of classical education. For then we're inspiring children to be fully human, awake and alive, and we're teaching them to really embody goodness, truth and beauty. I think that human beings long for a virtuous life that has meaning and purpose, and students who grow up with that strong sense of wonder are able to ascend to that higher place of looking outward and reflecting on how can I live a really good life that naturally emanates love for others? I think this is a really crucial topic and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to talk about it with you today.

A

Michelle dechristoforo is lead third grade teacher at Cincinnati Classical Academy, also master teacher with Hillsdale College's K12 education office. Michelle, thanks so much for joining us here on the Hillsdale College K12 Classical Education Podcast.

B

Thank you Scott. It's been a pleasure.

A

I'm Scott Bertram. We invite you to like us on Facebook Search for Hillsdale College K12 classical education. You also can follow us on Instagram hillsdalek12. That's hillsdalek12 on Instagram. Thank you for listening to The Hillsdale College K12 classical education podcast, part of the Hillsdale College Podcast Network. More at Podcast Hillsdale Edu or wherever you get your audio.