Alex Markos on Creating a Spirit of Inquiry & Ordering the Affections

Jan 4, 2024

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About the Guest
Alex Markos is part of the Humanities faculty at the Geneva School of Boerne, TX, where he currently teaches 9th grade Greek and Roman history and literature. Last year (2022-23), he created and taught a class on virtue for the freshmen and previously taught 3 rd -5 th grade Latin for six years at Geneva. He holds a B.A. in History and Classics from Hope College and an M.A. in Apologetics from Houston Baptist University (now Houston Christian University). For his Apologetics capstone project, he developed a curriculum for teaching virtue through Scripture and Greek mythology. He has spoken four years in a row for the nationwide Society for Classical Learning summer conference on topics including Greek mythology, The Chronicles of Narnia, incorporating leisure in the classroom, and the art of crafting a new class. He has a passion for classical Christian education and aims to inspire his students to love learning and to grow in virtue.

Show Notes
Originally aimed at learning how to create a new class, we diverged into a lot of practical information that teachers will love! Alex Markos shares his love of books as the son of our former podcast guest Dr. Louis Markos. In this episode, the joy of teaching really comes out as Alex focuses on what the process looks like when creating a new class. He walks us through the brainstorming process and the many practical and thoughful ways in which to engage students! As the discussion unfolds you will learn how to create a spirit of inquiry and ultimately how to help students order their affections.

Some Ideas Discussed:

The importance of integrating a class with other classes
How to create a class cathechism and why it matters
What are the practical implementations and expectations from a good class?
How to read hard texts
How to help students create great questions in order to have good discussions
Helping students undertsand basic categories of questions
Helping students think deeply about application of big ideas

Books Discussed in This Episode Include:
The Lord of the Rings
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Blue Fairy Book
The Red Fairy Book
Augustine's Confessions
Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle
"Allegory of the Cave" from The Republic
Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth by Richard Foster
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Upcoming Winter Workshop Links:

Fundamentals of a Charlotte Mason Education 7 Week Intensive (with Karen Glass, Kiernan Fiore, and Adrienne Freas)
Snapshot Series Courses by Beautiful Teaching Master Teachers
Society for Classical Learning Winter Workshops, 2024 (scroll to read more about Adrienne's Narration Intensive)
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Credits:

Sound Engineer: Andrew Helsel

Logo Art: Anastasiya CF

Music: Vivaldi's Concerto for 2 Violins in B flat major, RV529 : Lana Trotovsek, violin Sreten Krstic, violin with Chamber Orchestra of Slovenian Philharmonic