Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how work gets done across nearly every industry. As automation accelerates and technology reshapes careers, parents and educators are asking pressing questions. What kinds of jobs will still exist? How should students prepare for an uncertain future? And what kinds of skills will truly endure?

In this episode of BaseCamp Live, host Davies Owens is joined by Tami Peterson, founder and CEO of Life Architects Coaching. Together, they explore how AI is transforming college admissions, career pathways, and workforce expectations, and why human formation matters more than ever.

Davies and Tami discuss how colleges are already responding to AI’s influence, particularly in admissions. With AI-generated essays becoming commonplace, many schools are rethinking how they evaluate applicants and are placing renewed emphasis on in-person writing, oral exams, classroom engagement, and mentorship-driven learning environments. These shifts highlight a growing desire to see how students actually think, reason, and communicate.

The conversation then turns to the workforce and what lies ahead for today’s students. While some technical roles may decline or evolve, employers increasingly value qualities that technology cannot replicate.

🎧 In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• How AI is reshaping college admissions and evaluation
• Why character, work ethic, and critical thinking are becoming more valuable than narrow technical skills
• The growing importance of human-centered abilities like leadership, creativity, and discernment
• Why trades and hands-on work are being rediscovered as meaningful, stable career paths
• How helping students understand who they are prepares them for any future job market

Throughout the discussion, one theme remains clear. Technology will continue to change, but students who know how they are uniquely made and what problems they are called to solve will be best equipped to adapt. Rather than chasing job titles or trends, this episode encourages families and schools to focus on forming resilient, thoughtful, and grounded young people who are ready for whatever the future holds.

Resources Mentioned:

• Check out Wilson Hill Academy's Free Guide

Special Thanks to our partners who make BaseCamp Live possible:

The Herzog Foundation
The Champion Group
Wisephone by Techless
ZipCast
Wilson Hill Academy
Life Architects Coaching

Stay tuned for more enlightening discussions on classical Christian education, and join us next time on BaseCamp Live! Remember to subscribe, leave us a review, and reach out to us at info@basecamplive.com

Don't forget to visit basecamplive.com for more info and past episodes.

What is a good teacher?

Most of us can name a teacher who made a lasting impact, not just through information, but through formation, awakening curiosity, shaping understanding, and building confidence. In this BaseCamp Live episode, host Davies Owens sits down with classical educator and mentor Carrie Eben, co-author of The Good Teacher: 10 Pedagogical Principles That Will Transform Your Teaching, to explore the often-overlooked piece of classical Christian education, how we teach, not only what we teach.

Carrie has spent more than 25 years serving in classical education across schools and homeschooling. She is a founding board member at Sager Classical Academy in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, and a head mentor for the Searcy Institute Master Teacher Apprenticeship in the Ozark Mountain region. Together, Davies and Carrie discuss why classical schools must often “make” teachers through mentorship and apprenticeship, and why pedagogy matters because the teacher is not merely delivering content, the teacher is shaping the classroom culture and the student’s loves.

The conversation centers on two foundational principles that set the rhythm for great teaching:

Festina Lente, “make haste slowly,” a reminder that learning cannot be rushed. Wonder, contemplation, repetition, and embodied learning take time, and growth happens step by step.

Carrie also turns to the importance of assessment, explaining that it should align with the purpose of education and the nature of the student, not simply a score. She highlights relational approaches like narrative assessment, and practical options like narration, oral work, debates, and live demonstrations of understanding, especially in a world navigating new pressures like AI.

🎧 Tune in to hear:

• Why pedagogy is central to classical Christian formation
• How “make haste slowly” reshapes classrooms and homes
• Why “much, not many” protects depth, wonder, and love of learning
• How assessment can become more relational, meaningful, and aligned with virtue
• Encouragement for teachers who want language and confidence for what they are already doing well

Multum non multa, “much, not many,” a call to prune. Depth matters more than volume, and fewer things done well forms students more effectively than trying to cover everything.

Resources Mentioned:

• The Good Teacher Book
• Buy the Book Today!
• Circe Apprenticeship
• Check out Wilson Hill Academy's Free Guide

Special Thanks to our partners who make BaseCamp Live possible:

The Herzog Foundation
The Champion Group
Wisephone by Techless
ZipCast
Wilson Hill Academy
Life Architects Coaching

Stay tuned for more enlightening discussions on classical Christian education, and join us next time on BaseCamp Live! Remember to subscribe, leave us a review, and reach out to us at info@basecamplive.com

Don't forget to visit basecamplive.com for more info and past episodes.

AI is moving faster than any technology humanity has ever created. For Christian schools and families committed to timeless, unchanging truth, that speed raises urgent questions. How should schools rethink testing, writing, and academic integrity? Where is the line between being informed and becoming dependent?

In this episode of BaseCamp Live, host Davies Owens welcomes back Emily Harrison, a writer, speaker, and consultant who helps schools and churches think wisely about digital media. Emily works closely with Christian and classical Christian communities and equips families to engage technology through a biblical worldview.

Together, they explore why AI can be helpful for experts but often harmful for amateurs, especially students who are still forming knowledge, discernment, and intellectual habits. They address student pressure to outsource thinking, the limits of filters and detection tools, and why true formation cannot be automated.

Emily raises a growing concern schools can no longer ignore: student digital privacy. With the rise of AI-generated deepfakes and image misuse, she urges schools to rethink how student photos are shared online and to clearly communicate risk, consent, and protection with families.

🎧 Tune in to hear:

• Why AI can be “good for experts” but “bad for amateurs”
• How schools and colleges are rethinking writing, testing, and assessment
• Why typing and basic productivity tools still matter
• How to talk with students about integrity, plagiarism, and truth
• What schools need to consider about student images and digital privacy

This episode is not a call to fear or retreat. It is a call to wisdom, formation, and clarity. Technology will continue to change, but truth does not. When students are formed to love what is true, good, and beautiful, they are equipped not just to navigate an AI world, but to thrive within it.

Resources Mentioned:

• Check out Wilson Hill Academy's Free Guide

Special Thanks to our partners who make BaseCamp Live possible:

The Herzog Foundation
The Champion Group
Wisephone by Techless
ZipCast
Wilson Hill Academy
Life Architects Coaching

Stay tuned for more enlightening discussions on classical Christian education, and join us next time on BaseCamp Live! Remember to subscribe, leave us a review, and reach out to us at info@basecamplive.com

Don't forget to visit basecamplive.com for more info and past episodes.

What truly sets a classical Christian classroom apart?

Curriculum matters, but as Mandi Gerth explains, it is not the only or even the primary driver of formation. A child is shaped day after day by the culture of the classroom, the small liturgies, the tone of the teacher, and the habits that govern transitions, conversations, and even how class begins and ends.

Host Davies Owens talks with Mandi about her book Thoroughness and Charm: Cultivating the Habits of a Classical Classroom and about what it means for a teacher to be a “monarch” in the best sense, an authority who orders the room so that students can rest, attend, and delight in learning. They discuss the difference between entertainment and genuine engagement, how joy differs from “fun,” and why liturgy is such a powerful antidote to chaos in both school and home.

Mandi also addresses the “3:01 p.m. problem,” naming how easy it is for phones, entertainment, and scattered schedules to undo the formation that happens during the school day. She shares simple habits any family can start, even in just a few minutes a day, to reinforce attention, conversation, and a shared story centered on Christ.

🎧 Tune in to hear:

• How classical classrooms focus on ideas and values, not just skills and information
• Why “sit and get” and sugary entertainment both fail to form students well
• What healthy, rightful authority looks like for teachers and why students need it
• How liturgies, songs, and repeated practices shape a classroom’s culture
• Practical ways parents can build small, realistic habits at home that support what is happening in class

This episode is a hopeful invitation for teachers and parents who want more than busy classrooms and busy homes. It points toward an ordered, joyful life of learning where children know who they are, why they are there, and Whom they are made for.

Resources Mentioned:

• Thoroughness & Charm | CiRCE Press
• Cultural Artifacts with Mandi Gerth | Podcast
• Study Guide for Thoroughness & Charm
• Liturgy Graphic Organizer for Teacher Planning
• Check out Wilson Hill Academy's Free Guide

Special Thanks to our partners who make BaseCamp Live possible:

The Herzog Foundation
The Champion Group
ZipCast
Wilson Hill Academy
Life Architects Coaching

Stay tuned for more enlightening discussions on classical Christian education, and join us next time on BaseCamp Live! Remember to subscribe, leave us a review, and reach out to us at info@basecamplive.com

Don't forget to visit basecamplive.com for more info and past episodes.

Smartphones have become the default for families, but what if the default is actually harmful? In this episode, Davies Owens talks with Chris Kaspar, founder and CEO of Techless, about why modern devices were never designed with children in mind and how parents can choose a healthier path.

Chris shares the moment that opened his eyes as a foster parent and explains why families today feel trapped between two extremes. Either give kids full access to the digital world or reject technology altogether. He argues that both options miss the mark. The real issue is the design, incentives, and addictive features built into mainstream phones that quietly shape identity, attention, and spiritual formation.

🎧 Tune in to hear:

• Why smartphones were never created for children
• The hidden harms built into everyday tech
• What a healthier, middle path looks like
• How families can transition with confidence
• Why kids actually crave limits and protection

This conversation offers a compelling third way. Not hyperconnected and not Amish, but a thoughtful, intentional approach that meets basic communication needs without exposing kids to the dark side of digital life. Chris also shares why kids often want more boundaries than parents realize and how families can make sustainable changes together.

Resources Mentioned:

• Wisephone Discount
• Techless
• Check out Wilson Hill Academy's Free Guide

Special Thanks to our partners who make BaseCamp Live possible:

The Herzog Foundation
The Champion Group
ZipCast
Wilson Hill Academy
Life Architects Coaching

Stay tuned for more enlightening discussions on classical Christian education, and join us next time on BaseCamp Live! Remember to subscribe, leave us a review, and reach out to us at info@basecamplive.com

Don't forget to visit basecamplive.com for more info and past episodes.

Senior thesis is the capstone of a classical Christian education, and Dr. Tom Vierra believes it may be one of the most countercultural things schools do today. In this episode, Davies Owens talks with Tom, longtime classical educator and Senior Thesis Coordinator at Wilson Hill Academy, about why thesis is far more than “just a big paper.” Tom shares his path from early days at Great Hearts to helping shape Wilson Hill’s senior thesis program, where students research a topic that matters, write a 12–15 page thesis-driven paper, and publicly defend it. Along the way, they learn self-management, deep research, biblical reasoning, and confident communication that carry far beyond college.

Together they unpack the six-part classical rhetoric structure, including exordium, narratio, and refutatio, and why Wilson Hill requires students to write an antithesis paper arguing against their own position. This habit trains humility, civil discourse, and the ability to engage real counterarguments rather than living in an echo chamber. Tom also gives examples of standout thesis topics, from classical music and beauty to AI in medicine and political theory, and explains how schools can approve ambitious topics that still reflect a biblical worldview.

🎧 Tune in to hear:

• Why senior thesis is the true capstone of classical Christian education
• How the six-part structure and antithesis train deeper thinking and discourse
• Ways to navigate AI while still forming original thinkers and speakers
• Practical encouragement for parents and schools walking through the thesis year

Davies and Tom address the challenge of AI, why filters and detection tools are not enough, and how a live oral defense reveals whether students truly own their work. They also touch on Augustine’s “all truth is God’s truth” approach to pre-Christian thinkers like Aristotle and Cicero, and how their insights on persuasion, instruction, and delight can be used faithfully under Scripture. Tom closes with encouragement for parents who feel the weight of senior year and for educators who want to make thesis a core part of their school’s identity rather than an add-on requirement.

Resources Mentioned:

• https://wilsonhillacademy.com/guide

Special Thanks to our partners who make BaseCamp Live possible:

The Herzog Foundation
The Champion Group
ZipCast
Wilson Hill Academy
Life Architects Coaching

Stay tuned for more enlightening discussions on classical Christian education, and join us next time on BaseCamp Live! Remember to subscribe, leave us a review, and reach out to us at info@basecamplive.com

Don't forget to visit basecamplive.com for more info and past episodes.

Classical learning has deep roots in the United Kingdom. Yet many schools in England, Scotland, and Wales have drifted toward child-led, utilitarian models that leave students unformed and unmoored. At the same time, a quiet renewal is beginning to take shape.

In this episode, British educator Jamie Burns, founder of the Fellowship for Classical Learning, joins host Davies Owens to share how he rediscovered classical Christian education, why he believes it is the answer to the UK’s educational crisis, and how God is using a small group of families to start new schools in London and Cardiff.

Jamie traces his own story, from an average state education to rich conversations around his family’s dinner table, through years in mainstream schools, and finally to an “aha” moment listening to Andrew Kern that gave him language for what he had always felt. Along the way he offers a clear, inside look at the current state of education in England, Scotland, and Wales, and the surprising ways classical ideas are resurfacing in policy, practice, and school life.

🎧 Tune in to hear:

• How Jamie grew up with a relativistic school education yet tasted something very different at home
• Why a simple question, “What is school for?”, revealed a stark contrast between UK schools and US classical schools
• How recent reforms in England embraced phonics and knowledge-rich curricula, while Wales and Scotland doubled down on child-led learning
• Why the pace and pressure of modern schooling can feel inhumane, even when test scores improve
• How the Fellowship for Classical Learning is launching two new schools, Fountain Christian School in London and St Anselm’s in Cardiff
• Why historic Christian schools in Britain often exist in name only, and why teacher character now matters more than ever
• Encouragement for parents who are counting the cost of choosing a different path for their children
• Hope for educators and school starters who feel underqualified, yet called, to stand in the classical Christian tradition

Technology, politics, and culture may be shifting quickly, yet this conversation reminds us that God is at work in quiet and surprising ways. Listeners will come away with fresh vision for what schooling can be, a deeper sense of solidarity with believers in the UK, and renewed courage to pursue truth, goodness, and beauty in their own communities.

Resources Mentioned:

• www.fellowshipforclassicallearning.co.uk
• www.stanselmscardiff.co.uk
• www.thefountainschool.london

Special Thanks to our partners who make BaseCamp Live possible:

The Herzog Foundation
The Champion Group
ZipCast
Wilson Hill Academy
Life Architects Coaching

Stay tuned for more enlightening discussions on classical Christian education, and join us next time on BaseCamp Live! Remember to subscribe, leave us a review, and reach out to us at info@basecamplive.com

Don't forget to visit basecamplive.com for more info and past episodes.

Parents often wonder if pushing through difficult books is worth the tears and late nights. In this episode, Davies Owens is joined by Sara Osborne, author of Reading for the Long Run, as she explains why classics feel hard, how to discern real obstacles from attitude or context, and practical steps to move forward with confidence.

🎧 Tune in to hear:

• Why classics challenge modern readers, and why the challenge is good for minds and hearts
• How to make an honest assessment: simple journaling, patterns to watch, and assembling a “team of knowers”
• The start-small strategy: short, rich texts, repetition, paired audio, and building stamina like training for a race
• Respectful bridges for older students that avoid “babyish” materials, including short stories and thoughtful fables
• Tech, timing, and motivation: shaping habits that support deep reading at home and school
• The telos of reading: from “checking the box” to a lifelong love of truth, beauty, and goodness
• Weakness and formation: how pushing through hard things shapes character for students, parents, and classrooms

With honest assessment, small wins, and steady practice, any family can grow a reading life that lasts. If this episode encouraged you, share it with a friend, then try one simple step this week, such as a short story with paired audio or a five-minute read-aloud after dinner.

Resources Mentioned:

• Reading for the Long Run
• Sara Osborne, author at Circe Institute

Special Thanks to our partners who make BaseCamp Live possible:

The Herzog Foundation
The Champion Group
ZipCast
Wilson Hill Academy
Life Architects Coaching

Stay tuned for more enlightening discussions on classical Christian education, and join us next time on BaseCamp Live! Remember to subscribe, leave us a review, and reach out to us at info@basecamplive.com

Don't forget to visit basecamplive.com for more info and past episodes.