St. James Academy

ACE Rapp Ignite Talk

Back in October of 2023, Dr. Shane Rapp and Mr. Sam Rockford were asked to give presentations at The University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) Leadership Conference. The conference provides learning opportunities for Catholic school leaders from across the country.
 
Dr. Rapp’s talk is the focus of this podcast. His audience was a ballroom of 300 and the purpose was to “ignite” (or kick-off) the Spiritual Leadership sessions of the conference.  
 
His address spoke not only to the leaders in the room, but also to our St. James Academy community. Whether you are a family considering St. James Academy, a family new to our community, or if you have been here from day-one; this talk might be the best insight to the heart of our leadership. What is the purpose of Catholic education? What is the mission? How do we stick to that mission?
 
Join us for this long-form podcast. In it you will hear the entirety of Dr. Rapp’s speech with real-time reactions from Andy Tylicki, President of St. James Academy, and Deborah Nearmyer, Vice-President of Faith and Mission, hosted by Sam Rockford, Director of Educational Programming.

Ep. 6 - Philosophy Bonus Episode.

Here we will cover three bonus topics:
1. Resources for you to learn more about philosophy.
2. How to talk to your children about these lessons.
3. How these philosophy lessons connect to St. James Academy's Essential Questions.

Ep. 5 - Why Immaterial Knowledge Is More Worthy of Our Contemplation

This episode will dive deep into Plato's Allegory of the Cave, Peter Kreeft's "three worlds," and the road that leads to Jesus.

Ep. 4 - Material and Immaterial Knowledge

Welcome to the St. James Academy Freshman Seminar Philosophy Lesson Video Podcast. Episode Four will focus on Lesson Three: What are the different kinds of knowledge?

Ep. 3 - Lesson 2 - How do we know things?

Epistemology is a good starting point for the study of Philosophy. It is basically asking two questions, "What do I know?" and "How do I know it?"  We believe these are two important questions to ask in this day and age, especially if you are a 9th grader.  We will dive into the definitions of experience, reason, and testimony. This episode will cover the entirety of Lesson Two.

Ep. 2 - Lesson 1b - What is the purpose of school (cont.)?

This episode will cover the second half of Lesson One. We will dive into the definitions of freedom, school, and education. 
 

Ep. 1 - Introduction/Lesson 1a - What is the purpose of school?

Welcome to the St. James Academy Freshman Seminar Philosophy  Episode One will introduce the entire unit of study, how Dr. Rapp helped all the teachers learn the content, and how that translates into the first lesson for our 9th graders. Also, you will witness the first half of Lesson One.  Intended to help parents learn the material alongside their children, these podcasts will provide an even deeper look at the basic lessons