An Examined Education

In this episode of An Examined Education, Sara Spinar, a member of the Class of 2025, reflects on spending her entire fourteen-year education at The Cambridge School before preparing to study Humanistic Studies at John Cabot University in Rome. Sara shares how the house system and Cambridge’s both and vision shaped her most deeply. While the school is known for academic rigor, she reflects on how that rigor was never merely about grades or performance. It was about virtue cultivation, about forming a conscience, and about asking not only what you know, but who you are becoming. Through challenging Latin translations, demanding junior year coursework, and lively hallway debates, Sara began to see how diligence, humility, patience, and intellectual charity were being quietly formed alongside academic skill. She recounts moments when slowing down, admitting she did not understand something, or listening carefully to another perspective became acts of courage rather than weakness. Looking ahead to college, Sara recognizes that Cambridge did not simply teach her how to study well. It trained her to honor texts, pursue truth in conversation, and approach learning as a moral endeavor that shapes character as much as intellect. This episode is a thoughtful reflection on formation, gratitude, and the enduring integration of knowledge and virtue that students carry long after graduation.

In this episode of An Examined Education, Alex Chin, a member of Cambridge’s eighth graduating class, reflects on spending twelve formative years at The Cambridge School before heading to Duke University. From pre-K through high school graduation, Alex describes Cambridge as home, a place shaped by deep relationships, rigorous academics, and a community that continually pushed him to grow. He shares how virtue formation, house leadership, and the rhetoric curriculum expanded his capacity for thought and cultivated a lasting awareness of how environments shape identity. Now navigating college life, Alex considers what it means to remain attentive to the cultural waters we swim in and how a classical Christian education equips students not only to think critically, but to love rightly and live wisely. This episode is a thoughtful reflection on formation, friendship, leadership, and the enduring gift of a school that becomes home.

In this episode of An Examined Education, Cambridge alumna Haley Hom, Class of 2018, reflects on her full journey through a Cambridge education and beyond, from grammar school through law school and into her calling as an attorney. Through a series of formative moments, Haley shares how the habits of thought, discipline of writing, love of learning, and support of a gracious community prepared her not for an easy life, but for a meaningful one. Her story traces the cumulative power of a classical Christian education that shapes students to think well, love rightly, and live wisely through both triumph and trial.

In this episode of An Examined Education, Cambridge alumna Katelin Sung, Class of 2025, reflects on her transition from a fully formed K–12 Cambridge education to life as a first-year rhetoric major at UC Berkeley. Having spent her entire academic journey within the Cambridge community, Katelin offers a thoughtful meditation on what it means to carry a formative education into a new and very different intellectual environment. She explores Cambridge’s both-and approach to learning, one that holds the humanities and STEM together rather than apart, and resists reducing education to a narrow means toward a career outcome. As she encounters a culture shaped by specialization, Katelin articulates how a classical education formed her to see learning as an integrated pursuit aimed at understanding the full human experience. Through reflections on curriculum, interdisciplinary connections, and teachers who embodied intellectual breadth and curiosity, this conversation highlights the lasting impact of an education ordered toward wisdom, virtue, and joy in learning. It is a story of becoming, of seeing patterns across disciplines, and of discovering that learning deeply in one field is enriched, not diminished, by engagement with another.

In this episode of An Examined Education, we sit down with Cambridge School Latin teacher Donny McNair to explore the Roman historian Livy and the power of narrative in shaping a civilization’s moral compass. Livy lived through the collapse of the Roman Republic and the rise of Augustus' empire—a time of immense political and cultural upheaval. Through vivid, almost novelistic storytelling, Livy didn't just recount events; he sought to guide readers toward virtue and civic responsibility. Join us as we discuss how Livy's philosophical lens, his critique of Rome’s moral decline, and his belief in the transformative power of history remain strikingly relevant today.

In this episode of An Examined Education, host Jeff Yoder sits down with Patrick Claytor, a Bible and Latin teacher at The Cambridge School, to explore how faith and community shape personal identity and societal flourishing. Drawing on the metaphor of a "cut flower society," they examine how secularization uproots individuals from traditional sources of meaning while people continue to seek community in alternative spaces. Claytor shares insights from his theological background on why church community offers unique benefits different from secular affiliations, discussing how Christian identity is grounded in Christ's work rather than personal achievement. The conversation explores the implications of rootedness versus individualism in modern society, offering practical guidance for families seeking to nurture faith and community connections in their children. Whether you're a parent, educator, or someone interested in the intersection of faith, community, and identity formation, this episode provides valuable perspective on finding stability and meaning in an increasingly disconnected world. Join us as we continue to examine education that prepares students to think well, love rightly, and live wisely.

An Examined Education, presented by The Cambridge School in San Diego, explores the foundations of classical Christian education and its vital role in today's world. In this episode, Jean Kim, founder and head of school, delves into Os Guinness's compelling metaphor of "cut flower civilization" - the idea that Western society continues to display the beauty of Christian and classical influences while being increasingly disconnected from these vital roots. Drawing from her decades of experience in education, Kim examines how classical Christian education can help reconnect students to enduring truths and traditions in an age of rootlessness. She discusses the challenges facing today's youth, from moral relativism to a crisis of meaning, and presents a hopeful vision for renewal through education that emphasizes wisdom, virtue, and purpose beyond individual achievement. This thought-provoking conversation explores how schools can foster genuine human flourishing by connecting students to transcendent truth, cultivating meaningful relationships, and grounding them in the rich soil of classical and Christian traditions. Whether you're an educator, parent, or simply interested in cultural renewal, this episode offers valuable insights into creating an education that prepares students to think well, love rightly, and live wisely.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​