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As part of IEW’s continued commitment to providing parents and teachers with help for the journey of training students to be confident and competent communicators and thinkers, we are presenting a series of blog posts highlighting free tools we offer to that end. In the first several installments, we have looked at the various newsletters and webinars available from IEW, our social media accounts, and our blog. This is the fifth installment of that series: IEW’s Arts of Language podcast.
The Arts of Language podcast is hosted by Andrew Pudewa, IEW’s Founder and Director, and Julie Walker, IEW’s Chief Marketing Officer. Since the two are longtime friends, listening to the podcast is relaxing and enjoyable. It is approximately thirty minutes long, the perfect amount of time for a daily walk. The podcast episodes can be grouped roughly into three main categories: all things IEW, regular series, and special guests.
The majority of the Arts of Language episodes are about IEW’s philosophy, policies, products, and people. For each of the structural units, there is a podcast episode summarizing it. Episode 423 spells out IEW’s 100% satisfaction guarantee while Episode 432 explains why IEW does not discount products. When University-Ready Writing was released last year, Episode 407 previewed its contents. Sometimes Andrew and Julile invite other members of the IEW team to highlight an aspect of the company not often seen, such as Episode 403 “Behind the Scenes with Denise Kelley,” IEW’s Manager of Product Development, or Episode 387 “Spotlight on IEW’s Schools Division” with Sharyn Staggers, IEW Schools Division Director. Additionally, Andrew and Julie discuss current topics in education. Active learning strategies are discussed in Episode 439; an alternative view of high school is discussed in Episode 385. Tuning in to the Arts of Language podcast regularly gives you insight not just into IEW methodology but also into education in general.
The Arts of Language podcast also features regular series. Every tenth episode that ends in zero is an “Ask Andrew Anything” episode. Listener questions are collected and presented for Andrew to respond to. For the 400th episode of the podcast, Andrew and Julie hosted a live question and answer session. It was so well received that now every Ask Andrew Anything episode is recorded live. Another regular series is the Homeschool 101 episodes, which occur every tenth episode ending with a five. These topics are specially tailored to new homeschooling families, such as “Get Thee to a Homeschool Convention” (Episode 415), “Learning throughout the Summer” (Episode 425), and “Becoming Homeschoolers with Monica Swanson” (Episode 435). Finally, several podcasts are devoted to IEW’s yearly theme. The 2024 theme is Furnishing the Mind; check out Episodes 406, 413, and 414 to explore the theme further. Listeners look forward to these regular series on the Arts of Language podcast.
As enjoyable as it is to listen to Andrew and Julie, they also invite guests to the podcast from time to time. In Episode 383 Dr. Nick Ellis of Christian Halls International announced a partnership with IEW. In Episode 413, guest Adam Andrews of the Center for Lit expounds on what to do about literature. It is no secret that Andrew is a supporter of speech and debate, so in Episode 427, he and Julie interview Kim Cromer, Executive Director of NCFCA. These are just a handful of the guests who have appeared on the Arts of Language podcast.
Without any question, listening to IEW’s weekly podcast is a valuable use of your time. Not only will you hear wonderful guests and look forward to the regular series, you will also gain a deeper understanding of IEW’s heart to equip teachers and teaching parents with methods and materials which will aid them in training their students to become confident and competent communicators and thinkers. Stay tuned for the next tool in this blog series!
by Deanne Smith
