Mar 1, 2023

Episode 35: What Does It Take to be a Writer? with Jennifer Courtney

Education

Jennifer discusses the challenges of preserving the truth and beauty of work when translating it into another language, what’s involved in the process of writing a new curriculum, and what makes a book a “classic."

Summary

Readers and writers—this is a must-listen episode! Robert sits down with Jennifer Courtney, the Global Curriculum Director for Classical Conversations Multi-Media (CCMM), the publishing company of all Classical Conversations^® curriculum. In various roles at CCMM, Jennifer has written a variety of books and resources, including Classical Christian Education Made Approachable, the Essentials Curriculum, Fifth Edition, and many books in the Copper Lodge Library series. Among other points of conversation, Jennifer discusses the challenges of preserving the truth and beauty of work when translating it into another language, what’s involved in the process of writing a new curriculum, writing about classical, Christian homeschooling from a Los Angeles hotel, what makes a book a “classic,” how she discovers new books, and what books she is reading currently. Plus, in the “Current Events Discussion,” Robert discusses ESG investing, and in “Classical Crypto,” Will talks about the emerging cryptocurrency HBAR.

Quote

“Anytime we attend to a thing the way God created it, we are maintaining truth. So, if we look at the heavens and study the stars for what they are, we are maintaining the truth of how God designed the universe. And so, in a way, the maintaining of truth is out of our hands—we’re just respecting creation. And that’s true of all the subjects.”
Jennifer Courtney

Topics

Intro to Jennifer Courtney [0:51]
Jennifer’s definition of truth [1:51]
The projects Jennifer has worked on at Classical Conversations Multi-Media [2:40]
Learning other languages while translating CCMM books [3:54]
Philosophical and practical answers to how to preserve the truth of a work through translation [4:58]
Finding the balance between being precise, maintaining readability, and preserving the beauty of a work through translation [6:23]
Using AI and digital translation tools [7:52]
Why it takes at least three years to produce a new curriculum [8:28]
Teaching Jennifer’s own children with the curriculum she created; receiving firsthand feedback from her Challenge students [9:51]
What books Jennifer is currently reading [11:57]
On reading several books at once and building strong reading habits [13:12]
How to choose new books to read [13:50]
Reading digital books versus physical books [14:42]
How Jennifer encourages her Challenge students to become avid readers [16:31]
What makes a work of literature “classic”? [18:01]
What is “moral imagination”? [19:26]
Why it is important to be familiar with a variety of classic stories of different genres and time periods [21:01]
Jennifer’s secrets to developing a good writing process [23:36]
Jennifer’s favorite place to write [24:49]
Working on the upcoming resource Scribblers at Home: Recipes from Lifelong Learners [26:05]
Why whole families love using Scribblers together [27:36]
Farewell to Jennifer [29:00]
“Current Events Discussion”: Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investing [30:05]
Ad: Picaboo Yearbooks [34:32]
“Classical Crypto”: Hedera and HBAR [35:57]
Outro [39:35]

Presented by Classical Conversations®

Episode 35: What Does It Take to be a Writer? with Jennifer Courtney

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