Well, it’s good to be back.  Some of you might have noticed that Miss Blackstone and I have been gone for the last three days.  If you didn’t notice, well then, so much the better.

We were at Hillsdale College, spending our days taking classes from the people at Hillsdale who help make schools like ours possible.  We got to be the students for a few days.  Our teachers were people like…

Michael, one of the smartest people I’ve ever listened to.  He could make a bunch of money doing just about anything, but instead he spends his days making sure that the curriculum you and other students around the country learn in Hillsdale schools is the very best.

And Eric, who has PhD in American Government…isn’t in politics or lobbying, but has dedicated his working life to creating the books and other resources that your teachers use to teach you every day.

And Becky and Maegen and Carrie, who travel all over the country, away from their families for weeks at a time, just to help teach your teachers how to teach you even better.

And Ben and Colin and Katy, who years ago were in charge of their own schools, and now spend every day thinking about how they can help people like Miss Blackstone and me, so that we can make this school the best that it can be.

Some of these folks have visited CCA; most have not.  And few, if any, have ever met any of you.  And yet, you are the reason they do what they do. 

John Adams once said, “I must study politics and war, so that our sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy.”  He recognized that he and the American founders had to dedicate themselves to creating the conditions—a safe and free nation—that would allow future generations to dedicate themselves to the higher pursuits of learning.  The people that we were learning from at Hillsdale study schools and teaching and curriculum, for the same reason—so that you can study and learn the very best.

Anyway, I just thought you should know that.