Closing Remarks for a Momentous Year
It is my pleasure to give the remarks for the closing of our inaugural year. This is a momentous occasion – worth the celebration and time reflecting on what we have done here together this year. As I look around the room, I am deeply grateful for you, parents. I remember meeting each of you […]
The Good Roots of a Good People
Classical education, done properly, is about love. It is about teaching our scholars to love the right things, in the right way, and in the right order. Indeed, as Augustine tells us, “it is a brief but true definition of virtue to say, it is the order of love….” And part of having virtue is […]
Laurels are not for Resting
In a few short hours, our first year together will be over. You are to be congratulated. Consider just a bit of what you have achieved: You recited great poetry and speeches in front of the entire school, despite your fears and anxieties; you’ve conquered the mile run, the push-up, and the pull-up, as well […]
Love the Right Things First
Our seventh and final virtue is charity, or love. Now, you might think it strange that we would consider the two as one and the same virtue—after all, we can love anything, while charity seems less about love than about helping others. But Saint Augustine was clear when he wrote: “What does love look like? It […]
Hope is the Knowledge of God’s Good Plans
Mon 5/20/2024 8:20 AM Our sixth and penultimate virtue is hope. It is often misunderstood, and frequently confused with wishful thinking. Epicurus took a rather dim view of hope when he said, “[d]o not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things […]
Faith and the Paradox of Christian Liberty
First of all, congratulations on a most excellent performance last night. I am so very proud of each and every one of you. This morning, our virtue is Faith. And last night’s program got me thinking, not just about Faith, but about Faith and the history of America. You may have noticed that from the Revolution to […]
The City Walls of Temperance
Our fourth virtue is temperance, which is often described as self-control. Aristotle called temperance the character of a person whose appetites are in harmony with his reason. Now, if you study American history, you’ll read about the temperance movement, which was concerned only with alcoholic beverages—like beer, wine, and liquor—because of how the excessive drinking […]
Justice for thee…but not for me
Wed 5/15/2024 11:11 AM Plato said that “[j]ustice in the life and conduct of the State is possible only as first it resides in the hearts and souls of the citizens.” I might add that justice in the conduct of the school is only possible as it first resides in the hearts and souls of […]
Prudence Acts Rightly upon Genuine Knowledge
Our second virtue is Prudence. Adam Smith, in his Theory of Moral Sentiments, wrote: “The prudent man always studies seriously and earnestly to understand whatever he professes to understand, and not merely to persuade other people that he understands it; and though his talents may not always be very brilliant, they are always perfectly genuine.” Smith […]
Be strong and Courageous and do the Work
We’ve just seven and a half days of school remaining. While it may be tempting to coast to the finish line, as Mrs. Spaulding reminded us all last week, it is so very important to finish well. So, over the final mornings of this school year, we will revisit our school virtues. And as we […]
