Daniel Gibson

Time…to stop and wonder

Daniel Gibson
March 11, 2025

Head of School, Morning Reflections

Our consideration of daylight savings yesterday got me thinking about time in general. Now, you may be thinking to yourself, “how much more time do we have to listen this?”—but thinking about time can be a very valuable thing. It certainly was...

The greatest work of art

Daniel Gibson
March 7, 2025

Head of School, Morning Reflections

Yesterday, we observed that, despite what the world may say, not everything is truly art. But I wonder, what do you think is the greatest artwork of all time? Michelangelo makes a pretty good case—the Pieta, the Sistine Chapel, the...

Drawing—and holding—the line

Daniel Gibson
March 6, 2025

Head of School, Morning Reflections

We’ve been discussing art this week, but have not yet considered what, exactly, art is in the first place. In many ways, art defies definition. Philosophers, men of letters, academics, artists themselves, have attempted to clarify what makes something art. But even...

Art and time

Daniel Gibson
March 5, 2025

Head of School, Morning Reflections

Have you ever watched a great artist work? It is often slow, deliberate, even painstaking. There is great care taken at every stage in the creation of a piece, with the littlest detail tended to until it is gotten right. ...

Latin’s death and immortality

Daniel Gibson
February 28, 2025

Head of School, Morning Reflections

One of the dangers of language is that the meanings of words often change with usage. People used to call God “awful,” because He inspired a sense of awe and wonder—now it means really bad; a “nice” person used to...

The virtue of physical education

Daniel Gibson
February 20, 2025

Head of School, Morning Reflections

Ever wonder why PE class is part of school at all? I mean, let the athletic kids join the sports teams—but for the scholar, why the need for physical education in the first place? “Every sport,” said John Paul II,...

Chase perfection, catch excellence

Daniel Gibson
February 18, 2025

Head of School, Morning Reflections

When guests come to visit CCA, I often take them to the wall over there, with the posted results of your fitness testing. The Presidential Fitness Test, which Mr. Buller and Mrs. Blecke have you perform, used to be a...

Of music and meaning

Daniel Gibson
February 12, 2025

Head of School, Morning Reflections

Suppose you read all that has ever been written about Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony—all of the reviews of performances, descriptions of its greatness, analyses of its composition. Suppose you even read the sheet music itself, and studied everything about it. But...

The virtue of reading well

Daniel Gibson
February 7, 2025

Head of School, Morning Reflections

Have you ever had a conversation with someone who you could tell was just waiting for you to finish talking so that they could say whatever was on their mind? Or with someone who always responded by correcting you or telling you...

But why do we have to read old books?

Daniel Gibson
February 6, 2025

Head of School, Morning Reflections

We’ve talked about literature this week—what’s so great about books and why we read them. “But,” you may wonder, “why do we have to read all these old books?” Franz Kafka gives an answer: “You spend too much time on ephemeras. The...

Veritas et Virtus