This summer, three of the ASA staff were delighted to visit St. Constantine School in Houston, Texas. We went as part of a national conference on Orthodox education hosted by the OCAA. St. Constantine is a highly successful Orthodox classical school and is one of the models we’re using to help make our program at ASA even better!
We would love to share with you some highlights of our visit and what we have learned!
Let’s Talk Classical
One of the first things we learned is an even better definition of classical! Most schools that call themselves classical really just . . . aren’t. We learned that true classical schools:
· Are joyful
· Develop a deep love of learning
· Invite children to join the teachers in a community of learning
· Connect children to “the Great Conversation” (see below for what that is!)
· Are strongly connected to Orthodoxy as part of the Orthodox Christian heritage
· Incorporate nature and play (especially outdoor play)
Why joy?
Christians are called to be joyful! We want to know and learn, and then be thankful for all that God has provided us. As we strive toward God, we also strive toward making the world a better place, being grateful for all that God has done for us. Joy is how we should relate to learning, growing, and each other.
Loving Learning and a Community of Learning
We want to develop in children a deep love of learning. We do this by introducing children both to the joy of learning as well as by inviting them to join our teachers in a community of learners. We are all learning together. We are all growing, asking, discussing, and reaching for a better understanding of the world and of God. We are all participants in the Great Conversation.
What is the Great Conversation?
The Great Conversation is that ongoing discussion of the greatest works and literature of history, which discusses the human condition. It asks: “Who are we?” “What is God?” “How do we get to know God and ourselves?” “What is the meaning of life, of the Universe, and of everything?” (And, no, the answer isn’t 42!)
It is our job as educators to be ongoing life-long learners ourselves, and then to invite our students into joining us in discussing and learning about those really big, really important life questions. It is also our job to connect our students–all of our students to the extent that each one is able–to that Great Conversation about meaning, and the place of humanity.
This means we delve deeply into great literature and history, we thoroughly discuss and observe the world around us through science, we create and imagine to connect and improve upon what has come before, and we also seriously ask the big questions.
Why is this our Orthodox heritage?
Orthodox Christianity answers life’s biggest questions. As the Body of Christ, the Church has the Good, the True, and the Beautiful as its rightful inheritance. The Saints and Fathers of the Church connected to Plato, Socrates, and many of the great thinkers of the past, and they brought what was true, good, and beautiful from these great thinkers into the Church. This “Great Conversation—that has been and will continue to be—is something Orthodoxy cares greatly about because we believe in truth, goodness, and beauty. This means that all cultures and all people have contributed to this Great Conversation. As the Church has encountered various cultures, it has brought in what is true, good, and beautiful from each of them and added their voices in a way that continues to answer the great questions. Christ is understood by the Orthodox Church to be the true thread that runs through the great thinking of all time, from every culture, and holds it all together.
What does all this mean?
We want to take the best we learned from St. Constantine School (as well as the best we continue to learn about Orthodox Classical schooling from other schools and sources) to continue to build our school into a growing, exceptional learning environment for children. We aim to create the best, most in-depth, and most beautiful education available for students grades K-8. We want to be the premiere and the most authentic Classical school in Oregon, giving our students a joyful, deep, and lasting love for learning, while continuing to connect them to the Great Conversation and nurturing them in the deep goodness, truth, and beauty of Orthodoxy.
The most important thing we learned from St. Constantine School is that an Orthodox Classical education, at its most basic level, is truly the definition of a good education.
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