Dr. Crain's Classical Comments
An Education You Can Be Proud Of Part II
Posted by Administrator (admin) on Jan 17 2008 at 10:03 AM
Last week I shared with you how God has called us to work together as a team. I serve you by being the head coach and the teachers are assistant coaches. Our goal, as any team, should be to win and to win big. But how do we define winning? It is easy in basketball, football, and soccer to know who won the game. But what about our team?
I suggested that we define winning by our mission. Our mission is to train students to serve the Triune God, using a Classical, Christian approach.
Let’s break that down. Our main mission is to train students to serve the Triune God. How do we do that?
Every team that’s a good team has a workout plan that they do so that they can be a good team. Good teams need endurance so they might run; they need speed so they might run some more; they need strength so they might lift weights; they need flexibility so they might stretch; they need balance so they might…dance like the famed Georgia Bulldog, Herschel Walker
The main mission is to win, but what do we do to win? Our main mission is to win by training you to serve God but what do we do to train you to do that?
Last week I talked about the Christian approach. We have prayer and devotions in the morning, we have chapel during the week, we have bible classes, and we examine all subjects from a biblical worldview.
This week I want to talk about the classical aspect. Our mission is to train students to serve God, using a Classical, Christian approach.
Why are we called a classical school? Did you know that we were a classical school before we added the name “classical” to the school name? Perhaps some people thought that when the name “classical” was added we changed who we were. Not true. We added the name to distinguish ourselves from Covenant Christian Academy in West Columbia and to let people know that we are indeed a classical school.
But what is a classical school? In football you have teams that are known for a certain kind of offense. Nebraska, back in the day, was famous for running the wishbone. West Virginia runs the spread offense. In the NFL, the West Coast offense is often popular. The kind of offense tells you what kinds of plays are going to be run.
Or, to change the metaphor, movies have different genres. You have fantasy, drama, comedy, sci-fi, chic-flicks and so on. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is a different genre than I am Legend. The genre of the movie describes what kind of movie it is.
So, classical education is a kind of “educational offense” or “educational genre.” And we think you should be proud of it because classical education is designed to help you grow in knowledge, understanding and expression.
When you think about any subject in the world, to be a master of that subject you need three things: knowledge of that subject, understanding of that subject, and the ability to express your knowledge and understanding, usually through writing or speaking.
When I lived in STL it was high times because the STL Rams football team was called the Greatest Show on Turf. With Kurt Warner at QB, Marshall Faulk at RB, and WRs Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce, the offense was potent indeed. I remember an interview with Marshall Faulk, who was known not only for great moves, but for being a smart, knowledgeable player. How did you become so? His response was enlightening. Before he came to the Rams he played with the Colts and with Peyton Manning. In a very important playoff game Faulk had run the route wrong and that led to an interception. If Faulk had been where he had supposed to be the ball wouldn’t have been intercepted. Faulk didn’t know the route nor understand why he should’ve run the right route in that situation. He actually broke down crying when the coach confronted him! After that Faulk was committed not only to knowing the routes intellectually but showing his understanding of those routes by running them. He then became a team player and began mentoring other players, using his ability to explain what he knew and understood to other players.
Knowledge, understanding, expression. These three things are useful in any endeavor and if you are going to be the “master” of any subject then you have to master these three aspects.
(At this point in my presentation I showed a video from “Are you smarter than a Fifth Grader?” You can view that on YouTube here. The views of the host, Jeff Foxworthy, do not represent those of CCCS. The goal of showing the video was to set forth a negative example of someone who did not even know what we consider the most basic knowledge.)
If you are going to be the master of a subject then we encourage you to grow in knowledge, understanding, and expression.
Or, take basketball
Knowledge = rules of the game like dribbling while moving or pivoting only on one foot
Understanding = how rules of basketball relate to one another; why rules are what they are
Expression = Ability to play within rules or ability to explain these to another person
Now, let’s apply this to CCCS. Our goal is to teach you knowledge, understanding, and expression. In every subject.
Here is what I mean:
Knowledge = facts of a subject like biology or chemistry
Understanding = why are facts what they are; how do they relate to one another (e.g., God tells us not to steal but why does he tell us that? Why should we obey that?)
Expression = persuasive presentation of that subject like essays in literature, writing out the problem in math, or lab reports in biology
You may have noticed that there are some other distinctives to CCCS and classical education: Latin, Logic, and Rhetoric. Why do we teach these?
Do we teach Latin because it is a dead, boring language, designed to put you to sleep. No, actually Latin helps you be better students by increasing your vocabulary, developing your understanding of English grammar, introducing you to our cultural history, and training you in critical thinking.
Why do we teach Logic? Logic is particularly helpful in training you to think well. We want you to have the tools of learning—knowledge, understanding, and expression, and logic is a tool to help you understand well.
Why do we teach rhetoric? Rhetoric is defined as using the available means of persuasion. That is, rhetoric is designed to help you express your knowledge and understanding of subjects in a compelling, convincing, concise way.
Now, why should you be proud that you are getting a classical education? Because this is an education that can train you to serve God in whatever field he calls you into.
We are offering you a chance to come to something delightful. We are offering you a chance to make something of your life. And your life begins now. You’re not going to start your life when you graduate. If you are headed the wrong way now then that is like running down a muddy hill in the rain. Stopping is hard. Turning around and running up the hill is even more difficult!
So, I’d like to invite you to join the team. You’re already here. Yes, coming to school can be like going to the dentist. It can be a place where teachers do things to you that are painful and hurt. But school doesn’t have to be that way. It can and should be a place where you are trained to serve the Lord. Join the team!