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In art, we are ultimately educating students toward a deeper knowledge and love for God and our neighbor. We are teaching a fear of the LORD which is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). In Hebrew the word for “wisdom” means “skillful with the hands,” evoking handiwork done with care and knowledge.

Rockbridge Academy has a weekly art course, from grades 1 through 8 as well as a chosen elective for grades 7 through 12. We invest time in the schedule, space in the building, and money in the budget. We grade participation, memorization, worksheets, and projects. Art is taught classically at a grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric level. We know this high view of art education is counter-cultural since we witness art and music being the first courses that drop during a time, space, or budget crunch. Yet, here it is, art as a cherished part of education, not as a “second recess.”  John Ruskin said, “Fine art is that in which the hand, the head, and the heart of man go together.” Thus, classes elicit the student’s concentration and diligence, encouraging their best work with carefulness and neatness. In this environment students can produce their best work with a sense of delight: “Aaah, I did that—and it is good!”  This sentiment should evoke thoughts of our Creator. An inescapable fact of our humanity is that we bear the image of God and thus have a deep desire to create good work with joy and thanksgiving. Genesis 1:31 states, “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good.”  In this article I describe four attributes or goals of a classical, Christian art education. There may be more, but these stand out as foundational. Thus, I am calling them the four tenets of a classical, Christian art course.

1.  See and Apprehend God’s Glory

The first tenet of a classical, Christian art education is to help students see and apprehend God’s Glory. That is, to show the excellence of His character and providence in our finely-tuned, complex creation. The Westminster Confession of Faith states, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” There is true enjoyment in gratefully appreciating God’s creation, learning to observe it well with joy. Theologians describe two “books” of God’s Glory: Creation and Scripture. Psalm 34:8 and Psalm 19:1-4a state:

“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
   Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
  
The heavens declare the glory of God;
 The skies proclaim the work of His hands. 
Day after day they pour forth speech, 
 night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
  no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
  their words to the ends of the world.”

In art, we are ultimately educating students toward a deeper knowledge and love for God and our neighbor. We are teaching a fear of the LORD which is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). In Hebrew the word for “wisdom” means “skillful with the hands,” evoking handiwork done with care and knowledge. As students learn to carefully observe the world, they perceive its intricate complexity. They notice patterns, symmetry, proportions, rhythms, ratios, and harmonies. Students witness the Golden Ratio, the Fibonacci Sequence, and many varied sophisticated designs in forests, feathers, and our double-helix DNA strands, for example. All of creation speaks visually of our gracious, kind Creator who is all-powerful, sovereign, and trustworthy. Students may begin to understand why the angels, the Seraphim call to one another, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD Almighty, the whole earth is FULL of His Glory!” (Isaiah 6:3).

2.  Understand the Flow of Art History

The second tenet of a classical, Christian art course is that it is based on the flow of art history. Here is another view of God’s story. Students can begin to understand the progression of world views through history as they are seen in various cultures’ artwork. For example, how do we know what the Egyptians believed to be true or important except through the art which is left for us to observe and study? And consider, is there a reason why one art era moved to another? As we study reactions to various world views, we can see what could be happening as the philosophy of cultures change through time.

Students also notice that some aspects of humanity are similar throughout time and space, pointing again to our Maker. For example, all over the world, and since the earliest of times, mankind has sought a God or gods, felt closer to Him or them on a mountaintop, and felt a debt, a need to sacrifice, to give to this higher power. Where did all this come from? Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

The students witness themselves being part of an extremely large picture. They gain an understanding of the foundation and rise of Christianity. They realize they are not alone, they live in community, in a continuum of time, connected to a legacy of thought. It is like witnessing a very long conversation with many members from the beginning of time. This aspect may not seem important but consider that one of the goals of public education is to dispel this truth. John Gatto was awarded New York Teacher of the Year in 1990 and 1991. His revealing book, Dumbing Us Down describes his classes this way: “The first lesson I teach is confusion. I teach everything out of context… I teach the un-relating of everything. I teach disconnections. I teach too much: the orbiting of planets, the law of large numbers, slavery, adjectives, dance, surprise guests, pull-out programs, standardized tests… What do any of these things have to do with each other?” Their goal is for students to witness disconnection and confusion, not order and harmony. I recall Dostoyevsky’s revelation in The Brothers Karamazov, “the awful thing is that beauty is mysterious as well as terrible. God and the devil are fighting there, and the battlefield is the heart of man.” Consider now that an objective of public education is to use various subjects to purposely instill chaos, confusion (babel), not connection, peace, or wisdom. This is an intentional strategy of the enemy to dismiss the beauty of God, including the beauty of creation and divide the community we have with one another.

3.  Integrate Other Subjects with Art

This is where I declare that I have the BEST job at Rockbridge Academy: teaching art! Various parts of all subjects come together in our art lessons revealing an orderly whole. These connections are unavoidable and they are unexplainable without considering the work of a powerful Creator…Look for it with me—there is art in every subject and every subject in art.

And here we have a smooth segue to the third tenet of a classical, Christian art course: Integration. Rather than disintegration, art lessons reveal integration across subjects. Truly, we live in a universe, not a pluriverse. As teachers, we are intentional in revealing integration. This is where I declare that I have the BEST job at Rockbridge Academy: teaching art! Various parts of all subjects come together in our art lessons revealing an orderly whole. These connections are unavoidable and they are unexplainable without considering the work of a powerful Creator. We’ve already seen a connection of art with history, geography, philosophy, and Bible. Consider also the many Latin root words we review. Proportion is a stem of “proportio” meaning an analogy of parts. Duplication is to draw something a second time. Chroma is color. Primary colors are the first ones. The list goes on and on. Additionally, we often have math lessons. We teach value as the weight of black and white, or of a color. We literally work on geometry while studying shape, form, perspective, and ellipses. We also consider science since artists study nature to draw it well. It wasn’t too long ago that to be a great scientist you had to be a great artist—drawing what you saw in the natural world. Artists were chemists as well, mixing their own paints. We connect our color and composition lessons easily with music: rhythm, patterns, harmony, disharmony. After all, tone is color. I recall my daughter describing a lesson her music teacher at the time (Mrs. Ball) gave to the choir, “that is a bright red tone, try to make it more of a mauve…” This instantly communicated a more correct harmony. Finally, as art teachers, we require our students to write well, not just with proper spelling and grammar, but with their neat handwriting. Look for it with me—there is art in every subject and every subject in art.

4.  Teach Skills of the Craft

Lastly, the fourth tenant of a classical, Christian art course is simply that we teach definite skills of the craft. In other words, we do not hand students a blank paper and ask them to draw whatever they feel. Oh, how overwhelmingly self-conscious and intimidating that could be. Rockbridge Academy’s art curriculum is purposely drawing-heavy. Our lessons begin (and continue) with, “draw what you see, not what you think you see.” Students grow in their ability to patiently draw with accuracy. They may grow-up to become an artist or they may just need to confidently draw what they see in a microscope, doing so without fear, being able to gain an even deeper understanding of what they are seeing by drawing it correctly.

Classical in nature, our art education involves students imitating forms in life and duplicating other masterpieces. They grow throughout the curriculum and move toward greater sophistication. We seek to generate enthusiasm, joy, and wonder as well as provide lessons in real skills for the students to practice, real information for them to learn, sensing a real love that we have for them as our students and for God as LORD of creation, and God of Wonder.

All this work and wonder is wrapped up nicely in the spring when the Rockbridge Academy community comes together to enjoy the Fine Arts Showcase. Don’t miss it.

Take a look at the past Rockbridge Academy Blakey Prize winners HERE. 
 

Therese Cooley, upper school art teacher, has been a part of the Rockbridge Academy faculty and staff since 2006. She has also taught grammar school art and the photography elective and helped with the yearbook and communications over the years. She and her husband, Roger, have five Rockbridge alumni children and four precious grandchildren. 

In this age more than ever, our service members need to think independently, to fight and serve with wisdom, to think critically, and to communicate effectively in nuanced situations. The call to serve is truly a call to love, something Scripture teaches we cannot do without God. A classical Christian education will teach students—if they pay attention—to love. 

Like many parents at Rockbridge Academy, I did not grow up with a classical Christian education, but I am grateful that my children have. I first heard about this approach to schooling in 1996 from friends involved at Rockbridge in its early years. I was six years into my Navy career at the time, and that initial introduction to classical Christian education planted a seed that, years later, led to enrolling our four children at Rockbridge.

I have often envied the education my kids received at Rockbridge. Though I am no longer on active duty, with two sons who have graduated from Rockbridge and are now in the Navy, I have been reflecting on how classical Christian education prepares one for service in the armed forces. It is common for a given graduating class to have at least one or two—sometimes more—who enlist after high school or attend college at one of the service academies or through an ROTC scholarship. In fact, Rockbridge currently has nearly 40 alumni who are veterans, which represents over 9% of our graduates. (The national average, according to one DOD statistic, is that .5% of high school graduates go on to serve.)

Classical education combined with a worldview rooted in the Scriptures cultivates a healthy thoughtfulness that we might see more as a path to the contemplative life. One might wonder whether the military culture’s emphasis on STEM, cutting edge technology, high-speed action, ambition, and clearly defined metrics for success are at odds with the classical curriculum’s emphasis on linear history, Latin, logic, public speaking, and its traditional arts and sciences course work. Furthermore, how do taking Bible classes every year and learning to follow Christ line up with serving in a secular, government-run, and potentially violent organization such as the military? Do the compassion, wisdom, and Christ-rooted love we seek (and see) in our graduates have a place in our twenty-first-century military?

I believe the answer is a resounding yes; in fact, I’ll argue that a classical Christian education is an excellent way to prepare young men and women for service in the military—and indeed in all walks of life. The Rockbridge curriculum’s emphasis on linear history and related arts and sciences, on communication skills, on the three stages of learning in an integrated curriculum and the understanding that “the heavens declare the glory of God,” that all knowledge and honor belong to God, and that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” provide a rich foundation for serving in uniform.

Leading with Understanding 
Rockbridge students learn history, philosophy, and literature in chronological periods. This linear view of what happened from ancient times to now; of what stories, songs, and images people created as those things were happening; and of what they thought it all meant teaches students many things useful in the military. They learn that one age responds to and bears the fruit (good or bad) of the one before it; they learn that beliefs and decisions have consequences, and even that the art and ideas we share have roots thousands of years back. In addition, students learn that God is orchestrating the events of history and the cultural movements over time in a glorious display of His character and as an expression of His love. Most students across our nation do not learn these things. As mainstream culture seeks to exclude God and any sense of a greater story, a meta-narrative, people grow increasingly in love with the non-linear, the random, the disconnected sound byte.

The classical curriculum also integrates the different subjects better than the progressive mainstream educational model. Students at Rockbridge read the Iliad while learning about the Peloponnesian War, and they study early American history in parallel with Emerson and Thoreau. The rigors of Latin for eight years keep those ancient roots in view, while training their minds to think carefully and make connections. Math and science are presented biblically as an exploration of what God has created and revealed of Himself in the marvels of nature.

How does a member of the armed forces benefit from this view of history and the integration of academic disciplines—and of faith? Someone serving and leading in our armed forces will make wiser decisions for understanding what has happened in the past. Knowing military history can help understand the why of a present conflict or strategic direction. Even more, learning to see the cause and effect in not only the flow of history but in changes in the arts and philosophy—indeed in man’s view of God himself—equips sailors and soldiers to understand everything as connected to its past. Military leaders will make wiser decisions and care better for their troops if they see situations and people—even technology itself—not in isolation but as connected to past events and ideas. Furthermore, understanding mankind—knowing that God has made people in his image and imbued them with a dignity far beyond what our Constitution recognizes, and knowing that we have a military because people are fallen—is the starting point for truly serving and leading other men and women.

Communicating with Clarity
A second priceless preparation for military service lies in the communication training—the many, sometimes painful (for student and parent!) writing assignments and oral presentations a student at Rockbridge experiences. I have witnessed firsthand the growth in both skill and confidence students gain as they draft complex written arguments and prepare for graded discussions and thesis presentations. Many soldiers, sailors, and marines—whether enlisting straight out of high school or through college commissioning programs—struggle to write and speak effectively.  As high-tech and action-focused as military training and operations can be, none of those things can be planned, arranged, orchestrated, or executed without written and oral communication. Writing instructions for a troop insertion, opening the day with a short talk to the platoon, evaluating sailors on their performance, briefing your department head on an event, and composing a letter of congratulation or condolence all require a foundation in these skills. Those who can do these things well will keep their people and the nation safer.

Serving with Biblical Wisdom 
Finally, a classical Christian education puts our future military leaders on the lifelong path to gaining a heart of wisdom. The progression from the grammar stage to the dialectic to the rhetoric prepares students to learn any subject and grounds their outward-facing adult life in real knowledge and not simple conjecture and emotion. A classical education can help students apply their knowledge to the real questions and situations of life—including the hard decisions and intensity of the military.

The classically educated J.R.R. Tolkien, a Christian and World War I veteran, wrote The Lord of the Rings during World War II with a son in training with the Royal Air Force. The soldier and leader of men Faramir—portrayed by Tolkien as more noble of heart than his elder brother, Boromir—tells Frodo and Sam, “I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend: the city of the Men of Numenor; and I would have her loved for her memory, her ancientry, her beauty, and her present wisdom.” Faramir understands how warfighting fits into a larger picture of the world and does not see it as an end in itself. Too often in history, military men have made power or achievement an end rather than a means. Even in peace time, some military members become enamored with the mechanics and technology of power itself rather than the good they can protect. Several chapters later in the tale, we get a further glimpse of Faramir’s character as one of his soldiers, Beregond, describes him to Pippin: “He is bold, more bold than many deem; for in these days men are slow to believe that a captain can be wise and learned in the scrolls of lore and song, as he is, and yet a man of hardihood and swift judgement in the field. But such is Faramir.”

In this age more than ever, our service members need to think independently, to fight and serve with wisdom, to think critically, and to communicate effectively in nuanced situations. The call to serve is truly a call to love, something Scripture teaches we cannot do without God. A classical Christian education will teach students—if they pay attention—to love. The modern war fighter (or service member who supports and defends in ways other than fighting, such as in the Navy Supply Corps) needs clarity of direction and vision, needs to understand why he or she is firing a weapon, dropping a bomb, disposing of a bomb, spending hours at a computer terminal, hiking miles across rugged terrain, fixing an engine, or operating a drone. Far from mere technical skills, they need wisdom to make decisions, power to act and to restrain, and love to truly care for their troops to defend the United States of America.

Chip Crane, PhD, is a retired Navy Supply Corps officer and Principal Lecturer in the English Department at the University of Maryland, where he teaches professional writing and a course called Tolkien in Oxford. He is also co-author of The Naval Institute Guide to Naval Writing and a communication and teamwork consultant for the federal government and private sector. He and his wife, Sonmin, have four children who all attended Rockbridge Academy; two are currently serving in the Navy. 
 

Mr. Roy Griffith, our headmaster, started his journey at Rockbridge Academy in 1997 as a 5th grade teacher joining this start-up classical Christian school. That marked the third year of the school and already it had grown from 23 students the first year to nearly 100. Few people had ever heard of classical education and even fewer of classical Christian education (CCE). Rare indeed were those willing to stake a career on it when no Rockbridge graduates even existed, and we had never taken a Grand Tour before. 

Did this educational methodology actually work? We know the answer today is a resounding, yes, as CCE is now a fast-growing movement. But what was Mr. Griffith thinking 28 years ago? What led him to change careers from an architect to 5th grade teacher? What changes has he seen in CCE, and how is Rockbridge Academy poised to approach the next 30 years? Mr. Griffith shares his story, some of the challenges of the early years, and some words of advice to those just starting their classical Christian educational journey at Rockbridge Academy.

What were you thinking 28 years ago when you changed careers from an architect to a 5th grade teacher with four young children? 
When I came to Rockbridge Academy, my wife, Donna, and I were chasing our first two of eventually, four kids and were deep into learning how to parent as Christians. Ever since we had brought our oldest home from the hospital, one thing persistently tugging on our souls was the conviction that if Ephesians was telling us to bring up our children, "in the fear and admonition of the Lord," it required us to be all in.  We quickly awoke to how central education would be to forming not just their minds but the heart convictions our kids would carry into adulthood. So when I visited Rockbridge Academy during their opening year in 1995, I walked in thinking about an eventual school for my boys, but walked out personally captivated by the classical Christian vision. A thoroughgoing K-12 discipleship of the mind and heart anchored in the sovereignty of Christ and embracing the role of the whole family resonated in my soul. Months later, I couldn't get that vision out of my head, and I really believed the Lord gave me a burning desire to be part of that mission as a teacher. It wasn't an easy decision, as it meant long hours and a significant pay cut. When I proposed the career change to my wife, she responded wryly, "Well, we can try anything for a year." It was a defining moment. God has His ways, as one tentative year turned into twenty-eight.

So when I visited Rockbridge Academy during their opening year in 1995, I walked in thinking about an eventual school for my boys, but walked out personally captivated by the classical Christian vision. A thoroughgoing K-12 discipleship of the mind and heart anchored in the sovereignty of Christ and embracing the role of the whole family resonated in my soul. 

How did you experience God's faithfulness as you took these steps of faith?
The early years were hard but rewarding. I had never before thought I would be a teacher, or thought I had a knack for it. But the Lord hollowed out a little space just for me, and I flourished in the classroom. At the same time, like many start-up Christian schools, all the teachers at Rockbridge literally worked below the poverty line, which had its own stresses. Meanwhile, God surrounded us with a precious school community who cared for our family. Food would show up at our door unannounced. Families took us along on their vacations. I remember one Christmas, a Rockbridge family left a gift anonymously at our front door each night for two weeks leading up to the holiday. We tried hard to catch them in the act, but they were really stealthy. It was both hilarious and heartwarming, and while we had our suspicions, we never found out who it was. My kids were spellbound by the surprise each night. Through it all, both the rewarding moments and the times of greatest stress and difficulty, we look back and see the Lord's hand. As I've come to realize, when God called us to this, He began a discipleship not just of my kids, but of our whole family.

 Through it all, both the rewarding moments and the times of greatest stress and difficulty, we look back and see the Lord's hand. As I've come to realize, when God called us to this, He began a discipleship not just of my kids, but of our whole family.

What were some of the challenges you and those early teachers and administrators faced?
The greatest challenges by far came because none of us had been classically educated. While we were standing on the shoulders of a few slightly older schools trying to do the same thing, everything had to be built from scratch. From curriculum and lesson plans to traditions like feasts and history parades, to figuring out how to shape distinctively classical and Christian music and athletics programs, teachers and administrators were constantly trailblazing. Pioneering is tiring, often hard on relationships, and always fraught with mistakes. We look back on lots of mistakes. (We still make mistakes.) I think the Rockbridge Academy Core Values we articulated distilled from many hard-fought lessons in those early years and helped define who Rockbridge Academy has always aspired to be. 

Have you seen the classical Christian education model change over the last 3 decades?  
I would say that the classical Christian model itself has not fundamentally changed in three decades. Rather, I think our collective understanding of this education, one that had to be recovered from the distant past, has grown tremendously. In light of that fact, I think we have learned to approach the act of educating classically far more humbly than we used to.   

Some would argue that true classical education cannot exist without Christ. What are your thoughts? 
At the risk of losing any of our aforementioned humility, I'd say, "absolutely!" But to back up, answering this question requires us to think historically. Certainly, the educational model of ancient Greeks and Romans developed in a pagan context, and those societies raised some of the greatest philosophers and statesmen in Western History. Early Christians saw what a powerful tool the Greco-Roman culture had developed. But they also realized that all good things only come by the common grace of the Creator, and that Jesus Christ is sovereign over all knowledge. So what we know today as classical education with all the beautiful trappings is something brought to its fullness in the Christian Middle Ages, which purposely threaded the model with deeper truths of the Scriptures. So, while it's possible to just teach classically, we need to remember how empty the wisdom of the world can be. 

How do you see Rockbridge Academy growing and poised to contribute in the next 30 years? 
We are in an exciting time in classical Christian education. The resiliency of this model of education compared to others became very apparent during COVID, so classical Christian schools and homeschool tutorials are now popping up everywhere and flourishing. Because Rockbridge Academy has almost 30 years of trial and error in this space, God has positioned us to have a leading impact on this part of God's kingdom. In many ways, that is already happening through our Summer Teacher Training Conference, hosting classical Christian student teachers, and our semi-annual spring ACCS Auxilium conference for start-up schools. We are actively collaborating with greater organizations like ACCS (Association of Classical Christian Education) and SCL (Society for Classical Learning) to expand upon that influence. But as we too experience growth within, our campus is only so big. I tell people, I never want our campus to grow so big that I can't eventually learn everyone's name. So that means further growth could take many forms, including supporting the classical Christian homeschool movement, planting a satellite campus, or expanding specialized programs for both neurodivergent students or students with more profound disabilities. This is why we must remain prayerful. I'm confident the Lord will lead in a way that causes Rockbridge Academy to continue to accomplish its mission to Christian families.   

What advice do you have for young families and teachers starting their CCE journey at Rockbridge Academy?
Go to church. Study God's Word. Actively pray. Raise your kids in the fear and admonition of the Lord with intentionality. Love on your children's teachers and get to know them. Walk humbly before God as you figure out who your kids are, and once you think you have, prepare for them to change as they grow. Know that doing all of these things, including sending your child to a Christian school is not a formula for success; it is simply acting as obediently as you can. So finally, trust God with the results of each day and each decade they are under your roof.  

Roy Griffith joined Rockbridge Academy as a 5th grade teacher in 1997. He transitioned to grammar school principal in 2012 and then in 2015 took on the role of interim headmaster to headmaster in 2016. Roy's wife, Donna, has served in various roles in Rockbridge history and today uses her gifts in multiple areas of coaching and care coordination for the elderly. Roy and Donna's four children are Rockbridge alumni: Elyse (2019) living locally and finishing her business degree at UMD, Grace (2018) married to Nathan Harrison (2017) and living in Charlotte, NC, Drew (2015) married to Anna (Krauss, 2015) living in Phoenix, AZ, and Nate (2013) married to Emily (Comeau) and teaching upper school science at Elizabeth Seton High School in Bladensburg, MD.  

"Virtues are hard things,” quipped National Review writer Daniel Buck in a recent opinion article entitled “The Virtues of Classical Schools.” Buck continued: “Fail a test of courage or act unwisely and virtue will demand justice or forgiveness. Values are subjective, virtues objective. The former is a preference, the latter a firm statement of right and wrong, true and false, good and evil.”

Examining one Hillsdale-launched classical charter school, Lake County Classical Academy (LCCA), Buck argues that although classical schools bear some similarities to their public counterparts, classical educators stand apart from our culture in that they are not afraid to incorporate structure and objective values into their pedagogy, policies, and classroom life.

As a graduate of a K–12 classical Christian school and a current teacher at another classical Christian school, I appreciated much in Buck’s article. Indeed, while much of public education rests on slippery, subjective foundations, classical education can rest on objectivity and uphold structure and hierarchy in the classroom in a way that benefits students and prepares them to comprehend truth and virtue.

Yet, as I finished Buck’s article, I couldn’t help feeling that he failed to explain significant attributes of the school he profiled and the classical-education movement in general. For instance: Who gets to define what virtue is, what “right and wrong, true and false, good and evil” are? What is the foundation from which these schools draw the objective truths they teach? For public charter schools such as LCCA, these questions cannot be fully answered, since such questions require a religious framework. One cannot define goodness and truth apart from an ultimate source of goodness and truth.

One cannot define goodness and truth apart from an ultimate source of goodness and truth. 

Classical charter schools like LCCA have bloomed around the country, thanks to Hillsdale’s Barney Charter School Initiative and to the success of programs such as Great Hearts Academies and Valor Education. But the origins of today’s classical-school movement — origins that Buck did not mention — lie in a distinctly Christian understanding of classical education. As Emma Green documented in an extensive New Yorker article published earlier this year, today’s classical-education movement began with four Christian schools inspired by the vision of education held by Dorothy Sayers, a Catholic, and launched in the 1980s. In the 21st century, classical education has grown more pluralistic, thanks to the rise of classical charter schools and private classical schools without religious affiliation.

But classical education without Christ is not only oxymoronic, it is futile in an ultimate sense. 

This portion of the article was republished with permission. Click HERE to continue reading Sarah Reardon's article in the National Review. 

Sarah Reardon (class of 2020) is a graduate of Grove City College with degrees in English and classical studies. She wrote for GCC's newspaper, The Collegian, and the cultural magazine, Cogitare Magazine. She has contributed articles to Front Porch Republic, The American Conservative, National Review, and several online literary magazines. 

Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed. His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is Thy Faithfulness! 
Lamentations 3:22-23

Nine years ago, September 2015, the Lord dropped me into the headmaster role at Rockbridge Academy. That first day of school happened to mark the school’s twentieth anniversary. I had been privileged to be a curious by-stander when Rockbridge Academy began as a start-up with only 23 students in 1995. When the Lord navigated me onto the faculty a couple of years later, I took my place among countless folks who have, through the years, labored at this school with the belief that God is doing something inconspicuous but mighty in this small corner of His kingdom. 

I look back now as we approach 450 students and celebrate some 425 alumni from graduating classes spread out over more than two decades and can testify yet again that it is only by God's faithfulness that the doors have opened each day since the very beginning. Only by God’s faithfulness has Christ remained the central focus of our education and discipleship of children, and by His faithfulness, alumni are bringing the lordship of Christ joyfully into their families, their churches, their communities, and their workplaces. 

Though I could point to recent enrollment growth, a history of terrific faculty, the Belvoir property story, or the campus we now inhabit on Evergreen Road as mile markers of God's faithfulness, I think it is the people, continually transformed by the Gospel, that represent God's faithfulness most clearly. Each precious soul that has been part of this community leaves an eternal testimony proclaiming that we have a faithful God. 

When we consider the founders, former faculty, and past administration, and even so many people recently who have gone on to glory, the names are simply too many to list. But it is God who used each one to leave an indelible mark, not merely on the institution of Rockbridge Academy, but more importantly, on His kingdom. The current generation, therefore, is simply the next reverberation of God being God, providing a community that remains unwaveringly about Jesus transforming lives through academics and culture. It is the people—imperfect though we may be until heaven—that continue to be the trophy of God's faithfulness and glory at Rockbridge Academy.

As this September turns to autumn, and the holidays then usher us into 2025, we will turn our attention once again to planning some serious celebration in gratitude. The Rockbridge Academy that will open its doors, Lord willing, a year from now in September of 2025 will officially mark its thirtieth anniversary, and we want that school year to be memorable. There will be celebrations, times to gather old and new folks together, and of course lots of remembering. Remembering is a rehearsal of His faithfulness, and as such, an act of worship.

Remembering is a rehearsal of His faithfulness, and as such, an act of worship.

We want to remember the fact that our school began as an idea the Lord planted in the heart of one couple who, after stumbling upon a book about classical Christian education, could not get this idea of a gospel-saturated, thought-captivating education for their children out of their heads. Gathering a small group of friends, those first board members laid their time, prayers, and credit cards on a kitchen table, expecting, in faith, that God would grow something from the vision He had planted in their hearts.

We want to remember those first teachers…three young women who loved the Lord and loved the prospect of shepherding children; who desired to see their students take every thought captive for Christ.  This was not without risk. At times that first year, they were unsure there would be a paycheck in their box at the end of the month.  

We want to remember those first parents who caught the vision of a thoroughgoing discipleship of children, who signed up their kids for a tiny school that made big promises but, as of yet, had no track record, no traditions, no athletic program, and no students past third grade… therefore no dual college credit program, no graduating classes, and no impressive college acceptances.

We want to remember the generous giving of donors, and a community determined to fund a home on Evergreen Road, not only for their children, but for future generations. And even today in 2024, we both look back and reach forward, giving generously to see the flourishing of a program that has become a haven for Christian families in a greater culture sorely needing reformation. 

In the coming season, we will ready ourselves to remember 30 years-worth of faculty, staff, and administrators, many come and gone, students and families who have moved in and out of the community, grandparents pouring out gifts and prayers, as well as past history parades, Christmas concerts, soccer and lacrosse seasons, sports finales, musicals and soirées, graduations and Grand Tours. At thirty years in 2025, we look forward to glorying in how the Lord, ever faithful, has used young and old faces for long and short seasons to accomplish a remarkable vision, despite our inevitable failings.  His vision. His gospel. His school. His ongoing accomplishments by His faithfulness. 

To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain forever a child.

~Marcus Tullius Cicero

Roman statesman, philosopher, and orator, Marcus Tullius Cicero, said, “To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain forever a child.” If we do not know who and what came before us, we cannot learn from the mistakes and successes of others, and will, therefore, remain foolish in our thinking and actions. One of the primary goals of a good education is to produce morally responsible men and women who understand and value their civic duties for society to function well. Additionally, education should form the affections to love the Biblical standards of truth, goodness, and beauty so that the student desires to imitate God. Studying ancient history within the classical framework viewed through the lens of Scripture is a valuable pursuit for the modern student.

Building upon what the student already learned in the grammar stage, the Rockbridge seventh grader learns ancient history—from Creation to the fall of the Roman Republic. By studying the past, the student begins to have a greater understanding of how our present age and worldviews were shaped, how lessons of the ancients are relevant today, and how studying history leads to a deeper knowledge of oneself and of God’s sovereign plan.

By studying the past, the student begins to have a greater understanding of how our present age and worldviews were shaped, how lessons of the ancients are relevant today, and how studying history leads to a deeper knowledge of oneself and of God’s sovereign plan.

For the modern student who wonders about why the world is the way it is today, the classical teaching methodology of ancient history will answer his question. By 7th grade, the student has already formed certain presuppositions that determine how he makes decisions and interacts with reality. By studying the past, the student gains a greater understanding of how our present age was shaped. Ideas of the past have consequences. For example, the Athenians argued against the Melian idea of freedom and justice, that “the strong do what they will and the weak suffer what they must” as they attempted to expand their empire. This idea, “survival of the fittest,” had tremendous consequences throughout history which points to how our present age was shaped. The student considers this idea by reading the Melian Dialogue, identifying and analyzing arguments on both sides, and contrasts it to Scripture which teaches us to care for the weak and oppressed and offers a different idea of freedom and justice. If the student understands the problems of the past and their attempted resolutions, it helps him understand today and where we may be headed in the future. 

As the modern student of ancient history learns how our present age was shaped, he also wonders about what lessons he can learn from long-deceased men of ancient times. After all, haven’t we “advanced” as a society and as human beings since then? Through the classical methodology, time-tested vices, virtues, beliefs, and practices are taught. Civic and moral codes of the ancients reveal how decisions and actions have consequences and can be used today as either “base things to avoid or fine things to imitate” (Livy). The student learns to be civically and morally literate by judging past actions and applying those lessons today.

Our founding fathers continually turned to the ancients for lessons in vice and virtue. For example, the founders studied the lives of men like Julius Caesar, who sought to advance his own power, and Cincinnatus, who willingly gave up his power. To the founders, one was a villain, the other a hero. These vices and virtues are the same today as they were then. They are time-tested. Have we “advanced”? Our sinful human nature says, “No.” This is what we have in common with all mankind throughout history. The modern student realizes this as he studies the ancients and learns of vices to be aware of and virtues of men and women upon whose shoulders we can stand.

Finally, the modern student of ancient history wonders how he can come to a deeper knowledge of himself and God’s sovereign plan of salvation for fallen human beings. First, classical Christian education considers the framework of the student and how he was designed by our Maker. In the dialectic stage, the student begins to distinguish between good and evil and make judgments. In making these moral distinctions, he gains a finer understanding of himself and the world. Age-appropriate examples of good and evil throughout history are taught and confront the student with his sinful nature, the need for repentance, and the need for a Savior. The modern student who examines his life honestly will see himself in others who have gone before him and create a desire in him to love God’s standards of what is true, good, and beautiful and make the right choices.

Furthermore, history finds its existence and relevance exclusively in God and His will for His creation. History cannot be known apart from the knowledge of God and His relation to the universe. History begins at Creation. After the Fall, in times of darkness, before Christ, the modern student learns how God is setting the stage to reveal “a light for revelation.” The light for which man has been searching. Christ, the light, who comes during turmoil and uncertainty, transforms the world. For history to make sense and why it matters to the modern student today, it is imperative that he or she understands the magnitude of this transformation, its effect upon humanity, and that every single event is the manifestation of God’s providential plan. All of history before Christ points to the cross and therefore, should be studied.

For history to make sense and why it matters to the modern student today, it is imperative that he or she understands the magnitude of this transformation, its effect upon humanity, and that every single event is the manifestation of God’s providential plan. All of history before Christ points to the cross and therefore, should be studied.

Through studying ancient history, the modern student learns about western heritage and man’s quest for justice and freedom—out of which comes true justice and freedom in Christ. Ultimately, by studying ancient history, it is the hope that it will lead the modern student to deeper and richer worship of Christ and equip him to be a light to the lost. People and events of ancient history are just as relevant as the issues we face today—both have something in common—sinful human nature. The Apostle Paul writes about examples of men who were written down as warnings for us, men who were idolaters, and perished for it. Let us not be as children who do not heed the lessons of the past, rather let us learn from those who have gone before us to teach us what we ought to do.

Jean Grev has taught dialectic Ancient and European History at Rockbridge Academy since 2012. She graduated with a BA in communications arts and sciences with an emphasis on public speaking and rhetoric and a minor in business management from Michigan State University. She resides in Annapolis, Maryland with her husband; her three children are in the Rockbridge Academy classes of 2020, 2021, and 2025. 

Like most great things in this world, Rockbridge Academy was born out of a problem. In 1994, a few like-minded couples with children reaching school age began to ask the question, “How are we going to educate our kids?” These parents desired a Christ-centered education for their children, yet as they surveyed Maryland's education landscape, they found it severely lacking. Not willing to settle when it came to their children, and especially their children’s relationship with the Lord, these couples set out upon a journey that led to the founding of the school we know and love today. Out of prayerful consideration, dedicated work, and God’s faithfulness, Rockbridge Academy came to be.

Out of prayerful consideration, dedicated work, and God’s faithfulness, Rockbridge Academy came to be.

Rockbridge Academy was founded by Rob and Laura Tucker, Dave and Kim Hatcher, and Mark and Kathy Lease: six parents with strong faith and a clear mission. One of these founders and mother of two Rockbridge graduates, Laura Tucker, says she and the other parents “desired to have a Christ-centered education for [their children] and godly training that reflected their training at home.” Tucker imagined a situation in which the training her children received at home and at school flowed seamlessly together, all pointing toward Christ. Jana Trovato, a parent of five Rockbridge graduates who became a part of the Rockbridge family in its third year, explains that this would look like “subjects taught under the Word of God, from teachers and staff that love God, who loved what they taught, who were aiming to live faithfully to him and to encourage their students in their relationship to Christ.” Clearly, an education in which Christ is foremost was important to Rockbridge founders and early families.

Clearly, an education in which Christ is foremost was important to Rockbridge founders and early families.

With this mission in mind, these parents began to prayerfully consider their options. Trovato cites Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning by Douglas Wilson as a resource that greatly influenced the start of Rockbridge. Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning provides a practical approach to the principles of classical education as outlined by Dorothy Sayers in her essay “The Lost Tools of Learning.” Trovato explains that Rockbridge is “classical in the sense of teaching all subjects via the Trivium: grammar, logic, and rhetoric stages, consistent with the ages of the children and their development stages, in giving the students tools of learning, a love for learning, for life-long learning.” These concepts come straight from Sayers’ essay. Additionally, classical education is focused on educating the students’ hearts and minds. Heidi Stevens, who began teaching at Rockbridge in 1997 and is now a board member, says that “the emphasis on human formation that runs through classical education's content-rich curriculum invites students to seek wisdom and virtue while maturing as whole and able people.” Here was the model of education that would both teach their children academics and nurture their character in submission to God. Now that these couples had their mission and their plan, all that was left to do was pray that if it be His will, God would provide the means to build a school.

Here was the model of education that would both teach their children academics and nurture their character in submission to God.

As one might imagine, starting a school from nothing and no money takes much time and hard work, and the path to establishing Rockbridge was far from straight. Nonetheless, God provided at every turn. Tucker explains that “in July before Rockbridge Academy opened, God provided three teachers with one as a Head of School, and they knew they were not promised a paycheck. Nonetheless, they were convinced that classical Christian education was crucial, and they desired to be a part of it.” One of these teachers was Jen Schingeck, who was convinced to join forces with these founders by reading Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning. In addition to teachers, the founders were searching for a building to house their school. Schingeck explains that the Baldwin Educational building was willing to rent the bottom room of their building to Rockbridge, but it needed renovations. So Rockbridge met at Riva Trace Baptist Church until the renovations were complete. Tucker says, “God provided everything just in time for the doors to open in September 1995. It was truly His work, and He made it clear by keeping the six founders on their knees until the last minute asking Him to provide.” Through the hard work of these founders and God’s faithful hand, Rockbridge Academy opened its doors in 1995 with 23 students K-4th grade.

Through the hard work of these founders and God’s faithful hand, Rockbridge Academy opened its doors in 1995 with 23 students K-4th grade.

Although this was a momentous occasion, it did not mark the end of difficulty and hard work. The first year proved exhausting for these teachers as they taught many subjects and grade levels and developed curriculum. And the teachers were not the only ones sacrificing time and energy for this school; it truly was a community endeavor. Tucker comments that “throughout the first year, [parents] volunteered to sweep the floors and clean the classrooms because they were grateful and delighted to watch their children learn in this classical Christian setting.” But in the midst of these hardships, God continued to provide. He provided people happy to serve their children and their community, the resources needed for the students to continue learning, monthly paychecks for the teachers, and enough students to keep the doors open. In fact, by the second year, God had tripled student attendance. And Rockbridge only continued to grow from there.

Now, 29 years later, it is easy to look back and see God’s faithfulness throughout the life of Rockbridge Academy. The Lord faithfully provided our own campus where over 400 students now learn and fellowship together. Trovato echoes the six founders' vision when she says, “From the beginning, the desire and vision was to build a school that would be for generations, not only for our children, but for our children's children; for generations to come.” Mr. and Mrs. Trovato are able to see the beginnings of this vision as they have a grandson currently in 3rd grade at Rockbridge. Additionally, the Lord continues to provide amazing faculty and staff who all desire to train up the next generation in submission to Christ, of which Jen Schingeck and her husband, Bob, are still a part. The Schingecks’ five children now attend Rockbridge, and Jen notes that “one of the sweetest most amazing things was realizing that in those years that I sacrificed my time and resources to the Lord by working at Rockbridge, the Lord’s plan was for my children to eventually benefit from that work.” God’s faithfulness is always at work, often in ways that we cannot even imagine.

 “From the beginning, the desire and vision was to build a school that would be for generations, not only for our children, but for our children's children; for generations to come.” 

These founders’ vision, mission, and hard work as upheld by God’s faithfulness are the roots of Rockbridge Academy. Although the founders’ idea began as a little mustard seed, their tender care and God’s providence sent its roots down deep and branches high. As our branches continue to soar heavenward, as Rockbridge continues to minister to God’s people, it is my prayer that we never forget the roots that uphold us, for without them this school would never be. In the midst of the Lord’s abundant blessings, let us remain on our knees forever, thanking and praising God for His faithfulness.

 As our branches continue to soar heavenward, as Rockbridge continues to minister to God’s people, it is my prayer that we never forget the roots that uphold us, for without them this school would never be. In the midst of the Lord’s abundant blessings, let us remain on our knees forever, thanking and praising God for His faithfulness.

Olivia Reardon, class of 2022, currently attends Messiah University where she studies English, education, and dance. When she is not tutoring at the Writing Center or performing with Messiah's dance ensemble, she can be found reading, spending time with friends, and eating ice cream.

A decade ago, I was in my senior year at Rockbridge Academy. A lot has happened in that time, but through it the things I learned here have been a significant and treasured influence in my life. While I would be remiss not to remark on the dear mentors and close friends I made here, I want to focus this brief reflection on the vision of the world I learned from Rockbridge, with an eye to how it eventually landed me where I am now, in the theological academy.

When Nietzsche wrote that “Whoever really wishes to become acquainted with something new (whether it be a person, an event, or a book), does well to take up the matter with all possible love,” he was only repeating something that classical educators had known for millennia—that the process of learning is first a moral, and then an intellectual endeavor, or rather, that any distinction between moral and intellectual endeavors is as specious as the anthropology it undergirds is facile. 

This paradigm is deeply entrenched in the Christian intellectual tradition. The Greek Fathers understood the intellect as a desiring faculty that intrinsically (if often unconsciously) sought after God and was fulfilled only in prayer; in the Latin west, Augustine’s trinitarian theology (tragically neglected by American Christians in recent years) emphasized that the very structure of the human mind pulls it towards its one end: the worship and enjoyment of God. 

This is the anthropology at stake in the classical understanding of education as moral formation and within which tools like the Trivium can flourish. Its profundity is that it reflects an entire vision of the world as the theater of God’s glory. Education is formation because curiosity is a form of generosity, of hospitality towards the new and the strange; but this is merely the anthropological reflection of the objective fact that all created truth and goodness beckon us onward to the eternal wellspring that is Truth and Goodness: God—Who is Himself Love. The only light that illumines truth is the generous light of God’s creating goodness sealed in the steadfast love of redemption. And as in the archetype, so in the ectype: for Christians, to know must always mean to love.

This is the anthropology at stake in the classical understanding of education as moral formation and within which tools like the Trivium can flourish. Its profundity is that it reflects an entire vision of the world as the theater of God’s glory. 

In other words, classical and Christian are not separable modifiers of education, but a cohesive way into studying the basic and unifying God-ward-ness of the world. We study the classical texts as Christians, not out of abstract adherence to a canon, but because in that canon we can inherit the practiced eye of centuries of Christians who have repeatedly and delightedly found that God’s truth, goodness, and beauty precede them there. These texts provide a fertile training ground for the virtues of wisdom, patience, and generosity required for learned cultural engagement today, indeed, for any faithful Christian walk—which is only the repeated referring all our lives to the giving and grace of God. 

In other words, classical and Christian are not separable modifiers of education, but a cohesive way into studying the basic and unifying God-ward-ness of the world. We study the classical texts as Christians, not out of abstract adherence to a canon, but because in that canon we can inherit the practiced eye of centuries of Christians who have repeatedly and delightedly found that God’s truth, goodness, and beauty precede them there. 

Indeed, it is those who thought that Christ and culture were most sharply opposed who likewise opposed the reliance on Greek models inherent to classical education. Conversely, Paul models the classical vision in Acts 17, in seeing that God got to Greece before him, and his job is to name the unknown God, in whom the Athenians already knew that they lived, and moved, and had their being. Similarly, the first Christian apologist, Justin Martyr, argued that Plato had dimly pointed to Christ, that Jesus was the proper fulfillment of the way of the Stoics—that it was the Christians who followed true philosophy. Christians have always most profoundly challenged the cultures around them by finding seeds of the Word and by naming Jesus Christ as the true fulfillment of those seeds. 

On a personal note, these themes have been the common thread (perhaps the only one!) in my own continuing education. Studying theoretical physics at MIT, I found that a guiding intuition of much of this research was that the elegance of a theory is not just an arbitrary aesthetic value but also an indicator of the depth of penetration into the mysteries of the universe. Truth, goodness, and beauty coalesce at precisely the point where being itself becomes most transparent to the properties of its Creator. 

Similarly, my study of theology at Yale, integrating as it does philosophy and cultural studies, would make little sense if one did not believe that all the activity of man’s mind is animated by the restless heart searching for rest in God, and that that search must leave its mark on all knowledge. Indeed, this most recent trajectory felt like the response to the turmoil of 2020 that would be most faithful to the vision Rockbridge has given me: to leave my stable job in finance for the life of the mind pursued in service to Christ; with the faith that commitments to justice, to generosity of interpretation, and to truth are always finally commitments to God Himself; and in confidence, alongside Paul and Justin, that the sharpest apparent conflict of worldviews opens upward in the possibility of the most incisive work of the gospel.

Similarly, my study of theology at Yale, integrating as it does philosophy and cultural studies, would make little sense if one did not believe that all the activity of man’s mind is animated by the restless heart-searching for rest in God, and that that search must leave its mark on all knowledge. 

This is not to say that classical Christian education is fundamentally optimistic about human culture. Quite the opposite: if God is the proper end of all intellectual activity, then the subjects of education can be corrupted by human rebellion far more pervasively than if these studies were something morally neutral. But the conditions of this corruption are also the possibility of restoration. Evil is always parasitic, and thus only parasitic—masking an ever-prior God-ward-ness. The constructive, God-centered vision of Christian education means that “the culture” as such can never be the enemy. 

The great method or technique of this ongoing discernment can only be the imitation of God’s love. If the goodness of the world stems from the generosity of God, then it is to evoke our generosity as well. Nietzsche continues: One “does well to take up the matter with all possible love, and to avert his eye quickly from all that seems hostile, objectionable, and false therein—in fact to forget such things; so that, for instance, he gives the author of a book the best start possible, and straightway, just as in a race, longs with beating heart that he may reach the goal.” If the God who is Truth is also Love, then formation in His image is the only possible pedagogy.

Taylor Craig, Rockbridge Class of 2014, is in his 3rd year of a master’s degree in Theology at Yale Divinity School, where he also works as a research assistant to Prof. Miroslav Volf. He is especially interested in trinitarian theology, early Christian interaction with Greek thought, and postmodern theologies of culture and language.

When I graduated from Rockbridge Academy in 2012, I had no idea how much my education would help me advance in the professional world. Now, 10 years on, I serve as chief of policy for the best governor in the country, Kristi Noem in South Dakota, and it is clear to me how much my education uniquely prepared me for this job.

For starters, since graduation I have spent my time working in and around the political world, and that means public speaking. In school, I struggled immensely with public speaking and got very nervous every time I had to speak. But in almost every class, my teachers found opportunities for all of us to practice, and slowly but surely—over the course of many years—I started to become comfortable speaking to groups and even developed tips and tricks to make my speeches effective. 

I struggled immensely with public speaking and got very nervous every time I had to speak. But in almost every class, my teachers found opportunities for all of us to practice, and slowly but surely—over the course of many years—I started to become comfortable speaking to groups and even developed tips and tricks to make my speeches effective.

Today, I frequently testify in front of legislative committees, provide policy updates at state cabinet meetings, and speak on behalf of the Governor to legislators, lobbyists, and local leaders. I entered my career with a level of public speaking ability that I could never have imagined when I started high school, and I am thankful on a regular basis for this unique component of classical education.

Secondly, my education honed my writing abilities, teaching me to write concisely and make my points clear and easy to understand. My teachers insisted that we create an outline before we started writing to make sure our arguments were well-structured and supported. To this day, I still outline my thoughts before putting pen to paper. Now, I write memos about complicated subjects in a way that is easy to understand. I draft testimony, letters to elected officials in Washington, and even emails that make my ask or argument clear.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, my classical education made it possible for me to both develop—and advance—a clear and consistent worldview. Through our philosophy, logic, and rhetoric classes, we learned the different ways of looking at the world and the assumptions that are built into any perspective. During our senior year, we took a class on current events that allowed us to start applying these ideas to what was actually happening in the world. This gave me a huge head start in understanding not just what was going on, but why it was happening—and the philosophical foundation behind different proposed solutions.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, my classical education made it possible for me to both develop—and advance—a clear and consistent worldview. Through our philosophy, logic, and rhetoric classes, we learned the different ways of looking at the world and the assumptions that are built into any perspective. 

In South Dakota, state government consists of 20 different agencies that cover areas like agriculture, education, finance, healthcare, and public safety. Part of my job is to ensure that everyone is rowing in the same direction. There’s no way I can be an expert in all of these different fields … but my classical education has helped me develop and articulate clear, consistent principles that I can apply in a range of situations.  This helps me ask the right questions and provide the right guidance to make sure we’re leading a government that respects the rights of the people and gets out of the way as much as possible.

I am thankful every day for the opportunity to wake up and do the job I’m doing.  And I know without a doubt that I would not have had this opportunity without the skills my education taught me.

Rachel Wallen Oglesby serves as Chief of Policy in the South Dakota Governor’s Office and is a member of the Governor’s executive team. She oversees the implementation of the governor’s agenda across all policy areas and state government agencies. She grew up in Maryland, graduated from Rockbridge Academy and Wake Forest University, and holds a master’s in public policy from George Mason University. This article was published in the winter 2023 issue of The Classical Difference magazine.