Every child who is taught to read and write will not author a great novel. Every child who is trained to play a musical instrument will not compose a symphony. Every child who is taught to draw will not see his work hanging in the Louvre. However, the reader will have access to great literature; the musician will have an understanding and appreciation for great music; and the one who studied art will be able to discriminate between good and bad art.
Classical education at Rockbridge Academy seeks to train the affections of our students to value goodness, truth and beauty. For the grammar student these intangible values are experienced through careful study of art and music in its historical context and through learning the grammar of these disciplines, a study which culminates in performance opportunities at school concerts and presentation of their art work at the Rockbridge Academy Art Exhibit. The dialectic and rhetoric student builds upon these principles through academic electives such as choir, orchestra, drawing, painting, photography, or drama.