Classical Studies, Virtue, and Individualizing Education
The Lord hasn’t given us a Spirit of fear but that of power, love, and self-control (2 Tim 1:7).
Equipping young people to overcome fear and mentally preparing them to persevere through obstacles is part of the reason I love teaching.
We recently studied Elizabeth I and the drama surrounding the defeat of the Spanish Armada. If you’re unfamiliar with this event, it’s an epic underdog-story and sea battle that shifted global political powers to make England the dominant country in the West at the end of the 16th century. Under the leadership of Elizabeth I and her advisors, these players would jettison England into a Golden Age of cultural and economic prosperity.
One of the most outstanding characteristics of Elizabeth’s England is the emergence of William Shakespeare. Although an acquired taste for our modern audiences, Shakespeare captures many of the highs and lows of the human condition. In addition to our drama class studying A Midsummer Night’s Dream, we wanted to go a little deeper in our Classical Studies.
As a part of this exploration, students were to memorize one of his sonnets and perform it for their peers. On presentation day, we were wrapping up and came to one of our finals scholars, a lovely young lady. She begins cautiously, barely above a whisper:
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more….
Silence filled the room.
Tension filled her body, as our lovely scholar’s throat tightened and tears began to flow. We paused, talked through what was happening, and supported her with kindness and patience since she was truly facing a gripping fear. I have no doubt that she would have rather faced an entire Armada than recite this poem in front of her peers.
If you’ve ever experienced oppressive anxiety, you know exactly what it’s like. Forming a virtuous individual is one of the aims of a classical education; faith, hope, love, wisdom, justice, courage, and temperance are taught in order to strengthen the scholars moral fibers along with a rigorous education. Among the virtues, one that seems to be easily spotted is that of courage, particularly when it is missing. We don’t always know what scares us until we are in the midst of it. For our beloved scholar mentioned above, the fear of public speaking was debilitating. Personally, I’m not a fan of heights, nor am I fond of water that isn’t a translucent swimming pool. I have experienced tears and paralyzing fear in my past, some of which seem insignificant now. We aim to take students on a similar journey as they grow in all of the virtues, including courage.
Part of my job as a mentor is to see what every scholar is capable of and push them to achieve something higher and more virtuous. We trust this process fully with the aid of the Holy Spirit. Since we know, as image bearers of Christ, we aren't given a spirit of fear, I offered to continue to work with this student individually. She accepted the challenge, and we have adjusted many of her projects so that she can continue to push beyond this obstacle. Although public speaking may never be her cup of tea, I can confidently say that in a few short weeks she’s showing greater courage. It’s one of the best parts of my job: to journey alongside a student who can look back and say, “Yeah, I overcame that challenge, and I won’t let it hold me back any longer.”
As a retired teacher one day, I know I’ll look back and be proud of these moments when I was able to individualize the moral and intellectual growth of each scholar. That’s what makes Innovate Academy truly unique as we seek to form “every child, a culture maker.” And isn’t that exactly what the Lord did and continues to do with every one of us.