Hard ≠ Bad is a common and familiar modern platitude. My wife and I have been saying this a lot lately. Another phrase should be small ≠ bad, especially when talking about schools.
One of the virtues of modern American culture, especially of the majority of our education system, is the “virtue” of pragmatism. Where something has merit, and only has merit, if it gets results; “the end justifies the means.” The bigger, the better it must be, so the thought goes. Martin Luther, the father of the Reformation, would call this a “theology of glory.” So a school, a church, even a facebook page, is better if more people are a part of it, irrespective of the content.
Classical Education, on the other hand, has the virtue of temperance. A small amount might not only be enough, but it might be good and beautiful. In creation, some of the smallest things contain the most beautiful details. The most delectable desserts are often the smallest. Even my 5-year-old loves how beautiful certain bugs are. In Ancient Greece, schools were small. Just one teacher taught about ten or twenty pupils. They met in a small rented space, or sometimes just under a tree outside. In many ways, our school startup sounds very similar. We have a goal of ten, but don’t want to exceed twenty, at least initially.
If something is good, it is worth doing. Not merely if it is large. Granted, the task might be difficult, but as Martin Luther found, the opposite of a “theology of glory” is the “theology of the cross.” Jesus’ cross was difficult, his last moments attended to by only a small handful of people, yet this was the greatest good in the history of the world.
Would you help appreciate what is good by supporting our school? We would even appreciate small gifts. 🙂
