AcademyCovenant

Starting Fall of 2012

“A Classical and

Distinctly Christian

Education”

MAY 2012 / VOLUME 07

E-Newsletter

From the AdministratorBy Karen Stafford.…………………………………….…..pg. 1

How Classical Education Shapes Us as God Intended………………….…..…………......….…....…pg. 2

When Mother Reads Aloud.……….…………pg. 5

Book Recommendations...…….………………..pg. 6

Bulletin Board………………..……………………..pg. 7

Covenant AcademyMay 2012 Volume 07

Table of ContentsThe Covenant Academy Newsletteris a monthly publication of Covenant Academy, Lafayette, LA.

Publisher and Editor: Shelby StaffordContributor and Editor: Karen Stafford

Contact

Address:Covenant Academy1700 East Willow StreetLafayette, LA 70501

Phone: (337)- 290- 6749

Email: karengstafford@bellsouth.netWeb: http://covenantacademyla.org/#/home

“Education without values, as useful

as it is, seems rather to make man a

more clever devil.”

C.S. Lewis

Contact Publisher

“A Classical and Distinctly Christian Education”

Summer is upon us and there are merely weeks and days left before the 2012-2013 school year commences.

Many times as anxious parents await their child’s first year of school, they ask the question: What can I do to

prepare my child for school?

My suggestion may seem simplistic, but reading to your child good books is the best thing you can do to

prepare him for success in the classical school classroom. If you would like suggestions for quality children’s

literature, we have included some suggestions in the book section of our newsletter, or you will also find many

age-appropriate books listed on the following website:

http://www.classical-homeschooling.org/celoop/1000.html

Keep in mind as you select books for your child, that a child’s listening level always exceeds his actual reading

level, so a child that is not yet reading may actually be ready to listen to simple chapter books read aloud. Some

good chapter books to begin with are Charlotte’s Web, The Little House books, or The Chronicles of Narnia.

A final suggestion for your reading time would be to encourage your child to narrate, or retell what you have

just read. Narrating is a powerful tool that aids in the child’s cognitive development. It allows him to think

ideas through in order to draw conclusions, to express himself clearly, and to make judgements. Other skills

such as memorizing, visualizing, comprehending, synthesizing and articulating are all strengthened by this

method.

Start with short selections such as nursery rhymes, poetry or fables, and work your way up to longer pieces.

Don’t be tempted to ask leading questions, or to tell the child what he should think of the piece. Let him be the

narrator. You will see his narrating skill increase daily. As an added bonus, this method will also aid in your

child’s writing abilities further down the road.

Enjoy your child and some good books this summer!

In Christ,Karen StaffordCovenant Academy Administrator

From the AdministratorMay 2012 pg. 1

May 2012 pg. 2

A funny thing happened as the 20th century came

to a close. A number of Christians began to form

what were being called "classical and Christian"

schools. Believers who would have been (or were)

involved in their local traditional Christian school

or public school were suddenly making the case for

Latin, reading the great books of the Western

intellectual tradition, and talking about the

traditional liberal arts---the trivium and the

quadrivium.

Many in this growing movement of Christian and

classical schools in recent decades would cite as

inspiration a book by Douglas Wilson, Recovering

the Lost Tools of Learning (Crossway, 1989).

Wilson's thesis was fairly straightforward: Christian

parents have a biblical mandate to raise their

children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord

(Eph. 6:4). Traditional Christian schools have done

many good things, but a more classical approach

relying on the "tools of learning" has better potential

to train up children in ways consistent with

Scripture. Wilson relied on a seminal essay by

Dorothy Sayers, "The Lost Tools of Learning" (a

lecture originally given in 1947). Sayers argued that

the best way to recover true education in our day

was by "turning back the clock" and adopting a

form of the medieval syllabus. Sayers attended

more to the trivium (grammar, dialectic, and

rhetoric) than the quadrivium (arithmetic, music,

geometry, astronomy), but she affirmed the

legitimacy of both.

Not only have many new schools adopted this

approach, but I also believe parents with children in

other schools or even Christians on their own can

benefit from the classical movement's chief insight

about learning and spiritual formation.

General Traits

While there are healthy debates within the classical

and Christian school world about the true nature of

classical education, several general traits can be

identified.

First, classical and Christian schools are generally

committed to some sort of word-based or word-

centered education. One of the tragedies of much of

contemporary education is a failure to retain the

importance of language. Classical schools are trying

to recover the centrality of the trivium (the

language arts) as essential to true education.

Second, classical and Christian schools are almost

always committed to recovering the great books of

the Western intellectual tradition and attending to

the past more generally. To be educated is to

grounded in the texts of one's own tradition, and for

those of us in the United States, this means the

central texts and ideas of the Hebrews, Greeks,

Romans, and of course the development of the

Western intellectual tradition from the first century

to the present.

Third, classical schools are committed---to some

degree---to the importance of the classical

languages. This usually means that students at

classical schools will take several years of Latin, and

possibly some Greek as well. Latin and Greek are

the languages of Western Christendom, and

historically to be educated was to have at least some

knowledge of these two languages.

How Classical Education Shapes Us As God Intended

by Bradley Green

May 2012 pg. 3

Fourth, classical schools, in various ways, are also

trying to recover the second and third components

of the trivium---dialectic and rhetoric. Dialectic is

the practice of trying to deepen one's understanding

of truth through back-and-forth conversation and

debate. Rhetoric is perhaps best defined as the art of

fitting communication (whether in the written or

spoken word). You will find students at classical

schools studying logic (a component of dialectic),

engaging in debate, learning via the Socratic

method, and honing their skills through repeated

opportunities to communicate both through writing

and speaking.

Fifth, classical education affirms that there is an

overarching telos or "goal" at the center of true

education. This actually gets at the heart of what

makes classical and Christian schools unique.

Classical schools---at their best---hold that

education is ultimately about the formation of a

certain kind of person.

While different schools may disagree on this or that

pedagogical theory, or this or that curriculum

choice, virtually any classical school desires to reach

back and recover the notion that education is about

human formation and transformation.

This is where a classical approach to education can

be---rightly!---very attractive to Christian families.

When I helped found Augustine School (where my

children currently attend), I served as head of

school for a few years. I would recommend to

virtually any parent asking one simple question to

the person heading their children's school: "What is

your goal for my children when they graduate from

this school?"

The best of Christian thinking has always

recognized we are pilgrims traveling to the city of

God. While we have many joys and duties in this

life, we understand present existence against the

backdrop of our ultimate destiny as believers---to

see God one day. Keeping one eye on heaven, or the

vision of God, need not diminish the importance of

life in the world. On the contrary, knowledge that

life in the world is part of a larger and grander

story---which culminates in the vision and city of

God---can be a constant reminder that life in the

here and now is important, meaningful, and

weighty.

The best Christian education sees this task as a

transformative endeavor that prepares students for

(1) a meaningful, faithful, wise, virtuous life in the

present, and also for (2) our ultimate destiny---to

one day see God face-to-face and know him fully.

Once we begin to grasp that true education is best

construed as a person-forming endeavor, we are

able to see more clearly the link between the gospel

and education.

Applied Broadly Some readers do not have access to this kind of

education (at least in a formal way or setting), or do

not have school-age children. Nonetheless the

classical vision of education is worthy of attention.

Its most important insight can be applied broadly:

education is about the formation and transformation

of a boy or girl into the man or woman---under

God---they ought to be. This should be parents'

goal, no matter what school their children attend.

Many homeschooling families are able easily to

"convert" their homeschooling efforts in a classical

direction, using a book like The Well-Trained Mind:

A Guide to Classical Education at Home by Susan

Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise.

May 2012 pg. 4

Any parents can create space for this flourishing

simply by turning off the television (or closing the

computer screen), starting a fire, and sitting as a

family reading a good book. I share precious

memories reading with my children C. S. Lewis's

Chronicles of Narnia, or J. R. R. Tolkien's The

Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, or

Douglas Bond's Crown and Covenant or Faith and

Freedom series.

Parents can also begin---when appropriate---to let

children join certain adult conversations about

theology, politics, and other topics. My children

enjoy the sharing of ideas, and they are learning how

to think and discuss themselves by watching daddy

and his friends engage in meaningful conversation.

Even if you're not raising children, you can still reap

the benefits of a classical-type education. Read, read,

read. There are many lists of "great books"---one

might start with the appendix to Mortimer Adler's

How to Read a Book and Leland Ryken's Realms of

Gold: The Classics in Christian Perspective. If

accountability would help, why not start a reading

group that meets monthly? Or consider scheduling

your next vacation or trip around a key conference

or educational experience that inspires your reading

and learning.

As I have argued in The Gospel and the Mind:

Recovering and Shaping the Intellectual Life, we are

ultimately shaped and transformed by the gospel

itself---which is the only means and way by which

we will ever see God face-to-face and become whom

God has intended. Within that theological

framework, a classical education can be a helpful

tool by which we are shaped over time. Classical

education---at its best---can be a gospel-fueled tool

or resource used to shape and transform God's

people, so that God's people might be prepared for

their ultimate destiny---being presented to Christ as

a spotless bride without blemish, and to see God

face-to-face.

Source: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/

2012/05/03/how-classical-education-shapes-us-as-

god-intended/

Reminder~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you would like for your child to attend Covenant

Academy this fall, but you have not sent in your

application, please do so soon. Book and furniture orders will be placed soon.

The first day of school is August 15th. Drop off time

begins at 7:25. School starts 7:50. Pick-up begins at 2:45. See our website for

full calendar.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

May 2012 pg. 5

When Mother reads aloud, the pastSeems real as every day;I hear the tramp of armies vast,I see the spears and lances cast,I join the thrilling fray;Brave knights and ladies fair and proudI meet when Mother reads aloud.

When Mother reads aloud, far landsSeem very near and true;I cross the deserts’ gleaming sands,Or hunt the jungle’s prowling bands,Or sail the ocean blue.Far heights, whose peaks the cold mists shroud,I scale, when Mother reads aloud.

When Mother reads aloud, I longFor noble deeds to do...To help the right, redress the wrong;It seems so easy to be strong,So simple to be true.Oh, thick and fast the visions crowdMy eyes, when Mother reads aloud.-Unknown

When Mother Reads Aloud

That is a good book which is opened with expectation and closed with profit. - Amos Alcott

May 2012 pg. 6

Book Recommendations

The Book Treeby Elizabeth McCallum and Jane Scott

Honey For A Child’s Heartby Gladys Hunt Read For the Heart

by Sarah Clarkson

All Through the Ages by Christine Miller

Bulletin Board

Repairing the Ruins2012 ACCS Annual

ConferenceJune 21-23, 2012 -

Dallas, TexasSpeakers have now been announced

More Info

Looking at a degree in Christian Classical Education?

Check out Whitefield College!

May 2012 pg. 7

Now Accepting

Applications for K-5

Our new website is up: http://

covenantacademyla.org/

Shop at Albertsons and have them

donate a percentage of your purchase to Covenant Academy.

Contact Karen Stafford if you need

an Albertsons Community Partners

Card

Designate CA as your school of

choice when you shop at Target with your Red

Card!