How to Show Our Kids How
One of the best ways for us to fail at anything is to treat it as a savior. We well-evolved Homo sapiens like to invest ourselves, body and soul, in the latest fad diets; every four years, we think that if the American people would just vote right, for that guy, we'd fix our nation's problems; and perhaps most often, we look for the perfect school for our kids. Insert child into building, dust off hands, and wait for a morally-upright Ivy-leaguer to pop out 12 years later. He'll probably be President some day. Perfect school, perfect kid. Nothing else I need to do. Except not. Or put another way, nothing Homo sapient about it.
Classical Christian education did not die on the cross for our sins, and we shouldn't act like it has. Make no mistake, of course -- classical Christian education, of all the current educational models, is among the most brilliant, rich, time-tested, and culturally relevant. But a vending machine it ain't.
So what is the key to a successful school? A successful student? An interested, independent self-learner? As I mentioned at our recent Parent Info Night, the keys are twofold. First, there must be a reliance on Christ in all things, at school and in the home; and second, learning and excellence must be modeled in the home.
I'd like to briefly touch on what this second part looks like. In other words, how do we show our kids how? By jumping in, getting our hands dirty, and just doing it. Like this:
Develop copiousness. This is an overflow of knowledge (like a Thanksgiving cornucopia, which spills out gourds, squash, and fruit). Over a lifetime, you feed your mind just as regularly as you feed your body -- and soon, that knowledge (now wisdom) can't help but brim over.
Read good books. Usually, good books are the ones we don't want to read, because they're hard to get into. But stick with it. Peruse book lists you trust, or use the book lists on Augustine's website, and work your way through them.
Read lots of books. David Noebel, founder of Summit Ministries in Manitou Springs, has said that it's important to read a book a week. Of course, that's not even close to possible for many of us, but it's still worth pursuing. And just like muscular exercise, the more you read, the faster you get.
Read the Bible. Being steeped in Scripture is important for our sanctification, but also because Scripture is the most influential set of writings in history -- for literature, poetry, history, philosophy, culture, and theology.
Read aloud. Despite what it might seem, your kids will love this. They also need this. Many of the ancients would have been perplexed by our modern practice of reading silently. Words are inherently meant to be spoken -- and stories are brought into full richness and personality for children when they hear Mom and Pop tell them.
Listen to good music. Immerse yourselves, and your children, in the classical-music tradition. Pour on the folk songs, blues, jazz, and other genres you like. There's no lack of variety and richness. But there are standards to be set. What is God like? What is his world like? Mindless boom-box drivel, or Top-40 hits glorifying sex, greed, and death? Our kids are listening.
Sing. (Yikes.) Let me rephrase that: Sing out of tune. It may take some getting used to, and some pride-swallowing, but what better way to build family culture than to sing as a family? Everybody loves it when someone else is singing -- so why not be that someone-else for your kids? Hymns, folk-songs, and praise -- just let 'er rip.
Write. While "of the making of books there is no end" (Eccl. 12:12), the world could use a lot more of the right kinds of reading material. So keep a journal. Start a blog. Write little stories for your kids. Send letters to the editor. It isn't dumb -- but of course it isn't glamorous. We are people of the Book, and like the Holy Spirit, we should also write about what is good and true.
Memorize things. Scripture, poetry, and good quotes are the best choices. This habit, over a lifetime, will become a joy and consolation to you, in both the difficult and beautiful moments of life. It is never a waste of time; exactly the opposite. Plus, we make our kids do it.
Plod. You've just read a seemingly impractical set of to-do's. "Nice -- but yeah right." No problem, this is life. Plod. Take your time. Nobody is judging, nobody is watching. Go nice and slow, a few minutes a day snatched here and there. Get comfy with feeling inadequate and not understanding books and ideas. Our children feel the same way in school. But over time, when we look back, we're a fair piece down the road from where we started. We are growing, and we are thankful.
Grace and Peace, Nate Ahern
Gorgons and Shining Shields
"All the men in history who have really done anything with the future," said Chesterton, "have had their eyes fixed upon the past."
An odd image. And Chesterton knew it: "Man is a misshapen monster, with his feet set forward and his face turned back. Tomorrow is the Gorgon; a man must only see it mirrored in the shining shield of yesterday. If he sees it directly he is turned to stone."
Now that I've confused everyone nicely, I'd like to point out what a beautiful truth this actually is, and how applicable to us. Chesterton compares the Future -- "Tomorrow" -- to the Gorgon, a foul and terrible monster from ancient Greece. As the story went, whoever looked at it would be immediately turned to stone. And as for killing it? Impossible.
That's until the hero Perseus came along, who carried a sword and a bright shield. As he approached the Gorgon, he held this shield over his shoulder, looking straight into it as he moved forward (thus averting his gaze from the monster), and killed it by looking at its reflection in the shield.
Here's Chesterton's point: Tomorrow turns us to stone, just like the Gorgon. The Future, stared at with fear and worry, disconnected from the Past and its stories of triumph, overcomes us completely. To build, to accomplish, and to grow, we need eyes ravenous for the truths and wisdom of the Past. We live in the Present and for the Future -- but our tools of trade are already at hand, and they are old and strong. Alone, the Future tempts us to fear. The Past is full of comfort, wise old men, and happily-ever-afters.
Let's go back to the top, to those who "do something with the future." Augustine Classical Academy is small and strong, but it must grow. The future is bright for our school, but there are many rows to hoe, many jobs to fill, and much money to be raised. ACA is uniquely poised for the future, and this necessarily means we are entering an important and sobering time of growth. Our gifts, like the proverbial talents, must be cared for and multiplied.
Now more than ever, we have an excellent facility, high-quality teachers, a growing staff, and a ripening set of programs and curricula. Our administrative systems and business structure continue to improve. We have made Lakewood our home and are well-positioned to put down influential roots in the community. And most important, we boast an academic program that aims to change hearts and minds for God's glory, and for our culture.
As members in this wonderful opportunity, I'd like to encourage us all to consider how we can tangibly promote the growth of Augustine Classical Academy for the sake of our children, and for future students.
Pray for ACA daily. Pray specifically that God would bless us financially, and that all gifts would be used for his glory.
Consider how you can uniquely give to ACA, whether through personal service or other donations.
Reflect on who you might share ACA's classical Christian vision with. We love our friends, and our friends will want to listen to what we love.
Pray that God will transform our school culture, the city of Lakewood, and the world at large through robust, Christ-centered education.
Thank you for loving your children, and for loving ACA. As ever, I am thankful to partner with you as we confidently apply God's faithfulness in the past to our plans for the future. The Lord is building this house, and we will not labor in vain.
Grace and Peace, Nate Ahern
Beyond School Culture
One of our goals as a classical Christian school is to create a culture. What does this mean? It means (first negatively) that we are not trying to manufacture straight-A students, package them up, and ship them off to the Ivies. Instead it means (positively) that we are building a community of like-minded families centered around the Gospel, and therefore centered around the rich conversation of ideas, art, events, and people that the pageant of world history has provided for us. This is not (again negatively) to be a culture of "school days" and "classrooms"; it is to be a culture of families who are interested in stuff that is true and beautiful, all the way down, side-to-side, every day of the week. What is learned in school is taught in the home (and vice-versa), whatever is learned is respected, and all knowledge is understood to be God's knowledge. Our goal is to create a culture where we teach truth diligently to our children, where we talk of it when we sit on the back porch, when we hike the foothills, when we rest, and when we wake up (Deut. 6:7). In short, we never don't. If this happens, the good grades and fulfilling careers are just going to come. Being comes before doing, and we want to get who we are right.
With that in mind, I'd like to encourage all of you to help your children develop a sense of unity between school and home. This is a fundamental aspect of culture-creation. Do they see one set of standards inside their classrooms and another at home? To bless your children tangibly throughout this school year, focus on four key points:
Be a daily rock of support for your children, overflowing with physical affection. (They need it.)
In front of your children, support their teachers as experts with authority -- particularly in times of difficulty or conflict.
Require your children to do hard things. (This is a beautiful and crucial part of preparing for independence.)
Be interested (really) in what your children are learning.
We worship a God of ultimate love and endless gifts. But whom the Lord loves, he disciplines (Prov. 3:12). A wonderful and sobering balance! Let's love our children and our students as God loves us -- no less -- and give constant thanks to him for his good gifts.
Grace and Peace, Nate Ahern
A Long Obedience in the Same Direction
Back in my cross-country coaching days, I liked to tell the joke about how, while most people say, "Time heals all wounds," runners say, "Time wounds all heels."
So there's that. But my real point is that it seems reasonable to divide people into a couple basic categories: those who ripen with time and change (usually gathering wisdom), and those who wither and dry up as time goes on (usually turning into cynics). Can we apply this to education? And how!
Put another way, I like to beat dead horses (metaphorically), and my current dead horse is this: life is full of rich change, also known as sanctification, and it's one of our biggest jobs as parents and educators to fill our kids to bursting with the joy of it. I've said this several times and in several ways last year, and I don't want us to forget it as we enter each new school year: despite the reality of God-given trials, life is glorious, life is rich, and that's why we send our kids to school. We want them to love God's world so that they can transform God's world. Not wither up, or be chronically heel-wounded.
Consider this a hearty welcome to the school season. As you hustle through uniform options, supplies purchases, and transportation arrangements, let's remember why we're here. For our kids. For "a long obedience in the same direction," and for teaching them the rewards of hard work and cheerfulness.
Hearty blessings on your year ahead, and may we faithfully encourage our children to strive for excellence as they live for the glory of God and the good of all people.
Grace and Peace, Nate Ahern
Those Trips to the Woodshed
There are two kinds of education. Or if you prefer, two battle plans. One pursues results, the other seeks wisdom. The one is a ticking time bomb, and the other is the only way to a truly educated person.
Bear with me, though -- this isn't a false dichotomy. You can go wrong (and right) in many other ways than being "results-oriented" on the one hand, and pursuing wisdom on the other. And you'd also be right to say that we should be results-oriented.
To a point.
Let me put it this way. Classical Christian schools are not the ticket to Harvard, or to Heaven. They're not the ticket to having a nice degree from a solid, middle-pack university, a slick career, and a godly family. They don't magically produce interested, respectful kids who do the dishes without being asked.
In fact, it's much more likely that Classical Christian schools will do just the opposite -- if their priorities are off. And one of the biggest oversights they can make -- that ACA can make -- is to be results-oriented at all costs, over against the pursuit of wisdom.
When students hear the words "results," "scores," "grades," and "college admissions," and all they see in their minds' eyes is a gnarly metaphorical club, there's a problem. They've been taken out to the woodshed one too many times to get thrashed with Bible memory verses, math drills, and SAT prep. Sure, they're nailing their grades, they know their atomic orbitals, their Plato and Homer, and what the Ten Commandments say. But boy, when they get outta this house, they're going to do something different in college. They've paid their Western-Culture dues. Check classical education off the list.
Maybe even check Christianity off the list.
We should want our children to fill all sorts of colleges and universities in the country, from the local community colleges to the Ivies. We should want them to fill a wide variety of careers -- even the ones that weren't in our plans for them. And this all takes a ton of hard work. Lots of drills. Lots of grit, stamina, and just plan results.
But here's the key: that's not the end of the story. We want our children to see why they're going for the results. All their work is so that they can start serious education once they leave the home, and continue it throughout their lives. The results they accomplish are to make them into men and women of action for God's glory, to bring his kingdom to earth. There are battles to fight out there, and they won't be won by kids who have scars, and a premature skepticism. They'll be won by children blessed with the gift of wisdom and with the open eyes of thankfulness.
Grace and Peace, Nate Ahern
Summer Picnics on the Living-Room Rug
Amid these Denver rains fit for an equatorial jungle, I hope the first two weeks of Summer Break have been fulfilling. Of course, it's only "Break" for the kids, which often means just the opposite for the adults.
This reminds me of a tremendous reality from Job: "Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward" (Job 5:7). Fact of life. No escaping it. But there are a couple different kinds of trouble involved here: tragedy and hardship on the one hand, and the day-to-day toils of life on the other. Losing a child is an example of the first; raising a child is an example of the second.
Summer, for parents, is more of the second kind of trouble. A healthy sort of trouble, but exhausting nonetheless. Constant focus, constant events, constant messes. Interestingly, though, God thought this set-up was a good idea for our sanctification, and so when we think life couldn't get any more stressful, he's thinking about how much he's blessing us.
In the spirit of Messy Picnics on the Living-Room Rug (and Other Stories), let's continue to be all-in for our kids this summer. Read with them every day, whether haphazardly or on a schedule, or after work. Take them on hikes. Take them to the library. Create a playlist of musical classics for regular listening. Check out audiobooks. Color with them.
Give exhaustion a bear hug and invite it back tomorrow.
Being comes before doing. We want our children to love beauty and excellence from their hearts -- and they look to us for cues. My blessings to each of you as you continue this arduous but wonderful task.
Grace and Peace, Nate Ahern
Our Stories
In the rich and fascinating novel, The Island of the Day Before, Umberto Eco writes that “to survive, you must tell stories.”
Sounds overblown. To survive (really), we need to eat right, sleep well, and look both ways before crossing streets. But tell stories or die? That’s an ultimatum from a philosopher-poet who needs to cut his hair, shave, and get his head out of the clouds.
Except that it isn’t. All of our lives are stories, and we cannot live without telling them. This is the way God wired up the motherboards at creation. He had a Story to tell, one of creation, fall, redemption, and glorification, and we are all its subplots. Each action and word, from the smallest to the most momentous, develop the plots of our lives, move us individually toward our climax, falling action, and denouement, and, collectively, show us as actors in God’s grand Play. “All the world’s a stage,” yes, and all of life is a Story. The only way to stop telling your story is to die.
We’ve told a remarkable story this year at Augustine Classical Academy. Amid unexpected circumstances, God has led us in new directions, challenged our assumptions, and compelled us to look to him for provision. And as he provided for Abraham in his wandering, and later for the Israelites, he is providing for us. We have a new and wonderful building space in Lakewood, and a community of families united around their commitment to classical Christian education in Denver. We have a Board of Directors, sacrificial to the core. We’ve been blessed with committed, high-quality teachers who love their students and spur them on toward excellence. And we have bright-eyed students, learning about God’s beautiful but broken world, about the importance of being young men and women of action, and about the great promises for the future. This is classical, Christian education, and this is the story God is telling through ACA.
Thank you for loving your children this year, and for seeing the tremendous value of a rigorous, Christian education. I have greatly enjoyed seeing our students grow, from Preschool through Grammar School, and am eager for their future at ACA. May God’s blessings go with you this summer, and may it be a time of rest and joy.
Grace and Peace, Nate Ahern
Celebration Days
Friendly question: What does Proverbs 22:6 have to do with racing bikes and hopping around in colored sacks?
Friendly answer: Everything.
This morning at our Bandana Dash and Field Day, I was blessed to witness one of the lesser-emphasized applications of a great truth: "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it" (Prov. 22:6). Though no lectures were given, no Scripture verses recited, no quizzes administered, our students were "trained up" with joy and festivity today. As all those bright-eyed children hoofed it around the lake (careening bikes on their heels), as the field events put flush into cheeks and sweat on brows, and as parents, teachers, and older students came together with their time, money, and service, those two things stood front-and-center above all else: joy and festivity.
It's the way God does things. He didn't just administer the Law; he also gave us days for celebration (Lev. 23; Is. 25:6). He wants us to be sober-minded (1 Peter 5:8), but he also gives us the wine of gladness (Eccl. 9:7; Is. 25:6). And perhaps above all, he desires mercy and love, not sacrifice (Hosea 6:6).
Today, our students tasted and saw that Gospel life is good. As a parent, I'm grateful to each of you for a school family that shows our children love, sacrificial energy, and blessings abounding. Thank you for continuing to make ACA such a wonderful place.
Grace and Peace, Nate Ahern
Hard Work and Dessert
As some of you know, Augustine Classical Preschool students have been learning about teeth and dentists this week. Clyde, my three-year-old son, has taken to the subject admirably.
"This is junk food," he says contentedly, taking great bites out of a lollipop.
We teach our children the important habit of brushing their teeth regularly (circular motion, please), but at the same time it's a rare child who never has sweets. That's because candy isn't exactly junk. Used reasonably, it's more accurately a treat -- a gift -- for the special moments. Sometimes, we tend to think of certain foods as "bad" (naughty food! moral failure!) and so campaigns are launched to kill them dead and blot their names from the Book of Life. But "the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof" (Ps. 24:1), and "for everything there is a season" (Eccl. 3:1). We taste and see that the Lord is good, usually with the spinach, potatoes, and chicken, but sometimes with the sundaes.
Think of education the same way. We don't ever want to use education to stomp students flat, as though they are insects to kill, and Scripture agrees: "You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk" (Deut. 14:21). Education is food, not a cauldron. It has life-giving beauty and should not be used as an instrument of death (like in a Dickens novel). So education both in the classroom and at home needs an occasional dessert.
But this is a tough balance, and many schools with great mission statements serve up lamesauce standards in the actual classroom. And in the home, some students do nothing but hammer the video games (after homework, of course), or perhaps worse, have no honest notion how to spend after-school time except by surfing their smartphones. Bad, naughty video games? Satan-spawned social media? No, just too much dessert.
The good things of life are hard to master. Great books, mathematics and science, logic, high music, abstract thinking, age-old stories -- these are the deep-magic gifts of God. With faithful training comes love, and with love comes an appreciation of gifts in their unique places. So have a lollipop.
Grace and Peace, Nate Ahern
Glutted with Knowledge and Wisdom
Earlier this week on our Twitter and Facebook, you may have come across this quote from Dwight Moody:
"So few grow, because so few study."
Today, many of us operate under the unchallenged assumption that learning and study end after college or graduate school. And understandably, too: there are jobs to get and keep, families to manage, community groups to run, and sports programs to plug into. And then, in the precious, exhausting moments at the end of the day, we must give quality time to our smartphones.
Tongue-in-cheek. (A little.) But Moody was speaking to us as time-frazzled, modern-day adults, not to our children, and not to an idyllic, unhurried people of the past. He understood that one of the key purposes of education is to become life-long learners, to be parents and citizens who have both the ability and interest to self-teach. He understood that without this life-long learning, we will not grow. And as we hopefully learned from Biology class, if you're not a growing organism, you're a dead one.
Mental and moral growth requires study and learning, entirely distinct from our day jobs, separate from our child-rearing. Sacrifice is required. But if we claim (and we do) that art, beauty, and the enjoyment of God are at the center of existence, and if we claim (and we do) that high grades, the Ivy league, and fast-lane jobs are not the first reasons we educate our children, then these claims have to come out our fingertips. Vision must become tangible mission. We want our children to study and grow -- but are we content to land our jobs and coast to retirement ourselves? As Malcolm Muggeridge once said, "Only dead fish swim with the current."
Let's continue to show our kids how to learn -- and not just because it will benefit them. We all have a duty to glorify God and enjoy him forever, and true enjoyment takes focus. Let's commit to steeping ourselves in the stories of the Old and New Testaments, to exploring the great books we've never read (and which make little sense to us at first), and to engaging in the cultural conversation of ideas. Our children are watching us, watching whether we practice what we preach. But we should also watch ourselves. May we always be interested, bright-eyed Christians, glutted with knowledge and wisdom for God's glory. May we work tangibly to bring Christ's kingdom to earth, and may we always be able to "taste and see that the Lord is good" (Ps. 34:8).
Grace and Peace, Nate Ahern