As a humanities-based school, we focus on living ideas. Living ideas mean that our curriculum is led first by an idea. Whether it be the idea that 2+2=4, or that the sky is blue, or that an adjective modifies a noun, we focus each lesson on the living idea. A living idea has a vital force that feeds, grows, and multiplies in the mind, unlike "dry facts" from textbooks, which just fill a container. Living ideas spark the imagination, inspire wonder, and make a subject come alive. Living ideas encourage a student to develop their ability to think, question, and hypothesize. The Logos, Christ–the Word of God, spoke us into being. His breath burst forth in song, and creation came into being. We are a logo-centric creation. Therefore, we need a logo-centric education. Logos is Greek for “Word” and “Reason.” The goal of Logo-centric education is to form a holistic approach that is rooted first in the gospel and understanding that God created us through the word, and it is by Christ as the Word Incarnate that we are reunited to God and able to work out our sanctification and learn how to care and love. Logocentrism is also a philosophy that is focused on WORDS in SPEECH. As humans, we were created to tell and retell stories. The language of humanity is traced primarily to oral communication as a means for preserving culture through story.
A logo-centric model is focused on language development. It emphasizes the need for students to understand and imitate the best literature, starting with simple fables and progressing to complex arguments. Its primary pedagogical method is to read, dialogue, and have meaningful experiences with living ideas and living texts along with a more experienced reader and speaker – their teacher or master, who guides them deeper and deeper into the meaning of ideas through commentary, exercises, and open-ended questions.
Living ideas are central to a logo-centric curriculum, which orders the child’s course of study based on the maturity of his understanding of language. A living idea, no matter the subject, conveys ideas that are true, noble, and beautiful. In short, a living idea feeds the mind and soul in a way that engages both the intellect and the emotions of the learner. A curriculum that is centered on living ideas asks questions such as, “What book ought this child read next?” or “What mathematical concepts will best challenge the learner to go deeper?” in determining what to teach.
Logo Centric principles develop habits, liberate the learner, illuminate the heart, and furnish the mind.
1) Developing habits has always been an important part of education, traced back to the early Church Fathers and early monastic life. We establish habits of both body and mind through activities such as prayer, contemplation, narration, copywork, and nature journaling.
2) Our approach, through wonder, liberates students to “Know thyself” as a learner. Students discover how to truly learn by engaging with the world around them through a generous curriculum and a feast of living ideas.
3) Through these living ideas, the Word, and the Traditions of The Church, hearts are illuminated towards The Good, The True, and The Beautiful.
4) Our program is designed to furnish the poetic imagination through encounters with Truth, Goodness, and Beauty by studying art, literature, music, and meaningful experiences with the natural laws of math and science.
