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A Faculty Fireside – by Mr. Josh Walton

According to Augustine (and a Google search related to this) “familiaritas parit contemptum,” or familiarity breeds contempt. A depth of knowledge on a subject can make one almost disinterested or forgetful of the value of that subject. Think of it this way: You drive your children to school. You have 4 kids, your oldest is in 11th grade, and your youngest is in 2nd grade. Your familiarity with the route has led to a “contempt” for your surroundings. But it’s now a “Raggants Got Talent” evening and your husband is driving, and you have the opportunity to look out the window and see things on that same route that you either forgot about or are able to see for the first time. That old white house has a fresh coat of daisy yellow paint (which was actually done the year prior). There’s a new coffee stand (it’s been there for 3 months). And there is a new roof on the house that had a blue tarp on it since the last storm (this was actually finished yesterday, but had your husband not been driving you would not have noticed it until June). Your familiarity brought a form of contempt.

The world spins on its axis. Flowers bloom in their seasons. Pink salmon hustle up the rivers in the odd years. Your skin cells regenerate every 2-4 weeks. You drive your children to school. A honey bee’s ocelli detect the light from the sun, guide it across the river to the blooming flower, where it collects the means to make a spoonful of honey which you then place on that fresh cut on your newly generated skin to help seal and heal your dermis, scar free. But we miss all that, not because we actively hold it in contempt but because we spend life “driving by” it all.

This is the beauty of teaching and learning. Teaching at ECS is taking Psalm 19 to heart. Creation reveals the Creator. His Word revives our souls. His creation and His Word should set a fire to our curiosity. Our act of worship on Sunday is to foster curiosity in the teaching of the Scriptures. At ECS we wish to burn with wonder in all the venues given to us by God. How does ancient literature apply to the life of your 11th grader? Did Mendel’s simple experiments on pea plants also plant seeds of enthusiasm for more knowledge of DNA in the 9th and 10th graders’ minds? Did Mrs. Liden leading the kindergarteners and 1st graders through “Turkey in the Hay” grow a love of learning new songs in those children’s hearts (YES!). Who really writes those mysterious missives from the Gnomes? (It’s a Gnome, for sure).

Many years before I started teaching at ECS I came across another Latin refrain: “Qui docet discit.” “He who teaches learns.“It has always reminded me to be curious so that I can fight against the contempt of the common, continually learning, so that I may consistently be teaching well. (While using alliteration to anchor the point home so that my 5th graders will recognize it).

So, Qui docet discet,
Mr. Walton

A Faculty Fireside – by Mrs. Bazen Higgins

Here we are, deep in the vast school year with spring break miles away. If your work ethic or attitude isn’t seaworthy by now, you’re going to start taking in water pretty soon. So, here’s a patch kit and repair instructions as you shape things up in the middle of the year.
 

Mr. Higgins, on September 7, 2023, the sunny first day of school, gave us a convocation talk entitled “The Year of the Raggant.” At the end of this talk, he introduced the phrase “high discipline, low drama.” That was almost 3 years ago, and to this day, this phrase is a crucial reminder. High discipline, low drama is something every Christian needs to continually think about in order to be effective in his or her efforts.

High discipline:

Scripture clearly compels and commands us to live a life of self-control and discipline. (Proverbs 25:28): “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” And Paul, when talking about preaching the Gospel, says, “But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”(1 Corinthians 9:27) These passages are talking about being highly disciplined individuals who are not taken over by intruders or are shown as hypocrites in their faith. High discipline is self-bossing! This is trudging along and completing your reading when you don’t want to. This is repenting of your sin right away. This is getting the grades in and getting out of your warm bed on time. This is eating the sandwich your mom gave you, even if it has tomatoes on it, and making sure to wash your hands when Mrs. Hall asks you to.

Low drama:

When we are dramatic, we are taking ourselves or the situation out of proportion to what is fitting. The book of Ecclesiastes is about the vanity of life and the triviality of our work. We are not the center of the universe, and someone has gone through what you are going through right now. God does whatever He pleases, and He does not need us to finish His work (but by his grace He does use us!) The mood of Ecclesiastes is pretty somber, but it picks up by reminding us how God blesses us and how we are to enjoy the good gifts He’s given. Ecclesiastes 9:7-10 says:

“’Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do. Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.” 

When you are a child of Christ, you know things are not a big deal because, One: God’s in control. Two: You are going to heaven. Three: you can’t do anything to ruin God’s plans. And number four: He has revealed to you all that He wants you to do, and because of His son’s work, He is already pleased with you! So, yes, there are things in life that are a BIG DEAL, but in Christ, you have no worries and nothing but Christ to boast about.

There are very few people who have both of these virtues, high discipline and low drama, because they are balancing virtues. So you are probably bad at one or the other. When you notice where you are lacking, thank God for the clarity and a dose of humility, and get after it! Don’t freak out, but also, get your stuff done! Take your work more seriously and yourself less seriously. High-Discipline-Low-Drama it up people! God is good, so get after it and go glorify Him!

—Mrs. Bazen Higgins

by Dr. Grant Weinberg

Growing up going to school, I had written my share of thesis and research papers. I even passed most of them. When I started at ECS, I didn’t realize how little I knew about papers and even less about the Progymnasmata. Besides being a word that I can’t say quickly, the Progymnasmata is the set of pre exercises for students to do to learn Rhetoric. It stems from the ancient Greeks and flows through the years of education until the end of the 18th century. To say that it had longevity is an understatement. I could give a diatribe on why it went out of fashion, but for now, I would like to explain more of what it is.

First, why do we write? We write because it helps one to organize his thoughts. It also helps one to think logically. These exercises force logical progression of thought onto a person’s writing that is a gift to everyone: reader and writer. It builds vocabulary, grammar, and everything else that schools and colleges care about. The thing that I love most about writing though is that it trains one to communicate in a way that lasts for generations to come. The written word has changed my life, it is how God has chosen to communicate with us, and words have moved every great person in history. If we want to change the world, it always starts with words.

Now, when it comes to the exercises, there is a progression to them that build one to the other. The beginning exercises focus most on taking in information and putting it in the student’s own words. Fable, Narrative, Chreia, and Proverb are all exercises that focus on what was said and the truth and value of the saying. These are meant to focus on what is true and good and still say it beautifully. These exercises are meant for late grammar stage students and early logic stage.

From there, the exercises look to build arguments for what is right and wrong, looking at the ideas and the characters of literature. Refutation and Confirmation are the converses of each other. They both argue about the truth of an event. The Commonplace traditionally looks to amplify and expose a virtue or a vice but historically looks only at the negative vice and why is it wrong. Finally, the Encomium and Vituperation look to individuals, considering their parentage, education, and deeds and if they are great or terrible people. The final composition of this section is the Comparison, which is either a double Encomium or an Encomium and Vituperation. The two people are compared together, going back and forth in order to easily draw comparison between the two people. These exercises are ideal for later Logic and early Rhetoric stage students.

The final group of exercises are about creation and persuasion. It is not enough for people to know how to learn things and if they are true or false. Learning to write should give a person the ability to change people’s minds. It starts with Impersonation, which makes a student analyze the style of another person, jump into their mind, and create something from that mind frame. From there, we jump to Description which is all about being able to take an experience and make someone else feel what you feel. If you have ever felt a shiver run down your spine while reading a book, it was probably from a description that made you actually feel something. My most recent one was from R.C. Sproul’s Holiness of God when he describes himself feeling the Holiness of God while walking into a church. The final two are Thesis and Defend/Attack a Law. While their constructions are slightly different, they are both doing similar things. The Thesis gives an argument of some kind, normally putting multiple ideas together. While the Defend/Attack a Law is political in nature, arguing for specific enactment or redaction of a law or rule. These are the jewels of the Rhetoric stage that gives each person the tools they need to change society.

While Progymnasmata may be difficult to say, the value that these exercises provide an individual is worth the collective weight of all your Omni books in platinum, yet we seek to cram it into six years of Omnibus. It is a progression that if cut short in the beginning is a disservice, or not finished in the end is a travesty. It might seem silly in the moment or like a lot of busy work, but in reality, it is all about shaping a mind to fit with all the geniuses of the past. I hope this helped you see where you are at in your journey with a glimpse at the end. We hope to build something out of each of you. These exercises are the nails and boards of the structure. We need a few hundred of them to build anything of consequence.

October has arrived, and with it Reformation Day planning! The seniors are hard at work, planning for a Reformation Day celebration during the week of October 30 to November 3. Secondary students are abuzz with food booth and costume ideas. Parents are wondering how to avoid last minute crises as their teenagers take on responsibilities and projects. Some of you may be wondering what Reformation Day is, and why we put so much energy into celebrating it. All this seems like a good time for a quick primer on Reformation Day and Student-Led Activities.  

Reformation Day is the day the Protestant Church recognizes and celebrates Martin Luther nailing the 95 Theses to the church door at Wittenberg on October 31, 1517. This event was like the spark that lit a gas-filled room on fire, igniting the Protestant Reformation, a time when God refined the Church and shaped history through fiery trials. The Reformers fought (and many died) to root the worship of God’s people in the Scriptures, translating them into the languages of the common man. They fought for the truth of salvation being in faith alone, not by works of the law. We stand on the shoulders of these Reformers and owe much to their faithfulness! (Here is a great article if you are interested in a bit more.)  

At ECS, we celebrate Reformation Day because we are grateful. Grateful for God, whose hand has written and is writing a glorious and hard history that keeps working toward the end when all things will be made new. Grateful for the holy catholic (i.e., universal) Church, who is still being sanctified by our Savior. Grateful for the good and glorious work that God has right in front of us! And so we celebrate the Reformation at the end of October, with festivities of all kinds, planned and executed by our seniors. 

 The mission of ECS aims for students who “carry and advance Christ-honoring culture.” We think letting them plan Reformation Day is a great way to get that work on the ground.  They are commending the works of the Lord as they learn about His work in the Reformation, sacrificing their time and efforts as they plan and execute the celebration, and having lots of opportunity to weaponize their laughter as it all plays out! And we walk in faith, as they do this, asking the Lord to keep building their love of Him and capacity to carry a Christ-honoring culture.  

Letting our students lead large events is not an accident. It is not because the staff is trying to get out of the work, and it is not because eighteen-year-olds are naturally great at it. This is an intentional investment in our future. Like all investments, it comes at a cost. It is a little messy. It isn’t always comfortable. But this is the same tension as teaching your kids how to cook…you want enough supervision they don’t burn the house down, but they are going to need some room to make mistakes. Yet these are the investments that, by God’s grace, will pay off in the future, when your table will be full of glory at the hands of these same people.  

The details of our Reformation Day festivities have changed over the years, as students have continued to improve upon the efforts of those that have gone before and filtered ideas through family and school staff. This year is no different. May we all be full of grace, patience, and hope as we invite our students to join us in the work of carrying and advancing Christ-honoring culture!  

—Mrs. Pakinas (The Deputy of the U.H. aka D.U.H)