Shirley and I are proud great grand-parents of seventeen, each
one of whom is a gift and a blessing in our lives. We delight in almost-daily
reports from the “field” where life plays out and family adventures are the
currency of everyday. Since the beginning of the current school year we have
been noticing something new and exciting taking place in the lives of our three
Denver-area kids: Aged seven, ten and
thirteen and all highly intelligent and doing well in school, their lives as
“scholars” seemed suddenly to literally “take off” with their acceptance into Golden View Classical Academy.
Golden
View is a K-12 school founded and organized on principles and programs
developed and supervised by The Barney Charter School Initiative at Hillsdale
College with the aim of delivering a
classical education with an emphasis on our own history and civic ethics and a
sense of individual responsibility. Qualifying standards are very demanding and
parents who end up requesting consideration for their children are generally
highly motivated to partner with their kids in “going the extra mile”. And it
shows everywhere we looked both on the campus and at home where our three have
turned a serious circle in the enthusiasm and dedication to learning and
achieving we all notice.
After meeting the Principal, my wife
and I together with our grand-daughter were invited to sit in as
officially-welcomed guests to 10-year old Taj’s
5th grade history class, where I could see where his excited
interest in the American Civil War had come from to bubble over in so many of
our conversations. As the class of thirty or so students, obviously proud of
their sharp, neat uniforms moved through their well-ordered discussion groups
and class presentations, they would pause to greet or shake hands with us as
they passed close by, perfectly at ease with our presence. Several individuals
– including our Taj reported on the
results of science projects they had just completed outside class, in which
they had been challenged with a particular hypothesis leading them to a
conclusion. I was impressed by their teacher explaining that they would be
scored as much on their attitude as an attentive audience as they would as a presenter.
Noticeable at every juncture in our
school walking tour was the overwhelming presence of a patriotic ambience,
including a large study area hung with classic art pieces illustrating the
importance of the classical virtues
in our national consciousness, and an education which places a heavy emphasis
on an undergirding honor system. Young kids were anxious to stop and explain to
us just what the iconic portraits stood for, including the qualities of courage, moderation, justice,
responsibility, prudence, friendship and wonder; and they knew the stories
behind them. It was also easy to see that this campus had rules and expectations. I was also impressed by the conspicuous
absence of “big brother” computer stations at every bend and curve at the same
time that cordial and happy conversations seemed to be welcome fare between
students wherever we roamed; there was even an off-the-beaten-path corner where
a kid could pause to touch the keyboard of a handy piano!
Our most charming demonstration was
put on by 7-year-old Asha who
volunteered to teach the adults in our Denver home a lesson introducing the Riggs method of English pronunciation; a
system which breaks down grammar-based phonetics into recognized mouth sounds.
It was a revolutionary “discovery” for several of us, as we were practically
mesmerized by our 1st grade-aged “professor” who understood
“articulatory phonology” so well as to be able to explain it to us with surprising self-confidence. I
wondered how much faster I might have
progressed in the world of language, radio and public speaking if I had been
exposed to this International System at
so early an age.
By the way it was little Asha who managed to place in humorous
perspective for us all just how she digested these changes she sees taking
place in her book-conscious older sibling, Taj.
“I
now have a brother who is one of those people who has to read all that stuff
they print on cereal boxes!”
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