Trinitas Blog

Parent Orientation marks the beginning of the school year and is one of the few opportunities I will have to address all Trinitas parents together in a face-to-face setting. In the weeks leading up to this night, I cast about for an idea, a theme for this address that will encourage, challenge, and perhaps, inspire each of you as we head into the new school year together.

One of my favorite summer songs, “Summertime,” was composed by Gershwin in 1934 for the opera Porgy and Bess but it wasn’t until the first lady of song, Ella Fitzgerald, recorded the lullaby in Berlin in 1968 that the song came to be identified with the relaxingly smooth vibe that marks the three months between May and September.

The following is adapted from an address delivered at Parent Orientation by Mr. Cowart on August 14, 2024, at Trinitas Christian School.

We gather together this evening for orientation. To be oriented. But what does that mean? Perhaps you came here this evening, expecting to hear from your child’s teachers about school supplies, textbooks, class schedules, homework procedures and the like. And, yes, we will get to all of that. But before we do, I want to take a few minutes to speak to you about a different sort of orientation. In the English language, the word “oriented” has four primary uses. It can connote interest in that someone is “oriented” toward a particular thing or activity. Or it can mean designed for, like, for instance, if an industry is “oriented” toward a particular market. Frequently “oriented” is used in terms of adjusting to one’s circumstances or surroundings as we do when we visit a foreign city or country. But tonight, I want to use “orient” in the sense of positioning oneself in relation to a fixed point. As a sailor of old would orient himself by the north star, I want to challenge all of us tonight to orient our school in the coming academic year by the fixed position of the Christian virtues of hospitality and healing.

With very few exceptions parents of students in classical Christian schools are not classically educated. Many of us, probably most of us, attended and then graduated from government schools or traditional Christian schools. By God’s grace, though, we have found a better path for our children.

One of the best things about classical education is the idea that parents can be educated alongside their children.

Classical Christian schools like Trinitas frequently refer to "the Great Conversation." At its root, the Great Conversation is simply an ongoing exchange of great ideas across time and space.  It first requires each successive generation to listen and comprehend the ideas and wisdom of its forebearers and then to contribute constructively to the discussion. Given the lamentable state of public discourse in our world today, it seems that our present generation may be ill-equipped to contribute to the Great Conversation.

The president of the Association of Classical Christian Schools, David Goodwin, places the blame on the shoulders of modern education stating "We are bringing up children who do not have the skills to engage in intellectual discourse, who believe only in themselves, and whose deepest theological thought originates in their own mind.”

Recently, I had the opportunity to participate in the Classical School Teacher Fair at Hillsdale College. Over a two-day period, I had the privilege of interacting with many high-caliber college students who are receiving a top-notch liberal arts education including two of our own recent graduates. This experience reminded me that our students work hard in a rigorous academic setting and often attain the goals they are aiming at, college being one of them. Even though our teachers encourage students to do their best rather than focusing on grades, the grades often come to students who work hard and have some academic talent, and getting into a good college is one reward for that. But the story doesn’t end there.

It’s a long-standing Trinitas tradition to close out each day with the entire school singing the Doxology together. To lift our voices together and sing “Praise God from Whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.” is the best way I know how to depart one another’s company. It is like we take all of the energy expended, the knowledge and wisdom pursued, the time invested in training affections, and the virtue cultivated and affix the postage of worshipful prayer to it before sending it heavenward for the day. It is a glorious experience. Even if the little ones sing a tad too loudly to be on key and I struggle to start on the same pitch two days in a row, it is a glorious experience.

One hundred twenty-eight years ago, the United States Congress officially recognized the social and economic impact of American workers by, ironically, giving them a day off. Since that time, the first Monday in September has been a federal holiday often celebrated with parades, fireworks, and backyard barbecues. Acting as the unofficial end of summer, Labor Day might also represent the end of lazy summer living and the start of the demands of a new school year. Yet for the thoughtful Christian, even a secular holiday such as Labor Day should be cause for contemplation.