Trinitas Blog

Perhaps we should ponder the meaning of the word “education” before we try to discern what a good education is. The word is derived from the Latin infinitive educāre or educere or a combination of the two. Either way, the word carries the meaning “to lead” or even “to lead out.” Understood this way, it is easy to see that any good education must lead the learner to something. Anything that claims to be education but is passive in its application, perhaps allowing the learner to find his own way, isn’t exactly education. To be educated then is to necessarily be led out of ignorance and into a particular knowledge, a particular way of understanding that produces wisdom. Such is a proper classical Christian education.

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

At Trinitas, we ask students to complete a minimum of 160 hours of service during their high school years. This amounts to forty hours each year—more is okay, less is not an option. In fact, to say that we “ask” students to complete 160 servant hours is an understatement; rather, it is a requirement of graduation. Completing 150 servant hours instead of the 160 disqualifies even the would-be valedictorian from graduating—the same as failing Traditio or failing to write and defend a senior thesis would keep one from graduating.

When Janice and I visited Trinitas Christian School at the invitation of Justice Ken Bell (father of three Trinitas alums) fourteen years ago, it wasn’t because we were looking for classical education. We were looking for Christian education to be sure, but we didn’t even know enough about classical education to ask a good question about it. Seeing was believing for us that day though, and one tour of the school during a normal day of classes convinced us that this classical education was worth a try.

So let’s imagine we’ve been recruited to play a game. We didn’t volunteer, we were recruited. Saying no wasn’t an option. In this game we get dropped off in a strange alternate reality where we understand nothing. The people are speaking our language, but they’re using a lot of words and phrases and references we don’t understand. They only laugh at us when we ask questions, but mostly they ignore us. There are a dozen of us so we have some comfort in our numbers, but none of us understands how to get along in this strange place. Before we were dropped off in this alternate reality, we were told that to win the game, to get back home, we must make it to the Good City, and to be careful along the way. We were given no map and no further instruction.

Excerpt 3 of 3 of Headmaster Gilley's address at Parent Orientation

Click for Excerpt 1 of 3.
Click for Excerpt 2 of 3.

We start by giving children a safe place to grow and mature and flourish in the warm glow of the Gospel so that they might prosper in a virtuous childhood, growing confident and bold in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, learning to laugh loud, boisterous belly laughs, and to revel in the joy of being sons and daughters of the King.

Excerpt 2 of 3 from Headmaster Gilley's address at Parent Orientation

Click for Excerpt 1 of 3.

In his book Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl, a culture critique written for adults, Wilson says:

Part 1 of 3 of Headmaster Gilley at a Parent Orientation.

If I were to ask tonight, “Why are you here? Why have you brought your children to this school? Most of us would answer that we are here because Trinitas has a reputation for offering an excellent education, the kind of education that will get your child into a good college and then a good job someday. Also, many of us would say we are here because Trinitas is safe. We’ve all heard the stories from so many schools about sex and drugs and alcohol and violence, so we’ve beat a hasty retreat to a private Christian school where we hope to protect our children from that environment.