Trinitas Blog

One distinguishing mark of God’s people should be thankfulness. Over and over again in Scripture we are exhorted to be thankful. James, our Lord’s brother, says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.” God has given us all that we have, all that we need, so it is only right that we should be eternally grateful to the One who has given us every good and every perfect gift, indeed, every thing.

When Trinitas Christian School opened its doors in 1999, we were the only classical, Christ-centered school in Northwest Florida. In the quarter-century since then, this unique form of education has exploded all across the country and even more so in Northwest Florida with nearly a dozen classical schools in operation. Over the years, I have expended much energy trying to convince parents not only how but also why Trinitas Christian School is different from other schools. It is hard to gauge how many people I have persuaded. I am painfully aware at times, though, that I have persuaded at least a few people in the Pensacola area that Trinitas is different, and that they view that difference suspiciously as if they think we are conducting some kind of weird and isolated experiment here with this classical Christian stuff.

Every once in a while at Trinitas a student will ask, “Why do we do that anyway?” and it reminds me that we don’t always do a thorough job of communicating to students why we do the things we do. If the student also says something like, “My friend who goes to [fill in the blank] school doesn’t do that,” then it becomes clear that we are not talking enough to our students about the methods to our madness. There is more going on at Trinitas than reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Students, what is the chief end of Man? “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” An elementary review, perhaps, but a foundational principle and reminder nonetheless. Now, who can tell me what is the chief end of education? 

Turning to origins, ‘educare’ in Latin translates, ‘to train or to mold.’ This calls to mind how God created man–not the Westminster catechism answer this time but practically–He molded or formed him from the dust and declared him ‘good.’ After unlawfully partaking of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, however, man no longer appealed to God as the sole source of Truth; man began to do what was right in his own eyes, as if he were omniscient, and not God. Measured in biblical chapters, it takes no time at all for the devastating effects of God “giving us over” to our deceitful hearts to manifest–just ask poor Abel.

The following is adapted from an address delivered at the Annual Parent-Board Forum by Pastor Jon Mark Olesky on September 9, 2024, at Trinitas Christian School.

Parents interested in bringing their children to Trinitas Christian School are often asked “What do you want for your children before you shoot them out into the world? What’s your greatest aim and desire for them as they move toward adulthood?” Questions like these and others like “Do my desires for my children align with God’s desires for my children? or “What is God’s will for my child’s life?” are worthwhile not only when beginning at Trinitas but also repeatedly as our children mature. As I hope we would all agree, helping our children do the will of God is the ultimate purpose of Christian parenting.

We continue our classical parents series this week, discussing how parents who choose a classical Christian education for their children are dedicated. The first week we established that classical parents have to be dedicated to going against the status quo in education because cCe is so different from the education most of us are most familiar with. Last week parent participation was the topic. Classical parents are dedicated to participating in their children’s education, and they are invited and encouraged to do just that in cCe schools. This week we will close out the series for now by discussing the most important of three ways classical parents are dedicated: they are dedicated to the role of the Scriptures in the education of their children.

Last week we started a series about classical parents. The word we used to describe parents who choose classical Christian education for their children is dedicated. In the first installment, we said classical parents are dedicated in at least three distinct ways, and we explored the first way: classical parents are dedicated in the way they buck the system, or go against the grain of modern, progressive education. This week we begin to get to the heart of classical parents as we discuss how they are dedicated to participating in their children’s education.

Classical Christian schools can come across as pretty odd to most folks. While Latin can still be found in other private and public schools, not many schools teach six years of it. (I know of one classical Christian school that teaches eleven years of Latin.) And good books can certainly be found in other private and public schools, but not very many will read Homer, Virgil, Plato, Augustine, Rousseau, and Nietzsche. Memory is part of learning no matter what kind of school one attends, but not many schools will memorize hundreds of lines of prose, poetry, and Scripture every year. So yes, classical Christian schools can come across as odd even if only because of differences like these.