David Bryant CCE, Providence Parents, The Christian Life
Obedience is an important ingredient in the culture at Providence Classical Christian School. Teachers stress it, as do I. One of our school’s slogans is, “Obey right away, all the way, every day, in a cheerful way.” The Bible speaks to children and commands them to obey parents and all authorities over them. Though “obey” […]
David Bryant CCE, Providence Parents, Teenagers
The Book of James tells us that we “do not know what tomorrow will bring,” and then asks the penetrating question, “What is your life?” followed by the humbling reminder, “For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (4:14). The context of these words, of course, is a warning […]
All students in PreK through 12th grade study music at Providence, and we don’t make any apologies for doing so. Instead, we view instruction in music as essential, a high priority. Why? First, we could never in good conscience call ourselves an institution of education if we didn’t provide instruction in music. In fact, Plato […]
David Bryant CCE, Parents, Teachers, The Christian Life
Here is a message I have shared with both the Grammar School students and the Logic/Rhetoric School students in their assemblies in the last week. It’s something that students need to hear and that both teachers and parents need to reinforce over and over again. In fact, we ourselves need to hear this message! ——————— […]
Here’s a thought experiment: If you described education using an equation, what would it be? This is what former editor of WORLD magazine Marvin Olasky set out to do in an article from 2015. Our vision at Providence Classical Christian School lines up wonderfully with Mr. Olasky’s education equation, so I commend it to you. […]
David Bryant CCE, Dorothy Sayers, History
Here’s a novel thought: let’s know what education is before we try to do it. And here’s another novel thought (ironic as it might be): education for the future needs to be formed by the past. This is to say that innovation for innovation’s sake in education is nothing more than planned obsolescence, with consequences […]
David Bryant CCE, Parents, Teachers
In his book What Great Teachers Do Differently, author Todd Whitaker writes, Teachers are the filters for the day-to-day reality of school. Whether we are aware of it or not, our behavior sets the tone. If students overhear us whining and complaining about something, it may be the talk of the school for days even […]
One characteristic of any school that calls itself “classical Christian” is the teaching of Latin. Providence students begin learning Latin in 4th grade, and they continue to study Latin into Rhetoric School. Why? Are we stubbornly clinging to an obsolete language out of some elitist commitment to rigor? You know, ivy on the walls, dead […]
David Bryant CCE, Cultural context, Dorothy Sayers
I want to share a passage with you from Dorothy Sayers’s seminal lecture “The Lost Tools of Learning.” Delivered at Oxford in 1947, her lecture has been reprinted as an essay that has had enormous influence on thinking Christians interested in giving their children an excellent education. But don’t think of her lecture as a […]
David Bryant CCE, Hellos and Goodbyes
Each summer, about a week and a half before school starts, Providence teachers congregate to prepare for the year. It’s a wonderful week of training, preparation, and fellowship. New teachers get to know the vision of the school and become acquainted with their new colleagues, and returning teachers prepare to practice their craft for another […]