Christ the Savior Academy opened its doors in August of 2012. Its founders saw the need for a school that educated the whole child – mind, body, and soul. And the way that we do it is unique in the Wichita marketplace. At CSA, we integrate faith into classroom learning. Classical schools are becoming more common. Christian classical schools are even more so. But Christ the Savior Academy is a classical Orthodox Christian school. And that creates a different “flavor” of classical education. We combine the Faith of the Orthodox Christian Church with the emphasis on truth, goodness, and beauty of a classical education.
This post is the first of what will be a two-part article on how we integrate faith into classroom learning and has been adapted from Jennifer Sebits’ 20-21 Virtual Tour. I will begin with a 30,000 foot view of what we mean by “Faith” and “Classical Education”.
Christ the Savior Academy is a PreKindergarten through 8th grade classical Orthodox Christian School. We keep our teacher-to-student ratio low. And that’s intentional. Our cap is no more than 12 students per classroom. That’s because we want each student to get lots of one-on-one, personal attention. In fact, I will go so far as to say that we couldn’t do what we do at CSA if our class sizes were similar to those in the public school. A classical Orthodox Christian education is not efficient and scalable. When the day comes that we need a classroom to support 20 first graders, we will also need two first grade teachers. That is how committed we are to keeping our class sizes small.
But First, Prayer
The most effective way we are able to integrate faith into the classroom is by incorporating the practices of the Orthodox Church into every school day. While many Christian schools provide a weekly worship service, our students begin every day with prayer in our beautiful chapel. CSA welcomes families from all denominations. In fact, 40% of our families this year are not Orthodox. But even our non-Orthodox families have grown to love the traditions of our church. For those who aren’t quite sure what Orthodox Christianity is, perhaps one of my favorite bumper stickers can help clarify it a little bit.
”The Orthodox Church is Evangelical, but not Protestant. It is Orthodox, but not Jewish. It is Catholic, but not Roman. It isn't denominational – it is pre-denominational. It has believed, taught, preserved, defended, and died for – the Faith of the Apostles since the day of Pentecost nearly 2,000 years ago.
Another way to say it? The Orthodox Christian Church finds its beginnings with Christ and the Apostles, and continues in unbroken Tradition through two millenia. Prescribed prayers at prescribed times in the day are part of the ethos of Orthodox Christianity. And, therefore, we begin every day with morning prayer that includes a Gospel reading, often followed by a short lesson from our priest. And because our priests are part of the CSA community, these lessons are often directly connected to the experiences our students are going through that season or week or day.
Faith and Community
Bible stories come alive in our beautiful cathedral, where artwork – known as iconography – is written all over our walls and ceiling. In fact, our Art teacher also teaches icon studies to our third graders. The students participate in an all-school liturgy once a month. And these are held in our beautiful cathedral. Open to the public, parents and parishioners often join us in worship. Our 4th through 8th grade students sing in the choir. Our young men in grades three to eight serve at the altar on a rotation. Can you think of a more beautiful, peaceful way for a child – or adult, for that matter – to begin their day?
The Role of Beauty in Faith
When you hear or read very much at all about classical education, you will always come across the same three words: truth, goodness, and beauty. If you have the opportunity to explore a variety of classical schools, you will also discover that there are differences to the meanings and practices expressed in those identical words. As you have already seen, an emphasis on beauty is built into the Orthodox Faith.
Not surprisingly, here at Christ the Savior Academy, we believe that beauty is also an important part of the curriculum. In fact, when choosing our curriculum, we ask ourselves “Is it beautiful?” In a world driven by equality, efficiency, and practicality, beauty helps our children develop a love for learning. Beauty is what draws our hearts closer to God and causes us to respond with praise. It is beauty that inspires our students’ creativity. And creative students become creative problem-solvers, who value quality solutions that honor and respect the people they serve.
Is Truth Relative?
The second question we ask in choosing our curriculum is, “Is it true?” We still believe in timeless truths and a firm foundation that is built around the person of Jesus Christ. The Prophet Amos was told that God would set a plumb line in the midst of His people. (Amos 7:8). And then about 800 years later, Christ told God’s people, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6). The Truth, Jesus Christ, is the ultimate plumb line God has given us to measure and adjust ourselves accordingly. We conform to Truth, not the other way around.
Christ demonstrates the way we are to live in this world. Truth is often uncomfortable, inconvenient, and difficult to live by. But it is also what leads to life – a beautiful, good, and eternal life. So, it is our job as educators to continually point our students to the eternal truths that show up – in our curriculum as well as our choices, behaviors, and struggles. We raise our students’ sights to the examples of the saints, who successfully follow Christ’s example.
Each week we study a saint who is commemorated by the Church on that day. Additionally, our teachers and students discuss the successes and failures of others in our stories in literature and history alike. Studying those who have gone before us and examining how they faced challenges in their time better prepares us to make wise and virtuous decisions in the face of our own struggles.
Virtue in Classical Education
“Is it good?” is the final question we ask in choosing our curriculum. We still teach virtues here at Christ the Savior Academy. The traditional approach to education has become utilitarian. The worth of an “educated” person is based on his usefulness in the workforce or society. Career success, of course, is the measure. But that is not the aim of a classical education. We don’t do what we do so that our students will get good grades, get into good schools, get good jobs, and make good money. If our students do all of these things, but fail to live a good life, our efforts are for nothing.
Both Plato and Aristotle believed that the primary purpose of education is to cultivate in the student virtuous thought and action. Virtue is not an add-on to our curriculum. It is a golden thread that weaves throughout everything we do. You can even hear it in our calls and responses. While so many schools encourage attention-getters like:
Teacher: Class, class…
Students: Yes, yes…
Over their tenure at CSA, our students memorize call-outs like:
Throughout the year, our teachers assist our students in committing the responses to 36 possible calls anyone in our faculty might give at any time. We waste nothing. We are not a classical Christian school simply because we read old books, study old languages, and require all students to take a Bible class. At CSA, we are thoughtful about how we integrate faith into the classroom. Our goal is to create classically-educated minds and Christ-formed hearts within every student who walks our halls. So, we must be intentional with everything we do from the moment our students arrive until they exit our doors.
Let Us Complete Our Prayer to the Lord
At CSA, we end every day just the way we started – in prayer – offering back to God thanksgiving for our families, our teachers, and the privilege of learning in this beautiful setting.
Next week, I will share how we integrate faith, academics, music, art, and PE into a low-technology classical Christian education. In the meantime, if you are considering Christ the Savior Academy for your family, I would love to show you the school in person.
