Google now repo that their engine searches through 60 trillion websites pages, 100 billion times a month. rts The amount of information available to us today is truly astounding. Getting my first internet-connected computer in graduate school some 20 years ago, I have grown up with this information explosion. But, despite this unparalleled access to information, I find myself often getting bored when I sit down in front of the computer. If I don’t have some project to research or some product to price shop, I’ll check some emails and read a few blogs until I get up to find something to do. Information, by itself, bores me. Without a purpose, design, or beauty, information becomes mere trivia.
That said, I celebrate the way our preschool and elementary children love information. They soak it up, memorize more than we think they are capable, and then recite their information with joy. Learning troves of information (some of which they do not fully understand or appreciate) gives them a sense of accomplishment. This is not some recent discovery. We believe this is God’s design in children, which is why we lean into their natural inclination to absorb information, just as educators have done for centuries. This is the (time-tested) philosophy of a classical education in the Grammar stage.
But, we do not wish our students to stay there forever. We want them to grow out of the Grammar stage and into the Logic and Rhetoric stages as they advance. We want them to question the veracity, purpose, and utility of information they confront. Then, as they search for meaning in the world around them, they must sift through that information, organize their thoughts around big questions, and then deliver arguments that advance what is good, true, and beautiful. We do not want our students adrift in a sea of trivia but charting a course to discover new lands. The classical education is all the more relevant in this information age. Being “Classical in our Method” is not some marketing gimmick or passing fad, but rather one of our four convictions.
I believe I have grown out of the Grammar stage (for some time now). When I read, I want to be challenged or moved. I’m not interested in just gathering information. I want to see the connections and the argument. When I read or hear the news, I immediately begin asking myself, “What does that mean?” When I listen to a lecture or presentation, I want it to either strengthen my resolve or change my mind. When I study history (and I do love history), I seek wisdom and often wonder with amazement at the handiwork of a sovereign God. In every way I encounter information, I want to have a purpose. And, I hope the same for our students, that they too would grow bored with information, and then find great purpose in wielding it.
In Christ,
Stephen Sprague
Headmaster
P.S. Information can also be dangerous. Join us on March 26th for a PTF-sponsored event on Parenting in the Digital Age: Internet and Social Media. Mark your calendar. Dinner and childcare provided.