Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Ralph Waldo Emerson was a preacher, philosopher, thinker, and author, made famous for his brilliant and original essays that inspired the Romantic movement known in America as Transcendentalism.

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Socratic Method

 

Many parents and teachers generally believe that education should be individualistic, that students should not be required to listen to lectures during every class, and that teachers should respect the individual needs of all children.

 

As much as possible, we give students an opportunity to learn not only from the teacher, but from themselves and their fellow classmates. We openly share our responses, comments, insights, and arguments in a spirit of mutual inquiry using the Socratic Method. “One burns to tell the new fact,” writes Emerson. “The other burns to hear it.” Passion for truth and knowledge is given free rein in the classroom.

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Classical Education

 

Before entering Harvard, Emerson attended Boston Latin School, America’s first public school established in 1635 with the mission of preparing students for the rigor of classical education in college.

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Every student had to master Latin in 1635, and centuries later Emerson was no exception. He was well-read in Latin and was inspired by the classical tradition of literature, history, and philosophy that is the foundation of Western civilization.

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Liberal Education

 

Our pedagogy is contrary to today’s factory-like approach to schooling promoted by the government and media. Modern education embraces a common core of information that all students verify with standardized test scores.

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Although we value tests and our students perform in the highest percentiles on standardized exams, our main focus is on teaching the tools necessary for self-education.

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We use a classical approach, a language-intensive, history-based, and idea-oriented educational model that exposes students to the great ideas of the past that have a lasting influence on the intellectual life and culture of today. The emphasis is on cultivating the student to be a scholar and citizen of the world. Learning is not a means only but an end itself.

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Latin: Power to Learn

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“It is better to teach the child Latin grammar than rhetoric or moral philosophy, because it requires exactitude of performance; it is made certain that the lesson is mastered, and that power of performance is worth more than the knowledge. He can learn anything which is important to him now that the power to learn is secured: as mechanics say, when one has learned the use of tools, it is easy to work at a new craft.”

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We believe with Emerson that Latin has many practical benefits and applications. When we study Latin, we obtain the “power to learn” almost anything else. Latin is a lost tool that strengthens our intellectual ability to discern and think logically. Latin sharpens the mind, empowering the individual to see the structure embedded in thoughts and words.