[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.23″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||3px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.23″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.23″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.23″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.23″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”30px||30px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Q:<\/span> Schools often talk about \u201cparent engagement.\u201d What does that look like at a classical Christian school?<\/strong><\/p>\n A:<\/span><\/p>\n Many parents hear \u201cengagement\u201d and picture a calendar: attend the fundraiser, volunteer at the event, show up to the performance. Those things matter. They build community, they honor teachers, they say, \u201cWe\u2019re with you.\u201d But attendance is not the same as engagement.<\/em><\/p>\n Engagement begins when parents believe in the mission\u2014and then take it home.<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.23″ _module_preset=”default” header_3_text_color=”#ffb600″ custom_padding=”20px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Classical Christian education does not treat learning as mere data transfer or vocational training. It is, as Chesterton says, the transfer of a way of life.<\/p>\n That is part of what makes classical Christian education feel different from many modern approaches. It invites students into wisdom, trains them in attention, and seeks to turn their loves toward what is true, good, and beautiful. It passes on a cultural inheritance\u2014what we often call the Great Tradition.<\/p>\n Think of it as a \u201cfeast.\u201d A dictionary will tell you a feast is an abundant meal, often with ceremony. But Scripture presents feasting with deeper significance. Israel\u2019s feasts used story and symbol to teach: This is who we are and should be, because this is what God has done. Jesus taught the kingdom through the imagery of banquets and wedding feasts. Revelation ends with a marriage supper. Across the biblical story, feasting is about formation. When you look at a feast that way, three elements rise to the surface again and again: invitation, remembrance, and celebration. <\/p>\n These three words provide a simple framework for helping you to set your child\u2019s place at the table.<\/p>\n A true feast begins with an invitation. Someone opens the door, prepares a place, and says, \u201cCome.\u201d A school can prepare a \u201cfeast\u201d for students every day. Homer in his epics gives great attention to the cooking and eating of food. Part of the challenge for students is to cultivate the right taste, the ability to appre ciate the good \u201cfood\u201d set before them. But if students arrive already filled with something else, based on a hunger for the equivalent of fast food, then the feast won\u2019t seem very enticing, and students will settle for lower goods.<\/p>\n How to Strengthen Invitation at Home<\/strong><\/p>\n Practice wonder. <\/span><\/em>Let your child hear you say, \u201cI don\u2019t understand that yet, but I want to.\u201d<\/p>\n Ask invitational questions.<\/em> Instead of \u201cHow <\/span>was school?\u201d try: \u201cWhat surprised you today?\u201d \u201cWhat was beautiful?\u201d \u201cWhat idea stayed with you?\u201d These questions turn the focus toward meaning rather than performance.<\/p>\n Build miniature rituals of beauty.<\/em> A hymn <\/span>while cleaning up. A short poem at breakfast. A read-aloud chapter before bed. Ten minutes is enough to begin changing appetites.<\/p>\n Cultivate good taste.<\/span> <\/em>Pay attention to what is dulling wonder\u2014screens, constant noise, the pace of daily life. Every home is a small desire-factory. We can\u2019t help it. What we celebrate, what we complain about, what we do with our \u201cdown time,\u201d what we daydream about\u2014these things shape appetite and cul- tivate a palate attuned to good things or to counterfeits.<\/p>\n TIP:<\/span> <\/span>Create \u201cfriction points\u201d for screens. Depending on age, this can range from a complete ban to just a speed bump. No screens. Or, screens only after dinner and not at the table. Or, phones or computers stay out of bedrooms. Or, all devices charge in one central place beginning at 8 o\u2019clock.<\/p>\n A feast is not only an invitation to eat; it\u2019s an invitation to remember. This matters for education because children are not shaped by facts alone. They are shaped by the stories those facts belong to. Remembrance is what gives facts meaning and turns learning into belonging\u2014the feasts of old reminded God\u2019s people not only what happened, but also who they were and to whom they belonged. But remembrance doesn\u2019t happen automatically.<\/p>\n How to Strengthen Remembrance at Home<\/strong><\/p>\n Link schoolwork to the larger story.<\/em> A sim<\/span>ple daily conversation habit: \u201cHow does this assignment connect to what we believe about God?\u201d \u201cWhat does this story tell us about human nature?\u201d<\/p>\n Practice one small act of remembrance. <\/em>Each day, look for ways to help your child connect an experience or assignment to an overarching narrative: God\u2019s faithfulness, Scripture, the school\u2019s purpose, the Church\u2019s calendar, a memorable event.<\/p>\n Tell family stories.<\/em> Remembering God\u2019s <\/span>faithfulness in your own family roots learning in lived experience. When remembrance becomes normal, education stops feeling like a pile of assignments. It begins to feel like participation in a larger inheritance.<\/p>\n TIP:<\/span> Make sharing family stories a regular dinner-table or on-the-road routine.<\/p>\n A feast is a celebration. There is gladness, gratitude, and a sense that life is bigger than survival. Celebration, biblically and classically, is not \u201cextra\u201d\u2014it\u2019s the point. Children learn what is worthy of love by what is celebrated. \u201cThe heavens declare the glory of God,\u201d the psalmist says, and celebration helps keep hard work from becoming bleak by participating in that glory.<\/p>\n How to Strengthen Celebration at Home<\/strong><\/p>\n Celebrate intentionally.<\/em> Celebrate what the <\/span>Lord has done. Mark important days on the church calendar that tell the story of God\u2019s kingdom in history. Mark completed recitations, finished books, a hard concept finally grasped. It can be as small as a pat on the back or as big as a family barbecue. Celebrate character growth and virtue, not just academic achievement. \u201cThat was brave\u2014thank you for telling the truth.\u201d \u201cThat was kind\u2014you noticed someone who was left out.\u201d \u201cThat was humble\u2014you admitted you were wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n Add the spice of gratitude.<\/em> Start a short \u201cone <\/span>good thing\u201d gratitude round at the dinner table or on the drive home from school.<\/p>\n Get curious about the \u201cwhy.\u201d<\/em> Ask teachers <\/span>about the aims behind assignments. The more you understand the feast, the easier it is to reinforce it.<\/p>\n TIP:<\/span> Better yet, join with your kids in what they\u2019re learning. Read one book from each semester\u2019s reading list, and ask questions. \u201cWhat did you think about the hero turning\u2026?\u201d \u201cDid their adventure remind you of our vacation\u2026?\u201d \u201cDid your opinion change after hearing the other side of\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n Over time, small practices train appetite. They build culture. Remember what God is doing in and through your child\u2019s education. Celebrate it in the shape of your family life. Because the most decisive \u201cparent engagement\u201d is the culture you quietly build\u2014night after night\u2014in your home and around your table. \u2724<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Classical Conundrums Have questions about classical Christian education? We are here to help!Q: Schools often talk about \u201cparent engagement.\u201d What does that look like at a classical Christian school? A: Many parents hear \u201cengagement\u201d and picture a calendar: attend the fundraiser, volunteer at the event, show up to the performance. Those things matter. They build […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":28064,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[421,114,409,23,119,70,22],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nPLACE SETTING<\/h3>\n
1) INVITATION<\/h3>\n
2) REMEMBRANCE<\/h3>\n
3) CELEBRATION<\/h3>\n
FAMILIES & THE FRAMEWORK<\/h3>\n