|
THE NEED Why a New High School? Trinity’s high school will be both the culmination and the proof of the school that has already come into existence. During high school we will see the fruition of our teaching in the students’ lives, and at the end of high school we will send them out into the wide world to live as educated young men and women. Our classical Christian mission has always aspired to offer a K–12 program. Why? Because high school is central to both the classical curriculum and the Christian worldview. At ninth grade, students have just attained the skills of reading and writing that will allow them to begin wrestling with the larger issues of life and learning; their thinking is beginning to mature as well, so that they can begin to test their own thoughts against the best thinkers that our culture knows. This is the time when students discover and define themselves. With the right kind of mission, faculty, and curriculum, our high school will be able to consummate all that has gone before, as students integrate their learning with their lives. Classical education is vision-driven. The classical, and especially the classical Christian, heritage gives us an idea that we can live by and for: a transformation of the self, measured by the ideal human person of the classical tradition and the imago Dei of the Christian faith. This is the first and great benefit which we will bring to our community: an education with an idea. The culture in which our students are being raised is also hurried and greedy, wanting as much as possible as soon as possible, discontented with a quiet life of minding our own business (1 Thessalonians 4:11), accelerating children and adolescents into a faster and more pressured pace of life, ignoring the wisdom of Ecclesiastes 4:6: “Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.” This fast-paced treadmill is everywhere, especially in schools, and if we hope to help students slow down enough to learn and live well, we need to create a different sort of community, one that has a culture of its own, not just like the surrounding world. Thus do we hope to become an unhurried community of learners. Classical Christian education also has this to offer our community: a moral education that matches word and deed. Moral education and spiritual development are essential to a good high school experience. Every age must face this challenge. Every age has its tendencies toward both virtue and vice, its own self-understandings and blind spots. On the positive side of the moral ledger, the world of our high schoolers is surely more global, more sensitive, more environmentally conscious, more aware of racial prejudice than the world of their grandparents. At the same time, our youth have to face a world that is more materialistic, more sexualized and scornful of modesty, more selfish, more desperate, and more cynical than the cultures of their parents. As if that were not enough, these young people face such fierce obstacles at a time when other cultural factors make it highly unlikely that they will even be aware of the temptations, much less know the sort of strategies that the wise have employed in the past. The visualization of culture, the rise of the video culture, the acceleration of the pace of life, the free market’s exploitation of youth culture, the burgeoning of advertising and propaganda, the decline of serious reading, the dumbing down of high school standards, the secularization of American life—these all conspire together to create a situation in which it is hard to avoid the sins of our peers to discover the wisdom of our betters. And so it is that we want to establish a new high school in the classical Christian tradition.
A more detailed exposition of the vision for our high school is set forth in “All Things Well,” which is available upon request. A CLASSICAL HIGH SCHOOL Classical education goes back to the Greeks, who, ironically, had no distinctive word for education. The word they did have—paideia—can be translated as either “education” or “culture.” The fact that the Greeks could not even distinguish between education and culture is a clear indication of how tightly these two ideas were bound together for them. Education was a way of passing on their particular and fascinating culture to the next generation. Education was “in-culturation.” Most civilized communities have followed the Greeks in this tradition. Education, as distinct from technical or vocational training, has had a broad aim: to teach civil behavior, to awaken the logical faculty, and to produce right sentiments by which our reason can hold sway over our passions. One of the principal means of achieving these ends is to steep young students in the literature, both sacred and secular, on which the culture of the community is based. Toward these larger ends, Trinity has consciously adopted the classical Trivium (grammar, logic, and rhetoric) as a sound methodology for teaching the skills or tools of learning. We have been influenced by Dorothy Sayers’ essay, “The Lost Tools of Learning,” which is both an inspiring tribute to the value of the liberal arts and also a creative proposal for linking these three arts to what we know about the development of children. In high school, all three of the liberal arts can flourish, and there ought to be a focus on rhetoric, with an emphasis on writing and speaking. Our classical education will teach students to learn for themselves. The measure of our success will be graduates who are able • To listen and hear—they will work hard to hear what other people say. AN UNHURRIED HIGH SCHOOL “Unhurried” is probably the most confusing and controversial part of our school’s mission. It is so very easily misunderstood: Some might think it means aimless, some mediocre. Some might think that we want students without ambition or drive. Some might think that we scorn rigor and discipline. These are misleading caricatures. We believe that a truly unhurried education accords with our Christian and classical goals and heritage. Both the spiritual nature and the unique humanness of the learner necessitate the slower pace of study to which we aspire. An unhurried high school is Friendly. Schools that are “friendship friendly” are great places to live and learn. Civil. One of the casualties of our hurried culture is an erosion of civility. When we are rushed and stressed, we are concerned more to be understood than to understand another. Reflective. It is ironic that we fear that an unhurried high school will be somehow academically inferior, not challenging enough, mediocre; for the truth is that American education has long been on an anti-intellectual trajectory, and one of the obvious symptoms of that malaise is the hurriedness of education. Deep. Depth of knowledge happens in two ways. First, a deeper understanding is achieved when students and teachers have time to investigate questions with thoroughness and care; second, deeper knowledge comes when students have the time to explore the connections between seemingly independent subjects. Creative. Endowed by their creator with rational and imaginative gifts, all students are capable of a unique “sub-creation.” But such work cannot happen in a frenzy. Conversational. What we discover for ourselves affects us much more than what is merely communicated from another. We seek teachers who ask excellent questions and give students time to test their answers in conversation. This kind of learning takes time. We are willing to sacrifice some breadth of learning for the privilege of going deep into certain subjects and ideas. A RICH SECONDARY EDUCATION IN BOOKS AND THINGS Charlotte Mason was an English educator (1842–1923) who over the course of a long career established a teachers’ college and several schools and authored a six-volume work on her new philosophy of education for home and school. She advocated a rich, high-quality, interesting curriculum for all children, not merely to “educate” them, but also to guide them in the development of character and cultivate in them a lifelong love of learning. At Trinity School we seek to implement many of Mason’s insights and ideas. These educational principles are valuable to us not only in the education of younger children, but also in our work with high schoolers. Two of Mason’s key concepts are applicable for learners of all ages: that every learner is a person born capable of absorbing and connecting ideas; and that the best learning occurs when the student directly interacts with ideas, through media and observation. At Trinity we implement a number of Mason’s techniques that make learning more efficient, more effective, and longer-lasting: narration, nature study, music study, picture study, and scheduled free time. Most of these will receive less emphasis in high school than in our lower grades, but we will continue to practice these fundamental building blocks of our pedagogy. THE STUDENTS WE AIM TO SERVE Trinity’s high school will serve both Christian and non-Christian students, allowing students the freedom to be non-Christian while imparting to all a good understanding of how to think Christianly and providing student life activity that seeks to capture their hearts for the Lord. We will ask students to speak openly and clearly about their own faith. We will strive to create a culture that does not penalize or criticize students with doubts, students who are searching for truth and are unsettled. Hypocrisy is to be avoided at all costs; faith will be encouraged; honest doubt will be acknowledged and respected. We will serve students who have come up through our lower and middle grades as well as students new to Trinity. Our high school will be the natural next step beyond our K–8 program, and our assumption is that those who have gone through this program, or some part of it, will be admitted to the high school by virtue of their success at the lower grades. Those who enter in high school must have the requisite habits of study (attentiveness, respect, responsibility) and the mastery of verbal and mathematical arts sufficient to enter into the course of study. Remedial work in history, Latin, or logic may be necessary for students new to Trinity in the ninth grade or above. Our curriculum will prepare students for college admission and a successful college experience, both in terms of content and the courses offered. That we serve primarily college-bound students is dictated by the nature of a classical education and the need to focus our efforts. College admission will be one of the most critical concerns that parents will have about our high school. We are striving to develop a curriculum and hire teachers worthy of the respect of the most selective colleges, and we plan to hire a college counselor who will cultivate relationships with those colleges. We believe that the success of Trinity’s college preparatory program will not be measured by the selectivity of the colleges our graduates enter, but in the fit between our graduates’ goals and the culture of the colleges where they study. CURRICULUM At Trinity we are seeking to shape and define a curriculum that supports our mission and is fitting for high school students. Such a course of study requires significant class time, carefully balanced, as well as homework. Our classical aims require that we extend the tools of learning acquired in grades K–8 into the critical high school years. The rhetoric stage of Trinity’s education is both the most exciting and the most demanding. Our desire for a rich education means that we won’t be satisfied with offering challenging courses in only English, history, math, and science. This mission also pushes us to plan time for athletics, clubs, performing arts, socialization, homework, and unstructured time. Further, as a Christian school, we must invest time in worldview development and spiritual formation. With these goals in view, fully conscious of the constraints of a daily and weekly schedule, we have attempted to set out a balanced curriculum. Trinity High School Graduation Requirements
Humanities Seminar for three of the four years. Read our statement on Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors Course here. Our goal is to provide a curriculum that will fulfill our mission for a variety of college-bound students—the ones who want highly selective colleges as well as the ones who desire less competitive colleges. The more ambitious or gifted students can fulfill these minimum requirements and go on to take advanced courses. Students who find some of the core subjects taxing can complete the minimums and use elective periods in other ways—for study hall, or for more courses in the arts or in a subject they love. ATHLETICS Apart from the cultural expectations for a high school to field many sports teams, it is no surprise that a classical Christian school would put an emphasis on sports. The Greeks did from the beginning, training body, mind, and soul. Paul borrowed metaphors from that tradition to describe the challenge and discipline of the Christian life. Athletics provides a unique opportunity for the practice of the excellence that a classical Christian education espouses. In the Christian athlete, the cardinal virtues and the fruit of the Spirit are tested and purified. By a strong program in interscholastic team sports, we aim to complement intellectual training with a training of the body. In a vigorous sports program, athletes have an opportunity to excel at their particular giftedness. Team sports also provide a context for all participating students to experience community and be part of something bigger than themselves. Trinity’s initial high school athletics programs will build upon the existing programs at the middle grades. New programs will continue to be developed over time, balancing student interest with the good of existing programs. Athletics will be encouraged for all who have the gifts and desire to compete. In the early years of the school a wide participation among the student body (as opposed to a few niche teams) will be a benefit to the school and the students. In the first two years of high school, the balance of junior varsity and varsity teams will be determined by the number of students interested and the skill level that they bring. Competition will be gauged according to the team size and strength, as we attempt to provide the students with challenging but not overwhelming opponents. We will aim to support those sports that have been established and are currently successful at the middle grades. Based on these assumptions, the following sports are likely to be offered over the first four years of the school:
Additionally, as the student body grows, we will consider the following sports: swimming (boys and girls), tennis (boys and girls), baseball (boys), and lacrosse (boys). In addition, an outdoor education program is being considered that will offer students a noncompetitive, athletically challenging alternative to team sports. STUDENT LIFE In order to provide a rich education, we intend to offer a number of learning opportunities beyond those required for graduation. Some of these will be during school, and some will occur outside the formal school day. Participation in co-curricular activities can be tremendously enriching to students, as it allows them to be exposed informally to new activities or to work in familiar areas in greater depth than is possible within the regular curriculum. Co-Curriculars We plan to offer a variety of co-curricular activities during school, without overbooking the school day—a real danger that is deleterious to good, unhurried learning. Some activities and clubs will meet both during and after school, and others will be held exclusively outside of school hours. Students will be able to choose among a number of clubs and activities. Our offerings will be contingent on student enrollment and the availability of faculty advisors. We will aim to balance clubs that are enriching to the students with those that are popular; ideally, we will offer clubs that meet both of these standards. The following activities will be given priority in our planning:
Other possible clubs include the Junior Classical League, foreign language clubs, Quiz Bowl, Community Service Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Young Life, Chess Club, or Computer Club. Student Conduct and Culture Trinity’s high school will be defined not by negative rules but by a positive commitment to Christ and a Christian culture of learning. In order to promote this kind of positive encouragement to love, good works, and the life of the Spirit, we will establish a number of groups to nurture and develop student leadership in the school. The Student Council and Honor Council will work closely with the administration to shape a student culture where honor and good behavior are expected and encouraged. The Spiritual Life Council will oversee regular chapels and other activities designed to encourage spiritual growth and spiritual discipline in the lives of the students, seeking to help our students apply what they learn in class to their lives as Christians. Curriculum | FAQs | Student Life | Athletics | Return to Trinity School Home  Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||