A New School Coming to Philly

**PCS** · 10-03-2012, 01:34 PM

My name is Ross Hatton and I am part of Philadelphia Classical School, we will be launching next September. We as a board are convinced Philadelphia needs more great schools, and have been meeting for over a year organizing and planning. This will be a school that has a strong emphasis in the arts, and learning through arts. A rich curriculum that stimulates the mind and imagination, stellar academics, a warm environment where children are not stuck in desks all day, and small classes where children can be known.

PCS is a Christian school and reflects the faith of the core team founders. Academic excellence with a Biblical world and life view is our goal. “Our commitment to a Christian worldview does not, however, force us into a narrow inquiry into the world around us. On the contrary, our faith in Jesus Christ helps us to confidently examine and affirm truth wherever it is found. For we know that all truth ultimately comes to us from God” (Veritas Academy).

Established classical schools generally read from a wide variety of original sources from Virgil to Nietzsche. It is our faith that pushes us from an individualistic view of the world and knowledge to one that seeks to enter the Great Conversation of history – to find our place amidst the community of great thinkers and writers that have gone before us and have reflected on what is good, what is true and what is beautiful.

Our faith leads us to knowing that the particulars in life are held together with purpose by a steadfast Universal. For more in depth statements of faith see Home :: liberti church. This school has emerged from the liberti communities and we affirm with them the historic church’s faith in Jesus and his redemptive work in the world.

In the next several months, we are planning some informal question and answer sessions at locations throughout the city. You can check out our (in process) website Philadelphia Classical School to read more about Philadelphia Classical school, and decide if it is a fit for your family. You can see below, and check out our website for other events and locations as well. Philadelphia Classical School Application packets will be ready sometime in November 2012 for the 2013-2014 academic year. We are starting with grades K-2 and adding a grade a year after that.

Upcoming Events
South Philly- Wed., October 10th, 7:00-8:00, -Hawthorne Rec. Center 1200 Carpenter Street, 19147
Fishtown /No.Libs.- Thur., October 18th ,7:00-8:00, -Liberti East 2424 E. York Street, Suite 122, 19125
Center City- Thur. October 25th, 7:00-8:00, -First Baptist Church 123 South 17th Street, 19110
Fall Social- Sat., November 3rd, 2:30-4:00- Olivet Covenant Church, 22nd and Mt. Vernon, 19130
A Classical Lesson, Fall Games, Refreshments, Meet Other Prospective Parents, and our Board

**yc123** · 10-03-2012, 01:49 PM

Do you accept students who are not of the Christian faith?

**gideon** · 10-03-2012, 04:34 PM

where does your school stand as far as science and history are concerned? from what perspective?

**PCS** · 10-03-2012, 04:49 PM

Yes, we accept anyone who is interested in the school, and is committed to working with us to educate their child. We do not require statements of faith and hope for our school to look like the city. Christian, Non-Christian, socio-economic and racial diversity, and people coming from all parts of the city. Our first and foremost objective is to educate with excellence. Would love to talk more with you at a Question and Answer session, or in person if your interested in meeting sometime to discuss Philadelphia Classical School. Thanks for the interest.

**PCS** · 10-03-2012, 04:56 PM

This is an excerpt from Susan Wise Bauer who wrote "A Well Trained Mind" a link to the rest of the article is here: Classical Education | The Well-Trained Mind

We will be following this type of thinking and learning in Science and History. Thanks for the questions.

"A classical education is more than simply a pattern of learning, though. Classical education is language-focused; learning is accomplished through words, written and spoken, rather than through images (pictures, videos, and television).

Why is this important? Language-learning and image-learning require very different habits of thought. Language requires the mind to work harder; in reading, the brain is forced to translate a symbol (words on the page) into a concept. Images, such as those on videos and television, allow the mind to be passive. In front of a video screen, the brain can “sit back” and relax; faced with the written page, the mind is required to roll its sleeves up and get back to work.

A classical education, then, has two important aspects. It is language-focused. And it follows a specific three-part pattern: the mind must be first supplied with facts and images, then given the logical tools for organization of facts, and finally equipped to express conclusions.

But that isn’t all. To the classical mind, all knowledge is interrelated. Astronomy (for example) isn’t studied in isolation; it’s learned along with the history of scientific discovery, which leads into the church’s relationship to science and from there to the intricacies of medieval church history. The reading of the Odyssey leads the student into the consideration of Greek history, the nature of heroism, the development of the epic, and man’s understanding of the divine.

This is easier said than done. The world is full of knowledge, and finding the links between fields of study can be a mind-twisting task. A classical education meets this challenge by taking history as its organizing outline — beginning with the ancients and progressing forward to the moderns in history, science, literature, art and music.

We suggest that the twelve years of education consist of three repetitions of the same four-year pattern: Ancients, Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation, and Modern Times. The child studies these four time periods at varying levels — simple for grades 1-4, more difficult in grades 5-8 (when the student begins to read original sources), and taking an even more complex approach in grades 9-12, when the student works through these time periods using original sources (from Homer to Hitler) and also has the opportunity to pursue a particular interest (music, dance, technology, medicine, biology, creative writing) in depth.

The other subject areas of the curriculum are linked to history studies. The student who is working on ancient history will read Greek and Roman mythology, the tales of the Iliad and Odyssey, early medieval writings, Chinese and Japanese fairy tales, and (for the older student) the classical texts of Plato, Herodutus, Virgil, Aristotle. She’ll read Beowulf, Dante, Chaucer, Shakespeare the following year, when she’s studying medieval and early Renaissance history. When the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are studied, she starts with Swift (Gulliver’s Travels) and ends with Dickens; finally, she reads modern literature as she is studying modern history.

The sciences are studied in a four-year pattern that roughly corresponds to the periods of scientific discovery: biology, classification and the human body (subjects known to the ancients); earth science and basic astronomy (which flowered during the early Renaissance); chemistry (which came into its own during the early modern period); and then basic physics and computer science (very modern subjects).

This pattern lends coherence to the study of history, science, and literature — subjects that are too often fragmented and confusing. The pattern widens and deepens as the student progresses in maturity and learning. For example, a first grader listens to you read the story of the Iliad from one of the picture book versions available at any public library. Four years later, the fifth grader reads one of the popular middle-grade adaptations — Olivia Coolidge’s The Trojan War, or Roger Lancelyn Greene’s Tales of Troy. Four more years go by, and the ninth grader — faced with the Iliad itself — plunges right in, undaunted.

The classical education is, above all, systematic — in direct contrast to the scattered, unorganized nature of so much secondary education. This systematic, rigorous study has two purposes."

**gideon** · 10-03-2012, 05:27 PM

"which leads into the church’s relationship to science and from there to the intricacies of medieval church history"

From what perspective will you teach science and history? this is very general.

**QVM** · 10-03-2012, 07:34 PM

Creation or Evolution?

**chuckiezip** · 10-03-2012, 09:41 PM

good question!

**EdMundo** · 10-05-2012, 12:19 PM

"...For we know that all truth ultimately comes to us from God”

There are precious few truths in the universe, and they certainly do not come from a magical sky deity.

**PCS** · 10-05-2012, 03:24 PM

As far as science goes, both.

Our starting point is God did create but the Bible is not meant to be a science book. We don't know the details of how everything came to be but some evolution may have been involved. We are not literal 7 day creationists. That is not the way Reformed thinkers read Genesis. Fundamentalists read the Bible through a modern lens assuming every story is like a modern day journalistic account. But the Bible employs all kinds of literary genres meant to be used differently.

The Bible does give us the basis for saying that all men have worth as being created in God's image and I do think the Bible makes a distinction between us and animals.

The kinds of graduated, gradual evolution that have actually been somewhat proven by fossils can easily coexist with the biblical narrative.

The kind of evolutionary philosophy though, that is in direct odds with the Bible as it begins with a "not God" presupposition and infers wider conclusions for which there is no data.

So actually both and neither. And to add to this Science is such a rich topic of study to focus on creation or evolution can be quite limiting and reductionist thinking.

**EdMundo** · 10-05-2012, 03:40 PM

Originally Posted by PCS

As far as science goes, both.

Our starting point is God did create but the Bible is not meant to be a science book. We don't know the details of how everything came to be but some evolution may have been involved. We are not literal 7 day creationists. That is not the way Reformed thinkers read Genesis. Fundamentalists read the Bible through a modern lens assuming every story is like a modern day journalistic account. But the Bible employs all kinds of literary genres meant to be used differently.

The Bible does give us the basis for saying that all men have worth as being created in God's image and I do think the Bible makes a distinction between us and animals.

The kinds of graduated, gradual evolution that have actually been somewhat proven by fossils can easily coexist with the biblical narrative.

The kind of evolutionary philosophy though, that is in direct odds with the Bible as it begins with a "not God" presupposition and infers wider conclusions for which there is no data.

So actually both and neither. And to add to this Science is such a rich topic of study to focus on creation or evolution can be quite limiting and reductionist thinking.

"We don't know the details of how everything came to be but some evolution may have been involved." Oh boy.

**QVM** · 10-05-2012, 05:18 PM

Originally Posted by PCS

As far as science goes, both.

Our starting point is God did create but the Bible is not meant to be a science book. We don't know the details of how everything came to be but some evolution may have been involved. We are not literal 7 day creationists. That is not the way Reformed thinkers read Genesis. Fundamentalists read the Bible through a modern lens assuming every story is like a modern day journalistic account. But the Bible employs all kinds of literary genres meant to be used differently.

The Bible does give us the basis for saying that all men have worth as being created in God's image and I do think the Bible makes a distinction between us and animals.

The kinds of graduated, gradual evolution that have actually been somewhat proven by fossils can easily coexist with the biblical narrative.

The kind of evolutionary philosophy though, that is in direct odds with the Bible as it begins with a "not God" presupposition and infers wider conclusions for which there is no data.

So actually both and neither. And to add to this Science is such a rich topic of study to focus on creation or evolution can be quite limiting and reductionist thinking.

Thank you. Question answered.

**tsarstruck** · 10-06-2012, 10:51 AM

A pedagogical system that pretends that children learn in the same three-part progression and always "better" through language, that places science in its historical context, that demonstrates such a strong understanding of causation versus correlation ("About the time compulsory Latin was removed from mainstream education is about the same time reading, writing and vocabulary began to dip")? Where do I and my $11,000 a year sign up?