Five days left of 5th grade, and then the class of 2013 graduates on the 13th day of June. In the whirl of busyness and celebration, my husband Jesse and I sat down one recent evening to reorient ourselves to why we are choosing Intellectual Virtues Academy over Hughes, our neighborhood school (where Jesse and his father attended).
Why does a virtues-based education matter more than a track team ... or a band ... or a science lab ... or honors classes ... or comfortable convenience?
We listed the pros for Jess, me, and our student:
It is an opportunity to rediscover (or fully embrace) learning ...
It is a holistic view of education and the pursuit of knowledge ...
It is the toolbox or operating system to engage in learning, to engage in relationship, to engage in community ...
It is delving deeper ...
It is not surface-level thinking, but soul formation ...
It is the expanded capacity to think, engage, respond, to be open to new ideas, and stir up passions ...
It is the opportunity to be more thoughtful in whatever task or job he engages in ...
It is knowing that, even in crisis (personal or otherwise), he will have a platform to start from ...
It is the difference between reaction and mindful action.
In truth, it is the mission to foster the habits of mind necessary for lifelong learning that is so alluring. It is bigger than middle school.
It is investing in their personal character for a lifetime of choices.