PURPOSE, INSPIRATION, MODEL

What is the Purpose of our academy?

The purpose of this academy can be put very simply:

We do not aim to do anything to the students. We do not aim to make them into anything. We are simply passing a flame from one lamp to another.

The flame is our own cultural inheritance. The flame is Western civilization. 

What is our inspiration and model?

Our school is inspired by the Pearson Integrated Humanities Program. At Pearson College in the 1970s, three professors formed an experimental Great Books program at their college. The professors taught a fairly uncontroversial selection of great books, including “Homer, Herodotus, Moses, St. Paul, Virgil, Caesar, St.  Augustine, Chaucer, Cervantes.” However, the professors made this into a program that integrated other humanities into the study of the Great Books, in an attempt to awaken a sense of wonder and an ability to ask the “great and fundamental questions.”

The professors of the Pearson IHP taught their students to memorize poetry, to sing traditional songs, to write in beautiful calligraphy, to stargaze, and to waltz. They taught Latin as a living spoken language, which they frequently spoke in class.

Unexpectedly, the program led to a mass conversion of their students to the Catholic Church. This conversion was profound and lasting. Many of these students today are monks, abbots, bishops, and teachers at Catholic schools.

Many, including the administration at Pearson College, were deeply alarmed by this result. The program was quickly shut down, in spite of finding no evidence of proselytizing. (Not all of the professors in the program were even Catholic at the time.) Although secular people were horrified by the results, faithful Catholics have continued to be inspired by their project.

What is the link between the Catholic Church and the things that were taught in the Pearson IHP? In my opinion, the culture of Western Civilization is deeply Catholic. It is totally perfused with a Catholic air. Christ is at the center, ruling over every part of Western history and literature. All great literature of Western Civilization flows out of this Center. All great philosophy is ordered by the reasonability of this Center. All great laws refer to the Great Lawgiver at the Center. Furthermore, all the heresies of Western civilization flee from this Center and define themselves in relation to it. All sins turn their face away from this Center in shame. All evils justify themselves by attempting to refer to this Center. This is our culture. When a person receives their rightful inheritance as a person raised in Western Civilization, that person has two choices: To become Catholic or to very carefully explain why they are not.

This program exists today because of a similar Great Books program at Hillsdale College. Mr. Walker Shave, the founder and instructor of our school went through a similar two-year program in Great Books and the humanities at Hillsdale College. He started out vaguely protestant and not churchgoing, and ended up very Catholic. It was transformative for many other students and likewise led to numerous conversions to the Catholic Church. 

What do we teach?

Our program has three pillars: Latin, Great Books, and Other Humanities.

Latin is taught as an immersive language, intended to be read and spoken. Students will learn to read fluently using immersive techniques. They will also practice conversation and correspondence in Latin, whether spoken or written. Latin is the language of Western Civilization. We cannot disentangle Latin and the West. If we lose one, we lose the other.

Great Books are taught with two goals. First, we aim to appreciate and love the Great Books. Secondly, we learn to use the Great Books as a lens or heuristic for understanding life. The Great Books awaken a sense of wonder and lead to us asking important questions.

Miscellaneous Humanities is the third pillar. This is the Western heritage that isn’t written down in big epic books. This includes poetry, theology, rhetoric, and other topics. We also have a strong focus on music, especially sacred music in Latin, as the most beautiful auditory expression of our culture. We may at times discuss architecture, calligraphy, stained glass, manuscript illumination, and other forms of art.

Additionally, we may assign field work projects, similar to the Pearson IHP. This may include stargazing, nature observation, botanical studies, and other experiences designed to awaken a sense of wonder.

What does it mean that this is a Catholic school?

This academy is by Catholics and for Catholics.

Jesus Christ and his Church are at the very heart of Western Civilization. You cannot understand Western Civilization without meeting Jesus. The Church is the heavy gravitational pull at the center of European culture and civilization.

We do not fight this fact. We do not avoid it. We do not brush it under the rug. Nothing in our history or heritage can be understood outside of the Catholic context.

Therefore, since we are a Catholic school, we sometimes pray in class, we memorize traditional prayers, we study the Mass, and we listen to sacred music. We do all of these thing because we are Catholic.

Annunciation Classical is a Catholic homeschool academy rooted in the classical tradition, with a focus on Latin and the Great Books. Contact us today to get started