During the summer, conversations around the pool, at the beach, and with family and friends almost always seem to gravitate toward our children and their schools, and the inevitable question of why families would give their children a Catholic classical education at a small school like one of the Regina Academies.
Here are a few talking points you can share with friends and family to help them understand what it is that makes a classical education at the Regina Academies unique:
(Scroll down to see comments by parents and students)
- Most importantly, the Regina Academies believe children are a unique and unrepeatable gift of God. Our mission is to acknowledge that gift, help them identify and develop their unique strengths through rigorous academic study, nourish their souls, and guide them to understand that ultimately their gifts are given to be used in service to others.
- This understanding of children in the Regina Academies leads us to focus on who the child will become, not what the child will do with their life. Classical education is an education in wisdom and virtue. It is not social indoctrination or job preparation. Classically educated students will become very successful in life because they learn how to think creatively and act with virtue.
- The Regina Academies believe that knowing the truth is the way to be free from the empty enticements of contemporary popular culture. Truth can only be known in the person of Jesus Christ, and that’s why all subjects in our classical curriculum ultimately lead back to the incarnation. That is where we learn we are loved, discover our true purpose, the source of our dignity as human persons, and the unity between faith and reason that informs all subjects in the curriculum, from math and science to history and literature.
- In classical education, subjects are integrated so that students get a holistic view of the development of their culture. For example, students studying medieval history will read age-appropriate literature from the same period, learn about scholasticism in religion, study medieval music and art, and reflect on what they are learning across all subjects through writing assignments. Learning is fun, and students’ knowledge of the world grows to be broad rather than fragmented.
- At the Regina Academies, students are taught to seek truth, goodness, and beauty in all aspects of life and learning. These “transcendentals” are the ultimate desire of the human heart because when they are found together, they lead us to wonder and a deeper understanding of the nature of God who himself is good, true, and beautiful.
- A Regina education teaches children at their natural stage of development. We call these stages the “Trivium.” Children up to the 4th or 5th-grade love memorization and learning facts, and so the curriculum is structured to appeal to their natural curiosity and pride in accomplishment. As children approach the middle school years, they want to argue and be heard, so learning takes place in conversation rather than lecture. These years are the perfect time to cultivate a desire for learning as children are challenged to prove their assertions and express them verbally and in writing. The final stage is the application of learning that takes place in high school using logic and critical reasoning. Throughout these three stages children absorb, understand, and then apply what they have learned.
This classical approach to education produces tremendous outcomes, as is evidenced by what our parents have to say about their experience. Here are a few of their responses to a recent survey:
- “The Regina Academies support our children as children of God! I love seeing my daughter’s faith grow at school rather than be ignored or challenged.”
- “The classical approach nurtures the development of a child’s intellect and imagination like no other.”
- The Regina Academies provides an “exceptional academic environment coupled with faith and value-based community.”
- The Regina Academies is “the best decision you can make for your kids. Enhance their faith, improve their academics, and get them out of the noise of modern society to help them truly learn.”
- “The classical curriculum teaches children to think critically and prioritize the things that matter most in life.”
- “A highly academic, solidly Catholic, and welcoming community.”
- “Regina Academies support the family – older children and younger children are encouraged to interact, and parents are supported in their role as primary educators.”
- The schools are “wholeheartedly Catholic and will lead students to a lifelong pursuit of wisdom by exposing them to truth, goodness, and beauty.”
- “This school is a family of families. The community is deeply caring, faithful and intentional. The education is second to none, the classical approach allows the children to truly learn and not just memorize. The deeply Catholic approach does not just talk, it’s action. The faculty and staff don’t just care for your children, they love them. This is where you should send your kids to give them the best shot to become a saint.”
And from some of our students:
- “I’ve come to know that truth exists through studying logic, the Bible, and the Catechism, but the most personal way I’ve been shown this, is by the virtuous lives people live around me every single day.”
- “Field days, karaoke lunches, concerts, shows, field trips and dress-down days contrast hours of hard work, silent testing, taking notes, listening intently, and following careful directions. We are simultaneously encouraged to express ourselves while being required to follow the rules, efficiently teaching us to manage the delicate convergence of independence and obedience.”
- “I have discovered not only a school of academic excellence, but also a haven of team spirit, wholesome leadership, beautiful diversity, and joyful holiness.”
The Regina Academies are communities of learning like none other. We prepare children to face the challenges of the future with joy, courage, and hope, solid in their faith and committed to serving their families, the Church, and society.
*Image: Summer day, Brighton Beach. Edward Henry Potthast (1857-1927). Public domain.
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