CURRICULUM CORNER: Growing in Intellectual and Spiritual Freedom

Stratford Caldecott, the British Catholic scholar, author, and educator whose work profoundly influenced the modern Catholic classical education movement, wrote that “Freedom’ is not just for playtime or break, although playing is an essential part of education. In a sense, the goal of education—certainly the goal of a Liberal Arts education, which begins in kindergarten—is the growth in freedom, both intellectual and spiritual, that comes from knowing the truth. It is the truth that sets us free.” His writings integrated Catholic theology, the liberal arts tradition, and the role of beauty in education, inspiring educators, schools, and homeschool communities seeking to restore a holistic and Christ-centered approach to learning. 

At Koinonia Academy, I have sequenced the history cores to repeat three times, meaning that a student attending KA through high school will have experienced the history, literature, art, and music of four eras from the Ancients to modern American history, in successive levels of difficulty. A 1st grader may encounter D'Aulaires Greek myths, as a 5th grader then read a Child’s Plutarch and present Antigone as a play, and finally, and as a 9th grader read the Iliad, the original Plutarch, and the Aeneid. A 2nd grader will enjoy Beowulf, the Castle Diaries, and put on a Medieval feast, as a 6th grader present Shakespeare’s Henry V, and as a 10th grader dive into Dante. It is a beautiful sequence that bears good fruit over time.

 

This sequence also means that classes can connect across the grades, giving older students the opportunity to teach and demonstrate, while younger students get to enjoy, learn, and see what they will can look forward to down the road. A sound classical education is not built in a day, semester, or year. It is the result of years of exposure to and engaging with the good, the true, and the beautiful. The consistency of frequent writing assignments, memorizing great poems, and reading great books, as well as experiencing wonder in mathematics, the sciences, and the arts, and encountering Truth in CCF classes, Bioethics, Rhetoric, and Logic classes are what build a true liberal arts education over time. 

 

We have seen some fun examples of this sequence in recent months at KA: 6th graders supported the 2nd grade medieval feast just before Christmas, and both grades watched the 10th grade re-enact the Battle of Lake Peipus this past January. The timing of the famous Battle on the Ice was perfect, coinciding with the frigid temperatures of a Polar Vortex adding to the excitement and experience of Alexander Nevsky leading the Novgorodians to victory. At the same time, 3rd and 7th grades came to see the 11th-grade Victorian living museum. Both the battle and museum were midterm projects from Mrs. Farmer’s classes. Under the direction of Mrs. Fierro, 7th grade is presenting a Radio Play of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol on February 3rd. Right now, the 9th-grade class is eagerly preparing to present an original production of The Odyssey to the 1st and 5th grades on February 10th in a play written, performed, and produced by the 9th graders themselves, under the leadership of Mr. Tyne, with side support from Mrs. Smith. 6th grade is beginning their Henry V production with Mrs. Havrilla, which is eagerly anticipated by the 2nd and 10th grades.  

That integration of subjects that Caldecott advocated for means that within grades, subjects are also integrated. The 2nd grade nature walks connect to art and poetry, 3rd grade history supports their studies of Madame Curie and radiation, middle schoolers are building the atom model while learning about the era that revealed that aspect of creation to us, and high school students engage with extensive science labs while also debating the greater purpose of quantum physics, AI, Big Data, and Medical Ethics.  Our connection to Franciscan University means that Upper School students who can handle the work load were able to earn dual enrollment credits for the first time this year, adding to the depth and integration of studies at KA - whether via independent asynchronous classes at Franciscan or via classes on campus, such as Mr. Robertson’s Calculus class.

 

The new CCF upper school courses mean that students are taking an in-depth dive into the Old Testament in 7th grade, the New Testament in 8th, and covering the entire Compendium over those two years. 9th grade is reading The Summa and studying Early Church History to the conversion of Constantine - at the same time as studying Ancient Greece and Rome in history and literature - it is a beautiful connection! 10th grade is reading Eusebius and St. Thomas Aquinas, learning about the late patristic period to the Counter Reformation - again connecting precisely with the history and literature courses. 11th grade dives into the Sacraments, Church Documents, and Rerum Novarum as the class explores modern World History and reads the corresponding literature. 12th grade CCF covers Catholic Social Teaching, many works of St. John Paul II, and Faith in action, directly connecting with the history, literature, and bioethics class. In the same interview from which Caldecott spoke about freedom, he continued, “ Real freedom is this inner power to make a moral choice and stick with it—the very old word for that power is ‘virtue.’” 

One of the most beautiful moments to witness in classes is teachers guiding students in an understanding of, and expecting virtue through the materials we are privileged to teach. Whether it is CCF, phonics, a literature class, science, history, gym, or guilds, the purpose of a Catholic classical education is for students to learn what freedom truly is, and to encourage them to choose the path of character and virtue. In their actions, their respect for others, their honoring the uniform code or student code, their choices not to use AI, their Caritas challenges, their beautiful singing in choir, the pageant, and classrooms, their ethics in sports, and their choices after they graduate - we hope and pray that all Koinonia Academy students will indeed grow in their intellectual and spiritual freedom to become courageous Catholics who will set the world on fire!