Imagine you want to train your child to be a hockey player.  So, you buy the hockey stick, the puck, the ice skates, the helmet, the pads, and all the things.  You buy your child books about playing hockey and you download Youtube videos.  Your child looks great in the jersey, can swing that stick with precision, and knows all of the lingo associated with playing hockey.   

But, perhaps you forgot one tiny, important thing . . . teaching your child how to ice skate.

That would be ridiculous, wouldn’t it?  You wouldn’t spend all of that money and time on everything and not actually include learning the skill of ice skating, would you?  While ice skating is not the end goal of learning hockey, it is fundamental to the process.  Without it, there is no actual hockey.

A classical education is very similar.  Sure, you can buy and read a bunch of books, you can do the history projects, you can run through Latin flashcards, and you can even try a fun science experiment at home.  But, if your child isn’t in the classroom learning with peers and their teacher, you’ve missed the fundamental thing.  

The classroom is where the magic happens.  The spirited discussion among peers over whether Beowulf really was a hero or not.  The thought-provoking questions, gleefully posed by the teacher, about the meaning of the wardrobe in C.S. Lewis’ classic.  The rhythmic chanting of the 7’s times tables, as a class, learning and growing together.  The accountability of peer review during the presentation of a persuasive paper.  These are the fundamental elements of a classical education.

I first heard this hockey analogy as I listened to a podcast on the value of classroom discussions by Dr. Christopher Schlect, the Director of the Classical and Christian studies program at New Saint Andrews College.  The visual of a hockey player who has acquired everything needed to play hockey, but hasn’t actually learned how to ice skate, struck me.  I think that is a common mistake parents make (myself included).  “My child read the book, he’s fine” or “We did the project required, that’s good enough”, when those are neither fine nor good enough.  

Class time is the fundamental and magical part of your child’s classical education.  In-person discussion with peers and interaction with the teacher is incredibly valuable.  So, the next time you’re contemplating whether or not to leave for that vacation early, or whether or not your child needs to consistently attend, give that a little bit more thought.  Perhaps missing a day at school might mean they are missing a lot more than you realize.    

Holly Kalton
Head of School, Libertas Academy