There is something so exciting about a New Year.  Across news platforms and social media, we see tantalizing headlines and clickbait promising “10 Steps to a New You” or “5 Ways to Double your Income this Year.”  We open a brand new calendar or download a new app, with the great hope that the days and plans ahead will deliver all that they promise.  Excitement is generated and we eagerly hope for new personal and professional growth.  

While newness is inviting and exciting, there is something very profound and powerful in repetition.  Repeating a comforting Bible verse relieves a stressful situation.  Repeating a delicious family recipe gives a sense of tradition to a family gathering.  Repeating the same route on your way home keeps you aware of what is happening in your town or neighborhood.  

So it is in education.  For Classical students, repetition is vital.  Repetition of math facts, repetition of scientific laws, repetition of musical scales, repetition of Latin declensions, and the repetition of spelling and grammar rules create a student capable of moving to more challenging material.  Whether it is the TK student repeating all of the sounds the vowel /a/ can make or a 12th-grade student repeating the Apostles Creed, repetition is the foundation for solid learning.   

Plato wrote “Twice and thrice over, as they say, good is it to repeat and review what is good”.  Celebrate the new, but don’t abandon repetition.  Repeating what is true and good and beautiful lays deep furrows in the intellect and souls of our students, promising certain future growth.      

Holly Kalton
Head of School, Libertas Academy