How is your summer going? Leisurely?

Thanks to the ILS PTL and board, I was privileged to attend this year’s Consortium for Classical Lutheran Education conference in Dallas, where the singing was loud as the ‘ya’lls’ were resplendent. Aside from wonderful Matins and Divine Service, there was very little leisure. There was, however, good work to be done, tenets of classical Lutheran education to be remembered and challenging ideas to be discussed.

The conference theme was “A Pedagogy of Beauty,” and we began every day with a plenary led by Dr. Kenneth Calvert of Hillsdale Academy in Hillsdale, Michigan. During his three sessions, I was struck by how similar Beauty and Leisure are, and how they work in tandem to shape our affections. Like Leisure, Beauty points us to that which is beyond ourselves. Dr. Calvert articulated that despite confusion in our modern culture, Beauty is objective, and is rooted in God and Scripture. As Classical educators, we are privileged to see this beauty manifest in every subject we teach: Grammar to use language to write truthfully, speak eloquently, and read great literature. Science to see the aesthetics of nature and the universe and order of creation. Math for proving, predicting, and philosophizing the space between zero and infinity. Music engaging our sense of hearing and culminating all of the subjects of the quadrivium.

Summer vacation is still going strong, but as we contemplate Beauty and experience Leisure, the ILS faculty and staff are looking forward to partnering with you to direct the students’ gaze toward the beauty of the Creator and His creation next year.