A glimpse inside Hillsdale College's network of classical schools across the country.
The Class of 2020, at an outdoor graduation on the campus of Founders Classical Academy of Leander. All photos courtesy Nickell Photography. One of my favorite things about school is studying the character of a class. In some fundamental sense, all 4th graders are the same, and all 8th graders are the same, and all… Continue reading Dr. O’Toole’s Speech at Founders Classical Academy of Leander’s 4th Annual Commencement
What is the point of education if truth is not objective but relative, if nobody can be right? Founders does not teach so that we might attain material “success”; rather, it teaches in order that we might attain virtue and live the good life. This is what our education these past years has been all about; we have been given the ability to stand firmly on two feet, and to see what is true, to judge what is good, and to admire what is beautiful.
"As we leave behind our younger and more vulnerable years, I think a fitting lesson we ought to take with us is this: that life is a beautiful and sacred gift, with tremendous potential for, but no guarantee of, achieving the good. So I urge you, in the way that classical education best teaches us how, to spend it wisely. Spend it well."
We will take with us the words of wisdom we were given by teachers who have taken on Lewis’ charge “not to cut down jungles but to irrigate deserts.” I hope that for each of us, this graduation is not the end of education, but merely a transition. Embracing our spirited nature, let us move on to greater challenges knowing that we’ve begun well.
Salutatory Address by Jessie Loehr, Class of 2018 The following address was delivered at Founders Classical Academy's Second Annual Commencement on May 25, 2018. "Tell me muse of the man of many ways..." These are the first shared words to breach the minds of 45 incoming freshman, who by chance, or coercion, or happy intention,… Continue reading Jessie’s Salutatory Address at Commencement 2018
"Appreciate literary irony, but do not attempt to live ironically. Remain—or become—susceptible to wonder and awe, not for sentimental and anti-intellectual reasons but for reasons quite the reverse. Wonder is to be cultivated because it is the necessary antecedent to all genuine intellectual growth, and essential for an adult life lived intelligently, comprehensively." - Dr. Whalen at Second Annual Commencement Ceremony
The Classical Classroom 