Category: Featured

Report Cards, GPAs, and Italy

I had the privilege of going on the Italy trip this summer, and being freshly returned from the glories of Rome, Orvieto, and Florence I had this one over-riding conclusion. Students who are merely driven by grades and GPAs would never have participated like the twenty-eight students who were on the trip. Students were inquisitive and eager to engage the museums, churches, and guides who interpreted the fascinating things we encountered. Their understanding, learning, and sense of wonderment drove them throughout each day to new energy levels as we toured, climbed, walked, and pondered one marvel after another. Only a love of learning accounts for the manner in which they participated throughout the trip.

The love of learning is a cultivated virtue. It is an acquired habit, an ingrained disposition that is carefully, repeatedly, and patiently nurtured in the life of each student. What we experienced during the Italy trip was the direct result of the intentionality behind Geneva’s curriculum. It was the direct result of faculty members whose love of teaching their particular courses has become contagious to their students. Their appetites, whetted in the classroom and at home, were satiated as they feasted on things beautiful, elegant, lovely, and worthy of admiration. Repeatedly we were all lost in wonderment at the extraordinary feats of architecture, engineering, and artisanship displayed during the past two thousand years.

Equally remarkable, much of what we encountered was already familiar to the students from their classroom study. They were alert to the underlying philosophies latent within certain works of art and literature; they could account for the changes in social and cultural fortunes occasioned by varying political theories and leaders. They could discern the dramatic differences that resulted from varying beliefs in pagan mythology, secularism, and Christianity.

The good news is that similar experiences can be had by students at many places within our curriculum. Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown fuel the imaginations of our fifth graders; Washington DC is a mini-capstone to sixth graders in the grammar school; the re-enchantment of nature occurs during the seventh grade north Florida science trip and during the ninth grade week in the Everglades exploring the unique ecosystems and wildlife of South Florida. The trip to Boston in eighth grade plants seeds which will be nurtured and cultivated through the senior year.

Trips like this one to Italy validate a Christian classical education. Report cards and GPAs provide helpful, though partial glimpses into what a student is learning, but Italy revealed what students have come to love. “And love,” Augustine said, “is the beauty of the soul.”

-Robert F. Ingram, Headmaster

Last Day…Best Day…D.C….

Plenty of rest Thursday night. The weather was perfect Friday. We had TWO scheduled snacks between breakfast and lunch. And we got to see some of the most meaningful reminders of Love, Sacrifice, and Justice in modern history. But first, we skipped to the bus!

While celebrating two birthdays!

And helping relieve some sore muscles!

The National Mall is rich in beauty and memory and hope.

And a good place for a well-timed jump-shot.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial and the war memorials were solemn and striking reminders that some things are worth fighting and dying for.

And, it came time to say goodbye to D.C. and our week-long home away from home. I’m sure that every one of the students, chaperones, and staff are looking forward to their next visit to our nation’s capital!

Rain-Dampened Shoes, not Spirits

God saw fit to add rain to our DC agenda, so we embraced the adventure set before us and had a lot of fun, not in spite of the rain, but with the rain. Each depression in the sidewalk was a moat to skirt and the busses nearing the edge of the road could cause a chill geyser to spout forth unexpectedly.

In between rainy strolls and attempts to catch raindrops on the tongue, we visited the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History and National Air and Space Museum. Casually visiting both museums in a day could lead one to think of the works of nature as God’s work and the works of technology and engineering as Man’s work. But from Col 1:17 we know “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” God’s creation of us means he gives us a capacity to create, too. We see this every day of course, but being up close to a lunar module, that we made, that has landed on the moon, is a great reminder of how remarkably we are created in God’s image.

National Museum of Natural History

National Air and Space Museum

At the beginning of the day Dr. Clark played some guitar.

We aren’t going to remember how to use a seatbelt after all this public transportation!

We walked some more in the rain…

Wouldn’t be a DC blog post without some escalator photos!

And we wrapped up the day with pizza and some games at the hostel. Friday’s forecast shows no rain and a chance to see some memorials! Stay tuned…

by Luke Tevebaugh, parent blogger

New Perspectives

Day three of our adventure in Boston was another fascinating day. It was a day spent gaining new perspectives. We began our day visiting the Boston Public Library. Normally, when one thinks of a library, one may think of a building that holds and lends books and other materials. The Boston Public Library is not a normal library. It was the first library in the United States to lend books for free. Secondly, one would not think of a library to be filled with art. The Boston Library is filled with magnificent murals painted by John Singer Sargent. Beautiful sculpture and magnificent marble adorn the halls, walls, and stairways of this library. We spent the morning on a guided tour learning about these murals and mosaics. Our minds expanded — a library can be much more than a place to go and check out a book, study for an exam, or complete research. A library can be so much more!

Our afternoon was spent in the lovely Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum. After spending the prior day at the Museum of Fine Art, one may think The Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum would be similar. The Gardner Museum is a completely new perspective. First, the entire collection is located in Ms. Gardner’s one-time residence, built to emulate a 15th century Venetian Palace. There is a homey feel to the museum. Also, one may think that since this entire museum is filled with works of art donated from a private collection, it may be a small collection. But the collection is wonderfully large! It spans four floors of the one-time residence. Room after room filled with art from Renaissance masters and contemporary artists. Each room is staged precisely how Ms. Gardner had arranged them. In fact, one of the conditions of her donation of this amazing collection was stipulated upon her death: no art could be added or sold to the collection. Additionally, each exhibit had to remain precisely as she had arranged them. Nothing could be changed or the entire collection would be sold. We spent the afternoon exploring this quirky and eclectic museum, gaining a new prospective that a museum could be more than a large building. An art museum could be intimate, homey and a bit quirky and still maintain its integrity. Again a new perspective was gained.

Finally, we ended our day at the Boston Pops. What a way to end a day! Now, when you think of an orchestra or the Boston Pops, you might think of a more sterile, proper environment. One where the musicians play and the audience listens intently. Well, that was not the case! The Boston Pops celebrated the works of its former conductor, John Williams. Besides being the former conductor, Williams is famous for the numerous scores he has composed for motion pictures: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, and Jaws to name a few. After a brief intermission, Queen Latifah was the featured performer. Her performance in this historic building with the amazing Boston Pops Orchestra had the audience clapping, cheering, and singing along. The building was alive with music and energy. It sounded lovely to hear a contemporary artist — a rapper at that — singing with one of the best orchestras in a 135-year-old symphony hall. The crowd was excited and on their feet. The Geneva students where engaged. As her performance came to an end, our students and the audience erupted into a thunderous round of applause!

Now this was completely new perspective!

Wednesday Around the Capital

After a hearty continental breakfast, we hit the road again Wednesday for day two of the Geneva School’s 6th Grade D.C. visit.

The Library of Congress and the Capitol Building were first on the agenda. The architectural beauty of this city and our country’s most historic buildings continue to amaze everyone on the trip.

Our students, though, (and the apparent passion for education behind their teachers and parents) are as remarkable as the things seen and facts heard on this trip. Their effortless interaction with the docents made this parent proud. Their knowledge of our country’s history and its application to why our government runs the way it does surprised more than a couple of our tour guides. (One even honorarily pre-advanced the class to the 7th grade. Much to their chagrin, however, they were told they would have to “honorarily” finish out the year as 6th graders.)

There was more walking and an unscheduled, brief but pleasant, interaction with a person exercising their First Amendment rights on the lawn of the Capitol Building…

A few of the students were particularly enthusiastic about a future career in law, and they especially perked up during the lecture in the courtroom of the Supreme Court.

The Botanical Gardens was a good opportunity to “walk around briskly” and enjoy some unstructured time in the beauty of God’s creation, seeing representative plant species from around the world.

Like was said yesterday, the journeying is almost as much fun as the sites and sights. Escalators and the Metro haven’t gotten old, yet!

To wrap up a long, exertion-and-wonder-filled day, we played games and then slept hard. We’re all excited to see what DC has for us on Thursday!

by Luke Tevebaugh, parent blogger

Listening, Learning, and Making Connections

After a brief stop to admire Fenway Park and the Big Green Monster, we spent much of our time today at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. Once at the museum, we broke into small groups and were guided through Art of the Ancient World. The small groups, led by knowledgeable guides, made for an intimate setting. Questions where asked, and connections where made. Connections like, “How does ancient art depict life at that time?” “How does the art represent what was important to society at that time?” Our guides led us through these discussions. Students were called on to answer questions like, “What is symbolic about the bust of Caesar Augustus?” “How is the bust of Caesar Augustus different from that of the Roman Republic bust Portrait of a Man.” The students eagerly provided answers to the questions asked and made their own intelligent observations.

Other questions heard throughout the day where, “What is significant about the Egyptian burial process and the Funerary Art present during the burial process?” “How is this Funerary Art connected to Egyptian life during that time period?” “How does the early work of Assyria differ from that of the Neo-Babylonian period?” Time and time again our tour guides guided our students through these questions, making connections along the way.

After our time with the guides, the students were split up into even smaller groups and encouraged to explore the museum’s other exhibits; Matisse, Botticelli, American Art, Asian Art, and Modern Art were some of the exhibits explored. Questions continued, and observations where made.

Students where encouraged to seek out and sketch a piece of art which was meaningful to them. More pondering and wondering through this massive museum. A museum filled with beautiful treasurers linking the past to the present day.

After we had seen just about all the Museum of Fine Arts had to offer, we took a short train ride to Trinity Church. Trinity Church is a beautiful Episcopal Church designed by Henry Hobson Richardson. The building of the church took place from 1872 to 1877. At Trinity Church, we worshiped by attending the choral Evensong service, singing hymns and praising God.

Following the service, we stayed for a private tour, primarily focusing on the church’s architecture and amazing organ. Attending a worship service in such an old historical building, one could not help but make connections from the past to the present.

A day of learning surrounded by beautiful art, asking questions, making connections, and worshiping coincides wonderfully with Geneva’s mission of inspiring students to love beauty, to think deeply, and pursue Christ’s calling. Yes, we listened. Yes, we learned. And, yes, we made connections. We are excited for what tomorrow will bring!

by Cheree Foreman, parent blogger