classical education Archives - Page 2 of 2

Beauty, Structure, and Function

May 9, 2018

We started our day bright and early, not knowing what to expect.

We would never have anticipated that the actual structures built to house our government would be so thoughtfully planned. Those who built our government intentionally incorporated so many symbolic, artistic, yet functional components.

In the rotunda of the Capital Building, the story of our nation is told through art. Given its beauty, it’s hard to believe that so many people actually go to work there. Laws are still being passed, and in fact, the Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, walked through the room during our tour. Another group saw news crews prepping for interviews with lawmakers.

The Library of Congress is certainly one of the most beautiful buildings we had seen. The art was absolutely stunning and the architecture and mosaics had an absolute wow factor. We are still in awe of it. It seems almost odd to think that it is still a functioning library, with over 20 reading rooms. In fact, Mrs. Brodrecht went to get a Library of Congress library card while we were there, and we later found out that one of our chaperones already had one.

The Supreme Court building was filled with symbolism, including a depiction of Moses. Students were able to enter the courtroom where cases have been heard since the 1930’s. We were surprised to see how small the actual courtroom is in relation to the grandeur of the building.

We ended our day at the National Archives. This building houses some of the most important documents ever written. Students were excited to view the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. They saw the Emancipation Proclamation and also the Magna Carta, which even though it was written in the 1500’s is still relevant and important today.

Thanks to what they had learned at Geneva in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade, our students already understood the context and significance of the documents and were happy to see the real deal.

It was a great day.

15,000 Steps

May 9, 2018

It all started bright and early at Orlando International Airport with 65 excited students, chaperones, and teachers.

Friends were excited to find out who was in their group for the week. Parents said their goodbyes. Teachers did a little last minute boarding pass shuffling to make sure students were all seated together. Flight attendants did their best to fit all of our carry-ons into the overhead bins.

Once we arrived at our destination, we realized that the teachers hadn’t been exaggerating when they’d said there would be a lot of walking.

After navigating the METRO, we walked to our hotel to drop off our bags. Then we headed in the direction of the National Mall and walked around the Washington Monument. We went to the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial, then stopped by the Lincoln Memorial, made our way by the Vietnam Memorial, and finished at the World War II Memorial.

The springtime weather was beautiful and perfect for a day of walking. Flowers were in bloom. Dandelions dotted the lawn, and dried cherry blossoms were on the pathways throughout the memorials. Students enjoyed their time moving between the memorials laughing, playing games, taking pictures, and spending time together with friends.

We ended our day quietly, settling into our hotel, with everyone looking forward to tomorrow. It was a great first day in D.C!

War and Peace, the colonial version

April 28, 2018

On our final touring day of the trip, we visited one of the most significant sites, Yorktown. As any Geneva 5th grader could tell you, October 19, 1781 marks the end of the Revolutionary War, despite the Treaty of Paris not being signed until 1783. Today we got to experience life in camp as a soldier and to walk the actual battlefield where our nation’s freedom was won.

We learned that the space on our bus isn’t nearly as cramped as the space in a Private’s tent, and that sharing a bed with one friend is substantially better than sharing a tent with five. The students were both entertained and a bit horrified to learn how medical care worked for a colonial soldier. Any soldier labeled as “sloven” could be forced to wear a sign around his neck as punishment. Be sure to ask your student about that, and maybe prepare your own sign as motivation.

Our courage was tested during a weapons demonstration, and most of us freely admitted that the site of a hundred armed soldiers aiming their guns at us would cause us to turn and run without even a shot being fired. The courage of the colonial soldier in the face of overwhelming odds was truly remarkable.

While the battlefield at Yorktown may not have all the bells and whistles that some of our other stops did, the import of what happened there cannot be overstated. Seeing the lush green field, the tall trees, the remnants of revolutionary trenches, it’s hard to imagine that this same field would have been marked with rubble, bodies, and the terror of war as our country fought for her independence.

As we all lined up for a group picture in front of the Yorktown monument, I was especially struck by what a great group of students we have. Our students are learning not just the dates of the history of our country, but the foundation of our nation’s identity. They will have the opportunity to advance the cause of freedom because of the generations that have preceded them.

It was a pleasure to meander around Colonial Williamsburg one last time this afternoon. I watched as students carefully selected gifts for family members back home, or as mementos for themselves. I was privileged to be present as a student faced her fears and sat down at a replica of an ancient harpsichord and played. I witnessed polite and respectful students ordering a meal in a colonial tavern, graciously thanking their hosts, and engaging in lively conversation with their peers and chaperones around the dinner table. They were each eager to share their experiences, and re-tell many of the things they learned in this week.

It has not been a week free of difficult situations, but our students have persevered. Our devotions for the evening focused on love. Not the love that is warm and fuzzy, rainbows and unicorns. The love that is patient, and kind; a love that bears all things. We discussed ways that we have been shown love by others this week and ways that we can show love to others tomorrow on the long bus ride home. I am confident that our students will rise to the occasion tomorrow and will return to you with stories of love shown even on a sixteen hour bus trip home.

We look forward to seeing you all Saturday night!

Junior Classical League State Forum Results

April 28, 2018

It gives us great pleasure to announce the results of our JCL State Forum trip. The students did a fantastic job, representing The Geneva School well in their performance and participation in the academic, creative, and athletic contests that they entered both individually and as various teams. They competed against over 1,100 students from 50+ schools in the state of Florida; so a top-ten finish in any category is therefore remarkable. We had 42 students from grades 6 through 12 placing in multiple categories. Congratulations to our classics students and their teachers on their achievements!

Special thanks go to the ten parent and family chaperones, without whose work this trip would not have been such a great success!

FJCL State Forum Results

Zachary Andreasen: 5th place in History of the Roman Empire (Level Adv.); 8th place in History of the Roman Republic (Level Adv.); 10th place in Greek Language;
Mackenzie Blais: 3rd place in IV Square (5-9); 8th place in PMAQ (Level ½);
Caleb Bravo: 3rd place in Greek Language; 9th place in History of the Roman Republic (Level Adv.); 9th place in Mythology (Level Adv.);
Laura Bravo: 2nd place in Paintings (Level 10-12); 2nd place in Marathon (Girls, Senior);
Jarrett Brodrecht: 8th place in Geography (Level Adv.);
Riley Cashon: 1st place in Greek Language; 3rd place in Greek Derivatives (Level Adv.); 7th place in Greek Literature (Level Adv.);
Brian Cavanagh: 5th place in Latin Reading Composition, Prose; 5th place in Open Certamen (Level Adv.); 7th place in Latin Derivatives (Level Adv.);
Aubrey Clark: 2nd place in Latin Derivatives (Level I);
Oliver Clark: 6th place in History of the Roman Empire (Level ½); 6th place in Models (Level 5-9);
Catherine Collins: 2nd place in Mythology (Level ½); 7th place in Pentathlon (Level ½); 7th place in Open Certamen (Level I);
Lydia Faith: 4th place in Mythology (Level ½); 4th place in Pentathlon (Level ½);
Kiri Forrester: 1st place in Textiles (Level 10-12); 2nd place in Open Certamen (Level Adv.); 7th place in Heptathlon (Level Adv.);
Moira Forrester: 10th place in Heptathlon (Level II);
David Gonzalez: 7th place in Open Certamen (Level II); 8th place in Hellenic History (Level II); 9th place in Heptathlon (Level II);
Jack Graham: 5th place in Decathlon; 5th place in Latin Derivatives (Level Adv.); 7th place in Latin Vocabulary (Level Adv.);
Lauren Lemieux: 1st place in Costumes (Female, 5-9); 3rd place in Customs (Level ½);
Anna Mages: 8th place in Hellenic History (Level II); 8th place in Illustrated Notebook (5-9);
Max Major: 5th place in Greek Language; 9th place in Hellenic History (Level II); 10th place in Greek Derivatives (Level II);
Savannah Mathias: 7th place in Customs (Level ½); 8th place in Pentathlon (Level ½);
Pippa Maughan: 7th place in PMAQ (Level ½); 7th place in Bellum Aquae; 8th place in Open Certamen (Level I);
Brett Paul: 3rd place in Greek Literature (Level Adv.); 4th place in Greek Language; 5th place in Greek Derivatives (Level Adv.); 5th place in Mystery Test; 7th place in Open Certamen (Level Adv.);
Kristen Paul: 3rd place in Dramatic Interpretation (Level II, Female); 4th place in Hellenic History (Level II); 6th place in Open Certamen (Level II);
Sarah Paul: 10th place in Dramatic Interpretation (Level I, Female);
Tabitha Petrak: 2nd place in Dramatic Interpretation (Advanced Poetry, Female); 3rd place in Open Certamen (Level Adv.);
Bree Pollack: 2nd place in Dramatic Interpretations (Level I, Female); 5th place in Customs (Level I);
Ellis Pollard: 6th place in Drawings (5-9);
Cooper Reid: 1st place in Open Certamen (Level I); 7th place in Pentathlon (Level I);
Noah Reid: 5th place in Latin Grammar (Level ½); 6th place in Game-Design and -Construction (5-9);
Abby Rudolph: 3rd place in Maps (10-12); 4th place in Hellenic History (Level Adv.);
Brecken Slockett: 4th place in Customs (Level ½); 4th place in Shuttle Run (Girls, 5-9); 10th place in Posters (5-9);
Sarah Stander: 10th place in Latin Vocabulary (Level I);
Mercia Steinborn: 4th place in Drawings (5-9); 8th place in Latin Vocabulary (Level ½);
Joe Swain: 1st place in Customs (Level I); 4th place in PMAQ (Level I);
Zachary Vargas: 2nd place in Hellenic History (Level I);
Ryleigh Wallace: 4th place in Open Certamen (Level Adv.);
Charles White: 8th place in Pentathlon (Level I);
Martin White: 2nd place in Marathon (Boys, 5-9);
John Wiechart: 3rd place in Bellum Aquae

TEAM PERFORMANCES
Agon Team α 2nd

Riley Cashon (Captain)
Caleb Bravo
Brett Paul
Abby Rudolph

Team β 6th

Zachary Andreasen (Captain)
Max Major
Zachary Vargas
John Wiechart

Impromptu Art 5th

Laura Bravo
Kiri Forrester
Moira Forrester
Anna Mages
Tabitha Petrak
Bree Pollack

Junior Division Sweepstakes
Academic 4th
Creative 4th
Ludi 4th
Overall 4th
Senior Division Sweepstakes
Ludi 8th
Overall 20th

The Pleasure and Pain of Plantation Life

April 27, 2018

We continued our forward progression in time as we visited two different plantations today. Our first stop was along the James River at the Shirley Plantation. The students were amazed to learn that a real family still owns and lives in the exquisite home. They open the first floor to tourists and live mainly on the second floor. Seeing generations of of family photos from the 18th century to present day was fascinating as the students wondered aloud how their lives would have changed over the years as the families grew up in that home.

Even though our students are not at school, today they got to do a bit of plantation life school. Slates, pencils and wool erasers were provided and students practiced some math equations or played tic-tac-toe. I suspect plantation school students brought many of the same challenges and joys to their teachers as our students do today. We also experimented with using our best penmanship with a feather quill and ink. Several of the students were amazed at how long it must have taken for a person to write even just one letter to a friend or family member. But perhaps there is something to be gained by needing to take time in crafting what to say.

We left the James River and headed for the Blue Ridge Mountains and Thomas Jefferson’s home of Monticello. Interestingly enough, the students learned that Jefferson was a cousin to the family who lived at Shirley Plantation, so we were retracing his steps between the two locations.

Monticello is a place of great beauty, creativity, ingenuity, and contradiction. The students discussed how a man who penned the words “all men are created equal” could own over one hundred slaves. A man who believed that educated men were capable of self government, yet prevented his own enslaved persons from that same self government. We stood in a slave cabin and gazed at the mansion Jefferson built for himself. The disparity was immense.

Our students saw firsthand that while great men can create beautiful places and craft life changing documents and found incredible systems of government, they are also capable of great blindness, wickedness, and sin. Our guide asked us to ponder the question of whether the issue of slavery negates the goodness of Jefferson’s many other contributions. I would encourage you to probe that question with your students when they return home.

The students were fascinated with all of Jefferson’s many scientific experiments and Mrs. Andrews was certainly grateful to hear our guides remark that science is everywhere. The gardens around Monticello are still being cultivated with descendants of the seeds Jefferson planted or Lewis and Clark brought back from their expedition. The clocks Jefferson designed still toll the correct hour, season, and even day of the week. History is living and our students marveled at the plantation life they experienced today. We saw both the greatness and the baseness of mankind.

And we were reminded in our evening devotion that there is One who Himself experienced greater heights than Monticello and took on greater baseness than slavery. And we are called to have the same mind as Christ Jesus. We are called to consider others better than ourselves, to be humble, to serve others. Jefferson served his country well. We want to call our students to serve each other well, and in so doing, they, too can change the world.