Confirmations

This morning I was given double joy in the work we do at Wildwood.

First, I had the privilege to spend about half an hour in face-to-face conversation with Dr. Robert Littlejohn, co-author of Wisdom And Eloquence, which the staff is reading this semester. He was one of the speakers at the Educational Policy Conference hosted annually by the Constitutional Coalition and held here in St. Louis. Most of my questions centered around Classical education and Science, since this is of perennial interest in Classical Education circles. As a side bar, he is associated with Trinity Academy located in an industrial research triangle in North Carolina. He asserted the practical appropriateness and desirability of Classical method in high school Science education to the needs of his region. His accounts were a much needed affirmation for an old science-type like me. I'll share much more on this in future posts.

In the course of the discussion, Dr. Littlejohn reinforced the Classical Christian worldview approach that Wildwood adopted at it's founding. He confirmed the need to define the endpoint of the educational process, hold true to that goal, and include in the curriculum those things that get you to that goal irrespective of whether or not they fit with standardized assessments. In our case, the endpoint of vigorous thinking skills, upright character, practical wisdom in every endeavor, Biblical stability and the ability to communicate them all effectively should clearly drive everything else we do.

The second confirmation was a delightful and unlooked for surprise. While waiting for my meeting with Dr. Littlejohn, I was approached by Wildwood alum Blake Bachman (2005) who recently graduated from Taylor University. She had just recently landed a position in town as the St. Louis - Washington D.C. communications director for a local political organization. She is perfect for the position to which she will be able to apply all her thinking and communication skills. Congratulations, Blake! It's good to see former Wildwood students step into their calling.