Heart Strings

Aristotle emphatically stated, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”  Appropriately timed, we prepare to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day next week.  While this celebration has become incredibly commercialized, it does represent a beautiful opportunity to outwardly express rightly-ordered affections.  In The Abolition of Man, C.S. Lewis reiterates Aristotle’s words, “the aim of education is to make the pupil like and dislike what he ought.”  Liberty Common School strives to do just this.  Students are living, breathing examples of high-spirited virtuosity in action, done with such an energy that it is palpable, like the beating of one’s own heart. 

 

I’ve been asked recently, and often, about the juxtaposition between my past work in education and my current position at LCHS.  Like a black-and-white painting, the contrast is stark.  In a very real sense, my heart has been tugged and pulled in directions that remind me fondly, and nostalgically of why this profession is so noble.  I realize now this awakening of dormant emotions can be attributed to my colleagues, but even more so, to LCS students.  The strong and deep connection I have been yearning for is right here in front of me. It reverberates off our walls, growing with each interaction. 

 

In early January, I had the opportunity to observe the annual Liberty Common High School House retreat.  House-System directors watched from a distance while students planned, produced, executed, and followed-through with this three-day event.  Set against the backdrop of Rocky Mountain National Park, I witnessed teenagers engage in conversations enviable of most adult discussions. 

 

Student leaders tackled personal strengths and weaknesses with grace.  They grappled with the differences between confidence and pride, ultimately landing on the choice to avoid hubris and embrace dignity.  They planned for the future and considered how to build stronger relationships with students at the elementary school, junior-high, and peers. 

 

In one of many “aha moments,” I was listening to students talk about service to their community – how to become better people and develop long lasting and meaningful relationships – that filled the void I had been eager to replenish.  While I have certainly had fleeting one-liners –  think "ships passing in the night" experiences – none have been so profound or thoughtful as this.  In most cases I’ve seen more concern for oneself than for others.  At Liberty, we have established a culture that has grown to embrace fully and completely everything we do – partiality has no place here.  The heart is no exception.

 

If you ever wonder if this is all worth it or what this looks like at its culmination, I’d encourage you to spend some time with Liberty’s phenomenal students.  They represent in the purest sense, what is beautiful, true, good, and perfect.

 

Liberty students care deeply about one another, their impact, and the legacy they will leave behind.  Filling their minds with knowledge is important, essential in fact to our mission, but teaching them to use their hearts is, dare I say, more valuable.

 

If we teach them to love fully and completely, their minds will follow suit.  As a first-year employee of our school, my own heart has had the privilege of a Liberty education this year. While my gratitude for this is difficult to quantify, I can strive to return it two-fold.