A Literary Comparison Between Three Schools
Part 1
Trinity School
Classical Education in the Christian Tradition
Summary of this three part series
Education is a JOURNEY, and each K-12 PATHWAY establishes their own Means to reach the desired End.
My framework for this study focuses on the MEANS and ENDS in educational LITERACY. For the sake of this article, “The End” represents each child’s High School graduation day, but we all know compulsory education is the Means to a much bigger End. Do you know what that is for your school? By looking at their Vision and Mission Statement you can get a pretty good idea, but I recommend taking it a step further. Compare their mission with the competition.
The next question is, “How do we know what MEANS are being used to achieve The End?” The MEANS are the actions taken to reach a desired goal, or END. They are the change agent, the intervention, and when done right they can be therapeutic.
I have chosen MIDDLE SCHOOL because this not only represents a literal middle, but it also represents the most impactful time of transition in personal development from child to adult. Read along with me as I review THREE schools, THREE books, and THREE missions. Their differences may surprise you, as they did me.
The books I will review were discovered by chance, you could say, and yet they could not be more perfect as representatives of their schools.
The Hobbit was one of my daughters 8th grade reading assignments at North Heights Christian Academy last year. Simultaneously, her old classmates at Lake Middle School were reading Serafina And The Black Cloak by Robert Beatty, and Oltman Middle School was reading Slacker by Gordon Korman.
You may notice that there is a fourth book added to the stack though – The Holy Bible. It was actually not a part of the original article, but I discovered unexpected connections that can only be explained through the Living Word who spoke to me at just the right moments during this journey of discovery.
A Non-Public School Pathway
Trinity School at River Ridge
A Classical Academy in Eagan, MN serving grades six to twelve
“Trinity School was born out of a lack of satisfaction with the status quo. We thought that students needed first and foremost to know how to read and write and do mathematics. They needed to write logically and coherently, to know the grammar of their language, to be conversant with the history of their culture, and with the thoughts and creations of the great men and women of the past. They needed to know how to think and to grow in their desire to learn. Years ago this would have been the stuff of ordinary education. Today it is the stuff of extraordinary education, and that’s what Trinity School is all about.”
Dr. Kerry Koller, President Emeritus and Co-Founder of Trinity Schools
I attended an Open House at Trinity when I began looking outside the public school system for options. My son also participated in their student visit days where prospective
students meet current students, tour the school and sit in on
classes.
I was very impressed by the way Trinity blended their humanities, STEM and arts programs. In Socratic Seminar, teachers guide students through the great works of each course. “Students learn how to ask the questions, ‘What is this piece of writing saying about reality?’ ‘Where is it saying that?’ and ‘What do I think about that?’ “ Students don’t just read textbooks about history, but they actually read the great original texts that MADE history and shaped our culture (To Kill a Mockingbird, the Odyssey, and Pride and Prejudice). Trinity views curiosity as the foundation of science, and they encourage exploration, careful evaluation, record keeping and questioning.
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is included on many Non-Public School Reading Lists, especially those teaching from a Traditional (Christian) Education model. Despite there being no mention of the Trinity (Father Son and Holy Spirit) in The Hobbit, there is a vertical spiritual alignment in the construction of its world and character development that mimics biblical principal. Tolkien uses metaphor to tell a very simple story in a language that has become almost literal – What “mountains” do you need to climb in order to sleigh your “dragon” and claim your “treasure”? Tolkien leaves extrapolation up to the discerning mind.
The Hobbit
by J.R.R. Tolkien, 1938 (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Hobbit as a nursery story to be read aloud to his four children. The cover jacket is drawn by his own hand and the book is filled with his illustrations. He did not seek publication. “… But the fame of the story spread beyond his immediate family and the manuscript of The Hobbit was lent to friends in Oxford and read to their children,” says the original book jacket. Even after his book was published, Professor Tolkien was not convinced that anybody would want to read it.
Book Review
The story of The Hobbit is one that sticks with a reader long after its last page. I attribute that lasting impact to the REALITY of Biblo’s battle (internal and external) and the order of powerful forces we live under.
The JOURNEY – Despite being a fictitious character, there are profound lessons that can be drawn from his quest – from goblins to Gollum to Wargs to spiders to dragons. The space between Bilbo’s comfortable hobbit hole and the mountain resembles a value scale when seen from afar as every obstacle becomes progressively more challenging. We see dynamic changes come over Bilbo with every layer he faces, and it is only through the process that he is finally trained and conditioned to handle The End.
The END GOAL – In Bilbo’s case, the goal for this mission was to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and it’s treasure. This meant eliminating the dragon Smaug and replacing him with the dwarves (who considered themselves to be the rightful owners).
POWER – The Mountain represents earthly power and stands tall like a dark King at the triangles peak.
TREASURE – All books have a “treasure” but they are not all as clearly defined as this one – a literal treasure. It represents the thing of greatest value to the treasure hunter. It is the hearts desire.
HERO – The books HERO is Mr. Bilbo Baggins, who is gentle, unassuming, timid, meek and humble. He is a small hobbit who lives a simple life in the Shire, far far away from the Lonely Mountain situated at the triangles base.
VILLAIN – The books VILLAIN is Smaug, the dragon, who lives in the dark mountain guarding his hoarded treasure. He not only is the thief of the gold, he is the protector of the gold, which results in balanced order even among lower forms of evil. Killing Smaug results in a temporary re-balancing of order. No one anticipates or plans the fall-out that disrupting this balance of order might manifest.
As Bilbo approached the end of his quest, the very thing he came to do, he stopped for a moment. “Going on from there was the bravest thing he ever did. The tremendous things that happened afterwards were as nothing compared to it. He fought the real battle in the tunnel alone, before he ever saw the vast danger that lay in wait.“ -The Hobbit, pg 184.
Literary LESSON
The take-away from this book are lessons in warfare and tyranny, honor and duty, wisdom and virtue, courage and valor, character, perseverance, and friendship.
The world of Tolkien is nearly as original as man is capable. Tolkien not only created an entire world, but he also created a language! The genius of this literary classic is, for me, mesmerizing. He was inspired by C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton, among others, but do you know why The Hobbit still cannot be called “The Constant” among all books? For the same reason as most; It was written after the Holy Bible.
Tool Kit for this Study
An author is a storyteller who paints with words. I am rather familiar with the tools of the artists trade since I graduated from MCAD with a degree in Illustration Design. The job of an art student is to learn how to critique artwork by using their took kit, and with it, every piece of art can be broken down into great detail. The storyteller is just as aware of Art Elements and Principals as the painter and the designer alike – Line, Shape, Form, Space, Texture, Value and Color are the building blocks.
As I read a book, I use the Elements and Principals of Art to visualized the authors intent. Every design element is chosen for a very specific reason, and that is to provoke the desired response. It may appear to be random at first glance, especially to the casual observer, but NOTHING is random in art. The art of storytelling is an abstract concept, and one made even more complex in the way it is used by the educator.
Lets begin by looking at a couple of the elements that stand out in The Hobbit – LINE and SHAPE.
WHAT IS IT MADE OF?
Line
Think of the story line like an artists sketch. Line can express change during moments of transition like chapters, time and space. Always use the cover jacket as a key to unlocking the elements. As Bilbo leaves the Shire, he transitions through many lands, and each one can be thought of as a line crossed. Is it a quiet land, one where you want to linger, or is it a dangerous land, one that makes you anxious to move through quickly?
The quality of a LINE gives expression to shape and defines the character of its edge. Line is either straight or curved and comes in many styles: thick & thin, solid & interrupted, organic & inorganic, drawn & implied. Line is used to sketch, to define, to shade, to add depth, and to decorate.
Inverted Heart
Tolkien created the cover art for his own book, so its design will have even more relevance than most. I noticed many vertical elements in the cover illustration, but it took me a while to notice the inverted heart. I discovered it after several line sketches. Even the tree point up. Do you know the meaning behind an inverted heart? “In many cultures and spiritual traditions, the act of opening oneself up, of becoming a vessel, is a step towards enlightenment. The upside-down heart, with its welcoming curve facing the heavens, embodies this state of receptiveness.” https://spiritualbegin.com/upside-down-hearts/
"For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."
Shape
Shapes are the building blocks in art. They define space, both positive and negative.
The TRIANGLE points upwards and is balanced.
The CIRCLE is calming, open and warm.
The SQUARE is a stable building block.
TRIANGLE
This story attracts attention upward in a spiritual sense, and the hero finds power outside himself. The class structure also happens to point upward toward a King-like presence situated in the triangles peak.
In The End
What is "The END" if not another means to the bigger End?
Play out this story line in education. The mission is to own the gold, right? Who controls the treasure though? In the public school system, the parent does not own the gold. The state firmly guards your child’s future (treasure). Your first challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to step out your front door. Take school tours and shadow other local schools in order to get a flavor of the competition. Step #2 is to pick up the books your children are reading and compare them to other schools. Each step leads to the next and prepares you in a series of gradual changes that will lead to The End. You can, at any point turn back if the risks outweigh the rewards. You can accept the state’s End Goal for your child or you can make your own. It is your choice … until it is not.
Missions Statements
Compare and Contrast
Trinity School Mission Statement
“The mission of Trinity Schools is to impart basic ordered knowledge about the world and to train students in basic intellectual skills and qualities of mind so that they might be of use to God in the wise care and governance of his creation and in the building of his kingdom.”
District 833 Mission Statement
The Motto of District 833 is, “Be Seen. Be Heard. Be Bold.”
“The Mission of District 833 Schools is to Educate Students for Success.” (represents 25+ schools)
The vertical and horizontal structures shown here demonstrate two contrasting END goals. The government run public schools drive cultural change, and as they work to flatten out the modern view of family and creation, so too does the HERO / VILLAIN relationship become flat in storytelling.
In many of the books chosen by SoWashCo Schools, I notice this pattern of mediocrity. It’s not that the literature is bad, per say, because many times the message itself is simple and good – shelter the poor, feed the hungry, nurture the sick, welcome the sojourner. These are all very biblical principals that resonate with both Christians and non-Christians alike. But what happened to GREAT literature? What happened to writing for something more pure than a political END?
Journey To The End was inspired by The Hobbit and functions as a prime example of Christian Middle School Literature. How does one compare Christian School literature with Public School literature though? This presented me with a nearly impossible task – to compare the Means of two drastically different Ends. But, by the grace of God, the perfect book had already been decided.
Up Next in The REAL or FAKE Series
JOURNEY of Two Mountains
District 833’s PATHWAY OF HIGHEST PROFICIENCY is Liberty Ridge Elementary to Lake Middle School to East Ridge High School. In 2022, LMS received the Blue Ribbon Award for overall academic performance or progress closing achievement gaps. Not only that, but they were the ONLY public middle school in the state of Minnesota to receive the award. This further validates the authenticity of comparing Trinity’s NON-PUBLIC school pathway to Lake’s PUBLIC school pathway. Watch for this next article in the Series to post on or close to Monday, February 19th, 2024.
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THE BIBLE IS: The Great “I AM”
GOD IS EVERYWHERE. He is Painter, Designer, Sculptor, Architect, Author, Poet, and Musician. The Subject Studies of education include Math, Science, History, Art, Reading & Writing, and they all find their origin story from the Bible. In the Gospel of John we get to see God the CREATOR through the giftedness of an artistic painter of words. In the Gospel of Luke we get to see God the PHYSICIAN through the giftedness of an educated doctor. THE BIBLE IS Literary Artistry. THE BIBLE IS VISUALLY God sculpting into shape the heavens and earth, the mountains and valleys, the people and places and spaces all giftedness shines. THE BIBLE IS AUDIBLY God speaking the breath of life into men like a musician breathing life into his orchestra. Without his breath, we cannot sing. Without his light we are formless and void. This series, The Bible Is Literary Artistry, shows how the Holy Bible qualifies, and even surpasses, the criteria listed as District 833 Literacy Skills.
Four Governing Bodies
I think many people have this glamorous idea of what it means to run for and hold a position of public office. They see the official looking campaign websites and flyers, the well-dressed candidates lined up behind official looking microphones sitting in places where important decisions take place by our city councils, school boards, state reps, governors, presidents, etc. , and many in the voting public forget that these are simply people just like you and me. Being in the public eye takes a lot of time … time that could have been spent around the dinner table or sporting event with family. Being in the public eye takes a lot of energy … energy that could have been used helping friends or serving at church. Being in the public eye takes a lot of money … money that could have been donated to improve the life of a stranger through important charity work. Being in the public eye takes a lot of courage and confidence to (knowingly) open yourself up to a public that will HALF love you and HALF hate you. However, when we understand the four mechanisms through which God has chosen to rule, we realize that taking our place in civil government is not only one of the most selfless acts of service we can offer to our neighbor, but it is also part of God’s great plan. Running for and holding a place of public office takes patience in yourself and in the process because your personal message will take on a public life of its own, and only through humility will you learn that self-control is the ONLY control left to claim.