Leader’s Day Speaker
The Classical Disconnect: Movement Ideals versus Classroom Realities
Drawing from observations about the marketing of the current classical Christian movement and contrasting that with what we experience in the schools day to day, I submit that there is a disconnect between movement ideals and classroom realities. Some of this is to be expected, of course. We all say we seek for students to know the true, the good, and the beautiful. And we tell potential families that this is what and who our students are and who they end up being. But is that accurate? When we speak of pursuing the true, good, and beautiful in the context of reading a text, is that what most students are doing? Is it true that all our students are helping advance this cause? This ideal? If not, is this a pedagogical failure with the teacher or the school, or is there something culturally and in students that is not amenable to the pursuit of truth, goodness, and beauty? Can schools remedy it? In this talk, I want to explore the disconnect and argue that while there is probably more than we care to admit that is outside our control, there are ways to combat the disconnect.
Anthony G. Urti currently serves as Head of School at Delaware Valley Classical School, located in New Castle, DE, and has served as an administrator in CCE schools for the past 6 years. He has practiced law, worked in non-profit organizations, and served as both a teacher as well as a staff member in a major city’s public schools. Anthony was turned on to CCE when he took a degree in Classical and Christian studies from Knox Theological Seminary and has seen the value of teaching students to wrestle with challenging content. He is husband to Nicole (who works with young readers at the school and is an NILD Level 2 therapist) and father to Dominic, Lucia, and Leo, all of whom are students at DVCS. His own formative education pales compared to the one being received by his children, and were he to shout one thing from the rooftops, it would be for parents to read aloud early and often to their young (Read: In the crib) children!