The Principal’s Blog

Summer is a great time to reset and renew one’s family’s commitment to grow together in “creativity, relationship, and engagement.” Instead of trying to keep a child busy through screens or intensively scheduled weeks, consider instead some life-affirming ways to continue the kinds of habit and character formation that he or she enjoys at RMCA. ‍

I experienced a 'great recognition' that made sense of the struggles i had noted in my students, my children, and in myself. It pointed a way forward of how to truly understand education within one's discipleship of Christ, and showed how I could see my efforts as parent, teacher, and administrator, redeemed. I found my place, as it were, coming back to Charlotte Mason to consider what she had to say to people like me nearly a century after her death. 

How can one really know and love a study, a book, a person, an element of creation, God Himself, without knowledge, a knowing of the object or person? Charlotte Mason always emphasizes that at the heart of transformative education is a person, child or adult, connecting in a living and receptive way through relationship. It is a way of learning and being that cannot be done for someone else.

Charlotte Mason said: “Thus it rests with parents to ease the way of their child by giving him the habits of the good life in thought, feeling, and action, and even in spiritual things." How can you and I do this more consistently? How can we admit our mistakes, form new habits and perspectives, and align ourselves more readily with the Holy Spirit in His love for our children? Much of that will depend on our relative desire to be humble, teachable, and do the hard work of being attentive, ourselves.

Charlotte Mason's emphasis is that any authentic sense of duty, any true stirring of the conscience, is an impulse of love toward God. We, as parents and teachers, have the opportunity to be a vital part of a child’s life in this most important of relationships. And as the conscience and sense of duty are deepened, he or she will have a maturing understanding of what a good life truly is. 

As adults, each of us wants our work to be valuable to someone else. We certainly spend enough time in our careers. What opportunities are lost if we believe that there is no meaning in a job beyond the money and status it gives? This is another idea to give to a child as a gift. The idea that the work that one is called to, what one discerns God is providing for, is work that is wanted by others, even if that isn’t readily apparent. Now is the day to help prepare them for that work of a lifetime.

As I had the opportunity to read Parents and Children, Mason’s second volume of her Educational Series, I was reminded of ideas and practices that we seek to live out daily in our classrooms and campus. Time after time, I am amazed how relevant her words are nearly a century after her death. I imagine that is because she was rooted in the reality of the experience of the Church, Christ’s body on earth, as well as the experiences of the many wise–albeit imperfect–people who have gone on before us. Such writers’ words are a welcome relief from the myopic voices of our own day. 

Each of Charlotte Mason’s six volumes of her monumental Educational Philosophy series begins with a restatement of the 18 principles that she and her colleagues found most vital in the education of a child. Beginning with the statement, “The consequence of truth is great; therefore the judgment of it must not be negligent,” she continues with truths, principles, and ideas that guided her work with individual children, families and schools. Everything else that Charlotte Mason writes in her 2,000 pages is based on these 18 Principles. We would be wise to consider how they apply to us and how our own bringing up of a child can be informed and supported by them. 

Two great things happen in families -– at least, families at their best. For one, we discover what fools we are. And yet a second amazing thing happens in families at their best; somehow, in the discovery that we are great fools, we also begin to develop wisdom.

As images of God, we are blessed with choices, particularly in how we bring up our children. The good work at this juncture is to consider how we, as the parent-teacher community, can ask the hard questions and seek to answer them wisely and courageously. How can we cultivate with a child the kind of internal health that will withstand whatever hardships he or she will face? 

Let us remember, in December and any other month, that the Incarnation is 'the central event in the history of the Earth—the very thing that the whole story has been about.' It is the Grand Miracle that the world had been prepared for and in which we now live in fulfillment. 

Ultimately, we are created by a good God with a need to do hard things. It is a work of a lifetime, this shaping of character. It may be one of the more important things that a child does -- this growing in the willingness and ability to do hard things.

Anyone reading this article has experienced in some way the urgent need of helping our children right now, today, learn to live with the constantly growing and invasive nature of technology. Read on to learn more about how to help our children set limits for themselves and to choose a different way of living than what is offered by our culture. 

As parents and teachers at RMCA, we have the privilege and responsibility of being the first and primary educators to our children regarding a redemptive purpose and use of technology. May we strive to live up to that very important calling!

Whether it is a climb up a mountain, helping with a home narration, processing a student’s response during recess, or sticking with a challenging math problem, we all have good work to do with our community’s children. May we have the eyes to see it as such and a heart ready to respond with joy even in the hardship. 

May we take the next step today in helping our children see the reality of all things through the glorious sacrifice and victory of our Living God.

What will be our next choice in treating a child with respect, both in his or her essential status as a person, a child of God, as well as the need to grow up in a full-bodied ‘knowledge’ of life? And how can we make that choice more consistently and faithfully together?

Like we tell our students, we would be wise to listen to the gems that people like John Chryostom, one of the church's early fathers, gleaned from their experience with God, scripture, and the living-out of the Gospel. Called “Golden-mouth” (Chryostom in Greek) for his articulation of the true, good, and beautiful, he was a prolific writer and speaker in his day and continues to be one of the most well-read early church leaders.

The whole counsel of the Bible attests to the critical nature of nurturing children in habits and character that leads to loving "the Lord our God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your might" (Deuteronomy 6:4). It is up to us as parents to help our child grow in this master relationship that feeds all other relationships.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! What a glorious reminder that our enemies--sin, death, and the evil one--have all been conquered. In this era of our lives, as we together face obstacles and dangers that challenge our ability to live our lives faithfully and to pass along the Faith to our children, we have this great hope and truth:

If you had one extra hour per week -- what could you start intentionally and purposefully pursuing to use yours? Life is short and our opportunity right now is to do what we can to support our own and our children's growth.

Whether you are a new family or veteran to RMCA, perhaps you've wondered about that bird silhouette on our logo or wondered why we talk about 'skylarks.' Maybe you've heard from your student about our Five Pillars or School Motto. Maybe you've heard him or her humming a particularly beautiful tune. Here are some key things to know about our wonderful school!

Above all, seeking to develop virtues such as goodness, accompanied by God’s grace and our repeated choices, is the only lasting foundation for joy and even fleeting happiness. We are reminded of this great opportunity and responsibility that we as parents and teachers have in helping the next generation understand much better than we did at their age.

Character drives any enduring, authentic learning. How can we best cooperate with God's grace and love for our families by modeling what it means to be people of character, ourselves?

Besides tapping into the potential that God has put within each of us as His image-bearers, purposeful practice is also about showing love to others. This is something that our world and culture desperately need--people living up to their potential for the good of others and the glory of God.

Charlotte Mason emphasizes that true parental leadership is not based on lists of rules or some other kind of formula. Rather, it is founded on a self-sacrificial relationship where parent and child understand that in the long run, they are more like brothers and sisters under the Lordship of Christ.

To hear children sing and speak about the coming of Immanuel, God-With-Us, is a glorious thing. It is a reminder to young and old that the miracle of Christmas never dims, never tarnishes, and is always fresh at whatever point of life we find ourselves.

We are reminded by Scripture and the tradition of millennia that the uncertainties that each of us has experienced since March, and even this week, do not dictate our reality or our identity.

In this season of Thanksgiving and that of Christmas soon to follow is a natural time to remind ourselves and our families of that enduring hope that we have in Christ.

May we continue to grow in prioritizing true priorities of habits, character, and discipleship in all of our relationships.

Like our children, we have growing to do. And for all of us, that includes growing in one's understanding and enjoyment of some aspect of each of the 20+ subject areas that our students are learning and as importantly, the habits and character that they are forming each day. Doing so will allow us to hold that 'door' a little wider open for our children to flourish.

We all have things in which to persevere. That list is going to be different for each of us. But we are made in God’s image with the potential to be a ‘walking mirror’ of Him. That is our truest identity, and one in which each of us will have to be very intentional in persevering.

God invites us to turn our pain over to Him to transform into something only He can imagine.

A great power has been placed in the hands of parents and teachers, the power to enthrone the King, to induct the Priest into the innermost chamber of a child’s heart. For what does it matter if a child gains the whole world but loses his soul? 

As we start our 23rd year of community, may we recommit to growing in living out the strength that we find in God. 

If you are like me, you need reminding of what our shared and unchanging purpose is as Christian parents and teachers--educators alike--in a time when many things seem to have changed.

How are we seeing that the moments count as much as the hours? How are we demonstrating to our children that they matter more than the 'checklist,' even while we balance new and old demands on our time?

Join our community in praying through Psalm 91 together. Let's keep reminding ourselves of the love and strength of our God during this, and all times, of our lives.

Thoughts from the great Christian thinker, CS Lewis, about educating ourselves and home life in times of crises (the eternal fact is that we are always moving toward or from God, to an eternity spent with or without him).

Thoughts from Mr. Byrd on our at-home schooling and other resources & support options for families during the COVID-19 crisis.

Please read this important message about RMCA's plan for Spring Semester and resources to help you during this time.

We, as parents, have the power to help our children be more joyful, more at-peace, more flourishing...in good and bad times.

Character is not something any of us inherits. As Christians, we believe that this best happens--and at the very least, can only be completed--through a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

What Warner and Wilder do in this particular book really stands out from the crowd. Their own work, combined with the experiences and wisdom of many others, articulately spells out what a robust, joyful life can look like as an adult and as a child, and how that can be achieved through habits, bonding with good people, and constantly going back to a God who knows our needs and our children's needs before we even mention them.

What if how much we belonged to a worthy community was one of the most important aspect of a child's growth? What if success--academic, career, or any other measurement--was not ultimately based on how smarter or faster or stronger than our child is than someone else, but instead is a function of how mature he or she is in his or relationships within a community?

All children need to have access to Christ on a consistent basis, not just for an hour or two on Sunday. How can 16,000 hours in school, preschool through 12th grade, contribute toward that relationship? That is the question that we strive to answer each day in our community.

God is always with us, waiting for us to come to him, accept His help. We just have to stop running and hiding long enough to listen to His voice. 

We invite you to be a part of our mission by donating to the Christmas Blessing Fund!

Growing in our heart, soul, and mind has to come before we can help a child do the same.

Listening to God is not primarily about listening for words -- it is about sensing His voice with the fast-track part of our brain.

Properly educate the heart while providing an abundance of good mind food and the education of the head will take care of itself.

"...If the Kingdom is all about people, then learning how to stay in relationships, through thick and thin, has got to be something where we excel and that we teach well."

We all know what it feels and looks like to be led or to lead through fear vs. joy. We’ve all had 'alligators to face'...and how much rewarding it is to face that alligator with someone else, than alone!

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:11-13)

What would happen to our community if more of us adults had JOY at the forefront of our mind/spirit in every interaction that we had?