Our Story
2008-2009 School Photo
Dorothy Sayers, a bright, witty British intellect whose life spanned both World Wars, whose friends included C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, delivered a speech at Oxford in 1947 called “The Lost Tools of Learning.” In this ground-breaking speech, Sayers lamented the state of education in Western Society in 1947. She asked a series of questions that most Americans are still asking today: Why do we teach our students subject matter that we fully expect them to almost immediately forget? How is it that, even though we live in the age of the highest literacy rates in the history of mankind, our young people are so susceptible to the influence of advertising? Why do so few people, when engaged in debates, seem unable to speak directly to the question asked of them, but instead resort to reciting information unrelated to the question? Why do we spend all of our time teaching them information (that we fully expect them to almost immediately forge) and no time at all teaching them how to learn, how to reason, how to articulate what they know and what they believe? Why, she asked, are we not equipping our children with tools of learning so that they can leave school able to succeed not only in discreet subjects, like math or chemistry, but in any subject that is presented to them? And why on earth, she wondered, had we stopped teaching—really teaching—our children their own rich literary, cultural, and religious heritage during a time when knowing who we are and where we come from was more important than it had ever been?
In the fall of 1981, three sets of parents in Moscow, Idaho were asking the same questions. Dissatisfied with the educational options open to their own children they were inspired by Ms. Sayer’s essay and dismayed by the educational options open to them, they asked those same questions. What kind of education did they want for their children? Was the seven hours a day their children were attending school reaping a benefit that was proportional to the time invested? Would the values they wanted to teach their children be reinforced in school, or directly contradicted? Recognizing that the Biblical mandate to raise children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord was directed at them—the parents—and not at the local school system, they decided to take their children’s education into their own hands and form a new kind of school—a school structured on classical methodologies as outlined by Sayers in her essay and dedicated to teaching their children that all knowledge is God’s. Their school, which they named Logos School, was the first school in the Classical school movement in the United States, and Logos is widely known for producing students of high academic and moral character.
The classical education movement in America, inspired by Sayers, implemented by Logos, had begun, and classical schools began springing up all around the country. In the year 2000, a group of parents from the Helena, Alabaster, Pelham areas met at Evangel Church to ask some of the same questions—isn’t there something better out there for our children than the options currently in our community? Isn’t there something different? Thus, Evangel Classical Christian School was born, and in the ten years that have ensued, the Lord has blessed our school exceedingly. Our school has grown from the original 53 students to 300. We have moved from the small facility at the old Evangel Church campus in Helena to the beautiful, much larger facility on Thompson Road in Alabaster, and we have already had to expand the space to accommodate our classroom needs. We have transformed from a fledgling school, grades K-3, with four teachers who were attempting to learn those classical methodologies to a well-established school, grades K-12, staffed by over thirty-five teachers who have almost three hundred years of teaching experience among them, including over one hundred years of experience in classical education. Many of our teachers at ECCS are also parents of ECCS students. They arrived at the doors of the schools looking for a difference for our children, and they found what they had been looking for.
We are different. The classical model that we have referred to is completely different from the model being followed in the vast majority of public and private schools today. The classical method relies on proven methods of education that resulted in some of Western society’s greatest thinkers and leaders—William Shakespeare, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Winston Churchill were all classically educated. In classical education, we structure what we teach and the way we teach according to the natural developmental stages that children go through.
In the elementary years, which we call the Grammar stage, children absorb information easily and eagerly. They love to sing and recite, and they love to see, feel, and experience what they are learning. At ECCS, a grammar school student child will go through the entire Old and New Testaments, learn all the fundamentals of English and Latin grammar, and take a journey through the history of the world starting with Creation and ending in modern day America. The history comes alive in literature that was either written during or set in the time periods that the students study. In science, students learn not only fundamentals of life, earth, and physical science, but also the history of mankind’s understanding of that knowledge. Grammar students also learn to recognize and appreciate the works of the most important artists and composers in the Western tradition. While still in the Grammar school, fifth and sixth grades are transition years from the Grammar Stage to the Dialectic or Logic Stage.
In the dialectic stage, children are no longer content with just amassing information. They are ready to challenge it—to ask why and how do you know? With a wealth of general knowledge, they now begin to think for themselves and often become firmly convinced that they are much smarter than their teachers and parents. In short, they love to argue. So, we let them. While we continue to teach them the grammar of subjects—that is, the fundamental, necessary information—we allow them to explore the questions that they have. We teach them how to use logic in their own arguments and how to detect flawed logic in the arguments of others. We teach them to engage in real, honest debate in a civil manner, and we challenge them to know upon what basis they found their arguments, seeking to guide them to develop a Biblical world-view from which they see every branch of knowledge and every societal question.
During the Rhetoric years, we are still teaching our students grammar (fundamental information), and we are still training them in logic, but we also begin formal rhetoric instruction—that is, the ability to speak and write coherently and persuasively. Of course, we start teaching writing and speaking very early on in the Grammar Stage, but during the Rhetoric years, we place even more emphasis on the importance of rhetoric. We know that in order to be leaders and culture changers, our students must have the skills to communicate effectively. The rhetoric years are designed not only to prepare them in every way for the next step in their academic careers, but also to prepare them to be salt and light, able to enter the next chapter of their lives standing firm in their faith, able to articulate God’s truth from a foundation of knowledge.
Appreciating the classical model fully is something that usually occurs for parents once their child enrolls in our school and they see it at work. But there are some very specific differences at our school that you will note immediately and that are often the source of questions. First, our grammar students—grades K-5 through 6th—are dismissed each day at 12:50. Some people question why? How can you do that? Can they possibly learn everything they need to learn and still be dismissed at 12:50? The answer is a resounding YES! Our classes are small—16 is the maximum number of students in any class. Our teachers are effective classroom managers who actively teach during the entire school day. Discipline issues are few and are handled promptly and effectively, so very little time is wasted. We use every minute of our shortened Grammar School day to the fullest extent. Our students study penmanship, spelling, reading, math, science, history, literature, grammar, and Bible, and they still have time for recess! Because of the increasingly complex nature of the subject material, however, beginning in grade 6, the day is extended until 3:10.
Another big difference at our school is that we do begin Latin instruction in third grade. So many parents ask Why Latin? Studying Latin increases students’ English vocabularies, as over 60% of English words are derived from Latin. Latin enhances their study of literature, history, law, medicine, and all other aspects of Western culture, as Latin was the most important functioning language in Western culture through the end of the Renaissance. The study of Latin enhances the students’ abilities to learn other languages. Furthermore, studying Latin teaches students how to be active learners—they’re not going to pick up Latin at home or from television. They have to apply themselves to a systematic accumulation of vocabulary, rules, and systems. Research shows that students who study Latin routinely do better on national vocabulary tests, reading tests, and even math tests.
Another question we often are asked is do you have a sports program? Yes, but it is also different. We are a ministry of Evangel Church, which also supports a home school umbrella. We co-op with the Evangel Christian School home school umbrella—that is, our students play on teams together—varsity and junior varsity football and cheerleading, basketball, volleyball, and baseball. We are looking to add golf and track in the next year or two. Home school students, in turn, can co-op with us to take one or more classes at ECCS.
How is what we offer different from other Christian schools? That’s a great question. Some schools offer an education in a Christian environment, but what we offer is education founded completely upon a Biblical world view. No subject can be separated from Biblical truth because God is the author of all knowledge. We train students that their faith should inform every aspect of their lives—how they do their homework, how they study for tests, how they conduct themselves at school and beyond, how they treat their neighbors. Additionally, the rigor of our program is a direct response to the Biblical directive that we should do everything as unto the Lord.
Another question we are often asked is do they get what they need as far as normal college preparatory classes go. Again, the answer is a resounding YES! In fact, our standard program goes beyond normal college preparatory programs, especially in the humanities and languages. Additionally, our students consistently outperform other schools in our area on standardized tests. This spring, our sophomores took the ACT, and their average score was higher than the national average score of graduating seniors in 2007.
Parents always have concerns about entering ECCS. Is 3rd grade too late? Can my child start in 7th grade? In 8th? In 9th? Again, YES! Of course it’s great to start at the beginning—in kindergarten, but we have had students successfully enter at later grade levels.
There are many other differences we could talk to you about—the family atmosphere of our school, the simplicity that having your children attend one school, the love and support that our teachers provide for their students on a daily basis. But perhaps the greatest difference of all can be seen when you come to our school, walk down the hallway, meet our students and teachers and see classical education at work. If you’ve read this far, then you have probably already been asking questions about your child’s education. You may already be looking for something else—for something different. We encourage you to call us and set up a tour to see if ECCS is the difference you’ve been looking for.
