BY BENJAMIN INGLIS
One of the charges sometimes levelled at the kind of education we are aiming for (click here if you’re interested in knowing what that is) is elitism—that “holier-than-though” snobbishness that believes itself to have crossed the finish line before anyone else.
In response, certainly we would acknowledge that an institution which doesn’t think itself capable of producing golden calves is also the one most likely to create them. From the moment we enter the world, we constantly struggle with a desire to appear better than others; we also know that this ambition is not from God but from the sad and hungry world of self. Having said this, if every pioneering pursuit should have been squelched simply because of its elitist tendencies, we would still be affirming a geocentric universe with no access to penicillin or indoor plumbing. We believe the answer to the temptation to pride is not to do nothing, but to move towards excellence in a humble, prayerful, mindful way.
A more balanced response to new (or newfound) information is not to panic about the possible overthrow of our current systems, but rather to ask whether the current system could benefit from re-examination, adjustment, or even complete overhaul. Herein, we believe, lies the true freedom of a rooted Christocentric philosophy. If we truly long for Christ to remain supreme and central in everything, we should never fear the prospect of self-appraisal; rather, this should enable us to hold even the most beloved trappings of our institutions with a loose hand.
Jodocus van Lodenstein once said that the church, while to be commended for holding to the reformation recovery of biblical faith, must also be open to continued reformation. He was not recommending the church become a slavish proponent of every new trend or doctrinal innovation. Rather, his desire was that the church be open to continual “reformation” as the riches of God’s Word continued to be uncovered.
Applying this principle to our schools, where it becomes clear that we, or our goals, are impeding rather than promoting Christ, we should be willing to abandon them without regret. Ultimately our desire to provide an excellent education for the next generation has nothing to do with the perpetuation of our own legacy; rather, it is to set forward Christlikeness as the only legacy worthy of pursuit.
Classical Education a Fit Medium for Excellence
As we have wrestled and thought through the past century’s reappropriation of Classical education, we have become increasingly convinced that such an approach to education not only aligns with the natural development of a child, but is a fit medium through which to express Christ’s total reign over all things. It must also be said that we are not actually proposing something “new and improved” through Classical education so much as we are encouraging a reacquaintance with the old. It isn’t that we uncritically endorse something simply because it’s old (see the previous paragraph), but that we believe many writers and thinkers of old were especially well situated to address the timeless verities of human nature.
We do not believe the true heirs of the classical tradition will be realized in either traditionalism or nostalgism. Rather, we see the opportunity to expose our students to the history and traditions of past thinkers will prove a useful foil against the arrogance and blind spots of our own generation. In other words, a classical education, rightly understood, should not tend towards elitism so much as a wariness towards the unseen elitisms of our current time.
Prioritizing Collectivity over Competition
The last thing to be said against the charge of elitism is that we do not see the act of pioneering as opposed to the spirit of the collective. In fact, we believe the presence of a diversity of institutions to be a natural and healthy thing, for few worthwhile movements have ever advanced on the backs of one or two individuals. Rather they gain their momentum from the resources, experience, and strengths of the infrastructure around them. Many good movements have proved abortive not because they weren’t built on good ideas, but because endless infighting and backbiting destroyed them before they could gain momentum. The most sickening and disheartening of these implosions have occurred among professing Christians.
But as followers of Jesus, aren’t we to be known for our love? Will the world be compelled by institutions that can’t even live by the doctrine they say they ascribe to? If we long for a new and powerful work in Christian education, we must concede that the pursuit of some degree of camaraderie is preferable to hampering each other’s efforts through competition.
Again, the freedom of those who gladly submit to the kingship of Christ is that we never need to feel threatened by those we perceive to be our competition. Especially not as we remember that being loved by God is the Christian’s fundamental, unchangeable, reality. We live on this earth for a few brief years, and then “we fly away.” Is it not, then, one huge mistake to put the weight of our identity on the success of our endeavors? At the end of the day, both we and our institutions will be rolled up like a garment and changed into their perfected expressions.
Christ the Source of True Excellence
In 2 Corinthians 10:4, Paul reminds Christians that when it comes to spiritual warfare, “We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.” The primary reason we want to strive for excellence is not because we long to be celebrated or immortalized, but because the fundamental battle for education takes place on a spiritual realm against supernatural enemies.
Some may say that to stay within the bounds of what we know and have always done will be safer than risk. We believe, however, that to resist the good we know we ought to do is neither right nor safe. We cannot afford to equip ourselves, or our students, with second-rate weapons. The Enemy is elite. And so he must be answered with the excellency of God’s mighty weapons.
We are not so naive to assume that we are doing everything perfectly or that we won’t need to continually adjust. Our greatest desire for KCCS is to be a school that honours Christ and seeks to spread his fame. If we seem to baulk at the accusations of elitism, it isn’t because we fear for our own reputation. Rather it is because we know the truly Excellent One, and long for our students to know him too.
BENJAMIN INGLIS
Ben is a founding board member of KCCS. He lives in Peterborough, Ontario where he is a also an elder at Hill City Baptist Church. He is the proprietor at benjamininglis.ca and you can also find him occasionally writing at dragonsetc.ca or getting stomped at Yahtzee by one of his three children.