There are many things that I love about being the Headmaster of St. Benedict Classical Academy. This role has brought me into contact with so many wonderful people throughout the years, and being the head of a school is truly a blessing. But I did not choose the vocation of a teacher so that I could plan budgets, raise money, or set school policies. All of those things are good and bring their own kind of joy. They are also necessary so that teachers are in the best position to do their most important work. However, I chose to be a teacher because I loved being in the classroom with students. I love teaching them the subjects that I myself love.
For me, there are few greater moments than when a class is engaged in a topic, and you can almost see the dots being connected in their minds as they ponder a thought, or see their eyes light up with wonder as something becomes clear. I have always made it a priority for our administrators to teach at least one subject. It is important that we have a tangible connection to the work going on in the classroom each day. It is a great way for administrators to stay connected not only with our students, but with the faculty as well.
This year, I have the privilege of teaching our eighth-grade history class. Over the course of this academic year, we will survey the history of what is now the United States from the time of European exploration until the Cold War. The epigraph of the textbook that we will have as a resource is this passage from John Dos Passos:
Every generation rewrites the past. In easy times history is more or less of an ornamental art, but in times of danger we are driven to the written record by a pressing need to find answers to the riddles of today. We need to know what kind of firm ground other men, belonging to generations before us, have found to stand on. In spite of changing conditions of life they were not very different from ourselves, their thoughts were the grandfathers of our thoughts, they managed to meet situations as difficult as those we have to face, to meet them sometimes lightheartedly, and in some measure to make their hopes prevail. We need to know how they did it.
In times of change and danger when there is a quicksand of fear under men’s reasoning, a sense of continuity with generations gone before can stretch like a lifeline across the scary present and get us past that idiot delusion of the exceptional Now that blocks good thinking. That is why, in times like ours, when old institutions are caving in and being replaced by new institutions not necessarily in accord with most men’s preconceived hopes, political thought has to look backwards as well as forwards.
—John Dos Passos, “The Use of the Past,” from The Ground We Stand On: Some Examples From the History of a Political Creed (1941)
This passage is a bit long for what I would normally quote in a blog, but it is worth sharing. It is important for us to remember the trials and travails of those who have gone before us and to remember that the challenges we face are not unique. There are no new sins; there are no new heresies. We can look to the great saints of the Church and the heroes of history and take our cue from them.
We, and our world, unquestionably face challenges today, but we can take solace in the fact that the end of the story is already written. Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead. So, armed with a victorious Savior and a deep knowledge of our past, let us begin this academic year with the joyful confidence appropriate for a follower of Christ. Please be assured of my prayers for you all.
St. Benedict, pray for us!
AUTHOR: Jay Boren, Headmaster
