10 May Prepared for the Future
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Prepared for the Future
by Travis Koch, Dean of Academics
What will the world be like in twenty years? What will a college graduate need to know in 2037? What kinds of work will be most necessary? What will be the essential skills and activities that lead to a happy and productive life? If the last few months have taught us anything, it’s how quickly the world situation can change. What we thought was fixed can actually come unfixed, and what was widely considered impossible might actually come to pass. So, how do we prepare our children to face an uncertain future? How can we equip them to successfully navigate an unfamiliar world? Classical education’s answer to this question is straightforward: give our children the essential skills that lead to success in any circumstance—train them to think clearly, to communicate effectively, and to understand God’s world and our purpose in it.
In their book Wisdom and Eloquence: A Christian Paradigm for Classical Learning, Robert Littlejohn and Charles Evans write, “Our nation is crying for leaders who possess the knowledge, skills, and virtues necessary to function, communicate, and succeed in the face of never more rapidly expanding information and communication technologies and never more rapidly changing circumstances.”
St. Stephen’s Academy exists to provide such leaders for the glory of God and the good of the world. While we cannot know what will be the most widely used coding language in 2037, we can be sure that the best programmers will be people who understand what is going on around them, discern what is needed in the moment, anticipate future needs, and know how to create and present solutions that promote what is good, beautiful, and true.
As Littlejohn and Evans note, “Of all people, Christian educators must be responsive to society’s changing needs so that our graduates are prepared to make a difference in the world in which they live.” We pursue this goal by providing a classical, liberal arts education that has consistently produced the kinds of Christian thinkers and doers the world always so desperately needs.
For additional perspective on the value of classical education (and the cost of abandoning it), read this article by Notre Dame professor Patrick Deneen. http://www.mindingthecampus.org/2016/02/how-a-generation-lost-its-common-culture/