Our Philosophy of Education

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Humanities is fundamentally the study of God’s image bearers through history and literature. A study of the collective work of humanity is revelatory to God’s story unfolding. This study is infused with Scripture for students to learn how to interpret human actions and to discern truth, goodness, and beauty. We start with a piece of literature for students to carefully read and interrogate, and then discuss the various fields of study that emerge. History is seen more clearly through the lens of story, and literature reveals character and gives us a quasi-omniscient perspective of choices and how they impact lives. Students are given the opportunity to be innocent, but not naïve to the world. Through a deep study of literature, students will see the brokenness of our sinful world while also seeing the story of Redemption unfolding. 

The Quadrivium is part of the seven Liberal Arts and lays the foundation for understanding the cosmos and all that God has created. We start with arithmetic to build mastery in the language of numbers and then move to studying numbers in space, where we see geometry throughout creation. Music is the study of numbers in time, and finally this leads to a deeper understanding of the cosmos, which is the study of numbers in space and time. 

Mastery in the language of numbers is paramount to being able to interpret the world around us. Mathematics teaches objective truth as we solve problems and come to a provable answer. We build skills in arithmetic and intentionally work to develop a rich sense of numbers, so that they are a language the student can use fluently.  

We understand and know God’s design by studying the world around us, and this knowledge helps build our understanding of God Himself. We want science to invigorate a sense of wonder; therefore we will use hands-on experiments as well as the observation of nature to instill this holy curiosity for God’s world. We desire for students to master foundational scientific concepts and develop the skills of hypothesis, observation, and conclusion while deeply understanding that all truth is God’s truth. We therefore can look at science with anticipation of truth being revealed.  

Music:  

“The final aim and reason of all music is nothing other than the glorification of God and the refreshment of the spirit” - Johann Sebastian Bach

As Christians, we are called to sing “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” (Ephesians 5:19–21). We are called to be a singing people, lifting our voices to the Lord. As part of the Quadrivium, music is the intersection of numbers in time. Within the Christian Liberal Arts, music is therefore both an  academic and a spiritual skill to be honed. We will train students in the language of music (theory) as well as cultivate a love of music that lines up with the transcendentals—that which is good, true, and beautiful. The aims are to develop both skill in singing to glorify the Lord and deep discernment in the transcendentals.

At Rivendell Academy, students will study Latin after developing foundational English grammar skills. Latin reinforces English grammar by applying grammatical skills to a new language. Because Latin is a well-ordered language, its students develop a logic of language that deepens their understanding of language in general. The study of Latin and its etymology builds a strong vocabulary foundation, as it is the basis of our legal and medical terms and the root of all Romance languages. Latin is also the language of Rome, the culture in which Christ came, so many foundational documents for the Christian Church were written in Latin. Not only does the clear grammatical structure of Latin make it beneficial to study to form the logical minds of students, but it is also an excellent language to be able to translate and interpret for deeper understanding.  

Scripture will inform all that we study at Rivendell Academy, and we will also have a distinct portion of each day specifically allotted for Bible training. We will cultivate an academic understanding of Scripture through catechism, Bible survey, and learning skills of interpretation. The skill of navigating Scripture will be honed during this designated time, while the entire day will be infused with God’s Word and filtered through the lens of Scripture. Students will practice discernment in that which is true, good, and beautiful as defined by God through His Word. 

Beauty is a modern apologetics for the Christian faith, especially in a culture dominated by visuals, therefore it is more important than ever that our eyes are trained to recognize that which is true, good and beautiful.  The transcendentals are  objective because God offers these standards throughout Scripture and they are reflected in the visible universe.  The complexities and  intricacies revealed in God’s creation deserve our careful attention.  As image bearers, observing  God’s details,  we should become “sub-creators” and our art should reflect God’s beauty.   As Christians we should be producers of good art and not just consumers of the world’s art. Therefore we hold recognizing beautiful art as well as the skill of creating beautiful art in high regard.