As more and more parents adopt classical and Christian education, many others are left with questions. Unfamiliarity with the classical method seems to have given rise to some common myths. While you may find some truth in each myth, we believe your concerns about classical education will begin to fade as your knowledge increases. In fact, you may be surprised by the same enthusiasm that has motivated thousands of parents to return to an education that works.

Myth #1: Classical education was fine back then, but we need modern education in a modern world.

The 1st Grade enjoyed a field trip to the Botanical Gardens for the George
Washington Carver Tour on Thursday, October 14th. God blessed them with a wonderful fall day to enjoy the cooler weather and the beautiful changing leaves.  They learned about all the wonderful uses for peanuts that Dr. Carver discovered, and learned that his greatest achievement was serving God in all he did to serve others!"

Third grade students enjoyed an engaging concert by the Alabama Symphony Orchestra at the beautiful Alabama Theater on Thursday October 21st.  The "Air, Land, Sea" educational performance fit perfectly with classical education.  Through the sounds of music, the children imagined the movement of clouds, the birds in the forest portrayed by a range of musical instruments, and a raging storm.  The concert guide challenged the students to consider: the water cycle; the effects of air movement; mathematics, as the entire audience was divided into sections for their own musical performance of a quiet beach following the lead of conductor Christopher Confessore; and language interpretation as one of the "Land" performances was roughly translated "Forest of the Jelly Doughnuts".  Undoubtedly, Hoe-Down from Rodeo by American composer Aaron Copeland was the children's favorite piece as they participated with galloping motions imagining the Western Frontier.  Following the concert, the group made a brief excursion to the McWane Science Center for some hands-on fun.

On September 16, the fifth graders went to the Birmingham Museum of Art for the Native American guided tour.  They were able to see pottery, paintings, clothing, model homes and even a totem pole.  It was exciting when they were heard saying, "Oh look!  That's just like we researched, oh cool!"   The docents at the museum said they have never had such excellent students on a guided tour.  The education coordinator said that she loves ECCS because they always seem to enjoy learning and are captivated by the information that the docents share.  When the museum volunteers heard that we were studying the American artist, Mary Cassatt, they walked us downstairs to see her painting on display.  The teacher said, "As you enter this gallery, look around and see which painting on the wall looks like a Cassatt."  The fifth graders were so excited when they found Etude de femme âgée en chapeau: fond rouge (Portrait of an Elderly Lady in a Bonnet: Red Background) and said, "Look! That picture is in our art book in the classroom."  This was a great field trip in which the students applied their learning as well as gained an appreciation for art.  Several students are asking their parents to take them back to the museum because they want to see more.

ECCS senior Bethany Carter, daughter of Mark and Sandy Carter, achieved Commended Status in the 2010 National Merit Competition.  This means that Bethany scored in the top 50,000 of the 1.5 million college bound high shcool juniors who took the PSAT/NMSQT last October.  She is the first student from ECCS to achieve that status, and we are very proud of her.  Congratulations, Bethany! 

The ECCS Rhetoric School assembled a team--the Evangel Troubadours-- for the annual Jacksonville State University Writer's Bowl this year, and we were really looking forward to seeing them compete in the bowl.  Bad weather, however, prevented the team from traveling to JSU for the event.  Team sponsors Beth Mitchell and Karin Ballstadt, however, kept up the spirits of the team members--seniors Bethany Carter and Hannah Pryor; juniors Jenny Combs and Lauren Johnson; and sophomores Anna Carter and Merry Kathryn Herald--by conducting our own in-house writers' day. 

We were delighted to find out after the event that one of our team members had won the individual essay contest, for which entries had been sent in ahead of time.  Bethany Carter placed first among 50 entries with her essay "A Body Without A Soul:  Imagining a World Without Books."  Congratulations to Bethany and the Evangel Troubadours.  We look forward to next year when our hopefully our writers will get to participate in the whole event.  You can click here to read Bethany's essay.