Newsletter #9 - School and Scholé

An occupational hazard of spending time on the classical Christian education “scene”, is that one finds oneself bumping into words and phrases in Greek and/or Latin. It can be quite disconcerting for the uninitiated. Nonetheless, there’s often much to be gained by confronting some of these strange words, and inviting them round for a cup of tea.

One such would-be guest is scholé, from which we derive the word ‘school’. It’s a Greek word that can be thought of as leisurely learning. Whilst the use of the word ‘leisurely’ may conjure up images of hammocks and cocktails, what’s really meant by leisure here is a state of mind. An approach to living that incorporates deep contemplation, artistic appreciation and thoughtful discussion.

This is true leisure, and it requires no little effort on the part of the individual. What it is not is busywork. Work for the sake of work. Clerical, soulless tasks masquerading as meaningful learning. And in practice, this is achieved through the approach of multum non multa (“much, not many”). In other words, in a classical Christian school that takes scholé seriously, students will think in more depth about topics more carefully selected, rather than superficially touching upon a range as so often happens in modern education.

At St Anselm’s, we aspire to put the scholé into school; to put the leisure into learning. We want to cultivate childrens’ ability to love what is True, Good and Beautiful. Not just for their time at ‘school’ but for the rest of their lives.