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The New Frontier
By Matt Kinnaman

A hundred years ago, one American farmer could produce enough food to feed approximately 2.5 people. Now, with improved methods and equipment, one American farmer can produce enough food to feed approximately 130 people—a 50-fold increase!

In the same period of time, agricultural yields per acre have increased dramatically. For example, the same acre of American land that produced 40 bushels of corn in 1900 can produce 150 bushels today. Combined with new mechanical and technological advantages, today’s farmers provide an expanding population with more choice and better nutrition than ever before.

In earlier times, obtaining enough food to just survive was a common daily battle, a dawn-to-dusk hunt. People did whatever they could to find food—even if it meant traveling far from home on foot to bring back a meager kill. No supermarkets, no convenience stores, no Iron Chef on the Food Channel.

Times were tough. But now, after millennia of worldwide agricultural struggle which yielded only bare subsistence for most families, we—the American people—are firmly established as the first civilization in history to expend extreme efforts actually running away from food. We have too much of it!

In the United States alone, we now spend about $42 billion a year buying books that tell us how to steer clear of food so we can lose weight.

What a contrast compared with the dire prognostications of Thomas Robert Malthus, who predicted famously in the late 18th and early 19th century that people would not be able to feed themselves as world population increased.

Malthus didn’t account for the God-given attribute of human creativity. He didn’t see the new frontier. He didn’t realize that status-quo back-breaking agriculture which could feed only a few—and not very well sometimes—could become extremely efficient and healthy, and provide a standard of living for everyday people that is much more luxurious than the kings of his day enjoyed.

At BCS we want everyday to be a new frontier of possibility. At the heart of the true Christian mind—and our BCS education—is the confidence that the wisdom and knowledge personally revealed in Christ, the Logos incarnate, is greater than the myopia and pessimism of man, able to fill not only physical starvations, but of our souls as well. And so we go forward in good cheer!

Taking Serious Action
By Matt Kinnaman

In September 2004, as Berkshire Christian School began developing its classical emphasis on reading the Great Books, a warning appeared in the Wilson Quarterly, a scholarly literary review: “The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) sounded the official alarm this summer. The reading of literature has dramatically decreased, particularly among young adults. ‘For the first time in modern history, less than half of the adult population now reads literature, and these trends reflect a larger decline in other sorts of reading.’” In other words, people don’t read anymore.

So, if we’re not reading, what are we doing? Well, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we’re watching TV. Their recently-released Time Use Survey states that among Americans questioned “watching TV was the leisure activity that occupied the most time, accounting for about half of leisure time on average for both men and women.”

Whoa! That’s out of control. And although this article is not a “Kill your Television” rant, honest people should admit that tube-viewing is often worthless. The “activity” of watching TV creates a near-moribund state in most humans. That’s just the opposite of good reading. Reading is relaxing, expansive, meditative, and energetic—all at the same time. People who read good books are intellectually-engaged, well-educated people.

Now, back to the first article cited above—the NEA’s alarming report also proclaimed that “the decline of literary reading calls for serious action.” No doubt about that! And we’re taking serious action. Our commitment to reading, writing, and reasoning includes the soon-to-be-released Berkshire Christian School Book List—a compilation of great literature every child (and adult) needs to read. We’ll publish our official 2006-2007 reading list later this spring.

So stay tuned, and remember, as Alan Bloom said, “The failure to read good books both enfeebles the vision and strengthens our most fatal tendency—the belief that the here and now is all there is.”

The Next Renaissance!
By Matt Kinnaman

“Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it.” That phrase, from The Lord of the Rings captures the state of contemporary American education and culture.

Fifty years ago, few people could have foreseen that most American children in the 21st century would lack proficiency in reading and writing and that our country would lag behind most of the developed world in math ability.

Likewise, few people would have predicted the dissolution of the American family, and its deleterious effects on the moral, psychological, and spiritual development of children—children who in many cases learn their notions of right and wrong not in stable homes and churches, but from the changing winds of peer opinion and popular entertainment.

It’s time for a renewal, a rebirth…it’s time for a new renaissance in the academic, cultural and spiritual life of our nation—and that renaissance must be cultivated in our schools.

The Renaissance period, from the 1300’s until the mid-1600’s, was characterized by a rediscovery of classical literature, the spread of Christian thought, and a reinvigorating moral influence in European culture. This initial moral, academic, and spiritual awakening led to the brightest days in human history, as measured by advances in virtually every area of human well-being—scientific discovery, medical knowledge, inventions to improve daily living, the growth of economic opportunity, the spread of democratic ideals and civil liberties, advances in nutrition and food production, the eradication of multiple diseases, the long-term lengthening of the human lifespan—all of these blessings were launched on rocket-like trajectories beginning with the Renaissance, and that progress has continued to this day.

But, as Alexander Solzhenitsyn taught from the depths of the Soviet Gulag, a civilization that loses its spiritual moorings will also lose its greatness, and the moral vacuum created will be filled by destruction and folly. Recognizing this, BCS has a simple but very powerful goal—that our students learn to read, write and reason according to the best learning of the ages, in the light of the Old and New Testament Scriptures, reading the best books ever written, becoming excellent in math, growing in Christian wisdom, and learning how to express themselves thoughtfully and persuasively for the good of others.

Berkshire Christian School is a small school, but we’re pursuing a great possibility. We are working for nothing less than a new renaissance in American education, in which students discover the truth about God, themselves, and all of reality, and that they then go out to help their culture re-discover these truths as well.

Higher is Better!
By Matt Kinnaman

Orville and Wilbur Wright devoted their lives to getting an airplane off the ground. They finally succeeded on December 17, 1903, on a nearly empty, windy stretch of Atlantic shoreline, with a flight that lasted 12 seconds andspanned 120 feet.

Barely sixty-five years later, Boeing launched the humungous 747, a plane with awing-span longer than the Wright Brothers’ first flight! (According to Boeing,the wing span of the smallest 747 is 211 feet.)

Maybe, just maybe, on that solstice-darkened December day, the Wright Brothers anticipated a huge plane that could fly 8000 miles without stopping and span the globe carrying 400 passengers at a time to sunlit vacation destinations in the South Pacific in climate-controlled double-decker comfort …but I doubt it. It’s more likely that they were completely absorbed by the daunting and allengrossing challenge of getting their crude, underpowered, barely-navigable machine to fly at all. But they did it, and the era of modern aviation was launched. Immediately, the quest to go farther, higher, and faster took off, and it hasn’t let up yet. It’s taken us to the Moon and Mars and now it’s heading toward Pluto.

That desire to strive endlessly for new heights is a reflection of God’s design. More specifically, it’s evidence of the human wonder of being created in the image of God. God has placed in the heart of man the hope of higher things. While tethered by our finite limits, we long and strive for that we cannot touch, that which is beyond our human reach. Today’s personal earthbound challenges—whether we’re learning our ABC’s or studying for an exam in Greek or trying to go two-for-two from the foul line underpressure—are often as daunting to us as the Wright Brothers first flight was to them, but today’s challenges do not indicate the limits of tomorrow’s possibilities.

Our mission is clear. Do well today, and aim higher tomorrow. As it says inthe New Testament Letter to the Philippians, our goal is to “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” You can’t get any higher than that!

With this as our creed, we know that God has more blessing and discovery in store for us than we can ever imagine for ourselves. So, stay encouraged, choose your goals and dreams confidently and wisely, and anticipate the wonder of finding great surprises of God’s grace in your life.

Today, a short but hard-earned120-foot journey. Tomorrow, a wing-span alone of almost twice that far…

The Next Big Idea
By Matt Kinnaman

Last week a big—really big—advertisement appeared in the Wall Street Journal. The ad spread across two whole pages. It asked a straightforward question: Where in the
World will the next Big Ideas come from?”

The ad’s sponsors—a who’s who of opinion-shapers, power-brokers, and influence wielders from the upper echelons of finance, politics, business, and higher education—
are sounding an alarm: the American deficiency in math and science threatens the future of our nation in an age of global competition. Bottom line: most of the educational excellence in the world is happening in newly-strong nations with a sharp focus on making the most of their emerging economic opportunities—and it’s not just China and India, but also the nations of southeast Asia, even New Zealand and Ireland, and the former Soviet Republics—nations that understand that “the Pie is Infinite” and are training their young people to propel its growth. The combination they are choosing is low-tax, high-incentive economic polices combined with an educational focus on math and science achievement.

That’s indispensable, but it’s not enough. There’s another urgency, even more important than pro-growth, pro-math and science economic priorities. It was stated eloquently by the great American patriot Samuel Adams, in the context of the American Revolution: "A general dissolution of principles and manners will most surely overthrow the liberties of America than the entire force of the common enemy. While the people are virtuous they will never be subdued; but when they lose their virtue, they will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader... If virtue and knowledge are diffused among the people, they will never be enslaved.
This will be their great security."

So, where will the next Big Idea come from? It will come from those who understand
how to integrate both of these great quests, and order them correctly, remembering
that spiritual clarity and moral strength precede and protect individual and national
success. And that’s exactly the way we’ve ordered our priorities at Berkshire Christian
School. At Berkshire Christian School our goal is simple and powerful—we teach students to read, write, and reason, and we do that within the classical tradition, guided by the light of the Old and New Testament Scriptures, the greatest books of the western tradition, an exemplary math curriculum, and an effective phonics-based reading approach. We offer our students the opportunity to grow academically, spiritually, and morally through a classical curriculum founded on the truth of Christ, "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Our overriding mission is to achieve “academic excellence informed by the truth of Christ.”

And that’s the key to everything. The next big idea will come from those who recognize and pursue the Biggest Idea of all, which is actually a very ancient but ever-living truth: Each person is created in the image of God, blessed the momentous calling to “make the most of every opportunity” in God’s overall divine redemptive plan.

At BCS, we seek to inspire our students to pursue the Biggest Idea, and then go out and be creators and builders of the big ideas of tomorrow, leaders who live as lights in a dark world, empowered with wisdom and knowledge, fully-educated disciples of Christ.

The Big Things in Life are Simple!
By Matt Kinnaman

Think about the power of big ideas, succinctly expressed. Here are some examples:

The Ten Commandments: 179 words
The Mayflower Compact: 197 words
The Gettysburg Address: 272 words
The Declaration of Independence: 1,300 words

Next, consider how politicians and bureaucrats have corrupted the succinct and elegant ideas of American freedom—the US Tax Code is now nearly 1,685,000 words long! Yes, you should write a letter to your representative about that, but first, consider this additional statistic: In the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress less than 50% of Massachusetts students tested scored “proficient” in math and reading, and yet, Massachusetts is #1 in the nation compared to other states! Something is wrong with this picture. The two leading arenas designed to give practical guidance to our civic life—education and politics—are the two that are most prone to offer complicated, bureaucratic, inefficient “solutions,” and as results get worse, Washington and Boston ask for more money from you and me. But we have a better answer. It’s the BCS solution.

Berkshire Christian School aspires to do just three things—our goal is to teach
students to read, write, and reason, and to do that within the classical tradition,
guided by the light of Scripture, the greatest books of the western tradition, an
exemplary math curriculum, and an effective phonics-based reading approach.

This is the classical vision of BCS, and it’s never been needed more. Education has
been lost in America because the classical approach described above has been abandoned. Classical education philosophy and methodology is time tested and proven over centuries. It provides the academic foundation for civil liberties and the promotion of human dignity in law and culture. It has led to unprecedented advances in the literary and scientific arts, and provided the essential intellectual training for the authors of American political liberty.

This relates directly to the heart of BCS’ mission: Classical education philosophy is inextricable from historic Christian thought, and application of Christian thought to questions of education methodology and philosophy leads necessarily to a classical framework. Amidst the changing cultural and educational fashions of the day, classical education stands steady and alone as the most developmentally appropriate approach to learning, the best suited to training scholars and leaders, and the most clearly connected to Christian truth. And that makes BCS a simple and powerful education solution for the days in which we live.

Oil Prices and Starbucks Espresso
By Matt Kinnaman

Everyone is concerned about the high price of oil, and sometimes we’re tempted to give in to pessimism and despair, as circumstances appear to go from bad to worse...but it helps to keep at least two things in mind:

1) Historical Perspective—even after oil prices recently surged into the $60 per barrel
range, crude oil was still much cheaper than it was at its all-time inflation-adjusted
peak price of $98.49 per barrel in December 1979.

2) Optimism and Thankfulness—as George Will’s most recent column reports, average
gasoline prices have “swiftly plunged from the post-Katrina high of $3.07 to $2.15.
(compared with $185.60 for a gallon of Starbucks espresso),” reminding us to never
freak out over short-term vicissitudes, and to remember just how good we’ve got
it—gas is still historically cheap, and we can drive along a winter road in a warm
car, sipping the most expensive and best beverages in human history while still feeling
like it’s a bargain. People of long ago couldn’t have dreamed of such luxury.

We live in an age of abundance—even when it feels like we don’t—and we have the
greatest opportunities ever to apply the best perspectives of the ages to the education needs of our children today. We are in a very advantageous situation.

The time-honored principles, priorities, truths, and tenets of classical Christian education have proven over centuries of study to be the best road to academic excellence and moral development. Knowing this, we don’t let ourselves get tossed around by today’s negative news, trendy thinking, and pop-entertainment methodologies.

From the Greeks (who laid the intellectual foundation for western democracy, art, and
literature through the fine reasoning of logic and the eloquent expression of rhetoric)—to the Romans (who continued building on this academic foundation)—to Christ Himself (through whom Peter and Paul were able to witness effectively to the Greeks and Romans in a logical and eloquent manner), western learning and civilization have prospered when we’ve kept our eyes focused and our minds trained on the whole wisdom of God, as revealed in Scripture and in the person of Christ.

We’re on the road to a very special and worthwhile destination at BCS! A good school
is getting better everyday, as we pursue the truths we are certain of.

Oil prices will rise and fall, a Starbucks espresso—at any price—lasts only a moment,
but the wisdom of the ages as established and revealed by Jesus Christ will endure forever.

All wisdom and knowledge is finally in Christ, the indescribable gift of God. At BCS,
our commitment is to offer your children what they need most in school—the opportunity to grow in wisdom and knowledge, and to know Him from whom it comes.