When Good is Great

At the Academy we speak often of academic excellence — and rightly so. Our students strive not to be middling multipliers or so-so storytellers. In all they do, their motive is mastery; their calling, commitment; and their end, excellence.

Yet from time to time, we teachers wonder amongst ourselves just what it means to be excellent. Webster tells us that to be excellent is to be “eminently good.” That definition is satisfying, but it lacks depth and punch when applied to education. We want our students to be eminently good at mathematics, language arts, fine arts, and physical education, but if our students excel only in those academic disciplines, it must be asked: Are we fulfilling our purposes as educators, or might there be more to a rigorous education than that?

Well, our answer may be found in the definition previously supplied: The excellence we strive to teach at the Academy is that we — students and teachers alike — be eminently good.

The most moving figures in history excelled at many things, but they were great chiefly because they were good. During the Civil War, General William Tecumseh Sherman initially met Abraham Lincoln with skepticism. But at the close of a lengthy hour-long conversation with the President, he averred with the many that he had “all faith” in Lincoln because he was “pure minded, honest, and good.” Lincoln was an unmatched communicator, listener, and visionary, but to those who knew him well, he was, above all, good.

In light of Lincoln, we might rightly concur with Flannery O’ Connor that “a good man is hard to find.” Indeed, the goodness of men such as Lincoln equates to historic excellence because it was outstanding, and it was, as it is today, rare. For this reason – and we’re careful of hyperbole – our faculty are continually encouraged by what we see in our students at the Academy. 7th graders discreetly instruct 4th graders how to set a volleyball, 3rd graders traverse the playground to embrace and play with Pre-K students, and students of all grades consistently do what is right, honest, and good by their classmates and teachers. At the Academy we enjoy excellence of the most important and enduring kind.

Thanksgiving’s arrival is timely. We give thanks for what our school is and what it is becoming. And now as we look ahead, may the Lord grant us continued excellence, and may He help us always to be good.