Humanities

Grammar and Logic School Humanities

As we seek to cultivate an appreciation for beauty, a love for goodness, and a devotion to truth here at BHCA, we recognize that there is a vast treasure of wisdom from ages past. Because of this, we believe that the study of history is essential to a classical Christian education. Students at Beacon Hill begin their studies of history with a thorough, grammar-level course from Creation to the present day. In the Logic School, we emphasize a biographical, narrative approach focused on key characters and agents. Students will internalize a broad world historical timeline and practice critical evaluation of moral and practical decisions throughout history. Our 6th Graders study the Classical World, 7th grade focuses on the Middle Ages through the Reformation, and 8th Grade History focuses on the American Story in preparation for the 8th Grade Historical Studies Tour on the East Coast. In addition, students will engage in a comprehensive study of geography throughout their time at Beacon Hill. This world belongs to our Triune God, and He is the Lord of history.

Rhetoric School | Integrated Humanities

The Purpose

Gryphon Integrated Humanities program seeks to “hand on” the complex heritage of human civilization as one integrated whole. Rhetoric level students study history, literature, philosophy, and art history not as narrow and isolated specializations but as facets of the one human story from Creation to the rise of our post-modern world.

The Integrated Humanities Program rests on four foundational principles:

Integration

In each year of Rhetoric school, students concentrate their humanities study on distinct phase of civilization: the ancient and classical era, medieval era, the American story, and the modern age. Courses are intentionally designed to tie literature readings and art criticism to the historical and philosophical context they express and influence. In many cases, these conventionally separate disciplines are taught by one teacher in daily block schedule.

Primary Sources

Our humanities program is not a typical textbook-based curriculum. Students will study primary sources such as diaries, letters, legislation, and artifacts, alongside the selected arguments of key commentators. In literature and philosophy, our program focuses on the “Great Books” tradition. Our students deserve to understand their heritage directly from the sources, and not filtered through a dry academic encyclopedia.

Dialogue

Our program seeks to provide a robust alternative to the “one-way street” model of education in which the student’s role is to passively absorb information for an exam. We embrace a “dialogue” model instead. This not only means that Socratic dialogue and discussion method will be used in our classrooms, but that even private reading is to be understood as a dialogue
with the author, and that great authors and historical figures should all be seen in the context of a great dialogue – sometimes reactionary and heated! - with one another.

Truth, the Logos

Finally, we wholeheartedly reject the post-modern idea that all truth is humanly constructed and therefore relative. Gryphon Integrated Humanities is built on the axiomatic belief that one reality is participated by all people, that beneath historical and cultural particulars we share a common and objective human nature and destiny, and that any disciplined and determined intellect can rise to transcendent truth, beauty, and goodness. Because we confess Christ, the incarnate Word of God and the savior of mankind, we are free to explore the whole vast history of human existence in the light of His Light.