Year Three - The Hero's Journey

We were blessed this summer to travel to Greece and walk in the footsteps of Atreus and Agamemnon at Mycenae, the Oracles at Delphi, Pericles at the Acropolis, and so many other heroes of history and legend.  It was grand and inspiring but we feel that what we are all engaged in here at John Adams Academy is no less grand and inspiring, and truly a hero’s journey!

As we begin our third year let us begin with hope and enthusiasm that we too might follow the pattern that can be found in myths, stories, and legends. Like a rite of passage, our journey requires that in our ordinary world we receive a call to adventure. We are reluctant at first or even refuse the call, but are encouraged by a mentor to cross the first threshold and enter the Special World, where we encounter tests, allies, and enemies.  We approach the inmost cave (wouldn’t be JAA if we didn’t mention a cave!) crossing a second threshold where we endure the ordeal.  We take possession of our reward and are pursued on the road back to the Ordinary World.  We cross the third threshold, experience a resurrection, and are transformed by the experience.  We return with the elixir, a boon or treasure to benefit the Ordinary World.

This pattern is not the invention of the ancient storytellers.  Myths are metaphors for a process of growth and discovery and are a way to express the highest of truths.  As we discover and apply these truths we can become heroes.

 Joseph Campbell, an American scholar identified the phases of the hero’s journey.  The journey is about growth and passage.  The journey requires a separation from the comfortable, known world, and an initiation into a new level of awareness, skill, and responsibility, and then a return home.  Each stage of the journey must be passed successfully if the initiate is to become a hero.

According to Campbell, the hero is someone who has given his life over to someone or something bigger than himself. A hero is judged by the things he does and the way he reacts and relates to people.  His deeds must be marked by a nobility of purpose, and he must be willing to risk his life for his ideals.

For you returning you know what you have given in this adventure greater than any single member.  For those of you just joining us do not be afraid.  At the end of the journey great heroes are made in ourselves as we achieve our mission to restore America’s heritage and develop servant leaders!

During our trip to Greece this summer our Greek tour guide shared her favorite poem with us.  It is very appropriate to this theme and to our current reading of Homer. As I read it ask yourselves what your “Ithaca” might be in your journey of becoming.

Ithaca

by Konstantinos Kavafis (1911)

As you set out for Ithaca

hope your road is a long one,

full of adventure, full of discovery.

Laistrygonians, Cyclops,

angry Poseidon - don't be afraid of them:

you' ll never find things like that on your way

as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,

as long as a rare excitement

stirs your spirit and your body.

Laistrygonians, Cyclops,

wild Poseidon - you won't encounter them

unless you bring them along inside your soul,

unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

Hope your road is a long one.

May there be many summer mornings when,

with what pleasure, what joy,

you enter harbours you're seeing for the first time;

may you stop at Phoenician trading stations

to buy fine things,

mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,

sensual perfume of every kind -

as many sensual perfumes as you can;

and may you visit many Egyptian cities

to learn and go on learning from their scholars.

Keep Ithaca always in your mind.

Arriving there is what you're destined for.

But don't hurry the journey at all.

Better if it lasts for years,

so you're old by the time you reach the island,

wealthy with all you've gained on the way,

not expecting Ithaca to make you rich.

Ithaca gave you the marvelous journey.

Without her you wouldn't have set out.

She has nothing left to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca won't have fooled you.

Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,

you'll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

The Jockey of Artemision is a large Hellenistic bronze statue of a young boy riding a horse, dated to c.140BC but possibly as early as 200BC. It is a rare surviving original bronze statue from Ancient Greece, particularly the Hellenistic period.

Some parts are missing, such as the rider's whip and reins, and the horse's bridle. The image of the goddess Nike is engraved on the horse's right thigh, holding a wreath in raised hands.  After seeing hundreds of statues and monuments this was our personal favorite and a fitting symbol of our hero’s journey here at John Adams Academy.  We will continue to leap forward, hardly contained, our scholars unafraid to go forth and change the world.

We express our gratitude to each of you and our confidence in our individual and collective hero’s journey this new year!

Dean and Linda Forman
Founders of John Adams Academy

What is Man?

What is Man?

By Norman Gonzales

As we go through life we constantly strive to make ourselves better, to improve upon the knowledge and virtue that we brought with us the day before.  As parents we seek to have our children accomplish greater feats and to rise to greater heights than we were able to in our lifetimes. For those of us at John Adams Academy, we strive to develop servant leaders and to “inspire” our scholars to become lifelong learners who excel in their pursuits, to unlock the genius within every child. 

Integrating classics into our curriculum is one way that we do this. Socratic dialogue is another.  Classics contain and reveal time worthy values and ideas that can inspire, enrich and entertain.  They can also challenge and test.  Sometimes they force us to re-evaluate our positions, or ponder our previously held beliefs.  Socratic discussions regarding these texts can engage scholars, teachers, and parents alike.

One such classic is a work by Mark Twain called “What is man?”  This essay by Twain melds the two avenues I mentioned; genuinely rich and weighty concepts written in the form of a dialogue. As I read this essay it was reminiscent of Plato’s works in which he delves into the topics through conversations of the characters.

It is set up this way:

“[The Old Man and the Young Man had been conversing. The Old Man had asserted that the human being is merely a machine, and nothing more. The Young Man objected, and asked him to go into particulars and furnish his reasons for his position.]”

After a brief conversation between the two men regarding how a machine of steel is created and operates they arrive from that analogy to their discussion of man.  This provides the first hard idea.

“Young Man: You have arrived at man, now?

Old Man: Yes. Man the machine—man the impersonal engine. Whatsoever a man is, is due to his make, and to the influences brought to bear upon it by his heredities, his habitat, his associations. He is moved, directed, COMMANDED, by exterior influences—solely. He originates nothing, not even a thought.”

The next hard idea is that every action of man is motivated by an impulse for self preservation and comfort, or in other words “securing his own approval.”

“Old Man: Yes. This is the law, keep it in your mind. From his cradle to his grave a man never does a single thing which has any FIRST AND FOREMOST object but one—to secure peace of mind, spiritual comfort, for HIMSELF.”

The young man tries admirably, but never quite completely to overthrow the old man’s propositions.  Through the cordial and prolonged interplay between the Old Man and the Young, Twain brings into the discussion topics of temperament, creation, virtue, goodness, free will.  At first these arguments and positions are shocking, maybe even appearing offensive to some, but are we to be offended when our positions are challenged.  Does the challenge provide us the opportunity to strengthen and steel our resolve?  Do we ever really grow or improve our knowledge and virtue if we refrain from exercising the intellectual muscles of reflection and debate?  For example, assuming that the old man is correct and ‘Man’ has no ability for thought or reason for moving that isn’t derived from an outside force, then there must be something outside of man, outside of creation with independent thought capable of moving man.  Is this an argument for divinity? If Man’s sole purpose for acting is to secure personal satisfaction, then what does that mean for virtue, goodness and character?  Do we as teachers, mentors, staff and board model the 10 core values? If so, do we because of an internal, privately virtuous motive, or as Twain would argue, because of an internal selfish one.

This classic introduces the topics and allows for their discussion.  It also forces us to reflect and review our own positions and choices. In the end after reading this essay and debating its merits, Twain would argue that this essay, not our own initiative, was the outside force which compelled us to do so. What do you think?

Norman Gonzales sits on the Board of Directors for John Adams Academy.  This was taken from the July 2013 board meeting thought of the day.

As always, we welcome your thoughts and comments.

Why should classics be used in the field of Science?

     When we think of "classic" literature, we by default contemplate their value in the disciplines of history, literature, and art in the field of education.  However, to teach in the field of science using the classic model while using classical works and original source documents we need to first define what is "classical" in the field of science.

     The classic approach to science is entrenched in the ability to think critically.  When we attempt to define critical thinking we think of the characteristic of diligence that science represents, which is an important part of research.  However, research and the connection to diligence, which are important traits in science, are all established on the quest for excellence through reason and rationale, which is the classical aspect of science. 

     The classical model of education uses the traditional values of Greek and Roman cultures and their cultural value placed on the importance of critical thinking in order to teach science.  Classics in science represent the works of the finest thinkers that Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and many other disciplines within science can produce and contribute to our understanding of science in the natural world.  

     Examples of classics in science are Darwin (Natural Selection), Newton (Laws of Motion), Watson and Crick (DNA), Thompson and Rutherford (Atomic Theory), Democritus (The Atom), Galileo (Astronomy), De Vinci (Anatomy), Einstein (Physics), and Hubble (Astronomy). When the educator in science uses classic literature in the classroom in the form of original source documents, the scholar has the benefit of reading the "unfiltered" work from the individual.  When the scholar in the classroom has the opportunity to read and process complex ideas, hypothesis, data, and research the scholar has been provided with an example of critical thinking which is in keeping with the current philosophy of "Classical Education" and the scholar has an example to follow regarding science. Which means a quality classic can help foster the growth of the individual through modeling and "mentoring" what it means to be a scientist of the highest quality.

Special Guest Teacher Blogger,

Jason C. M. Turner, M.BS., M.ed.

Mr. Turner teaches Earth Science, Honors Biology, Honors Anatomy, Chemistry and AP Chemistry here at John Adams Academy

Emphasis on Mentors and Classics-Core Value #3

Dear JAA Families, Scholars, Teachers and Mentors,

Scholars in the Architecture mentor class this quarter have learned the functional, aesthetic, cultural and historical values of the columns in Greek and Roman architecture.  Likewise, the columns of the John Adams Academy classical education, classics and mentorship, provide academic functionality, aesthetics, cultural and historical value in the lives of our scholars, families and our communities.  

Ornate capitals are a crucial element completing the majestic Greek columns. The crowning capital of the John Adams Academy column, mentoring, is the service learning component. Service-learning connects curriculum with real world experiences in ways that help scholars find the value in their education thereby firing the love of learning. 

The objective of service-learning is to evaluate problems and then design service projects to address needs.  The scholars may generate ideas and plans for a service project while the teacher/mentor find ways to link the service projects with the curriculum. 

Some results of service-learning include higher test scores, confidence to confront challenges, engaging marginalized scholars and acquiring or sharpening skills for character development. When the service-learning component is properly applied the results can be as inspiring as the columns surrounding a Greek temple. Our scholars are the majestic societal columns as they become great thinkers, inspiring leaders and virtuous statesmen having been founded upon the John Adams Academy classical education of classics and mentorship.

To see how service-learning is applied successfully in an education setting I refer you to this article, below, of a school in Utah that implements service-learning in their curriculum.

For the full article please follow this link.

Kind Regards,

Gabriel Hydrick

Director of Mentoring

John Adams Academy