A Classical Education

What is one thing that we know for sure that we will be doing in heaven?  Playing video games, organized sports, doing math problems, or something else?  Revelation 5:9, 14:3, 15:3

What did John Newton write in his famous hymn, "Amazing Grace?"  Fill in the blank:  "When we've been there ten thousand years......we've no less days to _____ God's praise...."  Is the answer "watch organized sports to God's praise?"  

Christians are commanded to sing in the New Testament.  As people who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ and rescued from our sins, what higher reason can there be for singing? 

Singing should be as comfortable for us as speaking (Zephaniah 3:17, Job 38:7).  

Singing and music at Doxa Christian Academy will adorn the life of our school and not serve merely utilitarian purposes or serve as adjuncts to our sports programs.  We're not just making Facebook moments at school performances–we're getting a generation of young Christians to make music.  Our goal is for our students to become musically literate (not to become vocational musicians, although some of them might), just as they will be literate in English and other languages. 

We are worshippers all day, every day.   Our students are worshippers all day, every day, and are growing into young adults who will continue to do the same in their adult lives and callings, wherever God places them.  We are not doing "music appreciation"--our kids are active participants in music and will be doing music all the way through their senior year.  Just as rhetoric level students don't "appreciate" chemistry or algebra, our desire is to have all of our students actively engaged in making music; the primary means of this will be singing, but in due time we desire to add instrumental offerings as interest and budget allow. 

At Doxa Christian Academy, we strive to train the affections of our students towards Christ in all things, including their tastes and aesthetic sensibilities.  It is very difficult to tell someone or explain to someone how glorious something is or by lecturing them into it.  One doesn't comprehend the glory of the Grand Canyon until one actually sees it in person.  Glory is perceived firsthand through experience; we desire for our students to experience the glories of beautiful music firsthand as active participants.  In order for this to happen, there needs to be a certain level of musical literacy in place.

While we recognize the validity of different music pedagogies, we desire our music classroom to be Kodály-based (pronounced "Co-DYE") for several reasons (it is not the only viable approach).  Zoltan Kodály (1882-1967) was a Hungarian composer, musicologist and music educator.  His pedagogical approach matches well with the classical Christian model of discipleship of children, in that it is based on using indigenous folk music from the culture of the nation that will naturally lead to the study and performance of the great masterworks of our Western heritage (this is similar to our children's literary journey--folk tales, fairy tales and fables eventually give way to chapter books that eventually lead to the literary masterworks of the English language).  His goal was the musical literacy of the population of his home country, Hungary.  Our goal is musical literacy for Christians serving in their local churches, homes and communities that God has placed them in.  As a Christian school, we will also be using historic Christian hymns and other biblically-influenced music that contain treasured, rich theological truths, in addition to indigenous American folk music and music of our great Western heritage.

By the time our students have gone through a Kodály-based music class from kindergarten to 6th grade, they will have gained the necessary tools to be musically literate (this parallels English language literacy).  Once students are completed with 6th grade and are entering into the logic stage (grades 7-9), the focus will shift to musicianship, which would still entail joyful singing. 

We also desire to incorporate folk/communal dancing into our music classroom, and also eventually into the life of the school (here is an article that explains our rationale). 

The the ACCS's first published curricular guideline/handbook is on music, not Latin, arithmetic, English literature, etc.  Ponder why this might be the case.

An additional resource is Jarrod Richey's "Bach To the Future: Fostering Musical Literacy Today."