William Adjei
Board Member
Embracing Courage and Tenacity
By: William Adjei
“Be strong, Polycarp, and play the man!”(1,2 )
As a member of North Star’s board, I’ve had the privilege of witnessing the school’s progression from its humble beginnings to the thriving community it is today, nearing the completion of its third year. At the heart of our school’s mission lies the enduring virtues of courage and tenacity, which have guided us through both triumphs and trials, shaping our identity and defining our purpose.
Courage has deep roots in language and culture, tracing back to the Latin word "cor," which means "heart." Courage (or fortitude) was one of the four cardinal virtues of mind and character (the others were wisdom, justice and moderation), formulated to guide individuals in leading a morally upright life and making ethical decisions, and to serve as foundational principles that other virtues depend on (3).
Tenacity stems from the Latin word "tenax," meaning "holding fast", emphasizing attributes like determination, persistence, and resilience. It reflects the intention, effort, commitment and perseverance in confronting challenges, not only of great daring, but also of everyday commitments, responsibilities and tasks.
Perspectives Across Time:
Various thinkers in history have offered explanations of courage and tenacity, drawing from both biblical teachings and philosophy. Augustine, one of the most influential early Christian theologians, emphasized the importance of courage as a virtue rooted in faith, proposing that true courage is not merely the absence of fear, but the willingness to act boldly in obedience to God, even in the face of daunting temptation and persecution (4). C.S. Lewis explored the concept of courage in his writings, believing that true courage arises from a deep sense of faith and trust in God's grace, empowering believers to stand firm when confronted by spiritual challenges (5). Contemporary author Angela Duckworth, in her book titled "Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance" delves into her research that suggests that talent alone is not enough to guarantee success. Instead, the combination of passion and perseverance ultimately enables individuals to stay committed to their goals despite obstacles and setbacks, to maintain focus and effort over time, and to continually improve and grow.
More than a few notable figures have exemplified courage and tenacity. Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyrna and a significant figure in early Christianity, was arrested and brought to an arena to be executed for his faith. As he was being taken into the arena, a voice from heaven was heard saying, “Be strong, Polycarp, and play the man!” Despite being given multiple opportunities to deny his faith and save his life, Polycarp steadfastly refused, demonstrating his unwavering commitment to Christ in the face of martyrdom (6). Mother Teresa, the beloved Catholic nun and missionary, embodied courage and tenacity in her tireless service to the poor and marginalized. Also, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor and theologian who was executed by the Nazis, exemplified courage and tenacity in his own life, embracing suffering and sacrifice (7). Their insights remind us that true courage is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to act in spite of it, guided by faith and conviction.
Jesus, Our Ultimate Example
Jesus' death and resurrection stands out as the foremost instance of courage and tenacity in several profound ways. Jesus demonstrated unparalleled resolve in facing his impending death on the cross. Despite knowing the agony and suffering that awaited him, he willingly embraced the path set before him, out of love for humanity and obedience to God's will ("And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." - Philippians 2:8). Throughout his trial, crucifixion, and the agonizing hours on the cross, Jesus displayed remarkable tenacity in enduring unimaginable spiritual, physical and emotional pain. His steadfastness and resolve to fulfill his mission was challenged, but ultimately uncompromised by the intense suffering he endured. What was his source of strength and how did Jesus and these heroes of the ages muster the courage and tenacity to persevere through their difficulties? What might we be able to glean and apply to our own contexts today? What do courage and tenacity have to do with classical christian education in general and North Star specifically?
Living These Out:
Martin Luther King Jr once said “I submit to you that if a man hasn’t discovered something he is willing to die for, he isn’t fit to live”. (8) He was right. The ability to exercise courage and tenacity hinges on being clear about one’s own convictions or beliefs. Like the foundation of a building without which it cannot stand, commitment to virtue in any endeavor is a necessary beginning. For example, this would mean students thinking carefully about and committing to pursuing truth and wisdom in learning, managers choosing to always lead and serve with integrity even when it is disadvantageous, or for those in a committed relationship resolving to be faithful. So first, take a stand.
Second, persistently embrace courage to cultivate inner resilience and endurance. The process of growing in wisdom and wonder requires and further cultivates the boldness to speak up, willingness to try new things even when one is uncertain, and bravery to take on difficult or complex endeavors. Consistent determination over time is key for both developing the self-reinforcing skill of perseverance, and ultimately, overcoming challenges.
Finally, never stop learning and following those who have exemplified courage and tenacity. Incorporate their insights into your own life and endeavors. Reflect on how their approaches to courage and tenacity can be applied in your own personal, academic, and professional contexts. It may well be that your own example becomes the inspiration for someone else in their struggle.
Courage and tenacity are ways to approach all of life, not just qualities to be displayed on special occasions. C.S. Lewis’s quote “Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point” (9) is helpful here. As we reflect on the legacy of courage and tenacity at North Star, we are reminded that these virtues are more than ideals to aspire to. They ought to be woven into the fabric of everyday life, guiding and shaping our pursuit of truth, wonder, wisdom, and service to others. At North Star, we’re not just teaching subjects, we’re shaping futures—one courageous, tenacious heart at a time.
_____________________
(1) Polycarp's Martyrdom | Christian History Institute: https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/study/module/polycarp
(2) The Early Church Fathers Series: Polycarp of Smyrna: https://www.joeledmundanderson.com/the-early-church-fathers-series-polycarp-of-smyrna-part-3/
(3) Plato proposed the Cardinal virtues in Republic Book IV, 426-435, and they were further developed by Aristotle in The Nicomachean Ethics
(4) Augustine, "The City of God" (De Civitate Dei), Book XIX, Chapters 4-21; and , "Confessions" (Confessiones), Book VI, Chapters 11-13
(5) Lewis, C.S. "The Screwtape Letters," HarperCollins Publishers, 1942; "Mere Christianity," HarperOne, 1952; "The Chronicles of Narnia" series, HarperCollins Publishers, 1950-1956.
(6) Eighty-six years have I served him | InContext - Christian History Institute: https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/incontext/article/polycarp-testimony
(7) Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. "The Cost of Discipleship" (Nachfolge), Touchstone, 1995
(8) From Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech titled "A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches," published in 1986. The specific line can be found in the speech he delivered at the Bishop Charles Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 3, 1968, the night before his assassination.
(9) C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters (1942) ch. 29, HarperCollins, 1942
© William Adjei | This article was first published in North Star April Newsletter Edition, April 2024.
Kristy Adjei
Academic Dean
Trust & Obey
By: Kristy Adjei
Then in fellowship sweet, we will sit at His feet
Or we'll walk by His side in the way
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go
Never fear, only trust and obey
This coming May, we will sing this classic hymn with fifty-three students to start every school day at North Star Classical Christian School. It will be the third year in a row that we will sing the hymn as a group. Last year, we sang with thirty-seven kids, and the year before, in 2021, we sang with seventeen kids.
Approximately four years ago, I had a very unique experience where I felt like God very clearly and directly caught my attention and told me to start a school. While I knew definitively this was what I was supposed to do, I did not respond with prompt obedience. Rather, I responded with all of the reasons why I was the wrong person for the job. Besides, who would be the teachers or the students? Where would we even meet? How would one even go about starting something like that?
After a while, when the prompting did not subside, I decided that I could just start by asking others to pray about it. Honestly, I felt a little embarrassed actually saying the words, “Will you pray about something for me? I think God wants me to start a school”. I did muster up the nerve to ask a few close friends. I think I was hoping that the idea would kind of fizzle out or just go away. It seemed overwhelming.
Over time, the idea did not go away, and in reality, it just intensified and was confirmed in unexpected ways. I just could not shake this prompting. At that point, it became a matter of obedience..
Although I was dragging my feet, God was patient with me. I felt like God was telling me, “Don’t worry about doing the whole huge thing. Just do the next thing.” He proceeded to give me some very specific “next things” to do. Through all of this, I did have one request back to Him, which was that I needed a ministry partner. I knew that God had provided Moses an Aaron. So, I prayed for an “Aaron,” and God provided Julie Dockery.
With the accountability of a ministry partner, we decided that if God was calling us to do this, we needed to be all-in. We devoted the next four months to getting the school off the ground. Our thinking was that if this idea really was of God, then within a year, He would confirm it and momentum would pick up. If it was just of our own doing, we prayed that God would put up roadblock after roadblock and just have it go nowhere. We frequently prayed that “unless the Lord builds the house, those that build it labor in vain.” We did NOT want to labor in vain. Then we got really busy just continuing to do all of the “next things”.
It has been a long series of “next things” for the past three years and there have been many ways God has been confirming the work. Confirmations fell into several main categories of needs: faculty, families, finances, and facilities.
Time and space limitations prevent a recounting of all the stories of God’s provision in these areas. Many of them should be considered miraculous. These provisions have been ways that God has seemed to have handed us the next piece of the North Star puzzle at just the right time. This has included some really weird-shaped “impossible” pieces! Because of this, I am convinced that North Star is God’s story. There have been too many things that have been beyond any of us, and bigger than us.
This past week at North Star, we got to share this story with students, faculty, and families on a special day called Ebenezer Day. This is a day set aside from all academic work to make sure that everyone in the North Star community knows the story, and has the opportunity to praise God from whom all blessings flow. We had a “3rd Birthday party” for the school, and students took part in activities to celebrate the North Star story as well as worship God for the way He is continuing to build this school, and how He somehow chose all of us to be a part of it.
At times, we stop and think, What if we had said “NO” to this work? This has not been easy, and it has not been comfortable. Had we said, “no”, we would have missed out on being part of an amazing God story. We would have missed out on the opportunity to have our faith grow in a very tangible way. We would have missed out on the opportunity to experientially know the truth of the song Trust and Obey - “While we do His good will, He abides with us still and with all who will trust and obey. Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey”. We are glad that we gave God our “Yes”! What is YOUR “yes”?
©Kristy Adjei | This article was first published in North Star April Newsletter Edition, April 2024.
Judy Robinson
9th/10th Latin Teacher
Why Latin?
(Is my child wasting their time on a language no one speaks anymore?)
By Judy Robinson, 9th/10th Intellectual Virtues through Latin Teacher
Take a dime out of your pocket or wallet and flip it over. Do you know what that symbol is? It is an Ancient Roman symbol called a ‘fasces’ - a bundle of rods with an axe in the middle bound together by leather straps. Bodyguards (‘lictors’ in Ancient Rome) used to carry this weapon around to keep citizens in line. It is a classical symbol of restrained power, unity, and authority, and can also be found on the Washington monument, inside the House of Representatives, and in the Oval Office. While studying the fasces in our 9/10 Latin class, one of the students asked if the etymology of fascism was linked to the fasces. We then took a fantastic academic rabbit trail and learned that the fasces symbol was also used by Mussolini in Italy from which they adopted the term fascism. This led to an important and fascinating discussion on how one ancient symbol can lead to the founding of different nations or governments based on competing political ideologies.
If we think of taking Latin in high school as an alternative to a modern foreign language, we have missed the point
The point of learning Latin is to help shape the mind, it lays a great foundation and makes connections to every other discipline, which is why we start teaching it when it matters most – to the young students in the grammar school.
In the end students may not remember all the Latin they learned, but the Latin will affect everything else they ever learn
Latin is to thinking as weight lifting is to playing football. A well-known fact in the NFL is that the best players are those who do the hard work off of the field, they put in their time in the weight room. Saying “why bench press? I never bench press on the football field” is similar to saying “why learn Latin? No one speaks Latin anymore.” Those who lift weights will be better football players, basketball players, or runners. Those who study Latin will be better at English, science, mathematics, and history.
Galileo, William Shakespeare, Martin Luther, CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, Albert Einstein, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Sigmund Freud, and Dorothy Sayers all studied Latin and received a classical education which helped mould them into the heavy lifting thinkers of our time. Not every student is meant to become a great academic, but every student, whether they become a plumber, teacher, parent, banker, or graphic artist, will benefit from the ability to think, learn, reason, and defend their beliefs.
Our founding fathers drew upon Latin and Roman history in creating the USA
Our forefathers, most of whom were classically trained, founded the USA largely on classical and Christian principles. Striving to be a Republic (‘res publica’ in Latin, meaning “the public thing”), they declared the USA would be ‘E Pluribus Unum’ (Latin for “out of many, one”), and set up a country in the likes of the separation of power of Ancient Rome rather than as a monarchy like the United Kingdom that they were declaring independence from. They established a senate (‘senatus’ in Latin meaning “old man”), announced liberty (‘libertas’ in Latin from the Roman goddess for freedom), and used a number of classical symbols which can still be found on state mottos, the monuments, and our money today.
60% of the English language derives from Latin
The Romance languages derived from Latin: French, Italian, Spanish, Portugese, and Romanian. There are also Latin borrowings in English, Albanian, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish and Swedish. Our calendar comes from Ancient Rome (the Roman ruler Numa Pompilius is credited for creating the 12-month year), and our planets are named after Greek and Roman gods. History, philosophy, mythology, mathematics, politics…. Latin is the language of our ancestors. In forgetting it, think how much we stand to lose.
Latin teaches students how to think
Latin is a tool for learning language, a key component of thinking and communicating. Studying Latin shows us how ideas became words, and words became laws, ideologies, and worldviews that build societies, cultures, and the world as we know it. For example, ‘pater’ in Latin is ‘father’ in English, and has also derived into paternal, patriotic, patriotism, and ‘patria’ or fatherland. It is no wonder that Latin has been proven to increase students standardized test scores and overall academic ability.
Latin teaches students how to learn
I often tell my students that if they can learn Latin, they can learn algebra, chemistry, sudoku, philosophy, baking, or how to build an engine, because it offers the discipline of learning how to learn. Because Latin is no longer spoken it is an eternal language with very clear, steady, and unchanging rules, much like a puzzle (and unlike modern languages that are full of slang words and inconsistencies). Of course, studying Latin also makes learning modern languages easier. Even one to two years of studying Latin will aid in speaking Spanish, French, German, etc.
‘Quid ergo’ (So, now what?)
If the above arguments have been convincing, we are left with the question of how to help our children study Latin. Perhaps it requires humility from our generation to acknowledge the decline in the comprehensive education today’s students receive. This humility, coupled with repentance, could pave the way for a fresh start, an earnest endeavour to reclaim what has slipped away. It echoes the narrative of King Josiah in 2 Kings, who stumbled upon the neglected scrolls of Torah, unseen by the Israelites for years, prompting a revival of their foundational teachings.
Some practical ideas: learn a bit of Latin ourselves alongside our children, read Homer, Cicero and Livy, look up Latin mottos for the military/universities/US states, read ancient mythology and discuss how it has influenced modern stories (tip: look to Percy Jackson and nearly every Marvel movie), plan an enrichment week trip to Athens and Rome (and please bring me with you!).
And in the midst of study, let’s keep the big picture in mind. Perhaps the next generation in the USA will be a predominately Christian one, or perhaps it will become largely taken over by secular humanist thought. Our children and grandchildren may thrive, or they may be persecuted. Whatever is to come, we can prepare them to recognize the good, the true, and the beautiful, and equip them with the tools to think, learn, stand firm, and articulately defend their beliefs. Latin is one great tool to help us disciple and educate our children well for whatever is to come.
©Judy Robinson | This article was first published in North Star March Newsletter, March 2024 Edition
Kristy Adjei
Academic Dean
Culture of Collaboration
By: Kristy Adjei
“One aspect of the joy of learning is addressing this concept of humility. As human beings, we are limited, frail and fallible. Frequently we attempt to cover this up, to hide what we truly are behind the smoke and mirrors of our expertise and accomplishments. True human growth, though, only occurs when we uncover our true nature and deal with it. As an individual confronts an area of lack, there is a transformation that can occur, whereby something about us becomes strengthened.” This is a quote from the June 16, 2020 issue of Educational Renaissance. Upon first reading, perhaps you thought that it was addressing the attitude which should be held by students. However, you are encouraged to read the quote a second time with the perspective of a teacher in mind. This quote highlights one of the goals we have at North Star Classical Christian School, which is to establish a culture of collaboration between teachers. In addition to teaching evaluations and classroom visits by an administrator, teachers at North Star are encouraged to visit colleagues and offer “warm” and “cool” feedback. The visit can be to a teacher in the same field of study as the visiting teacher, or, it can be in a totally different field of study. For, example, in recent weeks, a Latin teacher and a music teacher both visited math classes. Opening our classrooms up, allowing ourselves to be observed, and being receptive to warm and cool feedback, takes a lot of humility, but it helps us all grow in the intellectual virtues of humility and broad thinking.
Going a step further, throughout the year, faculty members at North Star have taken this practice of collaboration on the road and visited several mentoring classical Christian schools in the area that have opened their doors to us. Most recently, a team of five teachers and a board member attended an Auxilium in Maryland, visiting a well-established classical Christian school on the cusp of completing its 29th year of operation. These are all opportunities, for us, as teachers, to learn from others, grow in the art of teaching and leading our students well, and ask the question, “Is there a different way or better way to do this?”
Our hope is that all of these practices would establish a culture of collaboration at North Star. We, teachers, have a lot to learn, and much to offer one another as we all grow in our vocation.. If this is established as the culture at North Star, this disposition will inevitably trickle down to the varying ranks of our students. Perhaps this may offer a guard from all of us thinking that we are ever above learning and growing more in our area or field of study.
©Kristy Adjei | This article was first published in North Star March Newsletter Edition, March 2024.