Practical Paideia

by Lindsey Ralls (Summit Christian Academy)

Picking a chapel theme for the year can feel like a pretty daunting task. It’s hard to find something that will a) last the entire year without feeling repetitive, b) resonate with middle school and high school students, yet isn’t too basic, and c) allow a variety of speakers to feel comfortable speaking about it. I personally also want something that is rooted in scripture while also reminding my students that they attend a classical school, not just a Christian school. Scripture though, is of far more greater importance than being classical and I want our students to walk away from the year knowing that while we value both of those things, we clearly value scripture more. Below are a few chapel themes that I think do both of these things well…and in the right order.

• Virtues and Vices – This is actually the theme I’ve chosen for this coming school year and I’m pretty excited about it. We are using Tim Dernlan’s book Classical Christian Virtues as a rough framework and are working through eight virtues from it throughout the year. We are breaking each virtue up into three parts: The first week we are comparing that virtue to the deficiency vice, the second week we are comparing it to the excess vice, and the third week we are having our speakers focus on how they’ve seen (and learned from) that virtue and the vices in their own life. One thing I really appreciate about Dernlan’s book, is that he connects each virtue to scripture; reminding us that while the idea of virtue and vices is rooted in the classical tradition, what God has to say about them has far greater value.
• The Responsibility of Rhetoric – One theme I think would be really interesting to pursue would be to look through scripture and focus on the different examples of where rhetoric was used both responsibly and irresponsibly. We teach our students to speak eloquently and persuasively, but we often forget to remind them what a powerful (and potentially harmful) tool they have. As Christians we are called to use our rhetoric to uphold what is true, good, and beautiful. There are various examples throughout scripture of individuals doing this well…and not so well.
• Art Virtue of Argument – We also teach our student to argue well. We spend the dialectic and rhetoric years teaching them the art of argument, yet, how often do we remind them that there is virtue in arguing? I think an impactful chapel theme would be to look at the various arguments found in scripture and highlight which ones are done virtuously and for the Glory of God, and which ones are not.

What chapel themes have you found that have worked well? How have you successfully incorporated both scripture and the classical tradition into your chapel time?