distinctives
(Continued)
● Classical Curriculum
The school is classical in three senses of the word: in perspective, in quality and in pedagogy. Cambridge’s curriculum is unapologetically based on a careful study of Western civilization. Here is the source of our identity as Americans and Christians. We recognize that the Western tradition was shaped in large part by the church. As the West now engages the rest of the world’s civilizations, it is necessary to be grounded in the history and culture that has shaped our consciousness.
Second, the curriculum is rooted in classics, as in Great Books, that have endured the test of time. These works contain the highest expressions of the human imagination and the heart’s aspirations. They serve as an antidote to the superficial and trivial ideas that make up much of our modern experience. We best understand the future through the lens of the past.
Third, the pedagogy combines the Socratic method of the Greeks with the Trivium of the early church fathers and medieval scholastics. Though professors’ teaching styles vary, instruction at the school is more than one-way lecturing. It involves an interactive questioning and dialogue in search of knowledge where the students themselves take active ownership in their pursuit of truth. Moreover, based on the Trivium, the curriculum has three emphases. The grammar phase emphasizes the foundation of learning, the logic phase the understanding of key relationships within each discipline, and the rhetoric phase the meaningful articulation of knowledge both in written and oral communication. The school strives to combine the best of the Greeks and scholastics in the integration and articulation of a biblical, Christ-centered worldview.
● Historical Biblical Orthodoxy
The scholarship of the school reflects historical biblical orthodoxy. Founded on Protestant doctrine, Cambridge is evangelical, though non-denominational. Our goal is to keep the authority of Scripture and the redemptive work of Jesus central. We seek to avoid being side tracked by secondary doctrine.
● Love of Learning
In the classroom teachers seek to model and promote a contagious love of learning. Students do more than learn facts from textbooks; they learn to respect knowledge and to be humble in their pursuit of it. Students learn by example to stand under truth rather than over it.
● Active Appreciation of Creation
Both through its environmental context and curricular emphases, the school fosters an appreciation for God’s creation and an active stewardship of its resources.
● Community of Life-Long Learners
The faculty, students, and parents seek to develop a community of life-long learners. While instructors are more knowledgeable than their students, they seek to demonstrate a willingness to learn from them. Moreover, the school provides educational opportunities where teachers, parents, and students learn together.
● Parents as the Primary Educators
The school is committed to the biblical premise that parents are responsible for their children’s education. Teachers serve parents by serving the school’s mission of Academic Discipleship.
● Like-Minded Families and Students
The community consists of families and students that are like-minded in their desire to follow and obey Jesus Christ. The school, while not a church, seeks to be a Christian community that encourages and engages in the hard work necessary to grow in knowledge and Christ-likeness, and to accept the challenges that Christ places before us with a spirit of total reliance on Him.
● Board of Trustees
A Board of Trustees, comprised primarily of parents of current and former students, who serve Jesus and the school’s mission, directs the school. This is appropriate as it is the parents, not the church, who are responsible for the nurture and education of their children. All Board members are actively involved in a local church.
● College Preparatory Curriculum
The school prepares students for colleges and universities that are highly selective in their entrance requirements. The curriculum teaches to the standard of Advanced Placement courses, which are among the most important criteria used in college admissions. The Cambridge School of Dallas provides parents the accountability of a single-track Advanced Placement curriculum. Though taking AP exams is not required, all courses are designed to prepare students successfully to master the material required by these exams.
● Teachers
The school seeks teachers who have a professional mastery of their disciplines, a demonstrated ability to communicate with children and young adults, and a passion for Jesus. We believe that teaching is both a gift and a calling rarely evidenced merely by a teaching certificate.
● Prepared for Influence
Christian servant leadership is not developed by throwing young adults into the midst of a culture unprepared and ill equipped. This is particularly true of teenagers who need to be mentored by mature Christian thinkers. The goal of the school is not isolation from culture but influence within it. Throughout history the greatest leaders of the church have been prepared through a classical education: Paul, Luther, Calvin, Loyola, Pascal, and Jonathan Edwards, to name a few. They did not develop intellectually or spiritually in a cultural vacuum. Cambridge seeks to prepare such leaders for our moment in history.
● Freedom to Express Uncertainty
Students are treated as young adults and are encouraged to develop their own convictions. This will mean that at times students may challenge their parents’ beliefs and question their own. The school seeks to create an environment where students are able respectfully to raise honest questions and express doubts within a community of loving acceptance and intellectual inquiry. Our community is committed to the pursuit of truth. Convictions are to be held and beliefs maintained on this basis alone.
● Language
Lastly, Cambridge provides its students with a language-rich environment. Classical educators have long understood that carefully studying the rigorous structures of Latin trains the mind to think and speak with precision, giving students the ability to communicate effectively. With a pre-AP track in Latin as the focus in middle school, students enjoy a deeper understanding of the rhetorical and logical elements of the ancient texts they read in subsequent years. Additionally, careful translation and composition in Latin stimulates judgment, comparison, and deduction, assisting students in most any subject they study. In high school, students can continue to build on this carefully laid foundation in Latin by further pursuing studies in both classical and modern language AP courses.