God and Caesar at Middle School

Posted: January 10, 2025 | Author: David | Filed under: Child Centered Activities, Chronicles of a First Time Parent | Tags: education, homeschool, homeschooling, mental health, mythology, parenting, rational mind |1 Comment

John Stuart Mill has been much on my mind, of late.  This 19th century English philosopher – called the most influential thinker in the history of liberalism – advocated proportional representation, the emancipation of women, and the development of labor organizations and farm cooperatives.  More importantly, he was home schooled by his Father.  

During the midwinter holidays, I pondered home schooling my son.  We talked, I read the Maine statute on home schooling and wrote a “Letter of Intent to Home School” for submission to the local Superintendent.  In the end, we deferred to our Son, who decided NOT to homeschool now, but to remain in the Middle School.  I stood down but my thoughts once written stand as a manifesto of my son’s education, at his time coming of age.  

William F. Buckley then came to mind.  The Yale educated public intellectual, considered the founder of the modern conservative movement, he – of my Father’s generation – criticized Yale for “forcing collectivist, Keynesian, and secularist ideology on students…denying any sense of individualism by teaching them to embrace the ideas of liberalism.”  Buckley’s “God and Man at Yale: The Superstitions of ‘Academic Freedom’” has endured and became a central pillar of the American conservative movement.  

I am no Yale man.  At Northwestern, I read the Classics and advocate not individualism but that all life is one; neither Caesar nor religious dogma are my Master; consciousness in the whole of the divine feminine grounded in the compassionate masculine, be that my polestar.

Here then is my manifesto on the education of the young man who must need find his own path, while following my footsteps.  Lacking any formal title, I call this “God and Caesar at Middle School.”

Dear Sir,

Respectfully, I write to inform you that [my son], age 12, shall be withdrawn from SoPo Middle School effective 4 January 2025.  Pursuant to M.R.S. 20-A §5001-A(3)(A)(4) this is my written notice of intent to provide home instruction. 

My approach to pedagogy combines the intellectual rigor of John Stuart Mill’s education grounded in the emotional intelligence of a 21st century global citizen. The classical tradition shall be paramount as we look to the future. 

Geometry and physics shall be taught in the applied sense.  Our Greek Revival Farmhouse requires extensive renovations, and working with me, [he] shall learn both the practical skills of building and the mathematical truth that Pythagorus resides in every corner.  “Measure twice, cut once” goes the maxim; the 3-4-5 triangle every carpenter’s adage.  Thus he will learn.  

There is a tradition of a carpenter’s son becoming a leader.  As I teach the practical, so too the mystical; Pythagorus also taught of celestial harmony – the Music of the Spheres – and so [he] shall learn the broad plain of Athenian philosophy.  

We shall ponder both God and Caesar, the twin domains of the Western Intellectual tradition.  “Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam” may be our motto, and we would begin with John “Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος” but translate “Λόγος” in all languages, all cultures: Allah, YHWH, Elohim, Bhagavan, Iraivan, Gitche Manitou, Xu, Unkulunkulu, to name but a few. There is no monopoly on the truth and in the comparison he shall learn critical thinking, and respect for other points of view.  

If we read “Percy Jackson” then also Ovid’s “Metamorphosis.”  To my mind mythology is not mere childish fiction but the symbolic language of archetypal truth. Carl Jung, a man of science who studied the mind – the “logos” of the psyche – wrote that religions perfectly coopted the archetypes onto their narrative. “Percy Jackson” may be an engaging fiction but also something deeper.  So shall I teach literature. 

When Persephone returns, come spring, [he] shall labor in the gardens of our Art Farm in Sopo, and at Frinklepod Farm in Arundel, and also the Cold Brook Farm in Sherman, Maine.  [He] shall drive and maintain heavy equipment and work with his hands, in the dirt.  I shall teach connections, that all life is one. 

We have taken classes in welding, and shall now learn wood turning, and [he] will learn the practical art – literally “art” in Latin means “skill” – both of Hephaestus, of Prometheus and of Daedalus.  Art making predates agriculture, which is to say it predates civilization. It is a priori. It is hard-wired in our DNA. So then shall we build skills, both practical and conceptual. 

Life itself will be [his] classroom.  He will both be schooled at least 175 days per annum but educated full time;  I vouchsafe that your metrics will be met, which I shall report annually, in arrears on 1 September, in writing as required by law. 

My full time job is parenting and my bread labor is maintaining – part time – the physical plant and property of the Friends School of Portland.  Through that school I intend to hire a certified State of Maine teacher to oversee my pedagogy. 

Finally, for his socialization I expect [he] will continue to participate in extracurricular activities at the Sopo schools. I understand this is permitted under Title 20-A, Section 5021. 

We have crossed the Rubicon. Let the new year begin!

Please confirm acceptance of this missive.  I shall be happy to discuss this at your convenience, but our decision has been made. 

A copy of this written notice has been hand delivered to the Middle School Principal. 

Best regards,

David 

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