By Ruth Hopson, Science Teacher and Alumni Parent
My family began their journey with classical Christian education in the 1990s while we were living in Virginia. After my husband and I read Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning and heard Doug Wilson speak at our church, we were convinced this was the path for our family.
When Calvary Covenant School opened its doors in 1993, we were wholeheartedly committed. We enrolled our oldest son, Cameron, into the first grade. His sister, Clarissa, started kindergarten a year later. I began teaching in 1998 at Calvary Covenant School and never looked back. I can’t imagine a more rewarding career.
In the summer of 2001, my late husband came to me and said, “I’ve been offered a job in Cincinnati, Ohio. What do you think?” I told him, “Is there a classical Christian school there? If not, I don’t want to go.” I was so excited when we discovered Mars Hill Academy and learned about the school. My two eldest children, Cameron and Clarissa, started at Mars Hill in January of 2002. Both are graduates of MHA, Cameron in 2007 and Clarissa in 2009.
Why am I still so deeply committed to classical Christian education after 33 years?
Classical education uses the tried and true methods of the Trivium — grammar, logic, and rhetoric. Classical education engages, instructs, and refines the students in their naturally developing strengths and abilities at each age. It cultivates and encourages leadership, character development, critical thinking, persuasive reasoning, and precise communication skills. Truly — who wouldn’t want that for their child?
But cultivating these characteristics apart from Christian discipleship is worthless. As parents, evaluating all things through the light of Scripture was of utmost importance to us. John Calvin wrote, “There is no knowing that does not begin with God.” That truth has anchored our family’s approach to education.
One of my favorite quotes is from the Dutch reformer Abraham Kuyper: “There is not one square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” Every subject at MHA reflects this. Whether mathematics, science, grammar, PE, etc., a Christian worldview centered on God and His Word is integrated throughout. This cultivates a thoroughly Biblical worldview in the student for all areas of life and gives God the glory. After all, man’s chief end is to glorify God. This is what I am passionate about.
I am now in my 24th year of teaching at Mars Hill Academy. As I reflect back over the years and the faithfulness of God, I can see how my own children have flourished and grown in spiritual maturity because they received a God-centered education at home and at school.
But there is another defining aspect of MHA: its community. By definition, a community is a group of people having a particular characteristic in common. The MHA community shares the common characteristic of being thoroughly Christian.
As a faculty member, I love gathering each morning with fellow believers to sing, pray, and encourage one another in Christ. When one is hurting or one is rejoicing, I get to weep with those who weep and give thanks with those who give thanks. This sets a beautiful tone for the day ahead.
In the wider community, I love that parents come together to pray for specific requests, provide meals for those who need help, and uplift in so many creative ways. This is what believers do — this is what the body of Christ looks like in action. In John 13:35 Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” I can personally say I would not have made it through a very difficult time in my life without the love and support of the Mars Hill community.
Of course, some things have changed over the years. There are larger class sizes, we aren’t in church buildings doing weekly “set-up and tear down,” we have athletic teams and a gym, the faculty and staff is much larger, and so many other examples of how God has blessed us over the years. (If you don’t know what the weekly “set-up and tear down” was, stop by the science office and ask me.) However, what remains constant is God’s faithfulness to this school.
My prayer is that the most important things stay the same. I pray that Mars Hill continues to thrive — that the faculty remain steadfast in in the Four Loves: love and commitment to the Lordship of Christ, love for students, love for our subjects, and love for classical and Christian education, and, above all, love and commitment for the school vision. Deuteronomy 7:9 tells us, “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and Keep His commandments, to a thousand generations.”
I look forward with hope to another 30 years and to a thousand generations of faithfulness. Soli Deo Gloria.