The high school day starts with Humane Letters, a two hour Socratic seminar where students read great books and the founding documents. They ask, what does it mean to be human? What is justice? Students apply two rules: textual evidence and reason in the common pursuit of truth. Seniors write a thesis and defend their work in front of a panel and their peers.
There is no reference to pop culture at Great Hearts--just the study of spirit, law, and philosophy. "Character is not an outcome--it is a state of being first," said Scoggin. "Character arises from forming habits of heart." Elementary students at Great Hearts focus on "comportment."
Raphael's painting School of Athens (1510) adorns the lobby of all Great Hearts schools--placing the Aristotle-Socrates dialectic center stage. There's no BYOD here, Scoggins thinks "Kids need a place away from technology to relax and think big thoughts."
Scoggins uses unusual language to describe aims: the lifelong pursuit of truth, goodness, and beauty. He's happy to list what they love: 1) moral intellectual and physical virtue, 2) western tradition, 3) human dignity and freedom, 4) philosophical realism, 5) conversation and community, and 6) humility. The school culture is "about service and love."
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