In Classical Christian Education, we believe in the power of story to form a person. We're all living in a story. We have the Biblical story, which is the ultimate story; the story of the cosmos, which God is still authoring (from a human perspective). That story starts in a garden and ends in a garden city with a whole lot of serpents, fall, repentance, redemption, repeat in between.

Each of us live in our own little stories as well. Our stories are driven by our vision of the good life. The things we think, say, and do are in pursuit of that vision, and stories are what shape that vision.

Stories don't always come in the shape of a book though. Music contains some of the most powerful stories. Lyrics and rhythm seep deep into our bones, and surface again and again. Have you ever heard a song that you haven't heard in years, and it transports you back to a specific place and time? That's the power of music on full display. Many young people are pursuing stories taught to them by Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, or Lady Gaga, with much brokenness in their lives to show for it.

Books & music aren't the only stories that shape us. A single sentence can plant the seed of a story that others may someday water & fertilize. For example, a child may ask her mother, "Mommy, what's it like to walk on the moon?" If the mother replies "I don't know honey, but there are rich men building rockets who hope to eventually build a base there. If you're rich someday, maybe you can go see for yourself." she may have just planted a seed in the child's heart that says "I want to go to the moon. That requires being rich. Therefore, part of the good life is to be rich." If the mother replies, "I don't know honey, but let's find a book and read about it together." she is more likely to have planted a seed for the love of books, and learning, and community.

I heard a story once (and have unfortunately forgotten the source) about a classical Christian educator at an inner city school. She had students from pretty rough neighborhoods, and fights would often break out. She read her kindergarten students the story of Mercury & the Woodsman, not giving the moral at the end as many of our modern translations do, but simply letting the children sit with it and ponder it.

A few weeks later there was a fight on the playground. As they were confronted, one of the boys involved sobbed to his teacher "I'm so, so sorry. I'm trying to be good, like the woodsman."

A few years later, the teacher passed the same student in the hall, and he was wearing a bowtie, and had a giant smile on his face. At this school, only the student of the week was allowed to wear a bowtie.

That's the power of story.