Driving to the Open House at TAA as a prospective family, my husband and I were really hoping to be unimpressed. I remember talking with him negatively about how far of a drive it would be for us every day (~35-40 minutes each way, twice a day). We talked about how important it was to us that the school was Christian, but how we would still need to sign our son up for classes at our church to receive the Catholic sacraments. We also talked about how ready we were to start our homeschool journey, to spend all our time with our children, and to not be tied to any sort of school calendar. We thought we had everything planned, but yet, there we were, pulling into the parking lot on what we thought was a very off chance that our minds would be changed.
We left the Open House that night knowing without a doubt that TAA was in our future. It is so boldly different than its public and private contemporaries in many important ways. We were already well-versed in the philosophy of education of the school, but at the Open House and classroom visits, we got a glimpse of how this philosophy is carried out:
The children are gently trained in habits that will serve them for life: attention, obedience, respect, truthfulness, self-control, to name a few. They spend time in nature and with rich literature, and not with technology. They learn to work with their hands and to do detailed and thorough work. They learn to work side-by-side with their peers, and how to delight in this work. They are not tested on facts, or asked to do poster projects or dioramas to synthesize information. Rather, they are assessed by how much they can tell back about what they've learned, and they share it eagerly with their teachers. Each teacher has the attitude of "It's good to be me, here with you," and the atmosphere of joy in the school is palpable. What's more, the school meets 3 days a week and the other 2 days are spent at home, with parents as co-teachers implementing lesson plans provided by the faculty at TAA. Needless to say, we were thrilled about everything we saw.
Now, having had our son in school at TAA for a semester, I can truthfully say that it just keeps getting better. We have been able to witness how the school comes together as a community to pray and to support one another. We have been able to attend field trips that have exposed the children to art and culture. We have seen how meaningful the activities are that are stacked and packed into each day.
Students are encouraged to lean into their struggles, and the teachers really come alongside the students to show them how capable they are of perseverance. Everyone brings fresh perspectives to the table, and challenging viewpoints are welcome not only amongst students, but also parents and faculty members. Honestly, I could go on and on and on. Completely worth the drive, and the extra sacrament classes, and the expensive spring break plane tickets as opposed to traveling whenever we wanted had we gone the homeschool route.
If you take one thing from this review at all, it should be this:
Even if you think you have everything planned out, GO TO THE OPEN HOUSE. Visit the classrooms. I can't tell you how glad we are that we did. read more
