School of the Ozarks hosts Classical Christian Educators Conference

POINT LOOKOUT, MO. — School of the Ozarks and “The Classical Thistle” hosted a Classical Christian Educators Conference on the College of the Ozarks campus, March 3-4, 2023.

The Classical Christian Education Conference explored the practical aspects of teaching classically in today’s classrooms. Through practical workshops that included ideas and tips from seasoned classical educators, the conference equipped teachers with tools to apply immediately in their classrooms. The conference was structured around two plenary lectures, a panel discussion, and 60 workshops spread out over six breakout sessions.

Kyle Rapinchuk, associate professor of Christian worldview at School of the Ozarks and co-founder of “The Classical Thistle,” gave the first and last plenary lectures.

“Giving the plenary addresses this year arose out of significant study and reflection over the past year on wonder and the imagination,” Rapinchuk said. “I had a big picture vision of what I thought might help encourage and challenge teachers to rethink what they do in biblical ways, and it came together in the end with the parallels between wonder and hope, imagination and faith, and attention and love.”

Topics discussed at this year’s Classical Christian Educators Conference included Classroom Missionaries, The Embodied Classroom: Educating the Whole Person, and Conflict Resolution: Using Your School’s “Why” to Create Unity.

“The Classical Thistle` arose out of, what at the time, felt like a growing movement with a minimal online presence,” Rapinchuk said. “Though the online presence has exploded in recent years, `The Classical Thistle` has really pressed into this conference as a way of making a positive impact on classical Christian education in our region, and we were so pleased to host our largest and possibly best conference to date.”