Jon Balsbaugh

Previously, he served as the headmaster of Trinity School at River Ridge (Eagan, MN), designed Trinity Schools’ poetry curriculum, and worked extensively in teacher training. For the past five years, he has been designing the curriculum for a capstone course in world issues for graduating seniors.

Mr. Balsbaugh received his master’s degree in English from the University of St. Thomas, has published on C.S. Lewis, and serves as the editor-in-chief of Veritas Journal, an online journal of education and human awakening.

SESSIONS:

Helping to Form World-Shaping Graduates: Classical Education and the High-Order Utility of Citizenship, Leadership, and Cultural Impact

Classical education ought first and foremost to provide students with an experience of human awakening rooted in the timeless pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness. Properly understood, though, it can also provide them the intellectual tools necessary for citizenship and leadership in a rapidly changing world. In the face of significant social forces such as secularization, globalization, and technological progress, it may be increasingly necessary for classical educators to helpt students make the connection between their education and the real-world challenges of the twenty-first century explicit. This session will be a presentation of an experimental capstone course for seniors that asks them to apply their education to emerging situations and challenges that the world is facing and is likely to face in the future.