Headmaster's Blog
The Rev’d John Heaton is New Covenant’s second headmaster, following the founder of the school, Dr. Robert Littlejohn. He has served since 1998 – more than 20 years – and established the school on its permanent campus at Fleetwood Drive in Lynchburg, VA. He led the development of the school through four successful capital campaigns, providing the facilities which now serve more than 420 students through grade 12. Fr. John is an ordained minister in the Reformed Episcopal Church and has served a parish in his home state of Florida. He serves as the Associate Priest at All Saints Church which meets in the Marie Macdonald Chapel on the campus of New Covenant. Fr. John holds the BA and MA in theology, and the MA in liberal studies. He teaches intermediate Greek in the School of Rhetoric, and he writes routinely for this blog below.
New Covenant and the National Reading Crisis
I consistently tell prospective parents that there are a hundred ways to teach students how to read. There are also some ways not to teach
Thinking About Critical Thinking
During a recent professional development day, the faculty hosted Dan Willingham, Phd, a leading cognitive psychologist from the University of Virginia. Dr. Willingham’s work with the
Why Study Dead Languages
Because of our own language’s profound debt to the Latin, the young student of Latin can begin to “translate” English, often without the need of
The Challenge of a Secular Age
We live in a secular age. Charles Taylor, in his massive book which bears the above title, poses the question, “How is it that 500 years
21st Century Skills Require 25 Centuries of Context
My first brush with politics as a “full contact sport” came in 1973 when the Watergate hearings were televised gavel-to-gavel on black and white TV.
Boiling It Down: Think. Learn. Love. Live.
I didn’t spend much time in the kitchen as a child, unless it was to get under Grandma’s feet, so I had to wait until
The Butting Order: How Middle School Students Rank Themselves in School
Middle school student are very much aware of what we call the “butting order.” We all have our own preferences and opinions that form our individual
Marking Milestones: What You See if You Stay Long Enough
Every year about this time year I get a bittersweet feeling deep down in my soul. I’m preparing to let go of students I’ve watched
The Face That Launched a Thousand Ships: Truth, Goodness and Beauty
“Was this the face that launched a thousand ships, and burnt the topless towers of Ilium?” This line by Christopher Marlow in Doctor Faustus (c.