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 and is in his twenty fifth year of service. He established the school on its permanent campus at Fleetwood Drive in Lynchburg, VA, and led the development of the school through five successful capital campaigns, providing the facilities which now serve more than 450 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 currently 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.
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 a dictionary. A working knowledge
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 ago it was almost impossible
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. The three networks, ABC, CBS
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 I was married to learn
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 kingdoms. Within our own kingdoms,
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 grow up, some of whose
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. 1590) is one of the
Yes, We Are Thinking About Safety…All The Time
Recent events in South Florida are disturbing to those of us who teach and work in schools. On the one hand these events seem far away and removed; on the
Where do the Grads Go?
Current and prospective parents often ask what our students do after graduation from the School of Rhetoric. They’re really asking a couple of questions, “Where do they go to college?”
