Dear North Phoenix Prep Families,
This past week our Seniors greeted me with a poetry recitation. "Would you like to hear a poem?" one of them excitedly inquired. "Why yes, of course!" was my somewhat surprised reply. Little did I know that this lyrical benediction was being given to passers-by all across our fair campus. My poem certainly brightened my day, and I was even more encouraged to witness Mr. Fleming happily leading his class in this creative assignment.
This cheerful moment in the life of our school exemplifies one of our
Philosophical Pillars
, i.e. that teachers lead students through intelligence, charisma, humor, integrity, and example. Our model for this teacher-student mentorship is Socrates. Though he was not fully appreciated in his own time by his own city, Socrates inspired his students to love wisdom and to strive toward virtue. Not every moment can be as full of glee as our impromptu poetry recitations last week, but our belief is that love and friendship will, over time, transform the souls of our students and lead them toward the True, the Good, and the Beautiful.
As we charge forward into another action-packed week, allow me to share a brief poem that I admire, "Anecdote of the Jar" by Wallace Stevens:
I placed a jar in Tennessee,
And round it was, upon a hill.
It made the slovenly wilderness
Surround that hill.
The wilderness rose up to it,
And sprawled around, no longer wild.
The jar was round upon the ground
And tall and of a port in air.
It took dominion everywhere.
The jar was grey and bare.
It did not give of bird or bush,
Like nothing else in Tennessee.
Let's have a great week, Gladiators!
With Devotion,
Headmaster Weinhold
