#3 – Emphasis on Mentors and Classics

We value mentors and classics as a way of becoming. A mentor is an individual of high moral character who can guide a scholar in both intellectual and moral development while respecting the sovereignty and intrinsic potential of the scholar. All the greatest leaders throughout history were inspired and guided by mentors. The formula is simple yet profound: the scholars read the classics and discussed them with mentors whose passion for learning was contagious.

The primary and most influential mentors are parents. Teachers at John Adams Academy join with parents in mentoring scholars. They place the development of their scholars foremost in their work. They are well versed in the subjects they teach and use effective methods of instruction. In every mode of their instruction, their focus is on helping their scholars rise to their full potential as servant leaders, rather than on merely meeting all the learning standards. They live the core values of John Adams Academy, serving as an example to those they mentor. In turn, scholars are given increasing opportunities to mentor others in and out of the classroom.

Classics allow a scholar to have as mentors some of the greatest men and women who have ever lived. It is through the classics that scholars are introduced to excellence, come to know themselves and reality, and are ultimately inspired to causes greater than self. As a scholar engages with a classic in wonder and teachability, a classic can mentor the scholar toward truth, wisdom, and virtue. Classics are foundational and necessary in the traditional liberal arts education of a servant leader.