— ADVERTORIAL —
WHAT IS THE VALUE OF A CLASSICAL
EDUCATION IN THE DIGITAL AGE?
A in the greater world. Its building-block
approach nurtures the child’s interest in
learning, ability to concentrate and pay
attention for extended periods of time, read
for depth of understanding and express
thoughts and opinions clearly and per-
suasively. The child’s mind is actively and
imaginatively engaged in comprehending
rather than passively receiving a flow of
digitized information.

Ultimately, the goal of a classical educa-
tion is to teach the student how to think
critically and act creatively, how to tackle
and solve unfamiliar problems and how to
meet challenges with optimism and set-
backs with resilience. These are the very
skills that prepare children for a challenging
and unpredictable future.

Additionally, parents are beginning
to push back against the overwhelm-
ing amount of school-day screen
time, according to the Washington
Post. They are concerned that their
computer-dependent children are losing
merican children are growing up in
the digital age, many of them spend-
ing several hours a day looking at screens
at school. On their own time, they dive
into social media and devote countless
hours to video games. A recent multi-
year study by the American Psychological
Association shows that high-school-aged
teens spend more time texting and on
social media than reading. As a result,
parents, teachers and psychologists are
finding increasing problems among chil-
dren, including moody behavior, shorter
attention spans, decreased ability to focus
on academics and a lessening in empathy
for others.

Classical education provides the anti-
dote to every one of these alarming trends.

Classical education is a systematic, age-ap-
propriate approach to teaching children
how to think, how to build values and
develop strength of character, how to dis-
cover and improve on individual talents
and how to present themselves successfully
Extraordinary Environment for Learning
School Extraordinary
Environment for Learning
Camp Now Enrolling for Fall 2020!
• Discover Montessori: 12 mos - Grade 5
• Project-Based Learning: Grades 6-12
Call for a tour!
admission@barrie.org • 301.576.2800
g Join us in 2020
for a summer
of June 15 to
Aug 14
Ages 4-14
Barrie Camp Open House
Sunday, March 8 | 1 to 3 pm
camp@barrie.org • 301.576.2818
13500 Layhill Rd. , Silver Spring, MD
Minutes from ICC & Glenmont Metro
Bus Transportation and Extended Day Available
barrie.org 22 Washington
WashingtonFAMILY 22
FAMILY MARCH
MARCH 2020
2020 CHARLOTTE FOSTER, ENGLISH DEPARTMENT CHAIR
& SUSAN GLAZIER, ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL
WESTMINSTER SCHOOL
ANNANDALE, VA 22003
ground in their academic understanding
and skills as well as their personal devel-
opment. They also resent that computer
use in school interferes with their parent-
ing decisions about their own children.

While developments in technology have
been empowering and exciting, parents
and schools are learning that computers
are not the automatic educational boost
they once hoped.

There is no magic bullet or digital course
that produces a well-rounded, knowledge-
able, courteous and confident person of
good character. However, there is a proven
way, and Westminster School stands by its
58-year history of delivering a classical
education in a nurturing, forward-look-
ing environment. The achievements of
our graduates, both academic and per-
sonal, testify to the effective and lasting
influence of a rich, carefully designed and
well-implemented classical education. ■
SEE OUR AD, PAGE 7