What constitutes a good education? Is it just knowing facts? Having skills? Or is it earning a degree? At Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy, we define an education as the process of nurturing the individual, mind, body, and spirit. We strive for Truth, Honor, and Virtue. We are living in times when trends dominate, and the truth is hard to find. Many parents want to find an education that is not just useful. They want to learn about character and not just skills and information.
How Do You Educate for Virtue in Society Today?
It is increasingly difficult to know what is Truth, Honor, or Virtue in our society. There is so much information, but how do we know what it is we should know? It is a challenge for us as parents to help children with their education, but how do we also prepare them for their own lives? What about their character and how do we raise them to have virtue and be a good person, a virtuous person, to do good and to be ethical? Parents want something more from their children than just good jobs and success. We want our children to grow up to be virtuous men and women. Parents have been searching for an education where they can trust the school with their child’s education.
How Can You Educate in a Virtue Based Education?
Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy answers that question and we do so using the virtue-based education of Karl G. Maeser. He once said education awakens the power within the human to do good. It is our vision for this academy. We are focused on virtue, which includes virtue-based education. We are using that for our students here in Utah. Truth, Honor, Virtue are the values and virtues we strive for and are habits of mind and heart.
At Maeser we take the classical education curriculum that is the liberal arts education. The focus is on Truth, Honor, and Virtue through a classical education program. We read the Great Books with our students. We look at original documents and primary sources, reading through the thoughts of the great minds in the history of the West. We use the Socratic Method. Socrates was a person who challenged the wisdom of others, who said to look at this and what do you think about that? When we do that, we learn to speak well, argue well, debate well, challenge others in the right way. It creates a learning environment where there is dialogue and discussion in the classroom. Our students learn to ask questions, to challenge things, and to be humble, honest, and courageous in their thinking.
Student life at Maeser is where virtue is cultivated daily. We want our students to have a sense of purpose as to why they are learning. They are to grow, intellectually, socially, in community with others, in virtue. Maeser is a small school and a small class size means our teachers can get to know each student. They know each student’s name and how to teach and challenge that child in the right way. The teachers and students all share a common goal of pursuing virtue and education, a classical education model, and they work together. This is what you find at the top classical charter schools in Utah.
The Maeser Honor Code is an important part of our community. It defines who we are, and we take it seriously. It is a foundation for trust and respect for one another. That is a big part of the education of our students. They learn to engage with each other in the right way, to be respectful. They learn how to read Plato’s Republic using the Socratic Method. We do a lot of discussion-based work, reading the Classics. We challenge each other with great problems in math. Our students go out into the community and work. They learn to be good people and to have virtue. The Maeser tradition encourages excellence at all ages and grades. The goal is not to be perfect but to pursue goodness. In our education we strive to prepare our students for college and to be prepared for college to have an excellent education. We also prepare them to be virtuous, to learn how to do well in their profession. Our students are prepared to succeed as men and women. They will serve the community. That is why they learn from these texts.
This tradition that is Maeser has spread across all of society and the educational system in the state of Utah. Our parents want their children to have an education that will not only prepare them in college, but also for the rest of their lives as good men and women, serving their community and all people. It is about pursuing truth, honor and virtue. We also want to do good.
The Maeser community is composed of teachers, parents, and children. They are all focused on education. This community-centered environment, often found in Utah County charter high schools, provides students with a strong network of support and a shared goal. Parents are an active partner in the journey, helping their children understand the importance of virtuous living and helping students become active participants in the community around them. With character education as our main focus, we prepare students to be positive citizens within their community and the world. A Tradition of Excellence The combination of strong academics and focus on character education creates outstanding results. Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy is consistently ranked as a top school and is the #1 charter high school in Utah (U.S. News & World Report) with an average SAT score of 1330 and a graduation rate exceeding 95%. But what makes Maeser different from all other Utah charter high schools is that our students not only get into top universities on top scholarships, our graduates leave us as bright young men and women ready to take on life. They are articulate and self assured, morally upright, and well informed about their world. Maeser: The Character of a Maeser Graduate If you are looking for a classical school in Utah that offers character education to your son or daughter, then you should explore Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy. Learn how a strong foundation in Truth, Honor, and Virtue leads to lifelong love of learning and a meaningful life in community with others. Take A Tour at Maeser FAQs What exactly is “virtue based education”? At Maeser we seek to develop the moral and intellectual virtues of Truth, Honor, and Virtue in every student. Students and teachers learn, model, and develop virtues like truthfulness, wisdom, diligence, courage, generosity, integrity, and more. Virtue based education is not merely a subject taught at Maeser. Virtue based education is the curriculum, the culture, and everything students do and are at Maeser. How does a classical education prepare students for jobs? While a classical curriculum teaches students about the past through the study of ancient literature and history, this does not mean Maeser graduates won’t have careers in technology or medicine. The classical method of education focuses on developing skills of listening, speaking, thinking, and reading. These skills are the basis of any kind of career or job and make a Maeser graduate ready to work in any job. What about the Socratic Method? Isn’t it too demanding for many students? Not for our teachers! Teachers are trained to implement the Socratic Method with ease in ways that meet the needs of all students. Some students are shy and quiet, while others are loud and boisterous; the Socratic Method prepares both for college or the world beyond. What do parents do to help Maeser students become virtuous young men and women? It takes parents and the school working together to provide a consistent culture of virtue education. Parents who choose Maeser have made the choice to model virtue at home and provide an environment for virtue based education for their son or daughter. In addition to that, Maeser provides education for parents on developing a virtuous home environment. This shared message of character education will go a long way toward providing students with a positive message about their future. How does a classical education provide for the needs of individual students? One of the greatest benefits of a classical school is that the class sizes are small and teachers give individualized attention to every student. Teachers will meet students where they are and challenge them to go further in their learning. A classical education provides a solid academic foundation for students of all learning styles.