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ABOUT HERITAGE ACADEMY

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Heritage is classical in its educational approach. 

 

The goal of education, since ancient times, has been the cultivation of wisdom and virtue by feasting the soul on truth, goodness, and beauty.  The classical approach, characterized by exposure to history, literature, art, and language, has produced the greatest thinkers, leaders, and scientists in the Western world from the time of the Greeks until the late 19th century, including America’s Founding Fathers.  Seeking to nurture and train the whole child in knowledge, understanding, and wisdom, classical education prepares the student for an adventure of lifelong learning by teaching him how to think.  

 

Over the years, education in America has moved away from this classical approach to learning, pursuing more of a career training path.  It has given up education as primarily a means of training the mind.  In the 1940's, Oxford scholar Dorothy Sayers, author of The Lost Tools of Learning, remorsed, “Is it not the great defect of our education today that although we often succeed in teaching our pupils ‘subjects,’ we fail lamentably on the whole in teaching them how to think?  They learn everything, except the art of learning.”

 

Believing that the art of learning, the habit of thinking, the growing together in wisdom and virtue are best carried out in a community of faithful friends, Heritage works to provide a classical education steeped in rich traditions.


Our Partnership
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Heritage Academy has partnered with Classical Academic Press to become a  Scholé Homeschool Group.

 

The word scholé (pronounced skoh-LAY) comes from a Greek word that means “restful learning” with the connotation of confidence in the course of study, of doing fewer subjects well, and of contemplation, conversation, and reflection. Ironically, it is also the basis for our English word "school", which no longer holds for us this idea of studying only a few subjects well. 

 

As a Scholé Homeschool Group, we endeavor to cultivate meaningful assignments in our study of the liberal arts. We want our staff, parents, and students to feel freedom to "throw off the anxiety of trying to fit everything in" in order to cultivate a love of literature, language, history and the other liberal arts.

 

We believe student work can be challenging without being frenetic, monotonous, and worrisome. Our goal is to put the scholé-- confidence in a humanities-based, liberal arts education-- back into school.

 

In order for you to fully embrace and learn more about the "Restful Learning" approach we embrace at Heritage, we would encourage you to:

 

 

 

       Buy and Read this book:

 

       Teaching From Rest

            by Sarah Mackenzie

Our History
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Heritage Academy was established in the fall of 2010 by Joshua and Jane Turner. The Turners have nine children, ages 7 to 20 years. They have home schooled from the very beginning.

 

The inspiration for Heritage began while Jane was a student at a college committed to upholding both a solid Biblical worldview and a high standard of academic excellence. Although she had received a great high school education, the opportunity to explore all things with Christ at the center completely transformed her view of study.

 

While in college, she was able to teach for a home school supplement group in Tennessee. It was there that she saw first-hand the blessings of home schooling, and the reality of motivated children passionately studying God’s world.

 

After returning home to Montana in 2002, Jane’s dream was to recreate this Christ-centered learning model for homeschool families in the Flathead Valley.

 

This dream became reality in the fall of 2010 after several families approached her about teaching science lab classes. As her own children were old enough to begin structured, scientific study, Heritage Academy began. Eighteen elementary students embarked on an in-depth study of botany.

 

Heritage is now, in 2022, serving 200 K-12 students in Art, English, Choir, Latin, Logic, Literature, History, PE, Spanish, and Science classes.

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