The Center for Liberty and Learning
Abraham Lincoln called America "the last best hope" for self-government. At the Center for Liberty and Learning our mission is to create scholars and patriots. We believe this is essential for the preservation of free government here and throughout the globe. We do this in three ways: scholarships and a scholar program to equip our students to be lifelong learners and patriots, public colloquia about the nation's politics to create civil discourse and a strong community, and summer courses hosted by our faculty and friends of the program open to public.
The Liberty and Learning Fellowship
Our students are among the best in the country. In elementary school they start learning Latin. In middle school they memorize The Declaration of Independence, The Gettysburg Address, and poetry. In addition to all of their hard work, they are high achievers and leaders outside of the classroom. We want to foster that spirit and help them harness their talents for public service.
Therefore, we have created a scholar program that will allow our students to serve and lead. But our school is public and many of our students need scholarships to attend college and pursue a life devoted to civics. We are devoted to the mission of funding scholarships that make that happen. 90% of donations to the Liberty and Learning Fellowship fund scholarships for our students to attend college where they will continue to learn, serve, and lead.
Public Colloquia
We believe that public discourse is essential to national unity and the preservation of liberty. Alexander Hamilton wrote that it was up to our country to determine "whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force."
In order for a people to govern themselves by reflection and choice, there must be a public place for free people to deliberate, reflect, and carry out public discourse. Our center is that place. We welcome people from all walks of life to attend public colloquia to come together to better understand the nation's "invention" (as Abraham Lincoln called it) of liberty for all. We honor and learn about liberty by hosting events with politicians, academics, local businessmen, and members of our armed services. We host public debates and create a place for public forums. We believe our role is essential to the maintenance of the American Experiment in self-government.
Public Courses
Frederick Douglass said, “Education means emancipation. It means light and liberty. It means the uplifting of the soul of man into the glorious light of truth, the light by which men can only be made free.” Our founding fathers- Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and the list goes on- also believed that an uneducated citizenry could not remain free for long. In fact, many of the state constitutions at the time of the founding urged enlightenment as essential for the preservation of liberty.
However, today it is common for citizens to attend school, get a job, and neglect the important trust of becoming enlightened citizens capable of preserving liberty. We want to change that.
Therefore, we will host week-long summer courses open to the public. Our first course will be on the debates at the federal convention of 1787, and our second will be on the Federalist papers. The course is open to citizens of all ages and will be taught by Founders Classical Academy teachers in conjunction with university professors, at the Founders Classical Academy campus. The goal is to provide an intimate understanding of the federal constitution to citizens to equip them to preserve their rights and liberties.