When someone once asked me if we teach a liberal arts curriculum “even though we’re conservative,” I smiled. There’s a lot of confusion about why we boast about “liberal arts” in today’s politically charged culture where “liberal” implies a political leaning. But that’s not what we mean at The River Academy. The liberal arts have nothing to do with politics and everything to do with freedom. The word liberal comes from the Latin liber, meaning “free.” Historically, the liberal arts were the subjects a free person needed to study in order to live wisely and well–to be free-thinking. It meant being literally and mentally free, not constrained or controlled by others in their thinking.
The real question is: do we want students who can be told what to think, or students who are trained how to think? The goal of a liberal arts education is to form free thinkers—students who can think critically, discern wisely, and speak with grace and courage.
At The River Academy, we don’t teach our students to blindly accept what the world tells them. We train them to ask questions, to love the truth, and to be humble enough to admit when they’re wrong. That’s not easy, and it’s not quick—but it’s worth it. In a world full of noise, slogans, and surface-level opinions, we want our students to stand firm in what is true, good, and beautiful.
The liberal arts go back hundreds of years. In the medieval world, they were organized into two groups: the Trivium (grammar, logic, rhetoric) and the Quadrivium (math, geometry, music, astronomy). These weren’t just school subjects. They were tools to shape a mind and soul: to think clearly, speak well, and wonder at God’s creation. They still are.
That’s why, in our classrooms, we don’t rush to give quick answers. We ask big questions. We read great books and wrestle with ideas. We discuss. We debate. We reflect. We don’t want to give students pre-packaged talking points; we want them to understand why they believe what they believe—and how to explain it with charity and clarity.
This vision isn’t new. The founders of our country—people like Thomas Jefferson and John Adams—believed deeply in the liberal arts. Jefferson once wrote, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free… it expects what never was and never will be.” In other words, if you want liberty, you need wisdom. And if you want wisdom, you need education that forms the whole person.
Even C.S. Lewis echoed this when he said we need to “see with other eyes, to imagine with other imaginations, to feel with other hearts.” That’s the kind of imagination we want to develop—one that creates empathy, not just opinion. One that prepares students to lead with virtue, not just talent.
At a classical Christian school like ours, we don’t pursue education for its own sake. We see it as a way to glorify God and serve others. Our students are not just being prepared for college or a job—they’re being prepared for a life of faithfulness, wisdom, and service. We want them to learn to speak truth in love, to defend their beliefs with grace, and to stand firm in a world that’s often confused about what really matters.
Some may say the liberal arts are outdated or should be renamed to fit our political terminology. We couldn’t disagree more. In fact, we believe they’re more relevant than ever. In a culture filled with division, distraction, and shallow thinking, students need deep roots. They need to know who they are, what they believe, and why it matters. And they need grounding in the Truth of Scripture. That’s what the liberal arts help them discover.
So yes—we are proud to be a classical Christian school that offers a liberal arts education. Not because we’re trying to make students “liberal,” but because we believe freedom—real freedom—comes from minds and hearts that are trained to pursue truth, love wisdom, and walk humbly with the Lord.
