Beyond Cambridge: Alumni and Parents Reflect Back
By: Dana Frain, Alumni Parent
This year, my youngest child graduated from Cambridge School. The questions keeping me up at night are:
How did I get here?
What memories, lessons, and knowledge will my son bring with him to high school and beyond?
Charlotte Mason wrote:
“The question is not, -- how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education -- but how much does he care? and about how many orders of things does he care? In fact, how large is the room in which he finds his feet set? and, therefore, how full is the life he has before him?”
I love Mason’s question–how much does he care?
To answer this question, I went beyond my 3 Cambridge graduates, who are 18, 16, and 14, and reached out to several high school students, twenty-somethings, and their parents. I was impressed by their responses to my questions.
Cambridge Encourages Life-long Learning
One alumni living and working in Baltimore said, “One of the biggest ways I've been impacted by my time at Cambridge was becoming a ‘lifelong learner.’ Cambridge instills in their students an appreciation and aptitude for learning, which has helped me greatly in the years since I graduated.”
Another alumni living in Denver recalls, “Cambridge time and again preached being a lifelong learner. I still go on tours, museum visits, and bike tours and feel like I am relearning what I learned in middle school. Although not fully appreciated at the time, I see the foundation it laid for both my academic and work careers.”
Cambridge Inspires a Biblical Worldview
Lifelong learning is important. Cambridge students seek truth, but the ultimate quest is for truth, goodness, and beauty, encompassed in the life and work of Jesus, the Truth. This is an important theme of the 8th grade experience.
Michael Donohue, 22, who is on staff with Christian Student Fellowship at the University of Kentucky explains, “I think one of the most influential things Cambridge taught me was how to think deeply about things. How to approach apologetics and not be intimidated by it but almost feel confident. How to think deeply about life. It felt like more than an education, but it taught me how to view the world through Christ as the lens.”
How does Cambridge do this? I believe our past and present teachers and staff, who daily live out their faith in front of and along with their students, makes a huge impact.
Alumna Nina Swayne and Ava Rambissoon visit with Mr. Toole
2 recent graduates described to me a scene during which they ran into Bill Toole, their beloved PE teacher. “He talked with us for 10 minutes, asked us how we are doing and remembered so many things about us from elementary school!” recalled Ella. She went on, “The love you feel at Cambridge is not limited to when you are a student there.” Ava said, “It was a blessing to learn how to grow and love people in the Cambridge community. I remember being so excited to finally be in 5th grade to help collect recycling from the whole school.”
I also believe that the time reading, discussing, and memorizing the Bible has a tremendous impact on the students. From Kindergarten through 8th grade, the children read, sing, and act out stories and truths from the Old and New Testament daily in their classroom and weekly at chapel. When my older sons were in 6th grade, they memorized John 15, the whole chapter - that’s 27 verses! Whenever our pastor says anything about “the vine,” they smile.
Isaiah 55:10-11 says, “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth; it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
Another graduate I spoke with described his Cambridge education as a conversation. I love this! Cambridge students have conversation after conversation as they pursue their education. These conversations build on each other year by year and result in students learning to care about faith, friends, and the world God loves so deeply.
Parent Perspectives
One Cambridge parent of three alumni and a current 7th grader shared, “Anne and I have always wanted our kids to grow up with a sense that God and others were for them. That they could explore the world beyond us with a confidence that they are loved and have an anchor of faith and community to help them as they go through life. Cambridge was such a great partner in that. They build minds, hearts, and character. It is such an amazing community to be a part of. I think our kids always appreciated that, but the longer they get away from it, the more they see it and feel blessed by it.”
Another parent said, “Gabi has a strong sense of self coming out of Cambridge. Her ability to see herself and others as made in the image of God I believe are deposits from her time spent at Cambridge.”
Cambridge’s vision is to develop in our students the capacity and character required to live out their God-given destinies as they proceed to high school and beyond. I think Charlotte Mason would agree with me that Cambridge is fulfilling its vision beyond Baltimore, and I am so grateful for the full life my sons and so many others have before them.