The Task of the Classical Teacher

In short, our own minds must be trained by the consideration of truth, goodness, and beauty as overriding priorities in every academic pursuit. Our job is to constantly help our students connect the ordinary and seemingly mundane to the sublime and transcendent values that define the meaning of our existence. We only inspire our students to recognize and pursue truth, goodness, and beauty to the extent that we pursue them ourselves. As we encourage this pursuit, we transpose ourselves from “inheritors” of the liberal arts tradition into “transmitters,” and we begin the same process of transformation in our students.

from Wisdom and Eloquence: A Christian Paradigm from Classical Learning by Robert Littlejohn and Charles T. Evans, pp. 154-155