The HCDS Approach

At Hunter Country Day School, we seek to read the classics. We realize  some contemporary literature can be termed “great,” but much published today, when publishing is comparatively easy, cannot. As William Bennett states in his introduction to The Book of Virtues, “…children imitate what they see and hear. They naturally look for examples to follow. Today’s popular culture offers plenty. Countless ‘stars’ and ‘superstars’ are  put on pedestals for children to idolize and mimic. The problem is that most are celebrities, not heroes (it has been said that the difference between the two is that while the hero is known for worthy actions, the celebrity is known for being well known.”) We read a sampling of the best current work we can find which is considered worthy and discuss its merits or flaws just as we would other classical works.

We rely heavily, however, on stories and biographies from tradition. We read about heroes who embody a wide range of qualities: courage, endurance, compassion, faith, gratitude, honor and  vision. When children become well acquainted with such examples they soon realize that it is not being famous, powerful, wealthy or idolized by crowds that makes a hero. Instead, surmounting adversity, danger and evil become the goal. Such an approach assists in evaluating our own time and leads toward a greater appreciation of the Greek ideal of goodness, truth and beauty.

A Sampling of our Grammar School Literature

Examples of our Grammar school literature include Aesopʼs Fables, fairy and folk tales, and titles such as The Boxcar Children, Peter Rabbit, Little Women, The Door in the Wall, The Wind and the Willows, Johnny Tremain, My Side of the Mountain, King Arthur, Robin Hood, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Hobbit, Where the Red Fern Grows, Treasure Island, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Bronze Bow, to name a few. PREVIOUS PAGE