By Mrs. Jennifer Walker

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Ps. 16:11 ESV

In this psalm, David acknowledges that authentic, abundant, meaningful, and deep joy is futile apart from the presence of the Creator. He sets the Lord always before him and praises the Lord as his “chosen portion” in whom he has a “beautiful inheritance,” “counsel,” and “instruction.” David concludes that surely this is the reason his heart is glad and his whole being rejoices. This conclusion is contrasted with his earlier observation in verse 4 that those who run after another god will multiply their sorrows.

We are called to rejoice in the Lord, but what does this look like within the halls of a school? In education, there are many ideas about what makes for joyful learning. Joyful learning is commendable, but the ultimate goal at DVCS is not to create happy students. This is not to say that DVCS does not value joy that is part of the learning process. On any given day, there are creative energy and delight that fill our classrooms, hallways, and playgrounds. The telos of classical, Christian education includes molding young lives to reflect the image of Christ accurately and faithfully. The purpose of education at Delaware Valley Classical School, therefore, is not merely to create students who are happy, but those who seek godly wisdom and excellence, who practice daily “to will and act according to [God’s] good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). Psalm 16 discusses a joy that begins with setting our eyes on the Lord as our chosen portion, from which proper ordering of our affections will follow. We seek to imbue in students the virtue of joy by training them to always set the Lord before them.

Students today are asking essential questions concerning who they are, where they belong, and what they are to become. DVCS seeks to intentionally ground students in their identity in Christ through liturgy and theology, to fill them with a sense of belonging within a caring school community, and to encourage them to glorify God in all their pursuits.

Before our school day begins, students are spiritually nourished through reciting creeds of the church, reading of Scripture, worshiping through hymns, and praying as a body of believers. This type of structured daily liturgy has fallen out of favor in some contemporary Christian circles as being too staid or formulaic. However, when we and our students encounter doubts, discouragement, and dark nights of the soul, it is often those practiced truths that urge us to lean on an infinite, eternal God who loves his children deeply—one who binds up the brokenhearted, providing transcendent peace when there is hurt and doubt. 

At DVCS, we train our students to think theologically. In grammar school, students will cover the breadth of the Old and New Testaments. In upper school, students will return to Old and New Testament texts with a deeper focus on hermeneutics (correct understanding) and exegesis (correct application) of the Scriptures. This grounding is essential in establishing our students’ proper understanding of who God is and who he says we are. This is a critical piece in helping our students navigate the confusion of the world by firmly rooting their faith and identity in Jesus.

A joyful learning community is also one where students feel a sense of belonging. One aspect of this is pedagogical. The Trivium of classical education emphasizes teaching according to the grain of how students naturally learn at various stages of development. A match between how one is taught and how one is naturally inclined to acquire knowledge contributes to a sense of comfort and belonging in the classroom. 

A second aspect of building a sense of belonging within our school is the love and care staff have for the students, along with the care students are encouraged to have for one another. At DVCS, it is quite common to hear teachers correct students by urging them to be wise and not foolish, to be peacemakers, to be loving, to be self-controlled. We take seriously Scripture’s role in correcting and training students for righteousness, equipping them for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Our older students also play a critical role in caring for our younger students. They volunteer weekly at recess, eat lunch with grammar school students, read to younger students, and help within their classrooms. These acts of service tune their hearts to the humility and servanthood of Christ and add to an atmosphere of caring within our school.

Lastly, a joyful learning environment is one that has purpose. Modern education has a very profit-oriented purpose—we study to acquire skills that allow us to compete well in the marketplace. DVCS encourages students to read and think critically, with the ability to articulate their ideas with rhetorical skill. Although these skills will certainly help students in the marketplace, it is not the goal of our school. How tragic would it be to have trained our students to be great at their future jobs, but watch them “multiply their sorrows” because they have chosen to “run after another god” (Ps. 16:4). On the contrary, we encourage our students to glorify God with all their pursuits. As they gain knowledge in many things, we want them to embrace fully the fact that God has given them everything they need for life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3). They have a higher calling to be in the world yet not to be contaminated by it (Rom. 12:1-2). Wherever they are, they can be zealous for what is good, loving God and serving him in their various vocations.

We have chosen joy as one of the four pillars of virtue within Delaware Valley Classical School. A meaningful joy is one that speaks to students’ sense of identity, community, and purpose. It is our deep hope that our students will set the Lord as their chosen portion as they learn much within our school—that they would fully embrace what David embraced in Psalm 16: “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”