The Liberty Show
A podcast by Liberty Classical Schools
The Liberty Show
What Great Teachers Actually Do | David Hahn on Character and Formation
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What makes a great teacher?
In this episode of The Liberty Show, Matthew Kirby sits down with David Hahn, lower school principal at Atlanta Classical Academy, to explore the deeper purpose of education and what it looks like to form students in both mind and character.
David shares his journey from aerospace engineering to education and reflects on the mission that drives classical schools: cultivating students who are not only knowledgeable, but virtuous.
In this conversation, they discuss:
• Why education must go beyond academics to shape character
• What it means to form students in both heart and mind
• How great teachers bring learning to life
• The role of community in sustaining educators
• Why coaching, feedback, and growth are essential to school culture
• How parents and schools can partner in raising children
This episode offers a practical and inspiring look at what it takes to build schools that form students for lives of purpose, responsibility, and leadership.
Learn more about Liberty Classical Schools:
https://libertyclassicalschools.org
Subscribe for more conversations on classical education, formation, and culture.
#TheLibertyShow #LibertyClassical #ClassicalEducation #CharacterFormation #EducationMatters
Welcome to the Liberty Show, where we talk about American classical education and invite you to join us in the work of improving the moral and intellectual character of the next generation. I'm Matthew Kirby, I'm CEO of Liberty Classical Schools, where our mission is to support and operate K-12 American classical schools that emphasize virtuous living, traditional learning, and civic responsibility. You can read more about us at Liberty Classical Schools.org. I've just finished an interview that you're going to get to see here in just a few minutes with a man named Dr. David Hahn. And I just want to tell you this is one of the most encouraging interviews I've done in a long time. I think you're going to really enjoy this. Let me tell you a little bit about Dr. Hahn. He has a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Oklahoma. He earned a Masters of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He earned a Master of Teaching or in Teaching from Georgia State University, and then a PhD in educational leadership from the University of New England. He started at Atlanta Classical 11 years ago as our ESOL coordinator, and then he transitioned to become our student services director. And in 2022, he took the role as our lower school principal. So you're going to love this conversation. You're going to hear us talk about the purposes of American classical education. We're going to talk about what it's like to teach in an American classical school. We're going to talk about the role and the importance of partnering with parents in our schools, and we're going to touch a little bit on Atlanta Classical Academy's engineering and even its baseball programs. I think David is really a remarkable model for students and teachers and leaders alike. It has been incredibly enjoyable to watch his career develop over the last couple of years, and I know you're going to enjoy my conversation with Dr. David Hahn. So one of the things we like to joke about is that we have a rocket scientist who's leading our lower school at Atlanta Classical Academy. So I was going to start by asking you to talk about the transition from studying aerospace engineering all the way to finishing your formal education with a PhD in educational leadership. Yes. What was the trajectory there? How did you go from one field to the other?
SPEAKER_02Oh wow. It began as a dream when I was 12 years old, and I wanted to be an astronaut. And so I remember going to um at that time, there was not a Google. We went to the good old Encyclopedia Britannica.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02To all the list of various ways that you can become an astronaut. And I noticed that aerospace engineering was at the top of the list. And um and like you, I I actually wanted to go to the academy and wanted to go to the Air Force Academy at first. Yeah. Things didn't quite work out. I went to the University of Oklahoma, got my bachelor's in uh aerospace engineering, um, and even worked as an engineer for a few years. Um, but during my my freshman year of college, um, I had a uh spiritual experience and uh things kind of took a little turn uh for the better, I think, in terms of just life trajectory and just uh purpose for living and why I wanted to wake up every morning to to do something more meaningful. And uh and in that um I was very fortunate to be able to go to um several mission trips during my my years in college. And then just soon discovered that, man, like education is a great way to be able to go into these countries and and serve people. And um, and then so I decided, came back uh from these trips, and first wanted to enroll myself in seminary, so I took myself to seminary and then uh then went into the education route after that. So yeah.
SPEAKER_00So uh was our was teaching at Atlanta Class School starting in 2015? Was that your first teaching experience?
SPEAKER_02It was not. Um I was actually teaching uh English as a second language. Okay. Um I started as the ESOL coordinator. Yep. Um, but I I soon discovered in in that whole, I guess, kind of discovery that you know teaching English would have would be a great way for me to kind of get into the various countries that I was hoping to go into as to do mission work and such. Um so before ACA, I was teaching English as a second language at what is now uh the the Kennesaw campus in Marietta. I think it was a Southern Polytechnic State University at the time. Um I was teaching there, and I was also teaching at a a local private school um nearby and just doing SOL there. And but then in 2015 I found out about Atlanta Classical and then rest is history. Trevor Burrus, Jr.
SPEAKER_00Hard to believe that that has been so many years. Yeah. Do you remember what appealed to you about Atlanta Classical at the time?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. I had zero idea. And I just submitted an application, but then I um obviously did my due diligence of to kind of look into uh the school and then what it stood for. And then uh I'll never forget my initial conversation with the principal at that time with Dr. Moore. He and I had, I would say, close to a two-hour phone conversation, and we're we were talking about what we're passionate about.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And you know, it was less the job interview about my abilities to teach ESOL, but it was more about like Where where do you want to see students at the end of the day when they graduate from school? Uh what kind of human beings do you want them to be? And you know, for two hours we talked about this that's what I want to see my students. I want them to see them growing in virtue. I want them to have more than just the the skills that's important to be able to speak English well, so on and so on. But at the end of the day, like what is going to carry them on for the rest of their lives? Yeah. Um and then is where we connected and said and the rest was history.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um so you've progressed through the ranks pretty steadily. You know, you were an ESL teacher. I think you you led our student services department for a little while.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_00Um, and then uh you've now become our lower school principal. So um I'm curious, you know, now with I guess 11 years.
SPEAKER_0211 years. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So what what knowing what you know now, what is special about Atlanta Class School?
SPEAKER_02Oh man. So many things. But I I I would say at the end of the day, our teachers and our community we have a mission that is so special. To be a part of a a mission-driven organization and entity that prioritizes the formation of a student's mind and heart. I think that's it. Because everything else kind of falls in place when you have that guiding light that all of us are waking up to every morning. And then like any school, you you'll have your challenges and your your difficulties, but the thing that is able to help you rise above all of those challenges, continue to persevere and work with the students and to pour into them is the most important thing, which is the mission. And I'm so grateful to be a part of an organization, to serve alongside a leadership team that lives and breathes this mission of forming knowledgeable, virtuous citizens. And that's what makes ACA so special and like all of the other uh classical schools in our network.
SPEAKER_00So maybe say more about that. What what is it, what do we do specifically to try to cultivate the the hearts and minds of our students?
SPEAKER_02Oh, it is from the big things to the little things. As for instance, this morning I was just talking to my my senior thesis advisee, whom I've known since she was in the second grade. So it's it's come a long way.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And then just in my conversation with this student, you know, she's selected a topic about the importance of family, uh of how a family is is a unit that sticks together through your thick and thin and through um the trials in life. But how you know that is connected to our literature that she's read, to our curriculum, the conversation, many conversations that she's had these past 10, 11 years. Um to the you know, the small conversations that you're having with with kids on the hallways. Like everything is about guiding students towards this ideal portrait of this graduate in mind.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Right. And every student has um their individual talents and and their quirks and everything like that. But we have this goal, right? At least we can say across all 700 students at ACA, we have a common goal for every single one of them. Is that we want you to come um face to face with this amazing curriculum. We want it to speak to your mind and to your heart, and then we want to see you grow at at your rate, at a rate, and to be able to graduate one day in in this uh this ideal portrait that we have in mind, to be able to step out into this world. Yes, to to go pursue whatever's next stages, whatever college, job, career, family, all of that. More than anything, to really have that heartbeat where they feel that they are a a citizen in this republic. They feel a a sense of duty to their families, to their communities. They feel a sense of duty to preserve uh this great nation and this republic, and to have that civic responsibility ingrained in their minds and go and live this life of freedom.
SPEAKER_00Man, that's beautiful. I'm getting chills just listening to you and uh reminded of the beauty and the great opportunity we have in this work. All right, you've touched on a lot of a lot of things there. Um maybe circling back a little bit, I want to just emphasize this point. You're the lower school principal.
unknownThat's right.
SPEAKER_00And you have uh a student that you're coaching through their senior thesis presentation and paper.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00Um to me, that's a really cool element of the school that keeps you connected to students for a really long time. That's right. Maybe um so do you recall what are some of the works that she's using to draw upon in this in her particular paper? Aaron Powell Of course, yes.
SPEAKER_02Um she is currently using uh Huckleberry Finn as her curricular text to talk about uh Jim and Huck's relationship, even though it's not a familial relationship. They're talking about um the sacrificial component of what makes a family. Um she is referencing a separate piece by Knowles. Um and then her um kind of outside of the curricular text, she's using the Joy Luck Club to talk about just you know the the duties of of being in a family. And I don't know if even though um families is thrust upon you, but you still have that sense of that responsibility to to rise up and in that situation to rise above the kind of the cultural norms and standards set in that particular context, but to yeah, be responsible. Yeah. Um and it's interesting that the student that I used to uh teach him phonics in second grade, we're talking about concepts like duty and responsibility and sacrifice in this context and to have this lively discussions. And yeah, it's great.
SPEAKER_00Aaron Powell That's really great. Okay. So she'll she'll draft something close to a 15-page paper. That's right. And then and then say a little bit more about the kind of culminating event. What will that day be like for her? Aaron Ross Powell, Jr.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. It will be uh a day of of a lot of nerves. And uh it's gonna take a lot of courage on her end uh because our our our senior thesis process is so special, and then we've worked really hard under the leadership of Mr. Sheps, Mr. Andrew. They do such a great job of making this experience a very special one. Um and, you know, in I think about mid-March or late March, we start our defense process, and basically the upper school kind of comes to a halt now, and we have um six different uh sessions running simultaneously, and all of the upper school will get an opportunity to go into one of those six rooms, and then our you know, our seniors are are sitting in front of a panel of uh two to three teachers, and then we will uh the the students will have a chance to kind of present an introduction, usually lasts about five to ten minutes, and then we will grill them with questions for the next hour. Um but it's it's such a great, great back and forth of just being able to unpack their thoughts. And yeah, it's such an an interesting moment where, you know, like I kind of an encouragement that I go into that moment is like I like to tell my advisees, like, think about this. You have thought and agonized about this particular topic probably more than anyone here on campus. Right? You this has been the thing that has really um stirred your your affections, your minds, your attention for this past year. And you've read many books about this. You and I have had had hours of discussions about it. So feel confident, go in, go in there, and yes, go in there with humility, but also go in with the mindset that this is a topic that that you've explored and you are confident to talk about. And our students do. They rise to the equation and they do such a great job.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. It's it's really incredible. And I love this intellectual rat rite of passage for what it is and what it means in the hearts and minds of these kids. And I um uh it's exciting to me to think how we usually conclude these things with a word of encouragement towards the student. So yeah, there's a and the the respect that goes on display sort of between the teachers and the students for the reasons you just mentioned. Yes. And um anyway, it's a beautiful thing. It is uh it is hard. Yeah. I think these kids, these young adults, know they've done something hard and take pride in that appropriately when it's over. And it's um it's a real hallmark key element of our entire program. Yeah. And the fact that you know these students have opportunities to get to do something like this with you, or people like you, is unbelievably special and also just a really interesting trait. I mean, we have others that are not in the upper school that are also mentoring students through these things. But it just really is the glue that kind of holds the school together in many respects in that. So let me ask you about this. I mean, your your primary job as lower school principal will get to other things that you do as well, and the the uh conglomeration of all those things is I think what makes you so special, David. But how do you talk to your lower school teachers about their impact on students and how it is ultimately leading to this this outcome, this graduating student who is taking hold of the aspects of the portrait you've described?
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Yeah, I think in the kind of most uh simplest sense the kind of like the educational framework of of classical education like lends really well to teachers, particularly in the lower school, understanding that, right? And just as a quick recap, obviously this idea of the trivium kind of builds in this idea of the grammar stage leading to the logic to the rhetoric stage, right? And in this grammar stage in the lower school, that we are essentially building the foundation for all future learning. And but we believe that that foundation is set on a strong, strong emphasis on a foundation of literacy and numeracy, right? The languages. Um and in that, so I I think that's the the beauty is that my current senior uh she did not get to where she is that today if we did not work with her in building the phonics foundation that she had when she was in first grade, second grade, so on and so on. And I think our teachers understand that. Yeah, and they they take that on as a great responsibility. Um it's an amazing thing that what school uh schools, you know, throw the a knee at ninth graders their first book. Right. It's a challenging book. And you know, but that all of that begins at the very beginning of laying that foundation of not only being able to read well, but loving to read. Yeah. And loving the content that we are presenting before. And I think that's it's our teachers, particularly this year, as we've taken on this this kind of this project of creating a portrait of the graduate at every grade level. And this particular last week, in fact, uh, we had a chance to do some some cross-grade collaboration to be able to talk about how you know vertical alignment works. But so amazing that if you trace it all the way back, if you start from the 12th grade literature class and what Mr. Andrew and Mr. Sheps has written down on their portrait, but you go down all the way down to the kindergarten class, you see that that line, right? And how they all kind of connect together. And but I think that's once again as a good reminder that, yes, the work that you do in the lower school, it's going to translate into all of the great Socratic conversations and discussions that's happening in middle school all the way on to high school, then obviously culminating in the senior thesis.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. It's really beautiful. We hope in this podcast that we get to speak to prospective teachers a little bit. And so I wanted to get you to talk a little bit about um, you know, what are the characteristics you're looking for when you interview um a young or inexperienced teacher, somebody who may be entering the lower school with not a great deal of experience. Right. What do you hope to see in the in the optimal candidate there?
SPEAKER_02That's a great question. Um I think my perspective in this has changed over the years. Uh now that I'm in my fourth year here. Um I think there's I would say kind of two things. Number one, I I would love to just see a a passion for teaching the content, right? That I want them to feel life by delivering this great content-rich curriculum. And I think in the lower school in particular, there there is a lot of learning curve. Like we we are a school that that really prides ourselves in having a rich curriculum, right? And it does take, I think, teachers a few years to, I wouldn't say master, but to get get it comfortable to own it, right? But I think I want to see that excitement of being, you know, we're not just um transmitter of information. I I want our lessons to come alive and you you cultivate that joy and that excitement in learning when the teacher is leading that, right? And that's one of the things that I love when I go into uh a fifth grade Mr. Barfield's history class to um, you know, a Miss Lamb's math class in second grade. You can just see the love for the content just coming out, oozing out of them, right? And it's contagious and teachers and students see that. Um and another aspect I think more recently that I've I've kind of been looking for is I I I I would love to see teachers um in this field have and whatever this thing is that is their kind of their source of uh strength, source of energy. That they can come and fill themselves. Right. But it is a it is a challenging one. It's a giving profession. Right. I tell my teachers all the time that our our job is one that requires you to be pouring out of not only your intellect, but your your care, your concern, your love to these 18, 27 students and their families. I mean, it is a giving profession, but I think it's also so important that you have a way that you're feeling yourself, right? And that comes in so many different ways. Um, whether that's part of uh your your community, whether that's um you kind of taking a clarity break, making sure that you're going for walks or or reading great books, whatever it is. But I I think um, you know, particularly young teachers going into this profession, you know, they're obviously very gung-ho. They want to go and change the world in their classrooms, but they soon find out that, you know, wow, I need a consistent source uh that I can kind of draw in. And a lot of that happens um in this, the the kind of the life of the school and the way that leaders have kind of placed ways for teachers to be filled. But I think it's so important for for for teachers to find that and to sustain that and grow that as they go on.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00One of the things I think the school has generally cultivated very beautifully is sort of um uh well, a culture that um accepts and and celebrates um observation and feedback. Yeah. And is that maybe talk a little bit about that. How important is it for a teacher to be interested or willing to kind of accept the feedback of another?
SPEAKER_02Sure. Um I think if you look into kind of the the research out there talking about um teaching as a profession and how to kind of work beyond the the three to five year kind of unfortunate um kind of tenure that's set in so many of our this profession today. Um I think a lot of that has to do with uh your constant growth and and not being stagnant in the in this particular world, right? And so I find it so important really from top down that leaders are creating a culture that you know that is receptive to feedback and coaching. Um because at the end of the day, you desire um to better yourself um for the betterment of your students, right? And I think our our school is so unique because um I I don't know how many schools out there where every member of the admin is teaching a class and they are welcoming of each other coming into your classroom space and critiquing one another. It's all because like we believe that our students deserve that. They deserve the best version of ourselves, and we become the best version of ourselves when iron is sharpening iron and we are just growing together. And and I think ours, you know, this this world in particular and at ACA, um, you know, like I I I I I think it's wonderful when teachers in their mid-year reflection are saying that coaching and and feedback is the number one thing that that we welcome from the admin. Because I think that's like we've that means this school has has a culture where we are saying that um consistency and stagnancy we're not going to accept. We want to continue to grow and continue to be the models of the intellectual and moral growth that we are hoping our students are emulating. And how what's best to show that, to be able to say, hey, I'm in this journey of learning with you and growing together.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Incredibly powerful, and I think culture setting throughout the school. I think it's a real distinctive of the school, and I'm so proud that you guys operate that way. Um and you've been a living example of that yourself. I mean, you you, in addition to the education we spoke of earlier, you've gotten a master's degree. That's right. Also a PhD in educational leadership. That's right. I'm curious on the PhD, um that's just uh a couple years ago, right? Yes, yes. How is that like what have you derived from that process that's that's helped you the most?
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Um I think uh I may not be alone in this, but I think most people who've kind of walked through that that doctoral journey will say that their dissertation or their research was probably the most kind of pertinent and the lasting thing, right? And uh and my dissertation topic was um very purposeful. And and in in general, my my topic was on the the idea of like teachers' perceptions of character education principles that what they found to be uh effective in their classrooms. And I I purposely selected that because I I want it to be meaningful. Because teachers are we are the backbone of of any or you know of uh educational institution. Yes, admin members are important, but man, the magic that happens in a classroom, there's nothing that can compare to that. It is. And I I wanted to explore how how teachers in in our network of schools, classical schools, how they have seen their curriculum and and their modeling of of virtues have have translated over to you know classroom culture changes to to relational changes and and how they've seen the the emphasis on virtue formation have have changed students' lives, right? Because at the end of the day, I want teachers to feel um, if they ever read my dissertation or in my research or my conversation, for them to know that, gosh, your your work is so important. Your perception is so important. And um, so therefore, coming out of this experience, um I think I knew this before, but it really reaffirmed that teachers, you're important.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. That's awesome.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Well, I really think, I mean, truly, you're is why I wanted to have you on the show. I think you're such a great living example of what we're trying to bring in into the presence of children. And and you know, you are a great citizen of the school. You've um in addition to your primary role, which is lower school principal, again, um you've you've been uh a teacher in the upper school and also a coach. Maybe let's start with the teaching. Yeah. Talk a little bit about what you teach and and um what's you know, what some of our students have achieved by way of your of your leadership there. Trevor Burrus, Jr.
SPEAKER_02Sure, sure. Um as I mentioned before, uh I the I think all the members of the admin would say that we have a privilege of being able to teach at Atlanta Class School. And uh and due to my my engineering background, uh I've been fortunate enough to to be able to teach two engineering courses to our high school students. Um I teach a kind of an introductory level engineering class called Principles of Engineering to our lower classmen. Um and then in more advanced class called Problems of Engineering to our junior and senior class. Um in my principles of engineering class, you know, our our our our students are learning topics, everything from you know control systems to statics to aerodynamics, so on and so on. Um then in my my problems of engineering class, um they're actually walking through themselves the entire design process, starting from coming up with a problem and a potential solution to that by doing research and then actually spending that semester coming up with that product. So in the years past, our our students have created everything from a uh a model rocket descent controller to a um a tap-in student card attendance reader system. I mean, you name it, our our students have have created, and then we've been fortunate to be able to also participate in both like regional and state championships where students have have won in these competitions. And uh in fact, this last week, um one of our first uh students to participate in this in this class actually got uh their final agreement on their patent, on their product. So uh they're currently uh juniors in in in college now, but uh they finally uh got their patent last week.
SPEAKER_00That's incredible. Yeah. That's awesome. Um all right, and then and then other extracurricular activities that you're part of sports. Yeah. Tell us about the baseball program at ACA.
SPEAKER_02Yes, yes. Um I've been involved in our baseball program for the past few years. Uh started out as the middle school baseball coach, uh, won a championship, and then um and then uh last year we we launched our first ever JV baseball team. Um we kind of had given that it was our first year, we we had some some challenges of of being able to field enough players, so on and so on. Um but this year we are um really building on what we did last year to um a a thriving program with uh kids who are are very talented and and we look forward to having a full JV baseball season this year. Um in fact, we have our first game against our sister school NCA next Monday. Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah. But I I you know started coaching and and you know, I played baseball when I was in in high school, and I had an opportunity to you know coach some some you know intramural teams and things like that. But um, you know, I'm by no means a baseball prospect or anything like that. I just love and cheer on for my Dodgers. I love the I love the game.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02But I I coach baseball, and I I make it a my point to tell my my student athletes this is that this is an an avenue where students and I can grow in virtue together. Yeah. And I I always make it a point in baseball in particular, because you know what other sport can you fail seven out of ten times and still end up in the Hall of Fame? That's right. But then it's about the idea of perseverance, it's about self-government, it's about working hard and being diligent and being able to lift yourself up even after you had a four-strikeout game. And, you know, there's uh this such a beautiful avenue where, you know, so practically you can take what we are learning and discussing in class and to be able to apply it in a real life scenario within a team environment where you know you are depending on one another and you are lifting each other up. And I just love that you have this opportunity. And I I see, you know, like take away the the win and loss, you know, column. The thing that I remember about every season, you know, like for instance, last season, I I there was a situation in in the in the bus when we were coming home from a practice. I don't remember, but I just remember one of my players talking to another guy, saying something like, Hey, I know that you got a referral today, but like I I know that you can be better than that. But I know let me help you. And this was a 10th grader talking to another ninth grader about the importance of you know being a better citizen at ACA. Yeah. Right. And students doing study sessions together. And then, you know, those are the things where like it's it's our mission coming to life um in ways that uh just really resonates with me. And I think where I I sometimes say that um this work, um, this all-encompassing work of forming a child's mind and the heart can sometimes happen outside of the classroom walls. For sure. And then so many of our teachers who are coaches themselves, because they see the importance of you know going beyond the school hours and connecting them in a very important way through a thing like sports to be able to talk about the bigger important things about virtue and life and teamwork and all of that. So yeah.
SPEAKER_00That's awesome. That's beautiful. All right. I'm gonna work you towards uh a little short answer round here in a second. Uh before we jump into the the short answer questions, um, maybe just a summary or anything you want to talk about, kind of you know, anything you're most enthusiastic about or most looking forward to in the in the kind of towards the tail end of this school year.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I think every January, February of every school year, um you you have an opportunity, because we we call in the teaching profession, we call it the February funk.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02But as an opportunity to um really model perseverance to our students. And, you know, in at ACA, we always kind of do this thing called the January reset um in the law school. And you know, it's a great way coming back from the Christmas break to reorient ourselves in, you know, the things that are that really make a great classroom. You know, it's it's the the learning posture to having correct uniforms to lining up in the hallway silently and all of that, but then like translating that also over to um the importance of having a reset for for teachers as well. And um, you know, I I think I I'm surrounded by a a fabulous law school leadership team who's constantly thinking about ways to to support our teachers during this season. So yeah, that's kind of all in the in the my mind right now. Kind of where you are right now. Yeah. Um, but the second semester can always seem like a gosh, just a sprint to the finish line. Yeah. Right. You come back from break, then you you know you have milestones and you have a lot of things that that that you're just kind of looking forward to in the second semester. And to to be able to encourage and challenge teachers and to motivate them to to finish this year well is is always kind of my mind and my heart.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. That's awesome.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00All right. Great, Dr. Dr. Han. A few short answer questions. Great. Was there a teacher in your life that had a really profound impact?
SPEAKER_02Yes. Um, my ESOL teacher, Miss Mary Alice Fletcher. Um she was the first person to to see me, to, to love me, embrace me. Uh, she was my first teacher when I uh immigrated from Korea to the States. Um, and I did not know very much English at the time. Yeah. And uh she really saw uh the my potential and really poured into me. And um she became more than uh a teacher figure. In fact, she was uh the first person whom I called when I was going to propose to my wife. And uh just the first person that I share the good news to. So like yeah, teachers make a huge difference in in people's lives, and I think I'm a a perfect a testimony to that. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. That's a great story. Yeah. Um what is your favorite hobby outside of outside of your work?
SPEAKER_02Oh, yeah. Um I love watching baseball. Um I I think I'm a fan and a student of the game. Um, but I think just man, we are so blessed in in Atlanta to have such great trails nearby. So um I think going on nice little walks with my wife has been uh a really good hobby for us.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and and and hopefully rejuvenating, as you were referring to earlier. Okay. Um how about either a classical or historical figure that has that has meant something to you or who has meant something to you?
SPEAKER_02Oh wow. Um I I I mean, like when I've read the works of the Nicomachian ethics by Aristotle, life changing. Um but I I really do think that a part of maybe this is recency biased, but um like the Martin Luther King and and what he has what he stood for and what he means to um not only the the citizens of Atlanta, but citizens of of America in pursuing you know freedom, liberty for for all, rights for all, um is is is uh yeah very impactful for me. Uh like I said, I think it's a pretty recency bias. And we've had a great MLK ceremony, so I'll go with that. All right, that's a great answer.
SPEAKER_00Okay. Um in this age of distraction where we've got digital messaging flowing at us seemingly from every different direction, how do you cope with that and how how well are you doing with managing that?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's a great question. Um I I think this is where this idea of orto amoris, right, the ordering of affections, why this is so important in our work, is that we are teaching our students and showing them what is worthy of their thoughts and worthy of their attention, of their minds, right? What should occupy your mind because the reality is that there are 10,000 things at war and trying to take your attention away from you, and I think showing them what is beautiful, right? That's that's our our our one of our pledges to I will I will love them beautiful, I will love the beautiful, and showing them what is beautiful things, what ought to occupy your mind is so important. So therefore, like you have to make it a a a habit, a a part of who you are to pursue beautiful things because outside of that, because if you don't make that a part of who you are, then you're right. You are going to get sucked in and swept into the 10,000 things that are trying to uh yeah compete.
SPEAKER_00Compete. Yeah, that's great. All right. Um, let's give uh a little bit of advice to parents, if you will. So, what what are things that parents can do to most effectively partner with their school?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's a great question. Um and I I I'm a firm believer that parents are the primary character educators of their children, and that at schools we have the privilege of coming alongside their child children in this journey of developing them into knowledgeable virtuous citizens. I think one of the great uh opportunities that that parents have is to be able to kind of speak the same language, I would say. Right. So one of the the beautiful things that that I that I've encourage in my kindergarten parent meetings, for instance, we always end my kindergarten parent meetings I by assigning them homework. And one of the things that I love asking them to do is like you, I want you to feel empowered as parents to know that you are shaping their character, but in this young, very formidable years, like one of the ways that you could do that is uh bring these virtues to life. Concretize them. You know, in uh the mind of a five, six year old kindergartner, I mean, what is courtesy? What is self government really? So abstract. But make it come alive to them. So I tell them this this these silly stories of when students do. End up in the principal's office for the wrong reasons. One of the things that I love doing is I will always ask the kid to tell me what happened, and then I will pause and I will say, Okay, little Johnny, I'm gonna pretend like I'm you, and I want you to see how I would have responded in your case and to show them a real life example of that's how you practice self-government. Even at that moment where uh little Sally was getting on your nerves, here's how you can respond. Now you show me, right? So I think uh I love asking parents to to partner with us in talking about virtues as a way of life in the life of the in the family, and then loving hearing uh testimonies about how they said, um, you know, my little child told me that uh that I was not practicing self-government or patience or whatever it is. But like I want virtue to be just really infiltrated to every aspect of a child's life.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, because there's great happiness on the other end of that. That's right. That's right. That's awesome. Uh okay. Uh finally, uh some advice to aspiring teachers. What do you hope that an aspiring teacher will study in college and what can they do to prepare themselves to be a great teacher in a classical school?
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Um I think now I can say the advice that I would offer is to kind of twofold. Be a lover of great books, be a part of the the discussion of the great thoughts amongst the great thinkers of our tradition, and really dive deep into that world, right? And and like that that intellect your own intellectual pursuit, that hunger, I think that needs to come. I also think that having um a sense of belonging in community is so important. I I think when you look back to even our teachers, their experience and what they can say is the kind of the sustaining source of strength for them has been this community, right? So I would encourage, like have that community early on when you come into a new school, cling on to um a community group where you are, you know, sharing time outside of work hours. And I I think that is just so important for your own sanity. Um, but to to make sure that you have people that you are kind of walking this journey together, um, I think it's just so pertinent to this work.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00That's great. Well, Dr. Han, thank you so much for coming in and talking with me today. It has been really encouraging, I mean, inspiring to me to just listen to you speak of your work and what's going on at Atlanta Classical, for your your love for our students, for your love for your colleagues over there. Um, it's it's really, really inspiring. And I hope that this podcast will inspire others to learn more about our work generally at our schools, also Liberty Classical Schools. Um, if anything you've heard today has piqued your interest, I would encourage you to read more. You can go to Liberty Classical Schools.org. And again, Dr. Hunt, thank you so much for joining us. Um I just final thoughts, you know, as a as a as a father who's raised uh kids who've been through these programs, you know, you you you know how important it is at some certain point in the lives of your kids that they look outside of the family and are confronted with adults like you who have their best interest in mind. And it's, you know, the kind of thing that many parents pray for or ought to be praying for, that in those moments that their kids will be surrounded by people who are going to give them great guidance, great encouragement, you know, li uh live out the wisdom that we hope that they would imbue in their lives. And you're that kind of person, and I mean that sincerely. And it's just been an honor for me to kind of watch your career over the last 11 years and to see the impact that you're having, both on our faculty and staff members across the K 12 spectrum, yeah, but most certainly also on our students. So I just want to thank you for that. Thank you. So all right, that's it for today. We'll see you next time. Take care.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00Awesome. All right.