The Liberty Show
A podcast by Liberty Classical Schools
The Liberty Show
Why Music Is Essential to a Child’s Education | Bryan Franklin
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
What is education really for?
In this episode of The Liberty Show, Matthew Kirby sits down with Bryan Franklin, Director of Fine Arts at Atlanta Classical Academy, to explore the role of music in shaping not just the mind, but the heart.
Together, they walk through what classical education looks like in practice, including a live classroom-style lesson using Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 “From the New World.” Along the way, they discuss how music connects to history, imagination, and the formation of young people.
This conversation goes beyond curriculum. It gets at something deeper.
- Why music and the arts are essential, not optional
- How great teachers bring subjects to life
- What it means to cultivate wonder in students
- Why education should aim at forming meaningful lives
If you care about education, culture, or the development of the next generation, this episode is for you.
About the Guest
Bryan Franklin serves as Director of Fine Arts at Atlanta Classical Academy, where he has taught since the school’s founding. He leads a flourishing arts program and is known for bringing music, history, and imagination together in the classroom.
Learn more about Liberty Classical Schools:
https://libertyclassicalschools.org
👍 If you enjoyed this conversation, consider subscribing for more episodes of The Liberty Show.
Welcome to the Liberty Show, where we talk about American classical education and invite you to join us in our work of improving the moral and intellectual character of the next generation. My name is Matthew Kirby. I'm the CEO of Liberty Classical Schools, and I'm your host. At Liberty Classical Schools, we exist to launch and support a network of American classical schools that are organized and emphasize virtuous living, traditional learning, and civic responsibility. Would love for you to read more about us at Liberty Classical Schools.org. Well, you know, everybody knows that's paying attention to schools, that the heart of a school are the teachers. And today I have the opportunity to interview a person who has been one of the very best teachers in our flagship school, Atlanta Classical Academy. And that person is Mr. Brian Franklin. Mr. Franklin has served as our fine arts director and also our head basketball coach and has taught music uh since our founding back in 2014. I want to tell you a little bit about Mr. Franklin. I'm going to spend a little extra time on this introduction today because I just think he is he is worthy of uh of the praise and uh and and inspiring to to learn about, and uh because I hope it sort of sets in the minds of our listeners, our viewers here of the kind of teachers that we're trying to attract to Liberty Classical Schools schools, because I think Brian very much exemplifies the kind of leadership uh that we're looking for in so many ways. But Mr. Franklin is a native of Swannanoa, North Carolina, and he holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Performance from Appalachian State University. He also has a Master's of Divinity from Mercer McAfee School of Theology. In the decade after college, Mr. Franklin went on to perform as a professional opera singer across the United States, worked in opera, and also did some large concert works. Mr. Franklin has an absolutely booming voice, which is uh much to be admired. He left his singing career uh for business for a few years so that he could be closer to his wife and his growing family. He later returned to be the interim worship leader at Wayuca Baptist Church, and there he realized of his passion for teaching and for music and for inspiring young people, which is exactly what he's done now for over 12 years at Atlanta Classical Academy. I want to share a couple of quotes about him that sort of paint the picture of the kind of human being that he is. The first one says that meeting Mr. Franklin is enough to know that he cares deeply about the students he teaches and the things that he teaches them. Mr. Franklin had a profound impact on me, this student says, during my time at ACA. He not only inspired in me a deep love of music, but also constantly encouraged me as a soccer player, teaching me to train my voice in the same way that one trains for a sport. That's great. Another person says, Mr. Franklin has a go-forthness about him. He is someone who leans forward in his ideas and hopes and he wants to take everyone with him. He is equally a dreamer and a doer. He is long-suffering in his vision for the school, and he is patient to see programs come to fruition. He is well familiar with the arc of a student's development, and he patiently holds out a vision for them. He sincerely hopes that each of his students will build a happy life. Well, that is indeed the aim of American classical education, and there's no one better to learn about that from than my guest today, who is Mr. Brian Franklin. Hope you enjoy our conversation. Well, Mr. Franklin, let's just jump right in. It's awesome to see you. Thank you for coming over here. It's a beautiful Friday in the spring of 2026, and I can't think of anything I'd rather do for the next hour or so than just talk to you about classical education and your experience.
SPEAKER_00Thank you for having me. I uh it's uh it is a beautiful day outside. Uh at the school, we're in April coming into May, which is the crunch time. Exciting things are happening, but also the uh the year is sitting on us, so uh I'm looking forward to this conversation.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Me too. Me too. Um we have some fun around school. You know, I understand uh my son, who's a senior, spent the night on campus last night. Yeah. And I think they've got some shenanigans going on as part of their senior festivities, uh, but it's all the culmination of a lot of years of hard work and uh excited for them.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, as an experienced teacher, I know not to venture to the high school, especially when I knew I was coming here, otherwise I would have gotten wet and who knows what else. Uh you know, they have a giant slip and slide out there. Yes, they take over the whole quad there at the high school with a lot of different little pranks, and it's it's a lot of fun. It's great to see them just having fun together and just uh and how they want they want so desperately for the teachers to get involved. And uh so I I remain, I stayed away today. I could see it from afar, but it looked like a balloon arch, uh, looked like Mr. Shep's car got booted.
SPEAKER_03Oh, nice. Okay.
SPEAKER_00So a lot of different things were happening down there last night. It was great. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Well, uh not what I expected to start with, but I think it's kind of fun. It's fun that, you know, to remember we talk about uh important, weighty, lofty ideas. We take all this stuff quite seriously, but we don't take ourselves too seriously, and we have fun and there's a lot of laughter and joy in what we're doing. And you know, as a parent who's now been through this a couple of times, where you got a you know, a senior who's finishing the program and you just come to see the beauty of the of the entire sequence and of the friendships and of the relationships that develop and how they even change here at the very end when these seniors walk across the stage and they're sort of accepted by the faculty as friends. It's it's a beautiful thing. Yeah. And it's enduring. And these memories will carry them into the future. They'll never they'll never forget them. It's kind of great.
SPEAKER_00It is. It's uh you know, you s begin to see that change, especially with the senior thesis project wrapping up a little earlier. You it it actually um gives them longer, I think, to feel a little bit relaxed, to really s live in these last few moments, last few months together. It really is a beautiful thing to see even their bonds grow closer as they're realizing the end is coming. And so it um I don't want to say forces, but they used their they're growing deeper in their friendships and acknowledgement that their time's about to end. But like as you said, that all that's been built over years of being in class together, wrestling with really challenging conversations about what it means to be human.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Uh and I think that that opens the door for them to really uh grow in that way. And it is beautiful, and it will go all the way up until graduation with uh, you know, their trip to Chattanooga is a beautiful trip. The last lecture, which I think is a beautiful evening, uh, and their last reading of Brothers uh Karamazov, all those things just lead up to this really beautiful uh ending of their time with us.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. It's special. Well, let's back up a little bit. Let's talk about you, maybe say a little bit about your history at Atlanta Class School and what are your current responsibilities these days.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I was thinking about this driving uh over here today. I uh joined Atlanta Class School. Uh, I believe I was hired in May before the school opened in 2014. And at that time, I was hired to teach kindergarten and first grade music and seventh and eighth grade music, as well as lead our our first choir, I think, of four young ladies, uh is where we where we began in 2014. And uh a few years after that, we um created a role of director of fine arts, which I uh was blessed to be able to step into. And our fine arts department has flourished tremendously over these last 12 years. Um, it's uh it's a beautiful uh thing for me to look back and just see how personally I've grown. And I think that's one of the things, and not to jump ahead, that I love about ACA is it challenges me as a person, uh uh the kind of person I want to be, not just teacher I want to be or professional I want to be, but just even at the heart of who I am. It's challenged a lot of things I used to believe, uh, to rethink those things. And I remember coming from um a small town in North Carolina with uh a father who was a factory worker and my mom an assistant school teacher. And growing up in an area that was that was um economically challenged, having pretty fierce debates about music with my mother who really pushed that with me. And I was like, I don't know if music education is what we should be doing in schools. We've got these students, especially in our area, that just struggle to meet basic reading and math. And like, can we really be uh dedicating time to music and art when these things are lacking so much? And that was a really thing that I felt pretty strongly about and had said if, you know, whenever my singing career stopped, I would did not want to teach and and actually I went away from music. I went into banking for a little bit. Uh but at the encouragement of my wife, which I'm so grateful for, uh, applied for this position, thinking it would just be a temporary as I was transitioning uh in some other areas of my life and just fell in love with it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And the school has just opened my eyes and my heart to understand that music and art are essential to a child's development and essential to a child's growth in uh becoming the the fullness of who they can become. Uh it really sets the foundation for them. And I see that every single day with our students. Uh, and that's something I also kind of just wrestle with. Uh it's just like this idea of a person's disposition. And I think art and music impact that. And I'm still wrestling with to what degree, but it definitely opens up the mind to the heart to receive the type of education that we are providing. So I've had a pretty 180 shift on uh going from music and art are nice to have to believing it's essential to the formation of of our young people.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. No, that's beautiful. Well, you've played a lot of roles. You've been you've been a teacher, you've been fine arts director, um, you're also have been our head basketball coach.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_03So there's, you know, you're you're you're sort of the quintessential um you know, classical man that does it all and uh contributes in so many ways there. And I think you're an excellent model for our kids to see that they can incorporate those things um you know into their lives. And I think you've been such an incredible role model and encouragement, I know to my own children, and so I'm I'm personally grateful to that, but just to so many at Atlanta Classical. All right, well, we've touched on this a little bit already, but I want you to um, you know, speak to our audience a little bit, may not be as familiar with our schools, may not be as familiar with classical education. Um but don't rush it here. But how how how would you describe our schools? What are our schools like?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I find this to be a an easy question and challenging question because I I it's it's I'm gonna use a word again, this nuanced idea. Uh about you know, we about how we view an education. And some people would say, well, that's how we view it as well, or that's how I see that they view it. But I think that what sets us apart is the end that we're aiming for. What is it that we are hoping our education will lead our students towards? And it's not the end of uh college acceptance, while that's a thing worth shooting for and needed. It's not a certain career path or success in financial terms, but I think it is truly living a life of meaning. Uh being a contributor to our society, uh being a good citizen is the aim of what our education is shooting for. And in that way, and this is where I kind of struggle, is I but I see it, and so I'm just speaking for what I have witnessed. Our teachers take very seriously this project. Uh and they they believe in our mission very seriously, and they believe that their subject helps fuel that mission. And so our teachers are love their subjects uh and also love the opportunity to share that with their students and try to maybe even uh infect or uh encourage them to have that same love, whether it be literature or history or science. So it's really uh quite a treat to watch our teachers talk about their subjects. Uh and they're so knowledgeable. Like our teachers are constantly learning and asking questions and doing I don't even like professional development sometimes for me seems like it's a box you check.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_00But when I watch our teachers do it, it's like they are doing it for growth.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Not just professionally, but personally, and because they love this thing. It's a legitimate curiosity. It is a legitimate curiosity. That's right. And so I think that's maybe the number one thing. I think, thank you for saying that. I I think our teachers across the board demonstrate curiosity and and are great question askers. Uh and so I think that is something that really for me uh stands out about our school. Uh mentioned that I believe as a school, we're constantly asking the question, how does this serve the mission of our school? We keep the mission really at the forefront to uh develop knowledgeable and virtuous citizens. So we we we make decisions about things all through that lens. And I think that's important too, because as you know probably better than anyone, especially now a school at ACA that's been 12 years, it's easy to begin to lose that mission and keep clarity on that. And and we have at times, but because we do have such a powerful mission, we're able to continue to go back to that and say, does this match what we're trying to do?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And so those are a couple of things. Uh, but I also think that this the cross-curricular connections are, and we'll I think we're going to demonstrate that in a minute. Uh, our teachers are always talking to each other across departments. How do we connect uh what you're learning and what you're teaching into my subject? And so a a student could definitely walk into a history or literature class and get a math question or an art question. And I think that's unique. Uh and I think that uh I'm kind of jumping around here just as all these thoughts are kind of coming to us, but you know, I know that we've had a debate around this idea of rigor. And I think that that's a word that gets sometimes misconstrued a little bit. And I think our school, we wrestle with that appropriately. We want our school, our academics to be rigorous, but I don't think that we see it in an oppressive way. That it's not, we don't want rigor just one for the sake of rigor, or that we're achieving rigor by assigning this much homework or achieving rigor by moving this quickly. But I think to my earlier point, we want to achieve rigor by asking our students to think deeply about that subject, but also how can you pull the idea from this subject and help that inform?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00That to me is rigorous learning that we're not allowing you to compartmentalize that information, but we're really trying to get you to expand your imagination around these ideas and like how do you pull evidence here to help support your argument?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, it's like it's it's interesting. Yeah, it's it's valuable, it's it's cross-connected. You know, it's kind of all those, all those things. It's con that's what we mean by content rich.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_03And hopefully the best of a thing, too. So that the ideas, the people, the music, the events, the discoveries are you know the the the most worthy of our attention and time.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I love that. Yeah. It's escaping me, and so you can probably help me, but the the phrase that we hear a lot around is that we are uh reading or or putting in front of our students the best that's been written or or said in history. For sure. And I and in my subject music, you know, uh in a minute we're going to talk about it, but uh the seventh grade, seventh and eighth grade music curriculum is just dynamic.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00It just leads us into so many deep and wonderful conversations, even at seventh and eighth grade. And I, you know, if I went on the street and said, hey, I'm teaching a seventh grader the whole symphony from the new world by Devorzjak, they would look at me like I was crazy. Uh, like, how do you get their attention? It's so easy though, when you bring them into that conversation, when you spark their curiosity, their imagination. And that that I think that was one of the things that just sold me on our school from the very beginning is that we want to to um uh enliven, we want to uh grow a sense of wonder. Um you know, and it's one thing that I just am so grateful for is just personally uh having a sense of wonder just about the world around us. And I hope that for our students is that when they're 60, they're still in awe of our country, our world, uh, and just of literature. Um because I just think that that just brings that just makes life so dynamic, uh, this idea of wonder.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Well, you know, having visited your classroom many times, I know that uh, you know, I mean a couple of things jump out. It's hard for the visitor to know immediately if they're in a music class or a history class. I mean, eventually it kind of is clear that okay, we're we're studying music here, but you do such a beautiful job of sort of, you know, incorporating the story of the music, the meaning of the music, the the the context in which it was developed. It, you know, it's fascinating. And the other thing, and I mean I'm just sharing this as a model of of what we uh hope our all of our teachers will do is you you bring such an enthusiasm and such an energy about the about the thing that you're by your your your tone and your body language even, you're you're telling these kids pay attention. This is worthy of your attention, this is important, you know, hang with me here, watch this. I mean, it's just it's um and I do think that it sort of you know, it's your love and enthusiasm for the content, for how it shaped you, um for the potential that it holds in the hearts and minds of the kids. Like it's it starts with the teacher. It starts with, I mean, it's certainly it's it's the love of the content paired with that, you know, that it that enthusiasm that I think you know uh s sparks and opens up the hearts of our of our kids. Well, maybe now is as good a time as any to to do a little bit of that. I was kind of hoping we've we've um in these interviews and we we often talk about classical education and it's um we can put words to it, but I think even better would be to kind of do it and try to demonstrate it. So I think we're gonna try to do that. And I uh you know, just to kind of I'll let you set this up for us. Um but I think we've got the technology ready to share a little bit of music and and maybe how'd you tell us about this piece and where do our kids engage with it and then you know lead us through a little lesson here.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So we're uh actually just taught this piece just a few minutes ago before I drove over here. We're studying this currently in our seventh grade. I usually save it toward the end of seventh grade as it leads us into uh uh a unit on American music. And that was the whole purpose of this piece is to create a musical identity for America. So this is uh Dvorjak Symphony number nine, symphony from the new world. Uh and so maybe I'll put you on the spot a little bit here. All right. But uh it's uh as you said, I think it is trying to uh one of the things that I try to do with music is is take it out of the abstract, which I think that's one of the challenges for young listeners and new listeners, is it may even be beautiful sound, but it's just a lot and it's complex, especially classical music. So how do we get it to be tangible? How do we get there to be some imagination happening and some something that's a little bit that we can hold on to? So I think that a lot of times comes out of the story from where the piece came. So this uh piece was premiered in 1893, and 1892 Dvorzak, a Czech Republic, uh Czech composer, was brought to America to be the director of our National Conservatory and to create this musical identity for America. And there's uh where we begin to talk about what led to this. So in 1892, what are where are we as a country?
SPEAKER_03Well, we're post-Civil War.
SPEAKER_00And out of civil war, what is happening, especially in the North?
SPEAKER_03Um Well, there's a lot of integration. There's a lot of immigration. There's a lot of people coming to the country that are new. And we're sort of figuring out how to live with each other in a new season.
SPEAKER_00Yes. And especially again up up north, and the reason why there was so much immigration happening is because there was what period is A lot of industrialism? Industrialization is seeing a huge boom here, especially in the North through Reconstruction. And this is a period of time in which some of the famous families that we hear about are earning their wealth, the Rockefellers, the Carnegies, the Vanderbilts. And so we kind of set the stage there. And we talk about in the 1880s before our piece, some of the most iconic institutions in New York were being created. The Metropolitan Opera was created during this period of time. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Public Library System, Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Gardens. I mean, all these iconic institutions were being created during this period of time. And most of them, I'll quiz you again. I'm putting you on the spot. Is that okay?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I thought, yeah, I'll do my best.
SPEAKER_00Metropolitan Opera, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Public Library, all fall into kind of what category of institution?
SPEAKER_03Well, fine arts.
SPEAKER_00Fine arts. Civic, public. Civic, civic, public institutions. And in America, which is we get a little bit into this conversation, our most of our civic institutions and art institutions are funded by Well, sometimes publicly, but usually phil philanthropy.
SPEAKER_03Trevor Burrus, Jr.
SPEAKER_00Through philanthropy. Yeah. But through private means, either through private foundations or from private people, not through the government. I mean, maybe a little bit, but but especially in that period of time. It was private citizens that were funding all these institutions that were uh serving the greater good. And the one that really sticks out to me is this the idea of the public library. I mean, what a beautiful gift to a city to allow uh books and reading to be available to the whole public for free. What a I think that that that one always kind of hits me. It's like that that's a was a beautiful idea. I remember going to Dr. Roth, uh one of our classics teachers, and just talking to him about this word of philanthropy. Uh and it, you know, it comes from uh the Greek um uh language and and and this their I they had this idea of philanthropy uh in their society as well, uh love of brother, love of humanity. Uh and I think that that continues, but America takes that to a different level. Uh and I think that's evidenced here in all these institutions being created that we are we are giving of this wealth. I believe, and I could be wrong here, uh Carnegie gave 95% of his wealth to civic institutions and organizations. Now I know people listening to this podcast may say, well, there's another there's some other to the story, which I can understand, but I think it's just a beautiful thing that we see individuals giving contributing to the public good. Contributing to the public good. But uh and maybe this was a selfish uh need as well that they had, but it still served a great purpose. And and that's why Divorce Act came, is they they wanted to be coming out of the Civil War, they're saying, okay, we need to um become a mature, if you will, country. We need to begin to uh put ourselves on the world stage uh with you know France and England. We need to develop a sense of a cultural identity. And and so that's the reasons for the museums and the and the metropolitan opera, and that's the reason for this piece, is to say, hey, here's we are now uh a world, uh uh a country on the world stage. Here's what our music sounds like. Dvorjak would go later on, you can see uh influences, Irish influences. Uh he studied uh with the student, he had a study, uh, excuse me, a student at the National Conservatory, his name was Harry T. Berlay, who introduced him to the spiritual tradition. Um and Dvorjak later would say that the the America's musical identity would come out of the melting pot that was becoming that would be influenced by all of these sounds coming together to eventually create something new.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um and I think that he was correct in that as we see our music progress into the future. And so I always start a lesson, and I don't, you know, maybe this is not my best essential question, but um, we always start with a lesson that's tied to our piece. And the this uh the essential question for this piece is can things that are borrowed be put together to create something we would consider new? Can things that are borrowed, can ideas that are borrowed, take a little here, a little here, a little here, put it together and claim that I created something new. So that's kind of where we start. What do you what do you think about that?
SPEAKER_03Can well I think all developers, all artists, all craftsmen do that. They they take raw materials of various types and uh maybe uh add value to them, reassemble them, reconstitute them for a purpose that is different and either better or higher than the base material. So and you know, of course, I'm thinking about this also in the context you've already set this piece up a little bit, and we've been talking you know, the the notion of where America was in terms of emigration at that time period and aspirations for cultural development and so forth. And indeed, we're bringing people here from all over the world. And so I suppose that is the American experiment in many, in many respects.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_03You know, from the from the many one. So I don't know if that's kind of where you're headed with it, but that's what comes to mind when you ask that.
SPEAKER_00I think we you know and and so that the question comes out of the fact that Dvor Jack he does he does create some new music, but he definitely pulls sounds from all these different areas and is saying that that is what the new the Americans identity, musical identity will be. And so my question to the students did he create our American identity, our musical identity?
SPEAKER_03Yeah. But we can uh contributed to it, maybe.
SPEAKER_00Contributed, yeah, contributed to it. Yeah. But that's how we start our lesson. Then we go into the history that we kind of already uh went through about just getting them to understand the world. And the the the thing that I um I don't think we'll make it that far into our recording, but the the thing that that I want them to try to imagine is like New York City as an immigrant uh coming into America with all of these institutions being built. That's not to mention housing and businesses. Also the the ability to build skyscrapers was uh uh innovated during this period of time. Like what was New York like? You know, loud, chaotic, a little intense, probably. Yeah, yeah. And so we'll try to get them to imagine that because that's what Deborzette's trying to give to the world. Here is a picture of how I see America. But let's go ahead and listen, and I think we're gonna listen to the first 24 seconds.
SPEAKER_02Okay, great.
SPEAKER_00And I'm gonna ask you to well let's let's we may listen to it twice. The first time, I'm gonna ask you technically what you're hearing in the music, like what instruments stick out, all right. What's the tempo, the dynamics? Okay, because that's gonna fuel our imagination.
SPEAKER_03Great.
SPEAKER_00All right. Can we play that, please? You know, and this is something I I think that I'll kind of go back to an earlier question. Uh, you know, for me, the way that classical education is structured really lends itself to meeting the student where they are in their development process. And what I mean by that is I early on, you know, we want to just you know, kids love memorizing things. You know, they they thirst for just give me some facts, right? And that's you know, that grammar stage where we're just really getting the foundations in, the knowledge into them.
SPEAKER_03And the mind is so receptive to it if that's the same.
SPEAKER_00It's so receptive to that. And but and the thing that I kind of go back and forth sometimes with artists, sometimes out there, artists want to start sort of with a blank slate and just create. And I push back on that because I think it's, you know, while we do have an imagination, while we do have a natural curiosity, I think what even fuels that even more is when we supply knowledge to that. And that's kind of what I am trying to get my seventh and eighth graders to do is not just like kind of like uh imagine anything, but we're gonna have the music inform our picture a little bit. So I know I just I hope you remember some of what we heard there. Yeah. What do we hear at 24 seconds? Do you the last thing we hear?
SPEAKER_03The last thing we hear to me is is reminiscent or uh evokes the sense of uh some sort of a call. Okay. I mean, you've got a very peaceful, um, flowing um strings section there to open the piece. Yep. It's very calm and peaceful.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_03And um I'm I'm trying to not read in what I already know about it, but I think that is kind of what you hear.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And then there's a little bit of a shift. There's an introduction to I don't know if it's the French horn precisely, but there's a the trombone right there, yeah. That comes in uh with a little bit of a with an alarm, not to say an alarm, but there's a change of pace and a and a call to pay attention. Something is about to happen.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03It's sort of an awakening from that peaceful moment that we had there for the first few seconds. And we're entering a transition. Yes, yeah. We need to keep our eyes open for what's coming next, right? Kind of thing.
SPEAKER_00I'm gonna put you on the spot here, but you've you've said a thing, I want to just flesh out the uh the picture just a little bit. So you already noticed that we start with just the strings until we get the the brass call there. What's the dynamic? The dynamic we can we can stick with generate word loud, soft, what would you say? Well, it's it's pretty soft. Pretty soft, right? Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Very soft there at the beginning.
SPEAKER_00Tempo, fast, slow, slow. Slow, right? Yep. And so let's and then so with our class, we would definitely go into a little bit more terminology there. We would say, you know, probably largo, just very slow moving. Then we would talk about the the dynamics, probably piano, right? Not not imperceptible, pianissimo, but and but piano. Uh and then how are they playing? Well, they're playing, you said smooth, connected, legato. So those are kind of the three words I'm looking for. Like we recognize this is strings playing, we recognize it's largo, we recognize it's quiet or soft, mezzo piano or piano, and they're playing very smoothly. Now, now let's see if we can create a picture out of that, an image. Now, you did say that this uh horn sounds like some sort of warning or call. Now, what could that be? What could that be? What what might okay? Let's go back to our grassroots, right? We've talked about immigration's kind of a big deal here.
SPEAKER_03Well, you said Dvorjak came into New York City. So I'm definitely thinking a little bit of that approach to Ellis Island. I don't know if that's exactly where we're going, but could be that you know we're entering the harbor there. Aaron Ross Powell, Jr.
SPEAKER_00Entering the harbor, sorry to be, but sometimes I have to go this like this like blade like on in on uh by what means? Well, on a ship. On a boat. There we go, on a boat. Yeah. And so maybe 24 is what? The the horn is the arrival of the arrival, the blare of the ship's horn, right? You could I mean that's presumable. Could be. Right. This is you know, and that you know, the Voorzak does not say that. The Voorzak taught Senate things. Uh uh, one of his favorite things to do when he was in New York was to go to the harbor and watch the uh big ships come in. He doesn't say that, but for me, uh teaching Seventh eighth grades, I I need to get them to see the music.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00You know, that's how I get them to kind of connect. Uh but I think it's very plausible. It seems, I mean, that that 24 sounds a lot like a ship horn to me or some sort of horn. Uh the last thing I try to g get them, you know, we've already said it's soft, it's slow, we can see that ship drifting in. Just to give a little bit more detail to the painting, what time of day would you put it at? And I don't think there's a right or wrong. Well, I there is kind of a wrong answer here, but huh.
SPEAKER_03Well, I I I think it's like morning.
SPEAKER_00Morning. Or the other one that could be plausible would be Well, it could be evening. Evening, right? Probably not midday, right? Right. Probably not midday, just how it's soft and slowly floating into the harbor, right? Uh so it kind of sets that up there a little bit. I'm gonna throw a curveball uh here. Uh I don't know if you could you just let it play just a little bit more. Right because we're gonna hear a repeat of this. So we have the strings play that. Can you? So I'll talk over this a little bit. We're having a repeat, but what's changed here?
SPEAKER_03It's a little higher.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's higher because he's added what?
SPEAKER_03Maybe some is that a flute?
SPEAKER_00The woodwinds. Yep. Now here's what I want you to listen to. We we can stop it there. That kind of so that beautiful picture in an instant gets ripped away.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And how would you describe that music?
SPEAKER_03Oh man, it's frantic. It's uh it's bold. It's uh it's a it's an it's a exciting change from the peacefulness of seconds before. You know.
SPEAKER_00And this again, I'm I'm just, you know, the Voorge Act doesn't say that. I'm just trying to help the students see something here. And and and but but not that's out of left field, like you can't tell me that uh they took a trip to Mars here, right? We it's got to make sense into our historical context. So just on your knowledge, right? Okay, let's keep going with this uh immigrant story coming to America. That's pretty jolting, right? Very. What could that represent?
SPEAKER_03Well, I mean, th this is the the the walking off the brow of the ship onto the onto the land. You've been at sea for a while, you've had this peaceful morning approach to the harbor, perhaps. I'm definitely bringing in my own Navy experience here a little bit. Yeah. But you you know, you kind of pull in and and I can imagine, especially for an immigrant who's got to go through that check-in process and the arrival and you know things we've seen in other in other stories, um, very disorienting, I would imagine.
SPEAKER_00That's a great word, disorienting. Yes.
SPEAKER_03Just because it goes from you your your the safety and the comfort of where you've been to all of a sudden this frenetic new place that's probably there's probably not a lot of friendly, kind welcomes waiting for you, but more of just a whole bunch of activity and and yeah, an unsettling welcome.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And some of our students have uh traveled to New York, but you mentioned the place earlier. I want to bring that place out. That this could very much be the immigrants coming or getting off the boat onto Ellis Island. Ellis Island, right? Yeah. Where if you visit Ellis Island, you will see like it was traumatic for a lot of, you know, uh maybe uh very few people speak the language you're speaking. Maybe you don't know if they're going to let you in, uh, maybe because uh, you know, we see some stories about people who had contracted illness coming over and they had to be quarantined. I mean, all kinds of things. And like you said, just like thousands of people coming off this boat, trying to go through all the lines and luggage and all these things that made that moment probably pretty chaotic, intense, unnerving, disorienting, all those words that you said there. You know, I think there's uh so we I have that picture. The the other, I think, plausible one that I think students can run with would be their setting foot for the first time in New York City, uh, Manhattan. And like we said, all the building going on, all the chaos, um, meetings and pretty intense moments there. Yeah. So that's a little example of what we do in class. That's beautiful. Uh we take our time. It's great. Uh and I think that's uh is a beautiful thing. I think that'll probably give this answer in a minute to a to a question I think you're going to ask about teaching at ACA. I couldn't imagine teaching music at very many other schools uh because music and art are so important to our curriculum. Uh and we demonstrate by that by the time that we have been that we devote to those classes. So I uh in seventh grade, we've organized this a little differently. I will see a student every day uh for a whole semester. And that's what affords me the opportunity to do this.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Uh and I'm grateful for that.
SPEAKER_03And couldn't I like it to be like the equivalent of a close read in literature, you have the freedom and the flexibility and the time to really sink your teeth into a piece.
SPEAKER_00And I have and and and I have colleagues, you know, that uh in K-5 education, they see their students one time a week, maybe, maybe sometimes once every 10 days. You know, they just they just they would love to, I think. I think they're uh but they just the time does not allow for it. And then the fact that that seventh and eighth grade, you know, it's no longer like in a middle school setting, it's an elective, they're doing band or choir if they want to continue music. We offer that, but they also are required to take this music appreciation class. So I have seventh and eighth graders that are beginning to be able to have these conversations. Um so that's a real treat and a real gift.
SPEAKER_03Gosh, and one they'll have for a lifetime. Yeah. It's the foundation on which to continue the study and the enjoyment of the music for their lifetime. That's very beautiful.
SPEAKER_00I think every teacher would say there's nothing warms your heart more than when a student visits or something and they say, Hey, I remember that piece or I remember this thing that you taught us. And so I I do think that they hold on to some of these things uh for a long time. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Well, I do I do want to shift to teachers in a minute, but maybe before that, um speaking of students, can you can you think of students that have really been impacted impacted by your music program and for whom you know they've really uh uh enjoyed uh a positive shift in the trajection of their academic life or their lives?
SPEAKER_00Aaron Powell Yeah, I don't know if the one that one immediately came to mind, and it's a new one for me. Um I don't know he was already a positive student, so I'm not saying but Caleb Dye just comes to mind. Um, he uh was interested in music, and we went through several different instruments for him to try, and he was very nervous about singing, but really um was willing and definitely in high school joined the choir. Uh we have a program called the Coffee House, and that's a a comfortable venue for a student to try out solo singing and allows them to sing music that they are a little bit more uh enjoy. He tried that, and then uh his senior year did one of the lead roles in our musical and then later went on to school. Uh and Ivory League School, by the way. Yeah. Minored in music. I don't know if he finished that minor, but definitely kept music going. That was a really big part of his uh time um there uh at school. And now uh he is teaching music or will be teaching music next year at uh Vertex, a school that we have a uh somewhat of a partnership with. And uh we our select our fine arts program visited Vertex, and we had this wonderful afternoon with them. And Caleb had prepared their choir and our choir joined together, and it was just a really cool full circle moment to see this student. This is a school in the Bronx. This is a school in the Bronx. Uh that and so it's really cool to see uh Caleb and this like really, like I said, full circle moment of of just really going through, trying to find the thing that he loved and and wanted to do for him to overcome some fear and. Some nervousness around putting himself out there like that. And now he's a songwriter. He's written several songs that are really good. And so I'm really proud of Caleb. His buddy, I think, has a similar story. Zalagrianto went and he sang uh with the Boston College, University choir, and uh just tremendous. Uh I mean, your daughter, I think, has had a huge impact. She wrote our graduation song, and that's fresh of mind as we've been talking about as we're coming up with a graduation. I don't think there's a school in the country that has a more meaningful graduation song than we do. It is absolutely beautiful. So it's just been great. I mean, there's maybe just more than I can even. I know I'm leaving, you know, we have Miss Bangler now back at school, and she is now leading our theater department, and she was in our first ever musical. Just so many uh students that I think were definitely uh inspired by our music program to step out of their comfort zone. Yeah. And I think that's the beautiful thing that that art, music and art can provide is stepping out of the comfort zone, doing something that most people would tell you maybe not to do or wasn't cool to do. Yeah. And learning how, like, hey, sometimes when you ignore that, sometimes when you allow yourself to step out of that, you discover something beautiful about yourself and have meaningful opportunities. Uh and I think that's what our music program does for our students. We provide some pretty cool opportunities. Um It's beautiful.
SPEAKER_03I mean, honestly, I think, Brian, that you know, it's it's because of your leadership in many respects, but it's one of the most endearing elements of our school model, I think, and one that I hope every school that we're associated with will replicate. Because I think you're, you know, of all the things you're doing there, I think it's encouraging participation. And, you know, it's easy to kind of think that, well, you know, sports is that place alone where we sort of build toughness and where we build resilience and where we inspire courage and those things. But no, I I think you do an incredible job. I mean, to put a young, young man, a young lady on a stage in front of their peers and a bunch of parents and teachers and have them perform in some artistic manner, whether it's reciting a poem or playing a song that they wrote, I mean, you talk about courage that's required. It is unbelievable. And then, you know, what you know is that the kids that that that do that have the potential to find something about themselves that they love and then to stick with it, and it can be a positive change in their lives that ultimately rewards a lot of other people too. So I just, man, I I commend you for it, and I just think it's a real strength of our program that we do uh you know invest the time and the energy in in kids around the arts here. So it's incredible. All right. Let's um let's do shift a little bit to teachers. I do want to ask you about that since you mentioned it a few minutes ago. Um maybe maybe stepping back a little bit just sort of generally, we're, you know, part of our audience, we hope, are people that are considering entering the field, you know, coming to work in one of our schools as a as a teacher. Um, what do you think would be some of the best reasons to come uh if you're say an aspiring teacher, maybe maybe you've taught a little bit or maybe you've taught none at all and you're considering your next move. What what would be a good reason to come and teach at one of our classical schools?
SPEAKER_00We'll let it pause there because we're able to splice this, right? Yeah. Can't get some water.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_00And I need to take the time. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Oh yeah. If you need to go, let me know. Oh, you're tight on time?
SPEAKER_00No, uh I probably can uh go to about 120.
SPEAKER_03Okay, all right, all right, we got time. And the question was sort of around teachers and reasons to um you know, reasons to come and teach at one of our schools.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I think I I said it earlier. I think if you're a a person that just loves your subject uh or even loves the opportunity to educate young people, uh the fact that we take that so serious, I think just edifies, it dignifies uh the craft of teaching. And I think that's unique. Whether you're a kindergarten teacher at our school or a 12th grade teacher, we believe that teaching is a craft. It is something to be practiced and to continue to refine. Uh and it's an art as well. It's it's it's an art that we are continuing to pursue, being better at, because we know that when we're better at our job, then that impacts the students that are in our classroom. And so I think that if you're a a teacher that believes those things and aren't isn't looking for a place that just checks boxes, I think that's that's what draw drew me, and I think what draws a lot of teachers that we can be serious about our subjects. Uh and we have uh the classroom environment that allows for that as well. The expectation for our students is that they are respecting their teachers, they're respecting the the subject that we're teaching, and I think that's demonstrated if you come into our classrooms. Uh I think there's a seriousness about learning at our school. And I think if you're a person that that has a heart for education, as I said earlier, and for your subject, I think this is a a place that really can um is a is a great fit for those people. And I think that you mentioned too earlier, it it's like uh sometimes people hear this word seriousness. Uh you know, it's it we have goofy teachers. Uh and uh a lot of our teachers are goofy and they do goofy things all the time. But they're able to to just ebb and flow and they know the appropriate time to be goofy, but then the time to be serious, and and I think that is um comes from the love of the students and the love of their subject. Uh and so I think that's like for me the like a primary reason is just the the the seriousness as at which we uh take educating. It's joyful.
SPEAKER_03I mean ultimately it's joyful.
SPEAKER_00Trevor Burrus, Jr. It is joyful. Right. It is joyful. I mean, that's that's the thing, and uh I'll go ahead and maybe uh you can you can clip this out clip this out if you want to. I'm wrestling with this word fun uh a lot. Yeah. Uh and I'm not a curmudgeon. I'm not I'm not against fun. Uh and I even recognize that there needs to be moments in our life that are fun just superficially. I I understand that. But in a school setting, I think the more we should be shooting for uh a fun, if you will, or and I like that word joy better. That's deeper, that's meaningful, that it comes from that aha moment that, oh, I see that, or I get that now, or that that we are working together as a group of people, teachers and students in whatever grade on something that that means something. It's not frivolous. Right. It's not just just to make you laugh or to make you uh and and that's another thing that I love about our school is that we do have fun, but it is in the pursuit of things that are meaningful. Yeah. You know, we have uh, and that's where I'll be heading now, we have all our ninth and tenth graders singing choir on Friday afternoon. That's crazy. I mean, if I mean no other school would do that. Uh but the thing that that and if you'll come watch it and you if you'll watch our Veterans Day performances, you'll see them. They are engaged and they are singing wholeheartedly, and they are uh because they are doing something meaningful that is above them. They are honoring the veterans at that that ceremony. Uh and our ninth and tenth graders really take that on. I think they understand, like, yes, we're doing something together that is beautiful and is meaningful.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And and so that's I guess another thing. It's uh maybe a caveat or a uh a nuance to serious, is that that we want to find joy with our students through doing meaningful things. Yeah. Having those meaningful discoveries.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Uh and I think another reason is that you'll be supported in this act of teaching that that we desire our teachers to keep reading, to keep learning, to be curious, as as we've already said, because that will just fuel uh that in the classroom. That students know. Students can see right through us. You know, they they know when we're on or when we're invested, and they know that when we're not. Yep. When we truly believe in what we're saying, they they know. And when we don't truly believe it, they they know that as well. And I think that's something you were referring to earlier. Yeah. It's like that enthusiasm is generated by the teacher. And it doesn't have to be like loud and gregarious, like authentic and real.
SPEAKER_03Dr.
SPEAKER_00Roth, Dr. Farmer have uh authentic curiosity and an authentic knowledge. And that that that infuses into their students that's right. This enthusiasm to get to learn from someone who's so knowledgeable.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Uh so I I hope I answered your question.
SPEAKER_03No, that's great. No, I think that's right.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03All right. Um I want to talk to you about Atlanta Classical's approach to celebrating our country's 250th anniversary, the semi-quincentennial year that we're in. What are the plans at Atlanta Classical to celebrate that?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's been it's been a it's been a great year. Uh a couple of years ago, um we and I think this is in the tradition of ACA, storytelling. We I think a c it's I think it's very classical that we pass on stories to the next generation and that we learn about who we are and where we come from through stories. Uh so I think that's very much in our DNA at ACA. And we wanted to continue to move that way in the fine arts. And so when you come to our, I'm uh try not to call them concerts anymore because they're really productions. We are we are telling a story through that concert uh where we are combining art and um drama and and music all together to tell this story. We did a really moving one this past uh December. Our concert fell on uh December 7th, Pearl Harbor. And so we did a remembrance of Pearl Harbor. It was really beautiful. It really was. Uh and really uh yeah, touching. And and so in that kind of light, we're going to hopefully begin to tell the story of America. Uh because I think one of the things that's important is for our students to be able to articulate that, to be a part of the retelling and the telling of it. I think that helps them get ownership of it. And I try to tell people, you know, of course, in an hour concert, we are not going to be able to tell everything or get every angle or every side. Really, this is leading us to a point of reflection and being grateful. Uh and uh so we're going to move through kind of chronologically, uh, starting with our founding, um, and then we'll go into uh uh uh expansion and division with the Civil War, then hit the Gilded Age, hit the Roaring Twenties and the Harlem Renaissance, and then end not with a period of time, but uh courage throughout our history and just honor people who have shown courage uh throughout our history. Uh and that story will be told, as I said, through uh wonderful script that's been written uh and through uh through music and through art that will be displayed as we move through. Really looking forward to that concert. Earlier that day, we moved our all-school art show to be on this day as well, because we're going to have um an American art section uh done by our students. So uh people can come see the art show. Uh I believe it opens at 12 o'clock, starts at 12, runs from 12 to 5. There also will be a lecture uh on Lafayette, which is going to be fantastic. Um is going to be a, I think, a wonderful evening. Uh I always get a little nervous when I say that because um you know, we are dealing with students. We're dealing with students at the end of the school year, and so I'm feeling that pressure to get the music learned and to get uh here.
SPEAKER_03So we have they will rise to the occasion.
SPEAKER_00They always do.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, they always do.
SPEAKER_00But to just uh you know, we have it has the potential to be a really great concert.
SPEAKER_03All right, so say again when it is and where it is.
SPEAKER_00Yes. So May 17th, the lecture starts at five o'clock of the pre-lecture, and then six o'clock is the concert, uh, and it's at uh uh Northside Drive Baptist Church, right across uh the neighbor for Atlanta Classical Academy. Great.
SPEAKER_03But do folks need to register or just show up?
SPEAKER_00They can just show up. It would be great to have an idea of the numbers. So there is an RSVP invitation that's been sent out that's available, I believe, on our website, but also through other communication uh avenues that we have.
SPEAKER_03And we want kids and families, we want everybody.
SPEAKER_00Yes, yeah. Yeah. I think it's just gonna be a great time of celebration. We have some wonderful music picked out. We've hired a few brass players to help join in. Uh so I think it's gonna be a a really wonderful evening of celebration.
SPEAKER_03Well, I hope we get maximum participation. I hope we pack that place out and celebrate our great country, but also celebrate your incredibly hard work and leadership and these kids, these students, young boys and girls. There I know they're gonna rise to the occasion. If it's anything like the musical production you guys have done over the last couple of years, I know it's gonna be incredibly inspiring. So I I can't wait to see it. Great. It's gonna be awesome.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03All right. I want a la last question here is I know you've got to get back to school to to teach one more class today. Um I just want you to kind of, you know, tell us how this has landed with you personally. You're in in addition to being, I think, an incredible um exemplar of a of a of a classical school leader and teacher, um, you're also a pretty awesome husband and father. So, um, from what I observe. So how how has this education benefited your family?
SPEAKER_00I think it it has benefited our family because we have been open to more experiences than I think we would have had we not been at ACA. I read more than I would have had I taught at ACA and through reading get to have those conversations with my kids, my wife. Um get to have deeper conversations uh about well, how do you live a good life? What does that mean? And uh how do we make sure we're making choices that lead us there? And we definitely I mean, by no means do I want to say it it is only leads us into a conversation. We still struggle to make the right choices and to stay focused on those things. Um and I also th and and also the the the the balancing of of of striving to do things well and with excellence, but where grace falls into that as well. I think those are those are just hard conversations and I think it ebbs and flows, and sometimes I do it sometimes kind of well, sometimes I really miss the mark. Uh and but I'm grateful to be at a school where that's on the top of mind. It's like what kind of person are you?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I'm grateful to work at a place where I get challenged with that a lot. Uh because instead of missing the mark and staying there for a long time, our school even encourages me to say, Oh, you just missed the mark. It's time to to rectify that, it's time to move back to where you should be. And so I'm really grateful for the school for that. Uh but just even you know, I don't think that that, you know, thinking about going to the symphony probably wouldn't have been as top of mind if I was in some other profession.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And so I th I think it just has added to what, like I said, the things that we try to take advantage of.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Uh the love of beautiful things. Love of beautiful things has really been fostered at ACA for me personally, and I think that that has carried over to our our kids and to uh just our family. Um but it it is. It's uh and I think that's what I am thankful for of having students that have gone through ACA of being able to examine, like, hey, what would I have done differently there? What would I do the same? Where would I like to grow? So it's been helpful to now be 12 years into this thing and see my own kids have gone through it. I've got one coming up behind. Like, how do I what what things would I change? How do I do it differently? What things worked, what didn't didn't work. So I'm just so as I talk, I just this word reflection. I think ACA allows, calls us to reflect on who we are as humans. Yeah. And I think I'm grateful for that. Yeah. Uh I think one of the time uh some other time or on the sheet, I just saw and it's really been on my mind lately, uh just something that I would offer up to to parents. And I and I've I I think this is really something that um I'm wrestling with or or I'm beginning to really be believe in is that the sooner we can um what's the word? As soon as we can inspire ownership to our kids, the better off things are going to be.
SPEAKER_03Of their education.
SPEAKER_00Of their education anything, right? When they when they take ownership of something, yeah. But I think yes, the education, to be able to articulate this is why I go to school and this is why we do these things at school. And it's not just something they they just check boxes, but they can begin to articulate this is what I'm trying to, what we're trying to do.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And to know that it is theirs. They are in, they are while they have parents guiding them and saying yes and no to things, ultimately they like it's in them to choose to receive it. And they're the only one that can choose that. As your parent, I can force it, I can convey, I can I can do all the trade, but ultimately you at some point that you have to open up to receive it. And that like, how do we as parents help lead that ownership into receiving as early as possible?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And one thing that this as a practical thing, and I'll I can tell your listeners, you can bring me back in, I'll tell you how it's working. But you know, just like on the athletic side, you know, and I just dawned on me, Emline, oh I probably well, Emline, I'll call her out and she'll she'll get mad at me. She's always willing to go work out with me. But I found like I was the one always saying, hey, Emline, you want to go to the gym? Yeah, sure, let's go, let's go, let's go. And it just kind of hit me like, how, what are some things I can do to help her take ownership of different things. So I just implemented thing and I've I've now done it with Boone. Like, I am happy to go with you and do anything you want to do. The only thing is you have to ask me. You have to come say, can we go to the gym today? And that has really shifted uh just even how that time at the gym is.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Because we know, we both know you're the one that asked for it. And so that means also you're mentally ready to do that versus always being me.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And that's I I'm I'm curious to hopefully see how that plays out. And hopefully that helps them take a little ownership over their own development. Yeah, that's beautiful. I think you could say that in in all the areas.
SPEAKER_03Well, yeah, I mean, one of the core tenets of of classical education's a phrase that many use is the notion of training the affections. And so kind of that's kind of what you're getting. I mean, what we hope is that our children, our graduates, would desire the best things, that they would want the best things, that they would choose for themselves as an act of their will, maybe even in opposition to what their gut is telling them the best, the best things. You know, we could we could lay on the couch and watch another episode of of whatever, or we could go to the gym, you know. And I think that's what you're kind of getting to there. And isn't it isn't it true as a Parent. I mean, there's nothing more heartening than when you see your child want and choose the the best things. I mean, there's it just sort of just evokes this sense of of victory when when you see your child do that. And I do think that that's kind of what we're aspiring to do here, right? We we especially want them to walk across that graduation stage and enter the world and and be prepared to make great choices and to have a an eye and a and a and a desire for things that are good for them and good for the people around them. I mean, that's kind of what it's about. So well, it's good. Mr. Franklin, thank you so much for spending time with me today. I know you had to kind of go out of your way to get here in the midst of a school day, and I know that our audience is just gonna be delighted to hear from you.
SPEAKER_00So thank you for that. Well thank you. Look forward to coming back.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, we'll definitely have you back. I really appreciated the lesson. Thanks for the technical team over there uh for getting us through that. That was very, very interesting. And uh man, I just wish everybody would have an opportunity to come sit in your classroom at some point. I mean, we have brought we brought friends and donors to the school um on the on the typical tour, and uh we always try to include your class, and we have to kind of like you know drag people out of there because they just don't want to leave. It's so um it's so inspiring to hear you speak and and and of the things they're learning. So anyway, thanks for what you've meant to to my family particularly. You've been a great influence on my two kids who've gotten through that program, and I know there's hundreds of others who would say the exact same thing. Mr. Franklin is a couple of years ago was our teacher of the year and and you know is a front runner for that honor every year. And so um just thank you for your commitment. I am so grateful that you are in this line of work and not the banking business, because I think you're having an incredible impact on kids and families. So thank you. Thank you for that. Yep. So all right. Well, folks, we're gonna wrap up the uh the show here today. Thanks for joining us for the Liberty Show. If you want to learn more about Atlanta Classical Academy, which is where Mr. Brian Franklin uh serves on a daily basis, you can read more about that at Atlantaclassical.org. And if you're interested in our growing network of American classical schools here in the Southeast, you can read more about that at Liberty Classical Schools.org. Thanks for joining us, and we'll see you at the next episode. Take care.
SPEAKER_00Great. All right, thank you, Mr. Franklin.