Hello! I am Dani Adams, Director of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy for Trinity Classical. I am a mother of three and wife of one. I have three children, ages 9,7 and 6. I was born and raised mostly in the Midwest but have lived in almost every American region. My early education varied, and I have attended Christian schools, public schools, and co-ops and in addition to being homeschooled for a period. I dual-enrolled at University of Wisconsin, Madison for my senior year of high school; after seeing the degree-oriented nature of the modern university I knew I wanted more than a paper from my secondary education. I enrolled at Hillsdale College in Michigan where I studied biochemistry and minored in music and met my husband Luke. We moved from Hillsdale to Norfolk, Virginia after Luke commissioned as a Navy Officer. As my children reached school age, I considered what I may want from a career once I was no longer a stay at home mom. I desired to find a way to be as present in my children's lives as possible and work outside the home. At the time my husband and I were struggling to find a school that was congruent with our family’s values and vision. I also know from my own experience as a mother that parents know the needs of the children God has given better than anyone else. As I considered my vocation as a Mother and what I had experience doing in the past outside of my study of science, I traced a line back to my very first job at 13, teaching horseback riding lessons on our family farm 14 years ago. After 2 years of teaching lessons and gaining an instructor certification, I convinced my parents that it was a good idea to let their 15-year-old daughter operate a weeklong summer program where I taught equine care, riding and farm safety to a group of 7-year-olds. I have also taught piano for 13 years. It became clear to me that I have a passion for education, and that our family had a need to educate our children in a way that worked with, rather than against, our virtues and values.
Why I choose a school setting over homeschool:
Teaching and educating children is a vocation. We are called to live our Christian lives in community with one another; we would not expect ourselves to manage the vocation of parenting alone, and we should not expect ourselves to manage our children's education entirely alone. Knowing that parents are their child's best advocates, my goal is to partner with families in learning about their child's needs, meeting them where they are and helping deepen the student's understanding of truth and the universe. Beyond the early elementary years, we realistically cannot expect to have the level mastery required in each and every subject to offer our children the best education possible without relying on our community. I feel passionately about creating a school where both the education and community are exceptional, and Christian values and virtues are at the heart of what we teach and do.
A Classical Christian Education is a natural fit for me because I love to know everything, and I thrive working in a team setting. Benjamin Franklin was on to something when he said that a jack of all trades was better than a master of one. A well-rounded person can walk into any situation and have the ability to engage with their surroundings. A classically educated person who has studied the 7 liberal arts is prepared to pursue any career path they desire because they are inherently well-rounded, but this kind of education also works to help children develop well-ordered souls. A well-ordered soul is one that seeks Truth, Beauty and Goodness. By educating our children classically and in community, we offer them the opportunity to become sanctified by learning and living out Christian virtues in a community of fellow believers.
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