My name is Sarah Taylor. I am married to my high school sweetheart, Daniel, and we have been given two children, Estoria, 9, and Ransom, 5. We enjoy camping and hiking, and my family knows to look for me first in my vegetable garden. I love learning about health and wellness, reading poetry, British literature, and my favorite series is, of course, Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.
I hold a B.A. in English Literature with a minor in Political Science from Christopher Newport University. Invigorated by my studies, I had originally intended to enter the education program at CNU in hopes of becoming a high school English teacher and sharing my love of literature with the next generation; however, a brief stint as a substitute teacher in the public school system dissuaded me from the teaching profession. Although I had been a high school student fairly recently, returning with an eye towards choosing to spend my life there was an altogether new perspective and it was disheartening to observe the burned-out teachers, overcrowded classrooms, uninterested students, and depressing atmosphere. Instead, I took a job at a public library and entered the workforce.
In 2020, I embarked on the venture of homeschooling, but after using various curricula, I began to see there were some gaps and weaknesses. The classical model has a cohesion and awareness of the developing mind that I find very attractive. My husband and I also desired to find a like-minded community where our kids could flourish in their friendships and academics, and where other teachers could speak into their lives and further expand their horizons. Throughout my time as a mother, introducing my children to great books has been an immense source of joy and meaning, as I am convinced that literature figures prominently in any educational program of quality.
It is said that children are made to be readers on the laps of their parents, and this was certainly the case for me. I remember evenings spent entranced by the delightful language of Rudyard Kipling’s “The Elephant’s Child,” the dark, velvety texture of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales, and relishing the fierce gratification of James Russell Lowell’s “The Owl and the Fox.” Rich literary experiences are ours to keep, shining stars in our pockets that we can take out and hold at any dark or dreary moment. They whisper to us of Truth beyond what our post-Enlightenment minds and five senses can discern; they remind us that virtue shimmers, and that vice is grotesque. Indeed, the very act of reading assists in our attempts to acquire virtue for ourselves. It grinds against our cultural moment with its obsession with convenience, quick sound bites, productivity, and instant gratification.
Above all, literature awakens us to the deeper realities which modern life so often seeks to obscure. It leads us to the meta narrative in which we all live, the most beautiful, good, and true story ever told: the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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