Michael Moynihan on A Whole Education: Teaching Persons, Not Just Subjects

There should be no contradiction in pursuing hard sciences, humanities, and moral virtue all in one day. For upper schoolers switching classrooms every hour, or for teachers siloed in a single subject, it can be easy to mistake "education" for a series of distinct academic categories. In this rebroadcast from 2015, Upper School Head Michael Moynihan gives us a better framework. He urges us to look at how our school's different departments present a unified and infinitively connective worldview—one that invites inquisitive engagement and exercises the full scope of human reason. Chapters: 4:39 The strength of "entertainment culture" 8:16 Successful families 9:28 Assessing the educational landscape 11:32 Fragmented school subjects 14:20 Teaching persons, not subjects 17:18 Appreciating the full scope of human reason Links: Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton (see chapter 8, "The Romance of Orthodoxy") By the Communion of Persons Man Becomes the Image of God by Pope St. John Paul II The Lost Tools of Learning by Dorothy Sayers The Idea of a University by St. John Henry Newman Regensburg Address by Pope Benedict XVI Laudato Si by Pope Francis Also on the Forum: The Art of Teaching Sovereign Knowers by Michael Moynihan Featured Opportunities: Fall Open House at The Heights School (October 18, 2025) Fathers' Conference at The Heights School (November 1, 2025) Convivium for Teaching Men at The Heights School (November 13-15, 2025)