Some often wonder why I make my little school such a priority in my work. The Living Water School only has between 30 and 50 students each year. It is not a big wealthy institution. In fact, every single year is a financial struggle. The community I serve is not an elite community, but a mix of low income, middle class and sprinkling of upper class families. Each child has a different story, but we are connected through faith, classical education and an intense passion to honor each person’s individual humanity.
The reason why this little school is so high up on my list of priorities, is because I believe in the power of multiplication. When you look at Christianity, and how Jesus discipled just 12 men and a few women, you see that the world benefits from the focus he gave to that small group. Through that small number, Christianity was born. I feel that by focusing on these students, maybe the teachers and I can develop human beings who grow up to make a difference in the world, thus multiplying the impact of being in this little school.
How many times have we heard of a famous or influential person that gave a testimony of that one teacher that touched their lives? We never know who that student will grow up to become. You never know how just one lesson, one statement, one touch will change the trajectory of a child’s life and if you change the trajectory of that child’s life then they will probably grow up to change the trajectory of someone else’s life and so the cycle continues.
It is hard to get me “off the wall.” I am inspired by Nehemiah who focused on just one task, rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. He was not seeking fame or prestige, but just to build the wall so that the world would know that his people are still a mighty rock in the world. I feel the same way about my students and their families. When I travel or do anything outside of this “wall”, it is always scheduled around my time with this community. Even my work in academia is not as simple as just being in this space, because my work at the school takes precedence over anything I do. At the same time, the work that I am doing at The Living Water School provides insight into what would work in larger schools.
Some have called the Living Water School a sort of lab school and I can see that. The work I do in classical education here, provides a sampling of what is possible for any child. Classical education changes lives. It consistently changes lives. If followed and respected through the child’s educational journey, and done in a way that SEES them (as opposed to misusing it to erase their culture for the culture of the WEST), it will always work. Unlike some other philosophies that we do through trial and error, classical education always works. It is older than time itself and when you look at how it has changed the lives of so many people around the globe and throughout all of human history, the outcome is usually the same. So, I stay on this wall because I know it works. Even if people doubt me, I focus on this wall, because since my mom and dad started their classical school (it closed in 2012) and through my school (been open since 2015), I have consistently seen lives change. This change in my little school seems like a small pebble in a pond, but I know the power of the ripple effect.
Multiplication takes focus. It is a deep faith that if I pour my heart and soul into this one thing, person or small group, then I know something even greater will come from how I have invested myself into it. When I devoted my time to getting accredited, it was so that my families would know I want to be held accountable for providing the best quality of education I can provide. Every single time I focus on elevating this small community, it’s because as a gardener keeps nourishing the soil of his garden, I know that my work will produce fruit. It’s like planting mustard seeds that we know will grow to be one of the largest trees in the world. So, full of faith I keep the students and families of the Living Water School at the forefront of my work, knowing that what grows from this work will forever produce an overflowing basket of goodness that nourishes the world one day. So if you are reading this and feel discouraged about your school, its growth or its finances or whatever, be encouraged. Your labor is not in vain. We don’t see the seed growing into a plant under the soil, but one day something springs forth and blesses the world.
Dr. Anika T. Prather 