Dear friends,
As I seek to manage the work and development of the Classical Liberal Academy as well as possible, I am convinved that the best way to help parents manage their children’s studies, and to help students make progress in their studies, is to continually simplify things. As a sign of our real development, everything in the Academy is becoming simpler.
First, with the publication of quizzes and exams across the curriculum, study and assessment is getting much simpler (and better!).
Second, the enrollment process has been streamlined and is now much simpler than it ever has been.
Third, subscription plans are easy to understand and affordable, making financial matters in the Academy very simple.
Fourth, course recommendations by age and grade level have been published, making course selection much simpler.
Fifth, the publishing of grade level study plans, breaking studies down to the task level, has made tracking progress much simpler.
There’s really not much to talk about any more.
Consequently, the last area in need of simplification is communication. In my experience (and I believe I have tested every option), there is no need for anything more than email and phone communication. Anything that can be shared in text form can and should be shared by email. Anything that needs to be spoken can be spoken by phone. There are many other options, but I really don’t believe they offer any significant benefits. There is no need for annoying buttons and pop-up banners on the website or Study Center. We all have email access on every device we use (which is another topic). I would like to focus our energy and attention on actual academic tasks as much as possible, and I’d like to work to eliminate any complication rather than provide “great support” for a program that is poorly organized.
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Consequently, I’d like to ask parents and students to communicate with me by email. There is one email address that needs to be known and used: mail@classicalliberalarts.com.
I have made a contact form available on the CLAA website on the “Contact Us” page. All messages submitted through that form come directly to me by email. I will be available at this address all day, every day, and will respond promptly to all messages. This allows me to have all communication in one place, which I can access wherever I am, on any device. When necessary, correspondence by email can proceed as quickly as by live chat.
If there is a need to speak, we can do so by phone. My mobile number is (980) 699-5575.
In my own studies, I have rarely ever needed anything other than email and an occasional phone conversation. I don’t believe that any time someone invents a new means of communication, we must make use of it. If we can simplify communication, we can work together more efficiently and add to the overall simplicity that is proper for studies in the Classical Liberal Arts Academy.
We all need to work to keep life simple–and we can do so. Let’s make an effort to resist the craziness of modern technology and make use of it temperately. Let’s communicate peacefully, thoughtfully and respectfully. We can do this by keeping communication simple.
Thank you,
Mr. William C. Michael, O.P.
Classical Liberal Arts Academy
mail@classicalliberalarts.com
