The Mission
of
George Wythe College

To build men and women of virtue,
wisdom, diplomacy, and courage
who inspire greatness in others
and move the cause of liberty.

Any encounter with the history of modern civilization is an encounter with the lives of men and women who took the tide in men's affairs at the flood, capitalized upon the moment, and shifted the river of futurity in its course. Among these may be named conquerors and capitalists, politicians and priests, reformers and revolutionaries. And amidst them all, none stands taller than the American Founders as icons of human greatness. This peculiar moment in time produced not one, but a small army of statesmen -- Jefferson, Washington, Franklin, Adams, Madison, Monroe, and dozens more -- men and women of vision, virtue, wisdom, diplomacy and courage, who forever changed the course of human history and redefined true liberty for generations yet unborn.

Today's political, economic, and social challenges are no less daunting than those that spawned the Republic. Governments, businesses, schools, churches and other institutions worldwide need men and women of high moral character, sound intellectual understanding, and principled action to lead the way. But where will these statesmen be found?

George Wythe College stands on the belief that statesmanship is the product of a particular educational schema, known to the Framers of the Constitution, but lost to modern academia. It is a principle-centered process grounded in the belief in God and immutable moral law, framed on the classics of literature, history, and philosophy, and crowned in the discipline of real-world application under the guidance of a committed and caring mentor.

This was the education of Thomas Jefferson and others under the guiding hands of George Wythe. Today, it will be your privilege if you have the desire, determination, and character to meet the most intense and exciting educational challenge imaginable at George Wythe College. Having done so, you can be assured of a rich and satisfying life of contribution in whatever path you choose to follow.

To Build Men and Women

The mission of this college is not to expand or convey knowledge, however worthy that goal may be. It is to build men and women. But you may ask yourself, “What kind of men and women?” The mission focuses on the centrality of virtue, wisdom, diplomacy and courage. Thus the student becomes the focus, not the topic of inquiry, the curiosity of the professor, or the prestige of the college. This focus governs all that we do. It determines our class size and structure, our grading procedures and the way we award credit. It governs our teaching methods and guides our selection of texts. It even affects the structure of our campus and the decor of our buildings. In short, the very existence of George Wythe College depends upon its ability to develop men and women with the attributes necessary to become statesmen. Let us explore these attributes.

Virtue

Virtue comes from the Latin word virtus meaning power or strength, which in turn comes from vir meaning man. Hence, in the Roman sense, virtue is possessing those attributes that made a true man, namely, bravery, courage and strength. Plato states that the Greek word for virtue, arête, means fulfilling the end to which anyone or anything was created. Like the Latin virtus, arête is the feminine form of arrhen, which also means man. Combining these definitions, virtue is fulfilling the end to which mankind was created. And what is that end? In the ancient text of the New Testament, Christ declared: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” In this scripture the word perfect comes from the Greek telios, meaning “to be brought to its end, finished; wanting nothing necessary for completeness.” Accordingly, man’s purpose is to develop God’s attributes, as evinced by his Son. Therefore, Christ’s attributes of love, faith, moral rectitude and righteousness have historically become the definition of virtue for Western and Christian civilization.

Virtue which is valued in all religious text can be divided into attributes that relate to oneself and to others. Hence, living a moral life in relation to private duties is private virtue, while living a life of service and sacrifice for one’s fellow beings is public virtue. Understanding and incorporating virtue in its fullest context is the first attribute necessary to statesmanship.

A primary purpose of this college is to inspire students to develop private and public virtue. Through classical mentoring these attributes are most effectively developed. Virtue in a mentor is a moral prerequisite to effective mentoring. Once a mentor is well on the path of developing his own virtue, he can then seek to inspire his students to develop theirs. Drawing from experience in his own life as well as the lives of great men and women from history and literature, he leads discussions that investigate and define those attributes that contribute to virtue, and inspires the students to develop them. An important part of this inspiration is helping students find their own personal missions of self-development and service to mankind.

Every person is born with a unique mission. The calling of a mentor is to inspire and convince others to pursue their missions. He has no business stepping into the classroom if he does not feel that it is part of his mission to be there. It is not enough to know about and believe in statesmanship and public virtue. Mentors have an unquenchable drive in their work because training statesmen is their mission. A mentor can look a student in the eye and exhort him to a life of purpose because he lives such a life. This is the essence of mentorship.

Wisdom

Wisdom is “the right use and exercise of knowledge.” Do we care how much our students know? Of course, but the transmission of knowledge must be subservient to its end. Our students not only know historical facts, scientific theorems, and philosophical ideas, they apply them rightly to a multitude of situations. Students learn to balance the acquisition of knowledge through the study of the liberal arts with its application by learning personal leadership and time management skills in the classroom. Classes are structured using simulations, discussions and field experiences to encourage application. The acquisition of knowledge is usually more recognizable and measurable than its application. But the mentor does not fall for the temptation to sacrifice the development of wisdom for the immediate reward that comes from being perceived as producing smart students.

Diplomacy

Diplomacy is the artful or effective management of one’s relations with others. Mentors foster diplomacy using the Five Pillars of Statesmanship™. As students learn to read and speak the language of the classics, they gain the ability to communicate ideas and apply them in a way that is inspiring and relevant. Mentors teach them the power of relationships, patience, persistence and effective communication by guiding them, pushing them and teaching them to challenge prevailing assumptions in group and individual mentor meetings. Simulations are designed in such a way that students naturally develop personal agendas with high emotional attachment that often conflict with the goals and agendas of others. For students to achieve their goals, group cooperation is required. Add to this the emotional stress that accompanies crises and deadlines, and simulations provide an excellent environment for students to apply diplomacy. Field experiences give students real-world experience with diplomacy, and a unique opportunity to analyze the effectiveness of their dealings with others. Finally, a strong emphasis on the reality of God, that the people of this world are His children, and that each person was sent to Earth with a mission he can only accomplish through relationships with others—all of these combine to endow students with the kind of diplomacy essential to statesmanship.

Courage

Statesmen have the courage to venture, endure, and withstand dangers, fears, and difficulties that stand as roadblocks to their missions. Mentors play a pivotal role in developing this attribute. Imagine a young student who possesses a strong work ethic and sense of mission, yet is afraid to speak in public. The mentor discusses great ideas as well as stories of men and women who sacrificed and endured fear to fulfill their missions. He then helps the student overcome fear by giving him the opportunity to share his ideas in front of a small group of peers. The mentor will then have the student speak in front of larger groups. Once the student feels capable of speaking in front of groups, the mentor will increase the challenge. He will design simulations where the student is placed in situations where he may have to fight for what he believes. One of the most challenging situations for many students is the oral examination, wherein the mentor designs the setting and questions to maximize the growth of each student. While every student has his own specific fears, overcoming them in one area usually gives the student faith to overcome them in others. Accordingly, field experiences and outdoor activities under controlled circumstances can be used to foster courage. Overcoming physical challenges can be used as a faith-building catalyst to overcome mental, spiritual, emotional or social fears. Finally, the mentor will maintain an educational environment where increasing difficulties can be met sequentially, allowing the student to grow by overcoming increasingly difficult challenges. Churchill rightly said that courage is the most important of all virtues because it guarantees the others.

Inspire Greatness

Mentors inspire greatness in students, who in turn inspire greatness in others. What is greatness? This might be more easily understood by describing what it is not. It is not fame; it is not a position of leadership; it is not having your name written in history books. Greatness is fulfilling your life’s mission. This is similar to the way the ancient Greeks saw genius. They believed that every person had a unique destiny or purpose in life. To aid in fulfilling this destiny a tutelary deity or spirit was assigned to each person. This spirit was called genius. It may be thought of as the personification of each person’s unique abilities, interests and mission. Fulfilling your individual mission and magnifying your talents and abilities is what makes you great.

Greatness comes from within. No one can make another person great. It is an individual choice. The purpose of George Wythe College is therefore not to produce great thinkers, citizens or leaders; that is their responsibility. Our purpose is to inspire choices of greatness and to provide the necessary mentoring for each individual to reach their potential, and live their mission. Every mentor is pursuing the path of greatness and understands the power of example. Greatness is not a destination; it is a journey. Mentors inspire students to seek greatness by identifying their own missions. They understand their own unique abilities and strive to develop them so they can better assist their students. Day in and day out mentors pay the price to achieve their own personal genius. As this occurs, they are in a position to inspire others.

Classics inspire. In addition to lecturing on facts, dates and theories, the mentor leads the class in discussions of great people and ideas. Inspiring in class and in individual coaching sessions is how mentors lead. The students leave these sessions motivated and resolved to study harder and serve better. As mentors inspire students through classical works, encouragement and example, a culture of seeking greatness develops and students begin to inspire each other. Arrogance on the part of the mentor or student destroys inspiration, and force and rote assignments are detrimental. Mentors are flexible in adapting to the mission of each student. This does not lessen the academic rigor of any class or program. Since no one has a personal mission of mediocrity, individual adaptation increases academic rigor.

Rather than simply filling students with information, the mentor approaches the classics in a way that draws the best out of them. He acts, as Socrates described himself, as “a ‘midwife’ assisting the labor of the mind in bringing knowledge and wisdom to birth.” Finally, grading and awarding credit is done in a way that inspires greatness. The mentor avoids using grading as a tool of manipulation. For this reason, standardized testing, percentile ranking and grading on the curve are not used at George Wythe College.

Move the Cause of Liberty

The college strives to increase liberty throughout the world by developing statesmen. Liberty may be defined as the ability to act as one chooses, restrained only by respect for the personal security, liberty and property of others. It involves a balance between the rights of the individual and the duty to respect the rights of others. Moving the cause of liberty is more than memorizing a definition. For example, who or what is man? Is man an evolved organism, a created being, or both? If our definition of man changes, does society’s role of protection also change? How does our conception of human nature change the way we view social forms? And what is the interaction between principles, forms and issues? These are some of the questions that are discussed in what Robert M. Hutchins called, “the great conversation.” As students seek to move the cause of liberty they participate in the great conversation and cultivate the attributes of statesmanship. The college endows students with a love of liberty, the knowledge required to be effective citizens, and the wisdom required to move the cause of liberty worldwide.

George Wythe College moves the cause of liberty with its parent organization George Wythe Foundation. The focus of the foundation is good government worldwide, and its purpose is to support the college, provide mentoring and expertise to individuals seeking to promote liberty, and to help coordinate the efforts of other organizations with similar goals. By fulfilling its purpose, George Wythe Foundation better supports the functions of George Wythe College, and provides service opportunities and application for students and graduates alike.