What's Next for Mrs. Gerth

For the past two years I have worked in The Cowan Center at the University of Dallas under the leadership of Dr. Bainard Cowan. During my time there, Dr. Cowan has become a close friend and mentor, a guide into deeper truths. I have cherished working with him to preserve the legacy of his parents and bring their wisdom to teachers working in classical education.

In two short weeks, I begin a fellowship with Hillsdale College's K-12 Education Office. I will be joining the Teacher Support Team, which is dedicated to providing curriculum and pedagogy support to their member schools. In this role I will travel to their schools, learning from the inside how Hillsdale supports teachers and school leaders through its exemplary curriculum and generous encouragement. I will continue to help teachers grow—my very favorite thing. None of us can change education without ministering to the teachers as Louise demonstrated. And, as Don exhorted, teachers are the most important component of the educational enterprise. Nothing works without them.

In September my focus will shift to helping Hillsdale K-12 help their teachers, and thus Mrs. Gerth Teaches will take a needed pause. I will not be taking any speaking engagements or posting any new content. This will be hard for all of us to get used to.

Visiting your schools and hearing from you in person about your liturgies, your favorite articles, your favorite talks has been a great blessing to me, and I encourage you to reread favorite posts and relisten to favorite episodes. The Substack will remain accessible to you. Additionally, the study guide for Thoroughness & Charm will remain available for purchase on Teachers Pay Teachers to help you with your faculty development this year.

The value of the work that Hillsdale College is doing for K-12 education in America is hard to overstate. The curriculum resources they have developed are top notch. The teacher training they provide is some of the best I’ve ever experienced. And they provide it all at no cost to their schools. They do it because of their commitment to classical education through the generous partnership of their donor network. Hillsdale K-12 is a network of curriculum and member schools either public charter or private parochial in their mission. Hillsdale College’s K-12 Education Office exists to recover education in America by serving classical schools, including classical Christian schools. The mission is meaningful, the work valuable, the team genuine and sincere. I am honored to join them.

My time at The Cowan Center has been characterized by advocacy and promotion, and I leave thoroughly convinced of the importance of the Cowans. Dr. Cowan patiently listened to every idea I came up with to grow the Center, and almost always gave me the green light to try. His generous foreword in Thoroughness & Charm will forever be some of the kindest words anyone has ever said to me. I will miss our partnership dearly.

Having been immersed in Don and Louise’s work these past two years, I have learned from them how to see education and literature the way they did. And I am a better person—a better teacher—as a result.

I am very much looking forward to my future work with Hillsdale College’s K-12 Education Office. There is so much all of us need to begin doing again and so much to keep doing well. Together, by the grace of God, we can recover, reclaim, repair education in America and abroad.

May our Lord continue to comfort your hearts and establish the work of your hands,

Mrs. Gerth