Caring for the Wellspring

Proverbs 4:23 reads, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Jesus said, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.”

We make much of cultivating hearts at Capstone. By heart, we don’t mean the muscle that circulates blood but rather the seat of one’s life or strength. We refer to mind and spirit when we say heart. Children store good or evil treasure in their hearts from the way they experience pain and pleasure, the way their parents and other adults relate to them, the content they consume, the friends they spend time with, and the habits that define their days.

Using our manners, reading great literature that shapes moral imagination, receiving wise discipline, learning and practicing truth, being moved by the beautiful, and reciting and meditating upon wisdom and goodness are all part of purifying the wellspring from which life emanates in a person. Such activities create good or evil treasures in children’s hearts.

The habit of recitation is part of heart-shaping at Capstone. Recitation is not chapel. Chapel is a time of worship and of teaching of the Scriptures. Recitation is a time of contemplating the good, true, and beautiful not just from Scripture but from other sources of wisdom and practical—yet powerful—knowledge. 

Throughout the course of this school year, our learners have gathered at 10:00 every morning to collectively recite the school virtues of integrity, humility, temperance, fortitude, charity, reverence, and prudence—both their definitions and their application. They have recited the Capstone Honor Code, which calls for learners to fulfill the Greatest Commands of Christ and to behave in a manner that honors the image of God in each other while protecting and helping to fulfill the mission of the school to help each other become wise and virtuous. Learners meditate upon the commands of Scripture, historic creeds, and even key anchors to American citizenship, such as the preamble to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. As the recitation habit develops at Capstone, learners will include beautiful poetry and pithy wisdom of the ages to enrich their hearts for wisdom and virtuous living.