The Old's Cool Academy
The Old's Cool Academy is a back-to-basics school offering a rigorous, year-long Classical Liberal Arts Education, traditional-skills instruction, and a paid apprenticeship.
We loved going to The Academy* so much we decided to open one of our own.
Same cast of characters, of course: Democritus, Clytemnestra, Caesar, Virgil, Montaigne, Spinoza, Shakespeare, Nietzsche, Fitzgerald and Frankenstein.
Seriously, the Old's Cool Academy is a traditional, back-to-basics school, offering a rigorous six-month Classical Liberal Arts Education centered on the Western Canon. And the time-honored principles, somehow almost-forgotten today–of virtue, facts over feelings, critical thinking, discipline, and character above all. Damn difficult stuff.
Our students will also discover that manual labor is not only admirable and fulfilling, but almost always translates to a deeper and broader world view. As part of the curriculum every student will either restore a car or motorcycle, or build a boat and drive/sail it away into the sunset, so-to-speak, on graduation day.
This baptism by fire (and fun) will be immediately followed by a six-month paid apprenticeship at one of the many businesses we are partnering with to give our "graduates" an out-of-the-frying-pan taste of the real world.
But the real objective of the Academy will be to provide a timeless and priceless education in the art of how to do good and live well, and to instill in our students the importance of knowledge, curiosity, hard work, math, rhetoric, and integrity. We’ll also encourage an Emersonian sense of self-reliance, a can-do attitude that will inspire them beyond Hamlet, oars, and lathes, and help them find meaning and responsibility in their lives.
Unlike most schools, which are either academic or vocational (or specifically-focused on getting the applicant a job), the Academy will have the students immerse themselves in the Great Books, to be awed and enlightened by the deeply human and valuable perspectives and answers these classics can still bring to their everyday.
Traditional craftsmanship–e.g. woodworking, penmanship, beer-brewing–the thrill of the drill, the quill, and the still, so-to-speak, is also a part of the curriculum. As well as business etiquette basics, and, although pooh-poohed in today's real-whirled immediacy and relentless pursuit of gratification, so many other simple but enriching life skills like patience, being humble, and truly grateful.
The perfect antidote to the go-to-university-or-you're-a-loser mentality, as well as a lifetime membership in a tight-knit community of like-minded recalcitrants and kings–the Academy is a wicked awesome option for anyone ready to bite the ass off a bear, in a quarter of the time, and at a tenth of the cost of college.
Read all about our motto, Viriliter Age, our nickname, Wiseacres, and how the classics, character, and calluses can open up not only your mind and endless possibilities, but the door to the career and life of your dreams too.
*West Point
Check out the official website for all the big picture details here:
Loud and Proud!
