Music, art, and physical education, are conventionally referred to as “specials” classes in primary education. But labeling these disciplines “specials” diminishes their high importance, making them seemingly peripheral rather than central in the school’s curricular strategies. At Liberty Common School, where the curricular strategy is a knowledge-based foundation followed by classically-oriented high-school courses, the serious treatment of these disciplines is commensurate with school’s emphasis on core subjects such as English, math, history, science, etc.

Mos Maiorum. Borrowing from recorded exchanges between Plato and Cicero, mos maiorum is translated from Latin to mean “custom of the ancestors,” or “way of the elders.” The idea being that the values handed down from the Roman’s ancestors should be preserved because for them, “old” meant tested by time, and “new” connotated danger.

The Roman Republic was not founded on a written constitution, thus the Romans used the concept of mos maiorum, originally, as an unwritten source for proper legitimate practice – whether political, social, religious, or economic. Even after written laws became relevant, many rules of the political and legal systems were based on tradition, or mos. 

Romans educated their children with the goal of making them knowledgeable citizens, effective speakers and exponents of traditional values. Through lessons in mathematics, literature, music, art, rhetorical training, and physical training, the Roman youth became well versed in the traditional virtues of fides, pietas, virtus, and dignitas, while also learning to read critically and write cogently. 

Moreover, they formed the initial course work that Roman youth would be expected to master before moving onto more advanced studies.  This aligns with LCS’s emphasis on cross-curricular coordination, analogous to a hub from which the spokes of our curriculum extend.