Elevators, Education, and You
We’ve all been there: in the church parking lot, at the soccer field, in the grocery store . We’re asked what school our children attend, and after explaining that it’s pronounced, “Pie-DAY-uh,” we’re asked what kind of school it is, and why we like it. As Hamlet put it so well, “Ah, there’s the rub…” How can we do Paideia justice? There’s so much you like, there’s so much you could say… You hear words hurriedly tumble from your lips:
“Trivium…Latin…Logic…Rhetoric…”. Even as you say them, they sound like technical jargon in a strange tongue.
More than one person, on more than one occasion, has asked for an “elevator speech” to help in these situations. An elevator speech is a “sales pitch” that can be delivered from the 1st to the 10th floor (30-60 seconds) and is easily remembered (once the person steps off the elevator). It tells the story within the listener’s attention span and in terms that make him more interested, not less. It makes him nod his head and go, “Hmmm,” and keep thinking about it as he walks down the hall.
We can see that an elevator speech is no place for extended evidence or technical language. It’s got to be simple, short, and memorable. Here’s what I would suggest.
To keep it simple, focus only on the main things: Disciples, Scholars, Citizens.
To keep it short, make only one point about each of the main things.
To make it memorable, tell about students and teachers (preferably students, preferably your student).
Let’s see how this works...
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