What is Scholé?
Scholé, the Greek word for “leisure,” is the root of the word “school,” and can be described as restful learning. Do not, however, be deceived by the word restful: it does not mean idleness or facility. Even a scholé-filled classical education is an endeavor of effort, but it is one characterized by a vigorous energy of wonder instead of a severe, dry atmosphere of rigor.
Leisure can be understood as a “mental and spiritual attitude” that enables the “apprehension of reality” (Josef Pieper, Leisure the Basis of Culture). As such, Scholé encourages the pursuit of undistracted deep contemplation accomplished through a multum non multa (“much, not many”) approach where students focus deeply on fewer subjects instead of broadly skimming the surface of many. As Mystie Winckler writes, “Scholé means seeking Truth, Goodness, and Beauty first and foremost, laying aside personal agendas, prideful goals, and desires to control so that we can be open and able to embrace Truth, Goodness, and Beauty when we see it.”