Dr. Andrew Selby reflects on the kind of “deep people” who bring wisdom, stability, and calm during times of crisis, arguing that true depth comes from the combination of knowledge, understanding, and practiced wisdom. He explains how classical Christian education, through great teachers, the study of Scripture and Great Books, and thoughtful discussion, helps cultivate students into thoughtful leaders who can guide others in an unstable world.
May 05, 2026
On Becoming a Deep Person
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Read on SubstackDr. Andrew Selby reflects on the kind of “deep people” who bring wisdom, stability, and calm during times of crisis, arguing that true depth comes from the combination of knowledge, understanding, and practiced wisdom. He explains how classical Christian education, through great teachers, the study of Scripture and Great Books, and thoughtful discussion, helps cultivate students into thoughtful leaders who can guide others in an unstable world.
Contributing Writer
Andrew is an upper school humanities educator at Trinity Classical Academy in Valencia, CA.
What does it mean to grow up classical, and how can the great books help form a young person’s moral imagination? In this episode of Composed, Christine Perrin speaks with Olivia Reardon, a graduating senior at Messiah University, about literature, ethical formation, and the classical Christian classroom. Drawing from Olivia’s senior honors thesis and her upcoming ClassicalU course, Journeying with the Great Books: Ethical Formation in the Classical Christian Classroom, the conversation explores how stories give students language for their deepest questions, offer “handholds” for living in a broken world, and invite readers to return again and again as they grow in wisdom. Together, Christine and Olivia reflect on reading as a relational and formative act, one that happens best in a community of trust, conversation, and shared attention. Olivia offers the images of mirrors, windows, and doors as a way of understanding how books help students see themselves, encounter others, and enter experiences beyond their own. The conversation also considers the breadth of the Great Conversation, not as a narrow inheritance for a few, but as a living tradition shaped by many voices and offered for the formation of all.
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What would it mean to practice festival at home, in school, and in church? In this episode of Forged, Brian Williams speaks with Father Nathan Carr about the posture and practice of festival as a way of living with joy, gratitude, and holy attention in the midst of ordinary time. Drawing from his work as priest, headmaster, husband, father, and author of Festive School, Carr reflects on Christian calendars, prayer books, school feasts, household rituals, and the slow formation of children who learn not merely to observe the good, but to receive and name it. This conversation is an invitation to recover joy as discipline, delight as formation, and celebration as a serious part of Christian life. Together, Brian and Father Carr consider how homes, schools, and churches can resist anxiety, urgency, cynicism, and suspicion by learning to inhabit time differently. From Benedictine hours and red-letter feast days to hidden Wise Men during Advent and children serving in the liturgy, this episode explores the small, concrete practices that teach us to see the world as gift.
President Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending cuts package, the “big, beautiful bill” passed by Congress last summer, has brought and will continue to bring changes to paying for education. From expenses for K-12 to higher education loan repayment options and more, many of the shifts take effect soon. Here’s a guide to make sure you’re ready.