FACULTY FRIDAYS—Stephen Kilbourn
1. Where did you attend grade school/high school and what did you think you wanted to do when you grew up? Where did you attend college (name your degrees) and what did you do before joining the faculty at HLS?
I attended Kingsway Christian School in Avon for most of K-8 and Covenant Christian High School in Indianapolis for high school. In middle school, I wanted to be either a lawyer or a math professor because I liked math and arguing. At Covenant I decided I wanted to be a high school teacher. After high school, I attended the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, where I got a BA in Classics. I was still pretty confident that I wanted to teach high school throughout my time at ND, but I also considered studying to be a speech therapist. I started working at HLS right after graduating from ND.
2. Is there a particular moment or memory that stands out for you when you were a student?
There are hundreds of moments and memories that stand out for me. I have always loved school, especially high school. I made my mom drive me to school an hour early every day so that I could hang out with my friends who actually had reasons to be there that early. I would also stay after school as late as possible talking to friends and teachers, sometimes specifically asking my mom to pick me up late.
Some of my best memories from that time are the great conversations I had with friends and teachers. My students will surely attest that I love to talk, and that’s because I developed such a deep love for conversation at that age. I talked to teachers during their prep periods and after school. I talked to friends before school and during breaks. After school I had cross-country or track practice, which was basically talking while running. I also did swimming, which I hated because I wasn’t able to talk during it. Once I could drive, I would stay late at friends’ houses talking about faith, philosophy, personal troubles, good books, or sometimes even collaborating to write some hilarious nonsense poetry. These were the experiences that made me want a job with plenty of meaningful conversation, and they are some of my fondest memories from my time as a student.
3. What attracted you to HLS and what have you learned about yourself after working for this school? What inspires you?
I first heard about Highlands from hanging out with Mrs. Davis’ son, a good friend of mine. Hearing that there was a school where I could teach Greek and Latin, I was immediately interested. As I learned more about the school, I was mainly taken in by the fact that I would be encouraged to teach students the way I wished I had been taught. I didn’t have to put students in little desk clusters facing each other to facilitate “collaboration.” I didn’t have to assign group projects. I was encouraged to lecture and read books aloud to the class. I was encouraged to go slowly, thoroughly, and methodically through the books I was teaching. I wouldn’t be forced to hop onto whatever the latest tech trend was, pursuing some “one-to-one device” or “paperless” policy for no clear purpose. Having recently been a student, I had experienced which of these things contributed to deep learning, and which were the nonsense inventions PhD “education experts.” Highlands definitely seemed to be on the right track with its methodology. The thing that inspires me most about this school is seeing what it does for the students who stick with it. Sure, many of the students are naturally very gifted in various ways, but I know they wouldn’t have come as far as they have without the structure, guidance, and hard work. Even the students who seem to have to work harder for the same grades continually impress me by how much foundational knowledge they have already mastered at such a young age. The school forces students to develop habits I wish I had developed earlier or at all. It definitely inspires me to be a part of a school that genuinely tries to maximize the potential of each of its students.
4. What do you want HLS parents to know about you? What are your hobbies, interests, passions?
I enjoy reading, lifting weights, driving around with the windows down, watching good films, and having good conversations. Any day that includes at least one of those is a good day.