Blog Posts

Hello WCA family!

As promised, this is the final of 9 posts discussing a little bit about each of the Intellectual Virtues and how you can continue to focus on them at home!

A bit of background to the virtues again…there are 9. And they are divided into 3 categories: (1) Getting Started, (2) Executing Well, and (3) Handling Challenges.

In the third category of Handling Challenges, there are the virtues of OPEN-MINDEDNESS, COURAGE, and TENACITY. With that…let’s conclude this final section and our series!

One of the absolutely most important habits we want students to develop is intellectual tenacity. This is the willingness to persist in learning, thinking, and problem-solving even when the work is difficult or frustrating. Intellectual tenacity means not giving up too quickly. It is the determination to keep pressing forward in the pursuit of understanding and truth.

At Warner Christian Academy, we encourage students to embrace challenge rather than avoid it. Learning is not always easy. Some concepts take time to understand, some problems require multiple attempts, and some questions are not answered quickly. Intellectual tenacity helps students remain engaged even when the path is difficult.

In today’s world, perseverance can be difficult to cultivate. Students are often accustomed to quick answers, instant feedback, and immediate results. When something feels hard, frustrating, or unclear, the temptation can be to quit, move on, or settle for less than their best effort. Developing intellectual tenacity helps students learn that growth often happens through struggle and sustained effort.

This includes the highest, loftiest of studies, that being the study of God! Studying the Bible to KNOW Christ is the pinnacle of study and requires the utmost in tenacity. But the rewards are eternal. As our orthodoxy (correct belief) then shapes our orthopraxy (correct practice), we will first know God for who He is for real (orthodoxy), and then we will know God relationally such that He knows us and our actions are God honoring (orthopraxy). And in that relationship we shall find salvation and eternity with Him.

At home, tenacity is often formed through how families respond to challenge and frustration. When children are encouraged to work through difficulty, try again after failure, and view mistakes as opportunities for growth, they begin to develop resilience and endurance.

One simple way to encourage intellectual tenacity at home is to resist solving every problem too quickly for your child. When they are frustrated with homework, a task, or a challenge, offer encouragement and guidance, but allow them to wrestle productively before stepping in. This helps build confidence in their ability to persevere.

Another helpful practice is praising effort, persistence, and process; not just outcomes. Statements like, “I noticed you stayed with that even when it was hard,” reinforce the value of perseverance.

Scripture calls us to this kind of endurance. Galatians 6:9 reminds us, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” God values faithfulness and perseverance.

Conversation starter:
“What is something difficult you kept working at until you finally improved or succeeded?”

This week at home:

• Practice: Encourage your child to stay with one challenging task a little longer before asking for help.
• Model: Share a time when you had to keep working through something difficult rather than quitting.
• Pray: “Lord, help us to persevere through challenges and remain faithful in pursuing truth and wisdom.”

As we nurture intellectual tenacity together, at school and at home, we help students develop resilience, perseverance, and the discipline to continue learning even when it is hard. Tenacity strengthens character and equips students to pursue truth with endurance and faithfulness.

Thank you for partnering with Warner Christian Academy in this important work of forming students who are Christlike in character and intellectually virtuous—ready to pursue Truth, lead with wisdom, and impact their communities for God’s glory.

Soli Deo Gloria!