Kepler's Core Values

Whether they are written or tacit, every company has core values that serve as a moral compass, a set of guiding principles that govern its decisions, actions, and relationships.

Sometimes these values are implicit and are only realized when a company’s priorities conflict—or competing time demands force a hard discussion or unfavorable decision. Sometimes these values are simply assumed. In such cases, the kinds of conflicts that are certain to arise in both the workplace and the marketplace will unravel esprit de corps, diminish effectiveness, hinder productivity, and eventually undermine the company’s mission and vision.

However, taking the time to think through and state what a company believes and how those beliefs will affect their decisions and actions can be a powerful exercise toward cultivating the company’s moral imagination, increasing its effectiveness, achieving its mission, and fulfilling its vision.

At Kepler, we have carefully thought through our core values and written them down to remind us and inform others how we intend to achieve our vision and increase our effectiveness as an educational company. Our core values guide everything from our pedagogy to the development of our platform, from the creation of our policies and procedures to choosing which teachers we partner with.

Below are the five basic core values that guide everything we do at Kepler.

1. At Kepler, we think of a liberal arts, or classical, education as the Christ-centered work of preparing students for life by teaching them to appreciate, apprehend—and approximate their lives with—that which is true, good, and beautiful.

2. At Kepler, we believe the gospel of Jesus Christ is central to education and the two cannot be separated without compromising human flourishing or diminishing culture. We are committed to historic Christianity in doctrine and morality, advocating for a “Mere Christian” approach as expressed in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds.

3. At Kepler, our vision is for the revival and success of independent scholar-teachers through online liberal arts education. That said, teachers are our first customer and making students theirs is our primary service. That is not to imply in any way our interest in helping students is secondary—quite the contrary. To word it succinctly, we want to serve and support the best teachers so they can fulfill their vocation and provide students with the best education they are capable of offering.

4. At Kepler, we pursue principles over policy. This means we strive for wisdom and excellence in all that we do and advocate for teachers who do the same. Said another way, so as to impede the inevitable growth of institutional policy, we believe that recruiting and advocating for virtuous teachers who love their students, love the liberal arts, and love the vocation of teaching serves everyone better than a bigger handbook.

5. At Kepler, we believe the best way to provide excellent service to teachers and their students is by valuing simplicity, personal discernment, and human flourishing over mere efficiency, mindless automation, and sheer profit. Said another way, as human beings who are aware of the potential tyranny of technology, modern notions of efficiency, and the deceptiveness of greed, we remain mindful that the ultimate mission of Kepler is to promote the flourishing of teachers and their students.

If you have questions about Kepler, our core values, or online classical education in general, feel free to reach out on our contact page.