Science and Math at Veritas

By Dalton Lobo Dias
 

When I first learned about Veritas Preparatory Academy’s program I was admittedly apprehensive and doubtful. I asked myself: Is the study of liberal arts fit for younger audiences? Can we really be successful in teaching such a demanding intellectual—not to mention unusual—curriculum at the middle and high school level?
 

Soon, however, my doubts turned to admiration, as I observed just how committed and devoted our community truly is to this task. Our students have welcomed the challenge, and have been shaped by it. Our dedicated and enthusiastic group of faculty and administrators are relentless in the effort to bring the best education available to this institution. This, of course, would not be possible without the immense support from our students’ parents and families. This community of learners and teachers, born from humble beginnings, has not only succeeded, but has grown and expanded. The passion for, and the commitment to, liberal arts education is evident in everything that we do here at Veritas.
 

Teaching science and mathematics at Veritas is truly a privilege and a joy. Every day I get to teach students something new about the world. Our aim is to guide them in the joy of discovery, and in beholding the great wonders of nature and the universe. But we perform such guidance with a liberal arts approach and a humanistic purpose. As Mortimer Adler wrote, 

The aim of liberal education, however, is not to produce scientists. It seeks to develop free human beings who know how to use their minds and are able to think for themselves. Its primary aim is not the development of professional competence, although a liberal education is indispensable for any intellectual profession… It is an education for all free men, whether they intend to be scientists or not.

The study of scientific theories and mathematical concepts, the attaining of facts and particulars, are part of our studies, but they are not our ultimate aim.
 

The study of science and mathematics has led to many great advances in technology and uncovered wonderful new paths of discoveries about our universe and, indeed, ourselves. It has also brought us face to face with difficult questions, and powers which we currently seem unable to fully control or comprehend. Our goal is not solely to increase our arsenal of knowledge, but to gain insight and understanding about how we have attained it, and what caution it demands. In an increasingly complex and technological world, it is imperative that our students understand the scientific process, and the careful, painstaking work that it takes to perform proper experiments. Moreover, it is important to learn how to interpret results, and how to distinguish the essential from the nonessential. This is why we strive to guide our students to become excellent liberal artists, as well as great-hearted young men and women. We strive to provide an education that our students can rely upon for the rest of their life. We hope to equip them with the ability and the courage to take on the most difficult questions that humanity faces.
 

Our students understand that we do not simply assess their progress based on how ‘much’ they know. Indeed, the course of inquiry into science and mathematics has to be scrutinized and marveled at. We want our students to appreciate and wonder at not just the fruits of science, but also the harvest itself. This is why we do not simply lecture to our students. The great vehicle of learning relies on Socratic discussion, in which we encourage our students to join us in questioning, refuting, superseding, and questioning again. This is not to say that we eliminate all drudgery and routine work, as the learning process requires them too. True learning is not gauged by improved numbers, grades or statistics, but by the changes that occur in the learner’s soul. Therefore, every step we take is directed toward setting the conditions for learning to take place.
 

As I reminisce about my first few weeks here at Veritas, I realize that I too have changed and have learned new things about myself and about education. My students have become my teachers, in proving that they are more than able and ready to take on the studies of the Liberal Arts, and that they are becoming freer, more courageous, and better educated in partaking in the pursuit of the good, the true, and the beautiful.



About Mr. Lobo Dias

 
Dalton Lobo Dias joined Veritas Preparatory Academy in 2013. His undergraduate studies at St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland, included a double major in Philosophy and History of Mathematics and Science, as well as a double minor in Classical Studies and Comparative Literature. Prior to becoming a Life Science and Algebra teacher at Veritas, Mr. Lobo Dias taught middle school math and science in Baltimore, Maryland, and worked as a researcher and instructor at the Laboratory of Clinical Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

Highlights of High School at Veritas

By Thomas Thoits

Our classes are the core of what we do, the ultimate highlights of the Veritas experience. These classes, most particularly at the high school level, are the realms where we immerse ourselves in the ideas of others, learning to respond and test ourselves with the best that has been thought and said before us.

Yet what we do in class has a profound effect on what we do outside. To take a relatively minor case in point, my first year here, we won a varsity football championship and, to celebrate—instead of the usual antics, our students ran out and did a victory lap in a reconstructed ancient Greek chariot. The glory of it all was only enhanced by my knowledge of having seen Mr. Sullivan’s high school students, days earlier, spray-painting a garbage can and retrofitting it with wheels. We will stop at nothing to immerse ourselves in the worlds we study.

But, more important than reconstructing ancient worlds from modern refuse, every day in class we practice virtues that serve us beyond the classroom. We leave Humane Letters class, but in a way class never leaves us. We live Socratically, and we examine all of our lives—not just the parts that are assigned—and our extracurricular activities give us the chance to continue explorations begun in class.

For instance, we discuss every day—every day in a way we put ourselves on the spot. We recite poetry, perform plays, in addition to daily discussion. In Forensics club with Mr. Thorpe, we take this art of rhetoric, of being in command of our speech, and practice it in a new field.

Once you step into Mrs. Rathsburg’s or Mr. Liles’s choral music classes, you will never want to leave. And you won’t have to: our extracurricular choirs are a great chance to stay active in music outside of class. And they have done amazing things—only recently singing the national anthem for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Every day we read and then discuss for two hours in Humane Letters seminar, but sometimes that just isn’t enough: those nagging questions don’t end at the bell. For those who want to keep the conversation going, we have a discussion group called Junto, led by Mr. Fink.

High school at Veritas also offers the opportunity for leadership in and out of the classroom. Our student mentor program gives you the chance to practice those virtues we talk about in the classroom, to be a true leader and show charity towards others. You will be able to help younger students become fully part of our community of learners, both socially and academically.

Also, in our classes we talk a lot about what it means to be our best, to fulfill our purpose as human beings. As juniors and seniors grow in intellect and in virtue, they will have chances to test and demonstrate their excellence.

Prom is one such opportunity: Leaving junior high, let’s face it, boys and girls are often just learning to talk to each other. The daily experience of speaking in class, the subtleties learned in discussion, bear fruit in this moment. Prom is a social outlet, certainly, a chance to cut loose and have fun—but the habits our students form in high school mean that what is fun looks less like chaos and more like harmony. You’ll have to see it (or maybe see a yearbook) to understand what I mean.

When you reach senior year, you realize the purpose of everything you have done in high school here at Veritas. Nowhere is this more true than with the senior thesis, an essay in which you engage three classic works of literature and philosophy, discussing them with a faculty advisor through the year, and coming up with your own ideas—finally testing them in a lively and mature conversation with three of your teachers. I have to say, joining in these “defense” conversations is a highlight of the year for me as a teacher.

Your experience delving into the history of our civilization in Humane Letters also bears fruit on the senior trip: you will visit our nation’s capital, seeing the animating ideas of our republic take form in architecture.

And then you will feast on hors d’oeuvres with your teachers, followed by an evening of speeches in your honor known as Senior Tribute Night. Yes, we do see your virtues, and the teachers who know you so well by this point will have the best (and sometimes also the most amusing) stories to tell, reflecting on your time here. It is a bittersweet moment, but an evening we never forget.

These are just some of the more obvious highlights of our high school program here at Veritas. What truly animates our lives, as you can see, is the daily inquiry begun in our classrooms and led by our teachers, who share the same journey toward veritas—toward truth.

From remarks delivered at High School Preview Night on November 20, 2013.

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