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.
