Critical Thinking

Training Students to Seek Truth

Just as the best athletes diligently train their muscles to respond appropriately in strenuous situations, so a Classical Christian Education trains the muscles of a students' mind to reason appropriately when faced with challenging and charged issues.

Whether in formal logic class or in a lively civics and theology discussion in Omnibus, our students learn and apply the crucial skills of logical reasoning, respectful listening, and thoughtful responding.

It begins in Grammar School, where our youngest students soak in abundant facts of math, language, history, science and more. It grows in middle school when each dialectic-style class period encourages questioning and examining. By the time our students present their Junior and Senior Theses, they have mastered the art of weighing perspectives, considering consequences, choosing and articulating their stance, listening respectfully, and responding thoughtfully.

"We like the way that the truth of scripture is incorporated into study and that everything is taught through a Biblical worldview lens, but that academics don't suffer because of it. The concept of teaching kids how to think critically and how to communicate effectively was very powerful to us and missing in all the other school options we considered."

Jeffrey L.
"In today’s culture of polarized public opinions and varied news reporting, we value that Veritas Academy’s curriculum is designed to develop our children’s critical thinking skills. It is one of the key reasons we send our children to Veritas. We desire an education that helps our children challenge faulty arguments and discern what is true so they can stand strong in what they believe in the face of an increasingly hostile environment to the gospel."

Pete and Lauren L., Parents of two Veritas students
"We want our children raised with a Christ-centered worldview, and we value an education that's based on that, integrating this Christian worldview, but that also trains children to be independent thinkers, and that is a foundation of Classical Christian Education."

Hannah H., Parent of three Veritas students
"The practice in applying critical thinking while I was in high school has put me heads above my peers once I was in college."
- Josh G., Veritas 2014 graduate

"Veritas helped me have conversations with people. Going into college I realized that there are people who lack that skill. They did a really good job of helping us think intellectually, debate well, and speak with understanding about many different things."
- Kayla M., Veritas 2014 graduate

READING AND WRESTLING THE IDEAS OF THE AGES

Veritas secondary students tackle complex issues in their Omnibus classes, reading important works of literature written from many viewpoints to allow students to examine both the fallacies and verities of historical and current schools of thought.

Yes, we read the great works of our faith like Paradise Lost, Pilgrim's Progress, Divine Comedy, and writings of C.S. Lewis, Martin Luther, R.C. Sproul and more - but they also read The Communist Manifesto, Mein Kampf and Anna Karenina. In fact, by the time a Veritas student graduates, they will read nearly 175 of the world's most influential (for better or for worse) books, speeches, writings, and plays.

Many of these may present views wholly different from those held by our students, their families, or their faculty. Because of the solid Biblical foundation established early their education, and the lens through which our skilled, loving teachers present the material, students have thoroughly exercised their ability to take in new and various ideas and issues and process them through a Biblical worldview.

Education for Life

Your child will be presented with a myriad of new ideas as they grow. Many of these ideas will challenge the foundation of what you've hoped to instill in their hearts. To raise a generation that appreciates truth, beauty, and goodness, we must train their hearts and minds to seek out those virtues in all things.

Give your child a Classical Christian Education, and you and they can both be confident that they'll be able to know what they believe, why they believe it, and how to articulate that belief, speaking the truth in love to those around them.