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What was it like to be in one of the world’s first live online high school classes? The year was 2006 and students in the first-ever live online Veritas Scholars Academy class were dialing into Webex from their phones to participate in Omnibus I. While the online class experience has changed over the years, the high-caliber education at Veritas Scholars Academy is stronger than ever! Veritas alumna Tessa Hilgerson is here to share what the early days were like and how classical Christian education has influenced her into her adult years.

Episode Transcription

Note: This transcription may vary from the words used in the original episode for better readability.

Marlin Detweiler:

Hello again. I am Marlin Detwiler and you've joined us on Veritas Vox, the voice of classical Christian education. Today, we have an interesting and unique visitor, and you'll find out why in just a moment. Tessa, welcome.

Tessa Hilgerson:

Thank you. Glad to be here!

Marlin Detweiler:

We're so excited to have Tessa. She was part of the first year we ever offered online classes, and I'll give you some detail about that, and we'll ask Tessa some questions about her experience, especially how it's moved with her through her life. But, Tessa, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself first, your background and how you got connected with Veritas and I’ll ask some other questions. I don't want to give you too many questions at one time.

Tessa Hilgerson:

I am one of six kids and we started homeschooling the year I was in kindergarten. And I think very early on my mom had just through homeschool conferences, gotten connected with Veritas. So I think in third grade we started those history cards. So even from an early age, I did a lot of Veritas curriculum and I loved it. Some of my most favorite homeschool memories with my mom include those history cards!

Marlin Detweiler:

You grew up in the Chicago area?

Tessa Hilgerson:

Yes. Eventually we moved out to northwest Illinois, so kind of near Iowa.

Marlin Detweiler:

Okay. Now tell us what you do currently and a little bit about your personal own family.

Tessa Hilgerson:

Yes. So now I currently teach art and art history at a Christian school in the middle of Iowa. And I have been married for a year and a half to my husband, Sam. And we're actually expecting our first child in February.

Marlin Detweiler:

Congratulations! It's wonderful. Well, that's that's really cool. And you are teaching at a Christian school in central Iowa, is that correct?

Tessa Hilgerson:

Correct.

Marlin Detweiler:

Yes. What do you teach?

Tessa Hilgerson:

I teach high school art. And then I also do a section of art history, which is one of my passions. I actually have a master's degree in art history. So I like that I get to still dabble in that and share my passion with my high school students and with that. But I also teach the very little kids. So kindergarten through second grade as well.

Marlin Detweiler:

Yeah. Oh, so you teach high school or what do you teach for the little kids? Is that some a subject or a little collection?

Tessa Hilgerson:

Yeah, just art still.

Marlin Detweiler:

Oh, okay. I gotcha. Yes. So one of the things that I should probably lay a little bit of background for the listeners, our viewers about that. It was 19 or so years ago that we saw what was happening, education educationally with technology and we thought that it was getting to a point where having online classes would be an effective thing and a helpful thing, especially in teaching classes that were hard for parents to teach.

So we jumped in. As you know, I'm not telling you anything that you don't know. With two classes, one teacher and the only and the course was the same. It was two classes of the same, two sections of the same class Omnibus I primary books. And as of course, most people listening will know the Omnibus is our great books curriculum where we're reading great works of literature, history and theology, primary source materials and that sort of thing, and discussing them in class, we limited the class size to a smaller class than normal than what it is today because we didn't know what to expect and wanted to make sure that we didn't have too much too soon. And I forget they were 16. I think 16 students per class. Does that sound right?

Tessa Hilgerson:

Sounds about right. Yeah.

Marlin Detweiler:

I think so. And they filled up very quickly and it was immediately apparent to me my first observation of a class with the teacher that was teaching and watching the whole process that it was far better than even I imagined it could be. The interactions and that sort of thing. But what's your recollection of your class experience going to an online world at a time where there wasn't much teaching online?

Tessa Hilgerson:

Yeah, it's kind of crazy to think about where we started at the beginning of the year and the program that we used. I don't even remember what it was called.

Marlin Detweiler:

I think we used WebEx originally.

Tessa Hilgerson:

That sounds familiar. Yeah. You literally had to, like, dial a phone number.

Marlin Detweiler:

Is that right?

Tessa Hilgerson:

Yes. And we had no webcams. And you just kind of had to pass the mic. Yes, it was kind of a scary thing for the teacher to hand over that power to the student to answer. But of course, it went well. But yeah, by the end of the year, I think we had switched programs maybe, or maybe we just jumped on something.

Marlin Detweiler:

Remember I don't remember the detail. I'm sorry.

Tessa Hilgerson:

No, I can't either. But I remember being very excited to finally see our teachers face through webcam. And then eventually we got to see everyone else's face. So that was pretty exciting. So that's kind of the technical side of that.

Marlin Detweiler:

At that time, what was it that motivate you and your parents to say, “Let's go try this?”

Tessa Hilgerson:

Yeah, I'm trying to recall I loved the Veritas curriculum like I had said before with the cards. So I think this opportunity, especially where we were living, we were kind of living in the middle of nowhere rural and didn't have opportunities for a lot of co-ops or anything like that. So this opportunity to have a live class was really exciting. So I think that was probably a huge driving force.

Marlin Detweiler:

Now, did you have any students from outside the country? I know you had them from all over the country. And what I'm getting at with the question is what the benefit was of the cultural diversity and upbringings because of geography and how that impacted the learning and the experience.

Tessa Hilgerson:

Yeah, I'm trying to remember we had a couple missionary kids. I remember that for sure. I think they had to get up at a kind of a crazy hour and have insane to think about just different time zones. So I think they were in maybe an Asia. I forget what country.

Marlin Detweiler:

That would make a difference. Yeah.

Tessa Hilgerson:

Yeah. And then all across the U.S. for sure, too. And we would come in early and stay late just to chat online. And we definitely developed a pretty close relationship with everyone. So that was pretty cool.

Marlin Detweiler:

Before we get into content and the subjects themselves or the subject material, how would you say that being in a smaller rural area and being exposed to a broader selection of kids geographically and, you know, different experiences, how did that impact you then? And has it had an impact that's continued?

Tessa Hilgerson:

Yeah, I guess at the time I didn't really think about it. It just was kind of natural. But then later on in life, when I'm sharing stories of, “Oh yeah, I know so-and-so who lives there,” it gave me a bigger vision of the world and different cultures and just the different activities students were involved in that I knew nothing about but learned through them just different lifestyles as well and was pretty cool.

Marlin Detweiler:

Yeah, I've often told this story. Well, first of all, the thing it was the unexpected benefit of an online class to me when I saw students from multiple countries or from the north, in the south, in the West, or whatever it might be, coming together and being able to relate from their context and have other students broaden their understanding, see broader horizons.

You know, it's a funny thing to think about learning about Benedict Arnold, the traitor in the War for Independence, but when you think of it with a student from England joining the class, he's a hero. And now you've got to wrestle through those differences and those considerations because we've got some very different things. They're very different presuppositions to which we come to the same information depending on the perspective we come from.

And it's fascinating to consider that in light of building a real comprehensive biblical worldview. Do you have any examples that might come to mind that would help you that I know that's taxing and it's a long time ago. I'm glad you're not asking me that question, to be honest with you.

Tessa Hilgerson:

Yeah, I'm trying to think of specific examples of that, but with Omnibus I, we were mostly dealing with ancient history through, but we definitely had North and South. I'm sure that came up. I'm just hearing different opinions and stuff like that. I guess maybe theologically is the biggest example because in Omnibus I we did a lot of biblical reading.

Marlin Detweiler:

Yeah. Yeah. It, it really the breadth of theology doesn't require a geographic breadth, but it still has differing perspectives. What are the things that stick with you today that you learned from those early classes? Obviously, the Omnibus I primary online was a class that you took for the first year, but I know you took other online classes, too. And now that you're. Yeah, almost 20 years hence, what are the things that stick with you that have made a difference to you?

Tessa Hilgerson:

I think broadly speaking, it definitely helped me to think deeply, to think through everything I read, to filter it through a biblical worldview definitely gave me the tools. What questions to ask, what thoughts to think and what to wrestle with. And then, like you were saying before, different perspectives for sure, not being closed-minded to other perspectives, but really trying to understand where someone else is coming from and their thought process and not just believing what I believe, but really wrestling with their perspective as well and holding that up to the biblical worldview. Yeah, but then also I would say it helped me learn how to read hard material.

Marlin Detweiler:

So I'll bet, especially Omnibus I primary, you get into Herodotus and some of the other works that have been translated, but they still have it awkward to term that we're not used to yet in today's languages.

Tessa Hilgerson:

Yeah, and I think with all that reading also, it definitely helps my writing, being able to write clearly and that definitely impacted the way, I guess obviously through college, but then into grad school.

Marlin Detweiler:

Teaching art and art history, those early classes, especially the Omnibus, how did they impact your ability to be an effective teacher of art history and even of art, the doing of art, not just talking about it and its history?

Tessa Hilgerson:

I think while I don't teach at a classical school, I kind of have that tendency because I was trained that way, just the way I ask questions. That definitely is. In fact, I still have my Omnibus textbooks. And just like thinking through the structure of how to ask questions. So that's definitely on the art history side of things.

But even in art, wanting them to learn how to think for themselves and ask questions about not just draw a picture because they like it, but wanting them to think deeper and wrestle with issues of the day and different perspectives and thoughts, and how can that come through their art. So I don't want it just to be all about arts and crafts, but actually developing skills and deep thinking.

Marlin Detweiler:

So I want to make sure I understand what you're saying. Are you suggesting that when you're teaching art history, one of the things you really enjoy that you have taken with you from your experiences, what we might call a Socratic approach of teaching by asking students questions?

Tessa Hilgerson:

Yes, for sure. Yes.

Marlin Detweiler:

And can you give an example of how that kind of plays out, How you're able to be a teacher that's a facilitator more than a lecturer? I'm so glad to hear you say that that's what you learned and valued enough to do it yourself. Maybe you can give some examples of how that's benefited your students.

Tessa Hilgerson:

Yeah, I think I start off by showing you works of art, and I guess that's the kind of the grammar stage of just saying “What do you see?” And letting them pull those things out. And as they bring things up, then ask them, what do you think it means? Of course, leading them to take into account what is happening in history at that time. What ideas? So instead of being so vague, I'll just give a specific example.

Marlin Detweiler:

Oh, good. I was hoping you could recall one.

Tessa Hilgerson:

Yeah. I'm thinking of like, Greek sculpture, for example. The Greeks were so into man and the perfection of man.

Marlin Detweiler:

Yeah.

Tessa Hilgerson:

So we look at a lot of human sculptures and I lead them through that process. What did they see? What did they notice? It's these idealized humans. And eventually, we start to talk about their philosophy and why they think that, and that it's this idea of the perfection of man. So I'm thinking of [unintelligible]. If you've ever seen that sculpture.

And it's literally called the cannon. And sometimes it's like the perfect human being. Everything is measured to this. So then eventually we take that to the biblical world, and I give them a take-home assignment and talk about, okay, what is God's idea of the perfect human? And I want them to wrestle through that. And then eventually we come back together and talk about it as a class. So that's just kind of a little snippet.

Marlin Detweiler:

And what age students are these is are juniors and seniors in high school.

Tessa Hilgerson:

Anyone in high school.

Marlin Detweiler:

Well, it's it really does provoke good thinking. And I'll bet you have some great conversation with students. So you have a family starting of your own. What have you thought about for that child to be born in a few months and how you might want to educate? I can't say him. I can't say her and them as plural. You didn't say you're having twins, but so I'll say the baby.

Tessa Hilgerson:

At it has always been my desire to. I have a passion for Christian classical education. So whatever form that would look like, obviously I had a great experience with Veritas and online and the other curriculum that you guys offer. So whether I guess it just depends geographically where we're at and what opportunities provide themselves. But I still get the Veritas catalog and I still pore over it. That has always been my dream to maybe homeschool at the beginning and then who knows what the Lord might want.

Marlin Detweiler:

And I can tell you're thoughtful and not one to just follow someone else's lead. So as you look back on your education and you see the education of the children around you at the school, what do you say to yourself, “I want to do this differently.” What are the things that you think you can improve upon from what you experienced?

Tessa Hilgerson:

At the school I'm at now or…?

Marlin Detweiler:

Well, now I'm primarily really your experience.

Tessa Hilgerson:

Oh, okay.

Marlin Detweiler:

Yeah. Given your experience, what do you say, “You know, I really want to do this differently. I to do this better.” Parents almost always look at their experience and think in terms of what they can do to improve on it. And I like to think of that of children standing on the shoulders of their parents as opposed to being contrary to their parents. They want to improve on it, not, you know, in a good experience. It sounds like you had it would be the idea of how I can make it even better.

Tessa Hilgerson:

Yes. Well, I would say I always regret that I was a junior and a senior when the online classes came out. I always wished– I had such a positive experience that I had more of that. So I guess that's one thing I've always thought like this more. Yeah, I think I would do something similar with, like I said, my favorite memories are the history cards with my mom. Like I loved that time, so I would definitely do that. And more of that. Just I guess, that on steroids!

Marlin Detweiler:

Oh, that's so, so good to hear it. Yeah, It helps. Laurie and I get up in the morning to hear experiences of how our work has been appreciated and benefits. So thank you. Let me ask you, what would you tell parents who might be on the fence when they think about not just online classes, but classical Christian education in general? What would you tell them to say, “Yeah, I'm thinking about it. I'm not sure what to do.”

Tessa Hilgerson:

I feel like in the world we live in today, it's becoming all the more important that we have the ability to think deeply. Going back to what I was saying before and to take into consideration other people's perspectives and not just saying, “Oh, we don't do that, we don't read that. That's not what we believe.” But to actually be able to read opposing views. Even pagan views. And then in that safe environment with fellow believers to unpack those things and to wrestle with them, I guess logically and just being able to articulate those things, I think that's the biggest benefit that I would say for sure.

Marlin Detweiler:

Yeah, it's been it's really been important to us that if we believe we, we hold the truth that biblical worldview thinking is the truth. And we believe that with all our hearts that there is nothing that won't stand up to being challenged in a way that would draw us away from that and to be prepared as it seems that you have been to address pagan thinking and humanistic thinking and man-centered thinking, however you want to characterize it and be able to study it and pick it apart and understand the truth and why that is not the truth.

That's what that's why we created the Omnibus curriculum to teach. People ask me, you know, “What did you want to accomplish with it?” And my answer is very simple to teach people to teach you how to think biblically about everything.

Tessa Hilgerson:

Yeah.

Marlin Detweiler:

Does that resonate with your experience?

Tessa Hilgerson:

Yeah, sure.

Marlin Detweiler:

It's one thing for me to want to do. That's another thing for it to have been accomplished in your life.

Tessa Hilgerson:

And I would say that was a huge influence for me wanting to teach art. I kind of wanted to bring in that biblical perspective. I taught a couple of years at a public school, which it was a great experience and I loved it, but I knew I needed to get back to being able to bring in that biblical worldview and teaching students how to do that.

Marlin Detweiler:

Yeah, that is great. Do you have anything that you'd like that I didn't ask you about that you'd really like to share with our listeners?

Tessa Hilgerson:

I'm trying to think, I guess, along with just these broader statements that I've been making, like I do have specific memories of specific discussions.

Marlin Detweiler:

Great. Go ahead.

Tessa Hilgerson:

Yeah, I'm just thinking, oftentimes in high school, we read things for the test and just move on and we forget what the stories are. But what I loved about Omnibus was the discussions that we had. So some things I was thinking about this last night that stood out to me was from the Aeneid. I have no idea why this is such an impactful discussion that I remember there was a question that said “what constitutes a marriage?”

Because it was talking about Aeneas and Dido and I had never really thought about it before. I just came at it with, well, I think my sister was getting married at the time. Like, you need to go to the courthouse, get a license and all these things. It's like, No, that's that was such a shallow way of thinking to really go to the Bible and to unpack for ourselves what does the Bible say?

What does the Lord say about what constitutes a marriage? So while it's a specific memory about marriage that has been, I've been able to apply that to so many aspects of my life. And just to stop and think about it.

Marlin Detweiler:

There are some really significant ideas that we kind of take for granted. And you give one there. I'm curious, can you provide us with a good, healthy, comprehensive answer? What is a marriage?

Tessa Hilgerson:

Well, now I would say it's a covenant between a man and a woman and God. So that's kind of my assisting succinct answer.

Marlin Detweiler:

I don't want to start an Omnibus class, but I'm tempted to say, What do you mean by covenant between But I'm not going to. You have other examples you want to bring up?

Tessa Hilgerson:

I mean, I guess with writing as well. I remember I love the outlines that Omnibus provided. I think one of my favorite things to write about was I think we had to write a paper on Odysseus when we were reading The Odyssey, and I kept coming back to those structures throughout college and grad school how to write a well-crafted essay. So I guess that's another example.

Marlin Detweiler:

I’m curious, I hear people say this, and this is obviously far fetched from all of us. Another day of not using algebra. And I want to laugh because I know I like math and I know that we use aspects of algebra every day and people don't even realize it. How would you comment on that kind of naivete? How have you been able to get past the idea that maybe somebody might say, “Why are we reading the great books? Why aren't we just learning things that will help us get a job?”

Tessa Hilgerson:

I feel like if these books have stood the test of time throughout many, many generations and people are still reading them, then we should pay close attention to them. They obviously have something important to say. They're obviously dealing with things outside of their own time, not just constrained to their own time, but across all time. So I think that's one big thing. I mean, history repeats itself, right? So if we just ignore the past, then we're in for a lot of trouble. I would say.

Marlin Detweiler:

Right? Yeah. Ignoring the past makes certain we will be unprepared for the present, don't you think?

Tessa Hilgerson:

Yes.

Marlin Detweiler:

Well, this has been really good it's so fun to think about somebody in your position that, like I said, nearly 20 years ago, took an online class and it was part of our early stages. I don't know if you know this, but now we have well over 10,000 students and I'm told, wow, in 70 countries.

Tessa Hilgerson:

Wow, That's crazy.

Marlin Detweiler:

We're not one teacher. Two sections of one class anymore, for sure. And it has been remarkable to see and to hear the stories. But I don't get very often to hear the story of somebody that was there in the first year or so. Thank you, Tessa.

Tessa Hilgerson:

Yes, thank you.

Marlin Detweiler:

Folks. This is Veritas Vox. Thanks for joining us. The voice of classical Christian education. Until next time. Bye bye.