It’s amazing how frequently at Veritas we get asked, “Can my child, coming from another program, be able to transition into Veritas?” The short answer is yes. Thousands of children have done it successfully. We have great advisors to help work with you, making the transition as smooth as possible.
It’s a valid question, though. For good reason, we are seen as highly rigorous and, based on standardized test scores and college placements, we are getting remarkable results.
Whether your child is coming from another classical program or not doesn’t matter. We can meet them where they are. Each program is different with different strengths and weaknesses. We’re trying to be known for maximizing student potential and inculcating thorough Christian worldview thinking. There are many classical programs out there and they all have their own distinction.
Many times families ask, “What if my child is behind?” No problem. In fact, it’s quite common. First of all at Veritas we look at each child as an individual. We are NOT trying to have everyone do the same thing at the same grade. Even in our diploma program there is great flexibility. Some children are ready to run fast and hard in math, for instance, and others are not. We know that some families like all their children to study the same history and Bible in grammar school. That’s easy to do, too.
Like any good classical program grammar school has a strong emphasis on memory work. Unlike many, we do NOT leave it there. Just memorizing a timeline and basic information is not enough. God gave little ones inquisitive minds and we want to ignite them. We want to them ask questions about the world that God gave us when reading great literature. Questions that need to be answered. Learning of people from the past is more than facts. Projects should be memorable. Mummifying a chicken to understand Egypt was not forgotten by my children. Yours won’t either. They won’t forget a colorful Greek feast either. We want to stimulate their imaginations. Honestly, memory work without inspiration is the easy part and not a standard we should feel good about.
In junior high or middle school, the dialectic stage, we want to teach them logic and teach them to argue well. They love it. They start Omnibus, our Great Books program. The conversations that spill over to dinner take on a new tone. It’s amazing how much young students are inspired when exposed to the great books. They just love them. Students transition in at this level frequently. It takes some time to get up to speed, but with a careful plan that’s well-executed it’s very successful.
When students transition in during high school, the rhetoric years, they’ll not only enjoy the Great Books, they’ll learn math, rhetoric, science, etc. in such a way that they’ll be able to go anywhere and do anything they want! Our flagship text, A Rhetoric of Love, will prepare them to engage the world in ways that will make you proud. It’s a Christian approach to teaching rhetoric that teaches Aristotle, but goes beyond to the “better way” that Jesus refers to in the Sermon on the Mount.
ANY child can transition to Veritas. Work with us to find out what best suits your child.
