DOCENDO DISCIMUS

Parents as Teachers

I dipped my toes into the waters of substitute teaching on Tuesday this week, but then got pushed in full on Thursday. You know what? The water isn't nearly as scary as I was thinking it would be. In fact, I wouldn't mind going swimming again.

At Veritas, we have the unique privilege of partnering with professional teachers in the eduction of our children. Of course, I'm already teaching our own kids at home two days a week, but occasionally agreeing to partner in the education of other kids in our community can be very affirming, for you AND  the school.

Now then, group teaching isn't for everyone; there are plenty of reasons some people are called to be teachers and some are not. But I think, particularly in a blended model of education, there are more of us capable of subbing than we might think. This post is for those people.

Here are six reasons I think parents should consider being on the substitute list:

1) It's a great way to get to know other kids in our VCA community. Believe it or not, even as the wife of the Head of School, sometimes I feel a little on the fringe of what we're doing. Craig takes the girls to school in the morning and he brings them home in the afternoon on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Friday. I'm really not on campus very much.

Substituting this week gave me a small sense of connectedness to the school as a whole. I chatted with more teachers than I ever have before (not a ton, but even three is more than none), and I got to know eleven new kids and, by extention, a little bit about our different families through them. I loved it.

2) We have great kids in our VCA community. Most of us think our OWN kids are pretty great (most of the time), but some might be surprised to learn we have a ton of great kids within our VCA community. They are funny; they are smart; they are respectful; they are lively; they are witty; they are awesome. I really enjoyed getting to know a new set of kids and I was encouraged in our decision to be part of this community. These are kids I want my kids hanging around!

3) It's not as scary as it sounds. Really. It isn't. I was nervous all the way to school on Tuesday, but once I got there and saw the schedule and the plans, I relaxed a lot. I could do this. Y'all, I've BEEN doing this at home all-year long! Sure, it's different doing it with a classroom of kids all the same age, but I don't think that's a bad thing. I loved getting up close and into what the kids are really doing on their school days.

4) You don't have to teach SWR (Spell to Write and Read) to the class. There is help for the hopeless (me). Really, if you know this program well and are comfortable doing it, you can, but if you need help, help is there to be found. Whew!

5) You can earn a little spending money. No, it's not a lot, but it's not nothing, either! And you don't have to do it one day just because your name is on the list.

6) We have great teachers in our VCA community. I mentioend our GREAT kids and it's true! But we have GREAT teachers, too. Unfortunately, sometimes our great teachers get sick, or (because many of them are parents of Veritas students themselves), sometimes their own kids get sick. Honestly, sometimes they need a break, and sometimes they need us to help them.

Our substitute list for all campuses is short, and we really need parents on it. If you're part of our commuity (or if you're at a different but similar kind of school somewhere else), please consider this a plea to sign up to substitute teach.

Really. You can do this.

A Brief Behind-the-Scenes History of Veritas

Ever wondered what goes into starting a classical Christian school? I (Craig) asked one of our Veritas Classical Academy founding board members, Julie Serven, to reflect over the past seven years and share from her experience. She writes:

"The very short version is that in 2002, a few families at our church in Norman, just south of Oklahoma City, started wondering whether it might be possible to have a classical Christian school in Norman. Someone read through the Association of Classical Christian Schools website, in particular the link, Start a School. Twelve or so of us met monthly starting fall of 2002 to discuss some of the books on the ACCS suggested book list. This helped us to get on the same page.

In February 2003, four board members were selected (or at least willing!) to make some more particular decisions to try to move forward as the Lord led. I and some other board members made trips to 4 or 5 schools to see how they implemented classical Christian education. One school I visited was Coram Deo Academy in Dallas, as someone I knew was teaching there. Coram Deo followed a blended/university/part-time model, which is something that had appealed to me about a school in St. Louis where we lived for seminary (even though our kids were too young to go there then).

The board decided to pursue opening a blended model classical Christian school - partially so parental involvement would be written into the fabric of the school, and partially so the costs could be kept down to make it more financially accessible. We gathered together materials, raised a bit of money, and scheduled some information sessions to see whether there were interested teachers and parents of students. We put together bylaws, incorporated with the state, prayed a lot, and just tried to figure out what the next step might be each step of the way.

We were advised to raise $100,000 before starting. We were able to raise $10,000 before starting fall 2004, when we started meeting in a Baptist church in Norman. We had 34 students in grades K through 5/6. Another board member was the first part-time principal/administrator. We had six teachers and one administrative assistant. We met Tuesday and Thursday from 8:15am to 3:15pm.

Many of the years since then, the board members have just been trying to figure it out and trust God along the way. He has been very faithful. We have made plenty of mistakes, but God must be pleased to have Veritas exist because He keeps making it a place where His work in kids and family and staff keeps happening.

For those interested in starting a school, I would suggest reading all the ACCS information available. Meet monthly with interested others to see whether there is a group with a common vision to move forward. Visit some other schools to determine more what "flavor" your school will have. Whether 5-day or blended model, assess likelihood of raising money (I would say at least $100K; we are still trying to erase initial start-up deficit). And of course, pray a whole lot. ACCS also has an annual summer conference that would be helpful for networking and figuring out what direction you would want your school to take in the particulars.

The process of starting a school has been much harder than I ever would have guessed. It is definitely not for the faint of heart and only for those who clearly feel that God is in it as they take steps forward. But seeing what God has done (and having a front-row seat on the process) is glorious as well."

Julie Serven is a mother of four (all at Veritas) who is currently helping her husband, Doug, plant City Presbyterian Church in downtown Oklahoma City.

The Centerpiece of Constructing the Vision

Many of you know we're part of a very unique educational experience here in Oklahoma City - Veritas Classical Academy - which, as I (Megan) like to think of it, combines the best of both worlds in the realm of education. I've always had the heart of a homeschooler, but recognized two years ago I didn't exactly have the drive of one.

What I mean by that is that while I loved homeschooling my kids, I wasn't doing that great of a job of it with all four of my kids at the same time. With Veritas, I have the assurance and accountability that none of my kids are getting dropped in any area, while at the same time, I get to teach them at home half the time as well. It's been working really well for us this year.

Next month we're hosting our first annual fundraising banquet and the theme of the banquet is Constructing the Vision: Education Redefined. I'm excited that Susan Wise Bauer is headlining our event as the main speaker and Michael Card will be performing that evening as well. All of our girls already know Mike, so they are looking forward to seeing him again. All of our girls have also gone through a variety of Susan's educational resources, so when I mentioned she was coming, K10 asked if she could bring last year's Writing with Ease book and have her sign it, which I think is both sweet and hysterical. And...if I can find last year's Writing with Ease book, I'll definitely let her bring it that night! There are no guarantees I will be able to find it...*cough*

Anyway, I'm on the banquet planning team and my main job is to make sure we have table decor. After initially flipping out because I don't really see table decor as one of my spiritual gifts, I remembered that it is one of the spiritual gifts of my friend, Kirsten Spears. I told her the theme of the banquet and begged her to come up with a centerpiece idea. In keeping with the "constructing the vision" theme, she came up with the vase below with nails glued all around. I added the blue ribbon and think they are perfect.

We're getting together this weekend to make 55 of these babies. So much fun, right? Pray I don't burn my thumbs off on Saturday.

Also, I remembered the Michael Miller Whimsy line in royal blue and yellow and spent a lot of time hunting down various pieces from that collection with which to make table toppers. I've been a cutting and sewing fool for the past week. I think they look pretty snazzy and am excited to see them all on the tables at the banquet.

I'm looking forward to the evening. If you are in the area on Thursday, March 8, I'd love to encourage you to snag some tickets and come. Not only will you be supporting a worthy cause (our awesome school), but you will be both inspired and encouraged by two dynamic people as well.

I'm just going to come out and say it: this is totally worth your time and your money.

See you there!

On Accreditation and Statism in Education

I (Craig) have been revisiting a few previously-read books on classical Christian education to apply their counsel to current situations. The process has been helpful for the sake of thinking through some of these aforementioned "opportunities".

For instance, I recently received the following email from one of our Veritas parents:

"My daughter has just finished another semester at Veritas. We know she is getting a very good education, and we are pleased with her performance. She is learning how to study and prepare, to be a success when she attends college. It is never too early to create good study skills and habits.

However, I am curious about the state accreditation status of Veritas Classical. I am sure the process is a long, drawn-out procedure, but to be honest, I am a little nervous. Am I correct in saying, if a student does not attend a state accredited high school, the only way for them to be accepted to a state college or university, is based solely on their ACT scores?

I am also interested in the accreditation status because there is a grant program available for schools. Perhaps you have heard of the Box Tops program. This program has probably existed for 20 years. Many of the foods we use come with Box Tops, and once collected, the boxtops are sent in, and the school receives money. I would be happy to assist with this program, but the school MUST be state accredited to receive the funds. I have saved these coupons for three years and hopefully, one day Veritas, will be able to benefit from them.

I have not heard of any specific details indicating that VCA is indeed making a consorted effort to continue their pursuit of accreditation. Would you please be specific and give me some concrete details about this matter?"

Rather than email back, I thought a conversation might be more helpful, so I picked up the phone and called. We had a pleasant discussion about her concerns and our philosophy concerning accreditation. Indeed, I said, there are no specific details because there are no specific plans to pursue state authorization or endorsement. Curricularly speaking, we actually exceed the state's academic requirements; financially speaking, we don't want money with strings attached.

Simply put, with regard to accreditation, we don't need or want it.

Douglas Wilson, in his books, Repairing the Ruins and The Case for Classical Christian Education, elaborates on what I mean:

"We have been told, both directly and subliminally, that state accreditation is to education what the FDA stamp of approval is to food quality, i.e. the guarantee of rigorous scrutiny by knowledgeable experts. But the reason we are having all this debate over education in the first place is that the whole country pretty much agrees that our state-certified and accredited schools are usually pretty poor.

Nevertheless, parents still have a deep faith that accreditation means something because it ought to mean something. And so they come to inquire about possible enrollment at a private school, and one of their first questions concerns whether or not the school is accredited - even though the reason they have come to apply is that they are thoroughly unhappy with the school they are leaving, which has been accredited for a hundred years."

In revisiting some of Wilson's thoughts, I noticed another of his answers that fleshed out more of my perspective on the question of school choice - a hot topic here in Oklahoma, and the subject of the "Restoring American Exceptionalism" (terrible title) Town Hall I'm attending on Tuesday. After tweeting yesterday that "Restoring American Exceptionalism is not my goal, but I'm for school choice and will be attending Tuesday,' I realized I should probably have clarified what I meant when I used the phrase "school choice".

For me, "school choice" has little to do with charter schools and vouchers, but simply local (read: parental) control and no government (city, state, or federal) involved. Again, Wilson writes in The Case for Classical Christian Education:

"At the root, the problem with charter schools and vouchers is not difficult to understand. I've written elsewhere that the theological case against such programs should actually be grounded in the prohibition against stealing. When the government taxes us in order to perform the duties assigned to the civil government by God, Christians clearly can have no consistent ethical objection (Romans 13:1-7). But if the government adopts responsibilities that God never assigned and begins massive redistribution of wealth accordingly, this creates an ethical problem...

...Parents who want charter schools and vouchers are asking, in effect, for others to pay higher taxes to fund their children's education - and the whole thing becomes simply 'food stamps for the brain.' A citizenry may be taxed in order to fund those activities that God requires of the civil magistrate, but secularist education is not one of these activities...If conservative Christian parents join this parade by seeking a piece of the action, we are demonstrating that we do not understand how our nation has drifted into its current idolatrous statism. As I put it elsewhere, 'until we learn to fight statism by refusing to accept benefits, our hypocrisy will be evident.'"

While I don't agree with everything Wilson says or writes, it's been helpful revisiting his (and others') books that address these ideas in a way that goes beyond (for now) my instincts and common sense. Much to ponder and process as we continue to shape the future of education.

Naming Our Idols (Reading)

As has been my (Craig's) tradition for the past five or so years, I recently posted my year-end booklist at Second Drafts. I'll save you the rehash here, but suffice it to say, it was not a good year. A couple things came to mind after the fact that I thought might play well here at Docendo Discimus, so here we go.

First, I need to remember Solomon's words: "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3:1). This year was not a particularly good season for reading for a lot of legitimate reasons, but rather than feeling sorry for myself and nursing my wounded pride (more on that in a minute), I need to let it go. Spending the first half of February interviewing for a new role that, between March and June, would then require our family to pack, move, unpack, and begin to figure out our new lives in Oklahoma took a toll (especially on top of teaching and coaching along the way). It wasn't sin; it was just a season that I didn't read a lot of books.

But let's talk about sin. Reading can be an idol for me. Walk into my study and you'll see my trophy cases; check out any end table in our house and you'll see my Asherah poles of books to read. Sure, I post my annual reading list to help others who might be looking for a book, but as I've never had a pure motive in my life, I confess I want people to see not only what I read, but also that I read. I'm not saying I'm proud of that; I'm just saying my motives are mixed (as they are with just about everything I think, say, or do - welcome to my humanity).

Emotionally speaking, and as much as it has therapeutic properties, reading can be a drug - one sold over the counter (or the Internet) and peddled by a variety of dealers (family, friends, teachers, librarians, etc.). Sometimes I need a little literary hit and can get worked up and seriously grumpy if I don't get it. These reading "shakes" may seem as foreign to a non-reader as craving alcohol is to a non-alcoholic, but I swear it's real (my wife and daughters do, too). My name is Craig, and I have a reading problem.

What else complicates all this? Since I seem to have less and less time for picking up a good book, picking up a good book becomes all the more important. The problem? Reading can be like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates: you never know what you're gonna get. Another reality is that, in the name of reading ever-broadly, my wants can overwhelm my needs. Do I want to read the popular biography of a modern visionary whose time partially overlapped my own (Steve Jobs) or a 2000+ year-old set of histories of foreign lands and peoples of which I've rarely heard (Herodotus' Histories)? I can choose the candy as quickly as anyone...and this year it seems I did.

A friend of mine once told me in a discussion on reading that, physically speaking, one can live a long time on junk food, but eventually the body needs a change of diet to a more balanced meal to run optimally. The same is true literarily, and why I feel the way I do about the lack of meat, potatoes, and veggies in my reading diet this past year.

Why lament any of this? Because by offering to God what I feel to be a failure in need of redemption, there's a lesson for others, I think. Let me explain.

A few weeks ago, I had lunch with one of our Veritas dads. As often happens in these parental conversations about education, I picked up on his insecurity in talking with me by way of questions and comments like, "I haven't read/studied like you" and "I'm no scholar like you," etc.

These words, of course, played to my pride, but letting them do so only evoked a hollow feeling of fraud in my heart. Yes, I've read, but there's so much to read that I haven't. Yes, I've studied, but what of my studies have I already forgotten? Yes, I want to be a scholar (and want to be thought of as a scholar), but I'm not. I'm a guy in a role with a title that can lead parents, teachers, and students to think (or hope) I am or might be.

All these mental gymnastics were going on in my head during our conversation and I immediately tried to explain some of it to my friend. I'm not sure he fully understood or believed me, but the important thing was my attempt to disbelieve what I knew to be a lie. I wish I could convince all our parents, staff, and students of how much I still have to read, study, and learn as their classical Christian Head of School. Too many of them may think too highly of me in this area, so perhaps this year's posted reading list will pull back the curtain and reveal more of who's really trying to run Oz.

In the meantime, there are good books to be read with more redeemed motives. Maybe I won't post a booklist next year; maybe I won't even keep track of what I read at all. As silly as I feel for making an idol out of something so seemingly benign as reading, taking what God created as good and using it otherwise has always been my problem.

For the record, I read that in the best Book...or rather, it read that in the worst of me.

What We Learn from Tacky Christmas Sweaters

As I led RISE (our morning assembly) today, I looked out upon an outbreak (the word is appropriate) of tacky Christmas sweaters worn by our Veritas students. This was not a show of anti-dress code solidarity; we just thought it'd be fun for kids to show off the worst in their parents' closets. We were not disappointed.

After we snapped a few pictures and laughed together at the cheery awfulness of the attire, I told our students that Christmas is not the only time some of us wear tacky sweaters. In fact, all of us tend to wear tacky sweaters more than we think; in Bible times, these were called filthy rags of righteousness (Isaiah 64:6).

I suggested to our students that we often forget about the righteous robes God provided when we repented of sin and received Christ's atonement for our sins. Instead of resting in these robes of righteousness, we throw on our tacky sweaters of works and self-righteousness, somehow convincing ourselves that this is what God really wants to see instead.

How many of us, I asked, think that reading the Bible (more) or praying (more) or passing Bible class with an A (or hiding the fact that we only have a C) directly impacts how much more or less God loves us? Nothing is further from the truth, and yet we keep valuing those (and plenty of other) tacky sweaters as important to how we look to God.

The prophet Isaiah wrote:

"I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." (Isaiah 61:10)

And the Apostle Paul encourages us in this way:

"Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith." (Philippians 3:8-9)

This holiday season, we can go ahead and wear our tacky Christmas sweaters of wool and yarn if they (somehow) help us celebrate Christ's birth. But let's leave our tacky sweaters of works and self-righteousness in the closet of Christ's crucifixion, as they just don't match our new creation attire.

(Photo courtesy of Holly Martin)

The Best Teachers are the Best Learners

These are just some of the people I get to work with each day at Veritas. So blessed.

Show Me the Money

Over the past several months, I (Craig) have had multiple meetings with my Administrative Team and our Veritas Board concerning income, expenses, and next year's tuition rates. I've also had a few parents ask me when we're going to post our rates for next year.

I've only got one answer: when we're sure they're right.

Back in October, as we began budgeting for next school year, I happened to mention via email our process to my former Head of School, Jim Marsh, at Westminster Christian Academy, a college prep Christian school of 900 students in St. Louis. A long-time administrator, Jim is both a hero and a mentor in my role as Head of School (because of our shared titles, he calls me his "peer," which is more than humorous - I'm no Jim Marsh). He wrote:

"The tuition/true cost of education issue is difficult to get one's head around. There are those (Bruce Lockerbie and Paideia and organizations like Independent School Management) who would say to determine what it costs to provide excellence in fulfilling your mission and set the tuition at that cost. Then, raise money to provide tuition relief for those who cannot afford the tuition.

However, the value proposition is of critical importance in an age when parents are asking the question: 'Is it worth it? Is it worth the financial sacrifice?' The brutal fact is that it costs money to provide an excellent Christian education, but establishing a tuition level at that per student cost might be more than the market will bear. So, we look around and assess the financial condition of our families and determine what the price point should be."

Jim's balanced perspective describes exactly where we are at Veritas Classical Academy. Over the past month-and-a-half, my Administrative Team (all of whom are Veritas parents) have tried to get a better handle on what it costs "to provide an exceptional classical Christian education to the Oklahoma City metro." It's been hard work, but I'm proud of the way our team has drilled down to depths of detail we've not operationally been at before.

At the same time (and with counsel from our Board, all of whom are also Veritas parents), we've wrestled with the realities of these costs and asked ourselves what seems reasonable to expect tuition to cover and what should we plan to cover through more intentional fundraising. In doing this, we're seeking God to lead us to the right numbers, and to provide for them as well.

We think we're almost there...but not yet. Rest assured, tuition rates are coming (and soon), but as Head of School, I want to make sure they're right (and not just out). We don't want to overcharge our families; at the same time, we don't want to be the best blended model school in Oklahoma to go out of business.

Survey Reminds Us That We're in This Together

Back in early September, our Parent Partnership Association conducted a short survey asking how our parents were feeling about the start of the year. Here are a few results from the 32 parents who answered the survey (a 20% response rate):

Please choose which description best encompasses your feelings about Home Days with your children these first two weeks?
Weeping and gnashing of teeth and about to give up	0%	0
Some tears, but I see glimmers of hope	15.6%	5
It's going okay, but not as well as I had hoped	12.5%	4
It's going well, although we have challenges	56.3%	18
Challenges? What challenges?	15.6%	5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What topic would be most helpful for additional parent training?
Schedule management with school work	24.1%	7
Schedule management with extra commitments	6.9%	2
Food and household management	13.8%	4
Parenting tips for character/discipline challenges	31%	9
Grade specific homework assistance	24.1%	7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One open-ended question we asked on the survey was, "How would you define Home Day success?" The answers varied:

• "If my student finishes homework by 1 or 2 p.m."
• "Every assignment completed."
• "Children connect with God in midst of their problems and enjoyable times."
• "Finishing our work with everyone happy and having good attitudes."
• "My student taking responsibility for knowing what needs to be accomplished and the best way to accomplish it with parental support."

In case you were wondering, we have good and bad days at the Dunham home. The blended model is work - for students, for parents, for the Head of School and his spouse.

Redefining the Redefining of Homeschool

In my previous post, I mentioned our re-branding efforts here at Veritas. It turns out we're re-branding our re-branding efforts a bit. Let me explain.

Last week, we hosted one of our Rhetoric Rallies, at which I unveiled the full brochure (now available for download here) to 25 Upper School parents and students. In conversation after the meeting, a dad from our Central Campus asked about the cover of the brochure and wondered if there might be two different covers printed - Home|School Redefined and Education Redefined - so as not to limit our audience to only homeschoolers. The dad didn't think we needed to change any of the verbiage on the inside, just the cover.

We talked pros and cons (broader audience is good, but not if that audience isn't ready for what our blended model requires; then again, how does someone find out about our blended model if they don't read past the cover?) and I told him I'd think about it. I knew that cost would be prohibitive and we could only afford one cover, but I didn't want to limit anyone's interest in what we do, regardless of whether they chose to join us or not. Driving home that night, I prayed and decided to sleep on it.

Early the next morning, in response to my previous day's request for feedback at our Parent Partnership Association Facebook page, I had a message from a young mom at our North Campus who asked the same question and made the same point as the dad did the night before. Interesting, I thought (and timely - I had to make a decision that day).

An hour later, I ran the change by one of our board members dropping her kids off for school; she agreed with the parents' thinking. I ran it by several of my Admin Team; they agreed. This felt like a conspiracy - but a good one - so, we made the change and I'm glad we did. Indeed, we're redefining homeschool through our blended model, but ultimately the broader redefinition is of education itself. We're specific about how we do this at Veritas, but plenty of Oklahoma City parents are experiencing a need for change (calls for "education reform," anyone?), so why limit their interest in our solution?

I'm grateful to our parents, board, and staff for their feedback. The new cover is below.