Why We Educate

The national conversation surrounding American education has reached a fever pitch. In March 2025, an article in The New York Times went so far as to ask if the nation had simply given up on teaching its students. From finger-pointing over plummeting literacy rates to Harvard offering remedial math to combat historic learning loss, the anxiety is palpable. How did American education lose its way? Why is a high school diploma no longer a guarantee of competence? How ought we to educate in America?

These questions miss the mark. The crisis isn’t that America has forgotten (or needs to reinvent yet again) how to educate; it is that we have neglected the far more foundational question of why we educate. This question of purpose guided my family’s return to Veritas—a move that allowed me the privilege of joining Veritas’ staff and my three sons to experience the education I received as a student here, over two decades ago. 

For centuries, education was viewed as a good worth pursuing for its own sake. Today, however, America’s classrooms have become beholden to standardized testing and inflated grading. In this utilitarian model, education is reduced to a transactional tool to secure the "right" degree for the "right" salary. We have contorted education to fulfill the needs of the current economy, rather than forming minds and hearts to weather any context. 

Veritas reclaims the 'why.' Most crucially, Veritas School believes that education is an act of worship. Our Christ-centered approach redirects students to the truth that everything—past, present, and future—falls under the lordship of Jesus Christ. By exploring every subject through the lens of the redeeming and reconciling work of God through Jesus Christ, we develop, by God’s grace, faith alongside the intellect. Soli deo gloria!

Second to the Christian’s belief that education is a form of worship, Veritas believes learning is an intrinsic good, worthy of pursuit for its own sake. Education unencumbered by grade or testing outcomes is free to immerse students in the wealth of ideas found in the historic and contemporary arts and sciences, thereby better challenging students’ minds and further honing their reading, writing, and reasoning capabilities. Education for education’s sake results in an intellectual rigor further supported by a Veritas faculty and administration deeply committed to the art and methodologies of teaching. The resulting mentorship and care for Veritas students is, I believe, unparalleled. Moving beyond basic literacy, Veritas empowers students to reason with logic, to carry themselves with grace, and to lead through service. A good, and right, and true education begets wisdom. 

Ours is truly a formative education, shaping graduates into responsible citizens, diligent employees, and faithful parents. Wherever our students go, whatever they seek to do when they leave our school, we trust they will do so with care, with joy, with confidence, and with resiliency. 

Here we reach a magnificent paradox: when learning is pursued as an intrinsic good, the extrinsic markers of success— test scores, higher education degrees, and career prospects—follow naturally. My fellow Veritas graduates and I entered the world as leaders and continue to perform capably across a diverse array of fields. We often reflect on our time at Veritas with deep gratitude, noting how much better prepared we were for the rigors of higher education and careers than many of our peers. 

While the national debate swirls, Veritas remains focused. By returning to the foundational question of why we educate, we have found the clarity we need to remain steadfast in how Veritas educates.