Common Arts at Veritas
"...viewed through the lenses of and fired within the crucibles of classical education, the common arts are more than the arts of survival. They are the arts of thrival." - Chris Hall
Common Arts Education: Renewing the Classical Tradition of Training the Head, Hands, and Heart
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“The characteristic common to God and man [in the first chapters of Genesis] is … the desire and the ability to make things." - Dorothy Sayers "The Mind of the Maker"
Classical Christian schools offer an education that is firmly rooted in the very best of the great tradition of the Western world. What we teach, learn, and exalt at Veritas is thousands of years old mirroring the wisdom of the Jewish, Christian, Greek and Roman world passed down to us through the Medieval and Renaissance eras.
We think and talk about the true, good, and beautiful while we develop the thinking, listening, reading, writing, and speaking abilities. The common arts, also called the servile, mechanical, or manual arts, are those arts that we all benefit from and participate in on some level.
According to Classical Christian education, the most fitting career education for all of our students is an education in learning how to learn. It is our desire that all of our students grow in Godly virtues and become wise and eloquent. We aspire to prepare every student to dwell faithfully in the Kingdom of God, while temporarily inhabiting the earthly kingdom, all the time enjoying a life of leisure and earning a living that is pleasing and beneficial for themselves and their families.
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"In practicing the common arts, humans live out
our role and nature as sub-creators."
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Carpentry
Students have the opportunity to learn carpentry, the art, and trade of cutting, working, and joining timber.
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Culinary
The Culinary Arts class teaches students cooking skills including knife safety, food science, cooking techniques, seasoning, and kitchen tool selection.
Students learn to properly prepare eggs (multiple ways), soups, seafood, poultry, beef, bread, cookies, and muffins.
Participants in the culinary class exercise critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity in the kitchen. Furthermore, their delicious food will find its way to school community events, which gives them a sense of pride and excitement to share their work with others.
Orienteering Wilderness Leadership Skills (OWLS)
The OWLS class aims at introducing participants to basic wilderness skills.
The 11-acre wood on campus provides a wonderful opportunity to practice abilities that lead to safe, comfortable, and enjoyable adventures in the outdoors. Along the way, students discover that problem-solving, teamwork, and, taking initiative to prepare and plan are enablers to endless discovery and experiences for wilderness settings. With that as a foundation, it is the express desire that our students will learn how being in the wilderness is a unique provision from God for them to worship and seek their Creator.
There are some great things on the horizon at Veritas.
We are beginning construction for a Common Arts Pavilion. The pavilion will live in the woods on campus and will be a platform to work from for the Common Arts at Veritas.
This structure will provide an opportunity for outdoor cooking, woodworking with hand tools, and also outdoor chapels and nature studies. It's about 350 sq. ft and will seat approximately 40 people.
We are excited another outdoor learning space for our students!
