A
few weeks ago I received an e-mail from a Veritas graduate who is an
engineering student in his final year of college. This
past fall, he was asked by his professor to be the project manager for a team
of seniors working to design low-cost wheelchairs for handicapped children in
third-world countries. In his letter this alumnus made a direct connection
between the benefits of his classical education from Veritas and his
accomplishments as an engineering student (“especially in a field like
engineering” were his words): “The training I received at Veritas has
prepared me as a worker, as a thinker, and most importantly, as a leader.” The link between leadership and classical education is no
accident, and this student's experience is not unique. In fact,
classical education, as it has been practiced for two thousand years, has at
its core the preparation for active leadership and service.
Classical
education, since at least the time of Cicero in ancient Rome, has emphasized
that the purpose of education is for living a life that is both active and
contemplative; that the mastery of the arts of learning are for the benefit of
your own soul but also for the good of those around you. The object of this has varied over time, from the community
or state, to church and neighbor, but leadership and service in whatever field
one was called to has always been an integral part of classical learning. John Milton wrote in the 17th century about the importance of
classical education preparing people for “all the offices, both public and private, of peace and war," for anything that might be required of them as citizens and as
God’s people. This idea of classical education as preparation for leading is an
enduring one, even to our own day.
At a
recent 'Leadership Newberg' meeting
I had the opportunity to share about Veritas,
classical Christian education, and how these work together to instill
leadership skills in our students. I was able to tell the group about
how our approach to education, which
emphasizes the cultivation of wisdom, virtue and godliness and the formation of
well-rounded graduates well prepared for anything, is truly the best foundation for leaders in any field. I
discussed our Portrait of a Graduate
that describes the specific traits we are working to instill in our students,
including serving others actively in humility, and “honoring Christ by leading
in their communities and callings." Our Portrait provides constant direction that informs our specific
choices in curriculum, teaching methods, and activities, many of which directly
relate to developing the attitudes and
skills needed for leadership.
Our curriculum itself builds
leadership. For example, our high-school humane-letters
reading list acts almost as a series of case studies on being a leader.
In my 11th-grade Humane Letters class we read and discuss Paradise Lost. In the climatic event of the story, Eve, having
already eaten of the fruit, comes to Adam. He is faced with a monumentally
important decision that will impact not only him, but all succeeding human
generations. Does he obey and trust God and so save all his descendants from
pain and death, or does he “follow his heart” (as Disney might have it) and
thus follow his wife into sin? This is a question of leadership in its most
stark form. He will lead his people one way or the other, and the choices—and
their consequences—could not be more clear. As is usually the case, Adam’s
failure of leadership was first a moral failure, not of information or
analysis. Here we see the terrible, long-term consequences of bad leadership.
Milton, of course, gives us the glorious contrast of the humble, servant
leadership of the Son who, for the benefit of his people, offers to die in
their place. That is great leadership. Similar lessons are discovered in
reading other ancient works, from the Iliad to the Aeneid. And this is true not just for grand, political or military
narratives. In the coming weeks my class
will explore the failings of family leadership displayed by Mr. Bennet in Jane
Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice.
The phrase “all the offices of peace and war” comes back to mind. Reading and
discussing, learning to listen carefully as well as to persuade, are preparations
for a life of leadership where-ever one finds oneself.
But reading must be
accompanied by action—remember Cicero’s ideal of the contemplative and the active. Students at Veritas are given frequent
opportunities to exercise leadership in a variety of ways, beginning as early
as the elementary grades. Serving as line
leaders and having class-cleaning duties,
for example, prepare students for more challenging leadership roles later on such as assisting
with car line, being in charge of the
Geography or Latin clubs, and taking active roles
in athletics, Concert Choir, drama productions, etc. Our high-school students
assume much of the responsibility for leadership in our House service projects,
such as the Toy-and-Joy drive and FISH food collection, Secondary students are closely involved
in planning and leading in and through our Supper Club and Protocol events, as
well.
Classical and Christ-centered
education is first and foremost concerned with
forming people who understand and practice wisdom, virtue, godliness,
and a truthful, faithful eloquence. This is the best and most lasting
foundation for biblical "success"
in every sphere of life. Students
who learn to love the Lord their God with all their
hearts, souls, and minds, their neighbor as themselves, and “seek first
the kingdom of God and his righteousness” will find that all other things—including strong leadership skills—will be added, as well.
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