In May, the seniors of Veritas Academy, a classical Christian school in Leola, presented and defended their capstone senior theses, completing not only a year's worth of research and writing, but an academic career of honing their learning, research, logic, reasoning, and communication skills.
In classical Christian education, grammar (the knowledge of facts), logic, and rhetoric comprise the three progressive stages students go through from kindergarten through 12th grade. With rhetoric being the final phase, graduating seniors must put their skills and knowledge to the test by choosing, researching, presenting, and publicly defending a thesis before a panel of experts and an audience of peers, family, and friends.
The 2020 senior thesis presentations looked quite different from previous years due to the shutdown measures imposed to stem the spread of COVID-19. Instead of presenting their arguments before an in-person audience as is typical, the students completed the process via Zoom, with presenters, panelists, and teachers participating with a live audience on the platform.
Each student spent months choosing and extensively researching his or her topic and writing a comprehensive, minimum 20-page paper. This paper was then refined and then submitted to a group of panelists who are considered authorities with experience on the topic. Each student then gave a presentation summarizing his or her paper to an audience and the panelists, after which each panelist challenged the student with questions about his or her statements. Students were evaluated on their ability to defend their arguments, maintain poise, communicate effectively, and more in this required project.
Veritas students also complete a junior thesis paper, presentation, and defense in their 11th-grade year, which must be centered on a theological topic and defended before a panel of pastors, professors, and teachers. They also complete formal classes in logic and rhetoric and continually work on these skills in all subjects, which often are taught using the Socratic method. Having the opportunity to engage in difficult dialogue, think on their feet, and even admit uncertainty or potential flaws in arguments with professionals in their fields of study gave these graduates practice in not only respectful dialogue and sound debate strategy, but also good listening skills.
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