Inside Veritas, Part Two The following are remarks delivered by Aaron Laenger, our Head of School, at our opening ceremony in August: Head of School Remarks - Opening Ceremony 2014-15 By Aaron Laenger Well, I almost feel like I’m about to do a wedding. The faculty has been selected for the year. The parents have been selected for the year. On Monday, we are going to bring the two groups together. Its exciting, like a wedding. And much like a wedding, there are some pre-wedding jitters. Hopefully there are no cold feet or runaway brides. And just like the pre-wedding jitters, both teachers and co-teachers are asking nervously, Did we get everything? What about this? “Is this ready? Is that ready? Parents are trying to get their kids to go to bed early to adjust them to the schedule. Teachers are raiding Wal-Mart for 8 tab dividers. Even the temperature is changing in the weather. In the midst of change and busyness - it seems right to take a moment or two and reflect on the meaning and purpose behind it all. In Deuteronomy 6:4-9, we find one of the most important Scriptures in the Old Testament that helps us understand this purpose. 4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. This is called the Shema (after the first word of the verse which means hear in Hebrew). This sounds familiar to us because Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 22:37-39 when he was asked about the greatest commandment. Of the 600 something commandments in the Old Testament, Jesus chose this as the greatest when He was being questioned by the lawyer on what is the greatest commandment. He responds, 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength, and in one of the gospels Christ is recorded as saying with all your mind, which seems to follow the point of the passage to honor God with the totality of our being. To the people of Israel, and I believe to the people of God today, that is the Church, God is speaking the same words - our Greatest Commandment is to love God. This commandment was not just to be kept. Directly connected with the Shema is another command found just after the Shema: 6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” We are commanded to teach the Shema to our children - to teach them who God is and how we should respond to Him. This is because it is all too easy for each new generation to not remember who God is and what He has done. After the death of Joshua, after the Israelites had moved into the promise land, Judges records a sad state of affairs in Israel. Judges 2:10 tells us all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. We are called by God to remember who God is, what He has done for us, and how we are to respond to His love. And we are to pass that wisdom onto those children He entrusts to our care. In this way, education is not an event - it is a commandment, it is a holy obligation. So, whether you know it or not Mom and Dad, you have been called to teach. We are here to help you with this holy obligation. We are asking you to first remember and then to teach your children as Psalm 45:17 tells us: I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore nations will praise you forever and ever. We are asking you to remember. You have a holy obligation to educate your child in a way that not only begins with remembering who God is and what he has done, but also glorifies God in the process, and ultimately will bring him glory as a result. Our school Scripture makes this clear as well: - it is printed on the back of your bulletin if you would like to follow along: My son, if you receive my words, and treasure up my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; Yes, if you call out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Proverbs 2:1-6 Knowledge, Understanding, and Wisdom begin with Lord, are guided by the Lord, and in the end are returned to Him as worship. It really is all about Him. So, you have a holy obligation to teach. What does it mean to teach? The most basic definition of teaching that I have discovered is to cause learning to take place. Learning can be intentional or unintentional, but inevitably you will cause learning to take place. We might even say that we are constantly teaching. Our desire is to be intentional. We want to intentionally cause learning to take place in way that glorifies God. That is our purpose. Our purpose is birthed from the Shema, guided by Gods design, and has longevity in mind. You will find it clearly stated on the back of your bulletin as well: The purpose of Veritas Classical Academy is to teach students to love God and love learning for a lifetime. You have a holy obligation to educate your child to lead them to love the Lord through knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. But you dont do it alone. God is with you. He has given you a community here at Veritas for this purpose. Dads - come to the Dads and Donuts as we discuss what it means to lead our families. Moms - come to Moms nights and talk with other co-teachers and mothers about their adventures in parenting and educating. We have social events and field trips and many other ways worked directly into our model of education that help you fulfill your calling and obligation. And beyond that you have our wonderful teachers, who are led by the Lord to teach at Veritas. By Gods grace we have partnered with Westgate-Memorial to use their facility, which is more than adequate for the needs of our school, and we are so grateful to them. God has truly blessed us. Currently we have 29 families and 47 children who will be attending Veritas this year. And as the community begins to find out what we are doing, our hope is to partner with even more families to teach students to love God and love learning for a lifetime. I was once told to find out where God was working and go join Him there. I believe that is what I have done at Veritas. I firmly believe that God is doing something at Veritas - and I want to be a part of it at the ground level.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 17:15:54 +0000