Summary: In this episode, Susan Wise Bauer and Susanna Jarrett chat with Keith Nix, the Head of School for Veritas School in Richmond, VA. They discuss the differences between classical education in a home school setting versus a school setting as well as the challenges of making classical education accessible to all students.
Show notes:
Potential Questions to Ask Before Enrolling in a Classical School:
- How do you adapt for students who come in at different levels or are on different developmental paths? What are your strategies?
- How do you ensure that students are known by their teachers and by your administrators?
- Can we talk to a family or two who were new here last year?
- How can I afford this school? What is your financial model?
- How often can kids go outside? Do teachers have power to create breaks? (particularly for younger children)
- What is the philosophy of discipline?
- What is the emphasis on athletics?
- How much attention are you giving to the arts? What are your aspirations for the future?
- What are your faculty attrition rates?
- What are your student attrition rates?
- How does the governance of the school function? How does the board of the school relate to the head of school?
- Who is on the board? How many are related to the founder?
- What is your philosophy around grading?
Timestamps:
- (00:00) - Intro
- (02:38) - Pros and challenges of classical education at home vs in an institutional setting
- (21:50) - How to make classical education more accessible to more families
- (32:57) - How do non-traditional schools help with growing classical education
- (39:50) - Red flags to look out for when finding a classical school
- (48:29) - Questions to ask when you visit a classical education institution
- (53:38) - One last question
- (55:10) - Outro AND ANNOUNCEMENT!!
