Academic Excellence & Christian Devotion: How the Pursuit of One Strengthens the Other

With the start of school just around the corner, academic endeavors are beginning to bubble to the forefront of our minds and schedules. This episode, originally released in April 2023, will inspire your family for this upcoming school year by showing how pursuing excellence in learning and education can and should deepen our (and our children's) faith and bolster our devotion to God.

When did a dichotomy become assumed between academic excellence and Christian devotion? Over time, a mindset has developed that seems to tell us that these two traits can't coexist; that striving for one will compromise the other in our lives.

The Veritas Dean of Math and Science, Rhonda Forbes, talks with our host Ty Fischer about why she sees these two worthwhile objectives - academic excellence and Christian devotion - in our lives as being complimentary to one another and even, in fact, informing each other. Parents should not feel like they have to choose between the two, or that by striving to cultivate one in their child's heart they will rob the other from flourishing. On the contrary, Rhonda will pull back the curtain to show you how, as a Christian, striving for academic excellence can and should deepen our wonder and love for God...and how a deep love for God can result in a desire for greater learning, knowledge of His ways and creation, and excellence in all we do.

Rhonda Forbes, who was an engineer before embarking on her teaching career at Veritas years ago, teaches both upper school math and Great Books (Omnibus) courses deftly. She and her husband Scott have four grown children, all of whom graduated from Veritas Academy.

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