Philosphy

General School Philosophy

Children are created in the image of God, which means they have the capacity to love, to make moral and rational decisions, and to be creative.  Education should seek to address all aspects of the human person.  At the same time children are a product of the fall, and therefore prone to sin and in need of moral and intellectual direction.  As a result students need to be taught true from false and right from wrong.  Just as the apostle Paul writes, our students should be encouraged to pursue whatever is right, whatever is true, whatever is noble and whatever is pure.  Education should equip students to take up their vocation in obedience to Christ’s cultural mandate.  Each child should understand that God has given him or her special gifts to make a unique contribution to humanity’s task of reversing the effects of the fall and extending the Lordship of Christ in the world. (Total Truth, Pearcey, 2005, pg. 129, paraphased)

Introduction
Education is about growth and Christian school education is about growing toward being Christ-like.  It requires that we be concerned both with shaping the head and the heart of the student.  A thoroughly Biblical view teaches us that Jesus Christ, who is God-incarnate, is the author of all truth, goodness and beauty.  This means that the ultimate aim of Christian education has to be to bring a student to a place of knowing God better.  Any education which neglects our relationship to the Creator is incomplete.  It fails to answer the most basic questions about the life, death and purpose.

Historical Context
Between 1837 and 1848 Horace Mann wrote a series of letters to the Board of Education of the state of Massachusetts.  These letters became a part of Mann’s legacy and today he is often credited with being the father of public education in America, a common school for all.  It might seem strange, therefore, to find within the pages of these letters a framework for private Christian school education.  At some point, education in western society stopped being a thoroughly Christian endeavor and became secular.  Mann wrote the following:  “Those who knowingly withhold sustenance from a newborn baby commit infanticide.  And by the same reasoning, they who refuse to enlighten the intellect of the rising generation, are guilty of degrading the human race.  They, who refuse to train up children in the way they should go, are training up incendiaries and madmen to destroy property and life, and to invade and pollute the sanctuaries of society!”   These were very strong words, a common attribute of Mann’s writings.  Before you begin to think that it was mere coincidence that Mann quoted scripture to make his point, think again.  Mann was convinced of the importance and necessity of Bible education.  In fact, when questioned about it, he argued vigorously that the common school must remain essentially Christian with the Bible at the core of the curriculum.

Beginning with the Scopes trial of 1925, public schools became the focal point of a debate over the role of school prayer and Bible education that lasted well into the 1960s until finally the Bible was removed from public instruction.  It is probably no coincidence that the removal of the Bible and prayer from American schools paralleled a steady decline in American education and falling test scores that continues today.  The growth of Christian school education over the past 50 years has primarily been a reaction to the removal of the Bible from schools as well as a return to the common school envisioned by Mann.  Why did Horace Mann feel so strongly that Bible education was a “necessity of social existence” and even more, believed that “training a child in the way he should go” comes with a promise?

Recent research in education shows that one of the primary keys to student success in school is a healthy, nurturing, stable home.  When the Bible was removed from schools it was also removed from society.  The pattern of self-less love, moral conviction, purity, and integrity contained within the pages of scripture have been lost to a whole generation.  Not only may we soon  see the fulfillment of prophecy as described by Mann “a community without a conscience will soon extinguish itself”, but today’s generation of youth is faced with the pain of dysfunctional families and influence of immorality in society with little or no help.  Where are they supposed to find answers to their feelings of abandonment and despair? Where will they find acceptance? How will they know to do what is right?  How are they to know that they are not alone?

Moral Education and Society
In the middle of the 19th century the authority of the Bible began to be questioned all over Europe as liberalism began to take its root in western society.  As a result the church began to falter all over Europe until now more than a century later less than 5% of the population of Europe are evangelical Christians.  In America the rise of fundamentalism stemmed the tide of liberalism, at least for a time.  Central to the fundamentalist tradition was the inerrancy and absolute authority of the Word of God.  Today, for the most part, conservative evangelical Christians are the offspring of the fundamentalist movement of the 19th century.

In the mid twentieth century, liberalism began to take hold in America, especially in the east.  Before long, the Bible was removed from public life under the guise of separation of church and state.  Soon it was no longer “politically correct” to view the Bible as a rule and guide for life and by the 1960s the Bible was removed from public education entirely.  Today in America, we have a generation of adults who no longer revere the Word of God, nor believe in its truth.

The Christian school is a necessary response by the Christian community to again claim the responsibility for training children in the Truth.  Any education apart from the Word of God, neglects what is true, and what is right.  All truth comes from God and as He grants us wisdom and understanding, this same truth eventually leads us back to Him.  Justin the Martyr expressed so eloquently in his First Apology during the second century.  He stated that the soul purpose of philosophy is to know what is true about God.  To pursue truth is to pursue God.

Education is more than an accumulation of knowledge and skills enabling us to pursue a career and or life style that will bring us contentment, wealth and happiness.  Education is about growth.  It changes a person, it builds character, it affects the way we see the world around us.  Education that is integrated with the word of God is all about bringing us to a place of knowing God better.  Knowing God is the primary directive for every Christian and therefore the cornerstone of sound Christian education.

Teaching children to know God is more than just relating the stories of the Bible.  True integration of the Bible into the Christian school means that it becomes the framework for how we live, think and love.  This is the advantage of the Christian school.  We have the freedom to use the Bible as the standard for teaching our children important values and life principles.  Today public schools are struggling to teach values and morality because they have no standard.  Without the Word of God, what becomes the standard of right and wrong?  Is it relativism, humanism, or naturalism?  None of these provide a working standard.  This is what Mann was describing when he wrote of a society “without a conscience”.  In the end it is destined for destruction.

Consider the important values that are basic to the Gospel message of Christ.   The gospel (as well as the rest of the New Testament) directs us to love one another, and to put the interests of others above our own selfish ambition.  The gospel directs us to pursue truth, nobility and righteousness in all things.  The gospel directs us to respect and obey any authority over us.  The gospel directs us to be honest and to work at everything with our whole heart.  Each of these directives becomes central to the philosophy and operation of a Christian school.

Effectiveness
“Young men and woman who are products of Christian schooling, will mature to loving God with their whole heart, mind and soul; growing in wisdom and stature; living in the world as salt and light; and giving sacrificially of themselves and their resources, reflecting the essence and love of the Christ who lives and dwells within them.”  (Smitherman, ACSI)  This is an awesome task set before us.  The effective Christian school requires several dynamics to accomplish this:  1) A guaranteed and viable curriculum that sets the instructional course with a documented scope and sequence clearly tied to the mission and objectives of the school; 2) A committed Christian faculty, who themselves are life long learners, who are professionally equipped, who know what is to be taught, to what level and to what ends; 3) An administration who upholds the mission and vision of the school in all matters of decision making, who support and serve the teachers by empowering them to be better tomorrow than what they are today and who seeks to partner with parents in the process of training each child; and 4) Parents who understand and support the school mission, who trust the administration and faculty as trained professionals equipped to accomplish the mission, and who seek help in reinforcing the Biblical values of school when necessary.

Philosophy of Bible Instruction in a Multi-denominational Community
Rancho Christian School is a ministry of Rancho Community Church, a member church of the Reformed Church of America.  As such the school has adopted a statement of faith that is consistent with reformed traditions, being consistent with the statements found in the Apostle’s Creed.  However, it is understood from our admissions philosophy and policies that students admitted to the school come from a variety of church backgrounds, including the various protestant denominations, American evangelical denominations, charismatic or pentacostal denominations, as well as the Catholic Church.  It is also understood that there may be students admitted to the school of different faiths other than orthodox Christianity.

The statement of faith establishes the basic framework of doctrinal teaching contained within the school curriculum.  It is believed that this statement provides a summary of those fundamental teachings consistent within all of orthodox Christianity.  As such these fundamental teachings are taught with conviction to be true.  At no time will the teaching faculty waiver on these fundamental teachings.

Aside from these fundamental teachings found within the statement of faith it is understood that there are a number of peripheral doctrines within the Christian Church, and that there is a difference of opinion amongst the various denominations of the church as to the teaching of these doctrines.  Examples of these peripheral doctrines might include:  the role of free-will as discussed by Calvinism and Arminianism; the gift of speaking in tongues as described by the Charismatic and Pentacostal traditions; doctrines concerning the sacraments and ordinances; doctrines of eschatology; traditions of worship and lifestyle; etc.  These teachings and many others are clearly defined within the Reformed tradition, however because RCCS seeks to provide training to children who come from a variety of traditions, it has adopted the following principles for Bible instruction:

• The doctrines as described by the Statement of Faith, shall be taught with conviction as truth, and supported by all faculty and staff.
• Any peripheral doctrines not described specifically in the Statement of Faith shall be discussed openly and respectfully in class.  All positions will be presented fairly without intent to indoctrinate the student.
• It will not be the intended goal of the Bible curriculum or instructor to settle disagreement of opposing viewpoints, but instead to provide students with the tools to seek further study and find answers to difficult questions.  In all things the student will be encouraged to view the Bible as the final rule and guide for knowing what is true.
• Clear distinctions will be made between what is considered orthodox Christian teachings, and unorthodox teachings offered by both cults and other world religions.
• Although Christians vary in their views of Christian lifestyle, we believe that there are specific moral directives that are Biblically founded including obedience of the Ten Commandments, and a lifestyle of integrity, temperance and purity.
• During discussion, students will be encouraged to offer opinions and insight and each student will be treated with respect and integrity.

The teaching faculty are not required to be members of Rancho Community Church or the Reformed Church of America and therefore shall come from variety of church backgrounds.  At all times, they will be asked to moderate discussion with fairness and openness.  They will also be encouraged to make clear to the students when they are expressing opinions that have originated with their own heritage, personal study and reflection, and that these opinions may or may not be consistent with the teachings of RCC or the RCA.

In keeping with the mission of the school, the Bible curriculum and instruction will strive to provide students with knowledge and understanding of the word of God, so that they may remain committed in their faith and so they may be equipped to continue in a life of personal growth.  To accomplish this, the curriculum will emphasize the following core objectives at each level of education from preschool through high school:

Each student will be challenged to know and understand:

• The Bible is the word of God, fully inspired, inerrant and infallible.
• God is the creator of all that we call the Universe.
• God is completely sovereign, directly involved in the lives of men.
• Man was created to have fellowship with God.
• Sin and the resulting separation from God entered the world as a result of the fall, one man’s sin.
• Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man.
• Redemption comes as a gift of grace through the sacrificial offering of Christ.
• We have hope, in that our salvation is in Christ and we shall inherit eternal life as a result of Christ’s death and resurrection.

A Christian Philosophy of Science Education
A philosophy of science education examines questions of the nature of scientific truth, the methods used in the gathering of evidence and the formulation of theories or laws, the premises or biases that might influence the way we view science, and even the relationship between faith and science.  The way we view science and the way we do science is influenced by what we know of the Bible and what we believe about God.

God is the Creator of the Universe
Fundamentally all Christians, including Christian scientists, must believe that God is the creator of the Universe.  For “since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.”(Romans 1)  This simple truth, God is the creator, is central to the Christian faith, and should always be the cornerstone of scientific education in the Christian school.

Scientists are human.  As every other human they are subject to the fall, for like everyone else they have inherited sin since the time of Adam.  As a result, like every other man, scientists are vulnerable to sin and the failures it brings.  Scientists are not perfectly moral, but in fact can be motivated by selfish desires.  Scientists are not purely objective, like everyone else, they can be affected by personal bias and prejudice shaped by a lifetime of experience.  This means that science is in fact held hostage to man’s humanity and the fall.

Theories regarding the origin of the universe and the origin of life are often seen as controversial and in conflict with religion.  This is because these theories strike right at the heart of the belief in a creator God.  At the same time there are a variety of viewpoints within the Christian scientific community with regard to the interpretation of Genesis 1 and the question of origins.  Accepting that this wide range of viewpoints does exist, the faculty of Rancho Christian will openly teach and discuss each and every viewpoint with regard to the question of origins without attempting to indoctrinate, except for the one fundamental doctrine which all Christians must hold to, that God is the creator of the Universe, all things have been created by Him, and He holds all things together in heaven and earth by His sovereign hand.  To state it further, the faculty of Rancho Christian  shall support the following core values in their science instruction:

• God is the creator of the universe.
• God is sovereign and is actively involved in the physical world.
• Science is an investigation of the workings of creation.
• The primary goal of the Christian scientist is to glorify God as the creator of the universe.
• The primary goal of the Christian science student is to know God through creation.
• Scientific truth, gives us glimpses of God, but is bound up in the limits of mathematical probabilities, and can be influenced by human bias and prejudice.
• Naturalism is a philosophy that is in direct conflict with Christianity, since it espouses that nature is all there is, therefore there is no God.
• Naturalism is supported by the theories of evolution and spontaneous generation, since they both argue origin of life and of the species by only natural processes.
• Any and all scientific theories shall be discussed openly, with freedom to explore all viewpoints.
• Students shall be encouraged to examine all viewpoints in light of the fundamental teachings of the orthodox Christianity.

A Mission of Growing Servants of Jesus Christ
The gospel directs us to love one another, and to put the interests of others above our own selfish ambition.  The gospel directs us to pursue truth, nobility and righteousness in all things.  The gospel directs us to respect and obey any authority over us.  The gospel directs us to be honest and to work at everything with our whole heart.  Each of these directives becomes central to the philosophy and operation of a Christian school.

“Young men and woman who are products of Christian schooling, will mature to loving God with their whole heart, mind and soul; growing in wisdom and stature; living in the world as salt and light; and giving sacrificially of themselves and their resources, reflecting the essence and love of the Christ who lives and dwells within them.”  (Smitherman, ACSI)

Christian Liberal Arts Education
The phrase liberal arts is an old one stemming from classical education that can trace its root back to the 11th century at the time of the founding of the university.  The symbol used to describe the liberal arts was a wheel with each of the seven liberal arts arranged around the circle with spokes extending to the center.  This image was to convey the idea that all educational endeavors are interconnected.  Subjects are not thought to be isolated and independent of each other.  This of course stems from the Christian idea that all truth originates with God.  In the end the liberal arts education is not merely egalitarian, that is it is not merely for preparing students for college or for the workplace.  The Christian liberal arts education is for every man and its intended goal is to grow men and women of virtue.

“Niether Milton or Aristotle would dispute that the purpose of education is to produce the good man, though it must be remembered that we are not here using the word “good” in any narrow sense.  The “good man” here means the man of good taste and good feeling, the interesting and interested man, and almost the happy man…Vocational training, on the other hand, prepares the pupil not for leisure, but for work; it aims at making not a good man but a good banker, a good electrician, a good scavenger, or a good surgeon.  You see at once that education is essentially for freemen and vocational training is for slaves.” (C.S. Lewis)

In his book The Abolition of Man, C.S. Lewis writes that we need to create “men of chests”.  He was alluding to the problem of sin and temptation, realizing that men can not control their appetites (which can lead to sin) merely with there intellect.  These appetites must be controlled through the heart (or chest).  When a man’s heart is shaped by Christ, it results in the formation of the man of virtue.

The Christian liberal arts education is also to create the free man.  A man who is not bound by skeptical dogmatism in which truth is bound up in ambiguous relativism, but a man who strives for critical commitment, a commitment to knowing that the Creator is the embodiment of truth, but also prepared to critically examine every part his education, asking the important questions that will bring him to a place of knowing truth, of knowing God.

Developing Thinking, Articulate, Life-Long Learners
Christian liberal arts education connects methodology to the level of cognitive development of the child.  It begins with the accumulation of knowledge by repetition and practice in the grammar stage continuing with the development of critical thinking through the early adolescent (dialectic) stage and culminating with building skills to articulate and express ideas during the late adolescent (rhetoric) stage.  Fundamentally, the emphasis will be to have students read primary and secondary source literature critically.  Asking the all of important questions of what does this have to do with me? What does this have to do with my relationship with God?  And what does this have to do with my relationship with others.  As students read critically, they will be asked to write persuasively.  They will write across the curriculum, growing in articulation and rhetoric.

“The sole true end of education is simply this: to teach men how to learn for themselves; and whatever instruction fails to do this is effort spent in vain.  For the tools of learning are the same, in any and every subject; and the person who knows how to use them will, at any age, get the mastery of a new subject in half the time and with a quarter of the effort expended by the person who has not the tools at his command. To learn six subjects without remembering how they were learnt does nothing to ease the approach to a seventh; to have learnt and remembered the art of learning makes the approach to every subject an open door.” (Dorothy Sayers)

At every level the students shall be challenged with problem solving, extensive reading lists and writing assignments. The difference is clear when students are taken beyond conventionally taught subjects and asked to apply their knowledge through logic and clear expression.  The objective is to form students who are passionate about learning.  For education to be effective, it must go beyond just conveying fact. Truly effective education cultivates thinking and articulate students who are able to develop facts into arguments and convey those arguments clearly and persuasively.

Complete Integration
In the Christian liberal arts model, subjects are not thought of as individual compartments, but connected disciplines relating to each other.  Not only is the Bible integrated into each discipline, but connections are made between Literature, History, Art, Music, Science and Mathematics.

Complete Biblical education throughout the curriculum is often misunderstood.  Occasionally individuals think that introducing a lesson with a Bible verse, or at least talking about God during a lesson is Biblical integration.  Although it is good to read the Bible and talk about God with your students this does not fully encompass all that Biblical integration is or should be.  Complete integration begins with the teacher being equipped to present any topic or lesson from a thoroughly Biblical or Christian world view.  This equipping begins with the teacher being committed to a knowledge of the Word of God and personal spiritual growth in their own lives that brings them to a place of being able to think Christianly.  If properly equipped and trained they will feel comfortable talking about any piece of literature, any period of history or any topic in science from a Christian perspective.

To fully understand what Biblical integration would look like we might first consider some examples in teaching literature.

It seems to me most strange that men should fear (death);
Seeing that death, a necessary end,
Will come when it will come.

-Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

Where is God?  What is God?
My maker and yours, who will never destroy, I rely implicitly on His power, and confide wholly in His goodness.  I count the hours til that eventful one arrives which will restore me to Him, reveal Him to me.
Dialogue between Helen Burns and Jane Eyre,
By Charlotte Bronte

Live and be happy, beloved children of my heart, and never forget that, until the day when God will deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is contained in these words, wait and hope.
- Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Each of these works of literature were written within a culture that was heavily entrenched in Christian world view.  The Christian school teacher should be able  to discuss these works in the light of Biblical principles.  Not only should the teacher point out that the author is saying something about the way we view God, death and hope, but they should be able to refer to scripture and discuss the Biblical perspective.

Of course not all literature in the West has been written from a thoroughly Christian perspective.  Take the following passages for example:

war is peace
freedom is slavery
ignorance is strength
1984 by George Orwell

And if ever, by some unlucky chance, anything unpleasant should somehow happen, why, there’s always soma to give you a holiday from the facts. And there’s always soma to calm your anger, to reconcile you to your enemies, to make you patient and long-suffering. In the past you could only accomplish these things by making a great effort and after years of hard moral training. Now, you swallow two or three half-gramme tablets, and there you are. Anybody can be virtuous now. You can carry at least half your morality about in a bottle. Christianity without tears—that’s what soma is.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

It is just as important that a teacher be able to discuss non-biblical perspectives and draw comparisons to the Christian faith.  What does the Bible have to say about war, peace, freedom, slavery, ignorance, vice and diversion?

In science education we often think that Biblical integration begins and ends with the debate between evolutionists and creationists.  It might be more important to begin with an understanding of the Biblical perspective of truth and knowledge, specifically as it relates to scientific truth.  At the same time, science teachers need to be prepared to live out Romans 1, by helping students to come further in their understanding of who God is.  Students need to be able to see the attributes of God reflected in the consistency of the laws of Physics, the quantum mechanics of the electron and the intricate design and planning exhibited in DNA replication, as well as any number of other scientific phenomena which point us to God.  At the same time the science teacher needs to be prepared to discuss epistemology (the nature of truth), ethics, and protecting the environment from a Christian or Biblical perspective.

If one examines the California state standards for History, one will discover that one of the standards is that students will come to know the role of chance and circumstance in the events of human history.  How does this compare to the Biblical standard that human history is governed by God’s sovereignty?  What is the role of chance from the Christian perspective?  Our view of history is greatly affected by our belief in a sovereign creator or our belief that there is noting supernatural.  This standard from the California State Board of education is a result in a shift in world view in modern culture.  Through the Middle Ages and into the 19th century, the prominent view in western culture was that there is a God who is sovereign and actively involved in the lives and events of man.  So much so that every king or queen who ascended to the throne were viewed as God’s chosen monarch.  In war, every soldier that lived or died was determined by God.  This idea is clearly supported in the literature of the era and cited above.