More and more families are ignoring God\u27s mandate to train our covenant children in the instruction of the Lord (Eph. 6:4) and are choosing to educate their children in secular institutions because they do not see the value of Christian education. Why is this? What can we do about it

Pollema, Mary Beth

English

Dordt College

Digital Collections @ Dordt Faculty Work Comprehensive List 1-2017 Let's Build Something Biblical Mary Beth Pollema Dordt College, marybeth.pollema@dordt.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/faculty_work  Part of the Christianity Commons, and the Education Commons Recommended Citation Pollema, M. (2017). Let's Build Something Biblical. Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/faculty_work/634 This Conference Presentation is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Collections @ Dordt. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Work Comprehensive List by an authorized administrator of Digital Collections @ Dordt. For more information, please contact ingrid.mulder@dordt.edu. Let's Build Something Biblical Abstract More and more families are ignoring God's mandate to train our covenant children in the instruction of the Lord (Eph. 6:4) and are choosing to educate their children in secular institutions because they do not see the value of Christian education. Why is this? What can we do about it? Keywords Christian education, faith, learning, worldview, vocation, authority Disciplines Christianity | Education Comments Presented as part of a professional development conference for teachers and administrators from Christian schools in Belize in January 2017.The conference was approved by the Belizean Ministry of Education and met the national requirements for professional development. The conference was designed by Dordt College Education Department faculty. This conference presentation is available at Digital Collections @ Dordt: https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/faculty_work/634 What does it mean to teach Christianly?  Is there a difference between “Christian” teaching and Biblical teaching?  How do we integrate faith and learning?  Or is that even what we’re supposed to do? “Private education as we have known it is on its way out, at both the K-12 and postsecondary levels.  At the very least, it’s headed for dramatic shrinkage, save for a handful of places and circumstances…” (Why Private Schools are Dying Out, Chester E. Finn, CSI blog) “When I think about the future of Christian schools, I am conflicted.  I look at the American political and theological landscape and wonder where we will be ten years from now.  Over the past decade we have seen more than 25% of all Christian schools in the United States close their doors and shutter their windows, never to open again.  (The Future of Christian Schooling, Tim Weins, CACE blog)Why do you want to become a teacher?http://bit.ly/2bpPDnf• What is our role as teacher?• Who are our students?• How will we teach them?Aim: to equip students to become knowledgeable and competent disciples of Christ.Genesis 2:4-14Creation Fall Redemption Restoration The Biblical perspective for language learning begins in the book of Genesis where God used words to create all that exists.  Language has been with us since the beginning of time.  Until the tower of Babel there was common language, but the sin of pride and disobedience against the Cultural Mandate to “fill the earth” made necessary God’s act of confusing the common language and scattering the people.  This was the beginning of disunity caused by the incomprehensibility of foreign languages.  We can see throughout history the factious confusion and turmoil language barriers have created and we also have had glimpses of what it will be like at the Final Restoration when everyone will be understood in their own native tongue and unity among the nations will once again be restored (Acts 2:5-12, Isaiah 66:19-20, Revelation 21:24).  During the in-between time, our task as agents of restoration is to break down cultural and lingual barriers as we work towards a state of shalom among all people that will be fully realized at the time of Christ’s return.‘WHAT STORY WILL MY UNIT TELL?’.”Teaching for TransformationAn education that is Christian not merely in the sense that devotional exercises are appended to the ordinary work of the college, but in the larger and deeper sense that all the class work, all of the students’ intellectual, emotional, and imaginative activities shall be permeated with the spirit and teaching of Christianity.What elements of education at ACS seem to be “Christian” in name only?  How?Was your previous school experience similar or different from ACS?  In what ways?What actual or potential negative impact could any similarity to ACS have on students?  Give reasons you have to believe the impact exists or could exist.What does it mean to teach Christianly?What is the calling, task, and office of a Christian teacher?What is the role of the teacher?Who are our students?What is the aim of the learning process?CallingTaskOfficeTask= teach ChristianlyOffice comes with three implications:ResponsibilityAuthorityServanthood(Van Dyk, John. (2000). The Craft of Christian Teaching. Sioux Center, IA: Dordt College Press)• Authority comes with office and the office is a God-appointed place.• Classroom authority is to be exercised with responsibility.• We should have freedom and authority to make the necessary judgments. •Who/What really authorizes you to teach?• Who/What attempt to usurp your authority at times?TO WHOM ARE OFFICEBEARERSRESPONSIBLE?• Ultimately to the Lord• School leadership• Parents and Students• School Constituency• Explains the authority and responsibility of the various offices as delegated directly by the Lord.• We are given authority to “rule” over the sphere to which God has called us. (Ps. 8)• Be careful not to cross over into other spheres of authority– “in loco parentis” or “in loco ekklesia”• The purpose of our office is to equip students for knowledgeable and competent discipleship.• Do we teach as “unto the Lord” or in self-serving ways?• Ask– Does this lesson really minister to my kids?  Or is it merely a self-satisfying affair or the requirements of a job that helps my students do little more than pass a standardized test?James  SmithWho are our students?Start with the question: Why do I do what I do?Evaluate the statement: Christian teaching involves the integration of faith and learning.  Do you agree? Disagree?Examine three frameworks: Is our teaching secular, “Christian” or truly Biblical?Secular “Christian” Biblical• control students in the classroom• create a positive learning environment• establish procedures, routines and rules• pace and structure appropriately challenging lessons• Ultimate Goal= make learning possible and effectivePLUS“Appendages”(ie. devotions, prayer, chapel, service projects, mission trips, perspectivalism, moralistic modeling)• Promote conformity, compliance and excellence• Immerse students in the truth of the gospel• Create an atmosphere of grace in the classroom• Participate in true community through building relationships• Solve “real problems” as agents of restoration• Ultimate Goal=develop ability to serve God and othersAll of the secular

Let\u27s Build Something Biblical

https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1636&amp;context=faculty_work

Let\u27s Build Something Biblical

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