Philosophy of Christian Education

"The church teaches. It always has and always will. From the Great Commission to its earliest confessions and catechisms, the church has viewed teaching as an integral part of its life and ministry."

It has been noted that there is a distinct difference between a "Christian philosophy of education" and a "philosophy of Christian education." The former being only one of many applicable and credible forms of education and the latter being the only viable form of education. We, as a collective person, were made in the image of God. With this premise given, God alone would hold the keys to educating the entire person, and all other educational systems and philosophies, while holding some truth, cannot hold all truth. Any educational system that denies the Spiritual side of man is not concerned with the entire man and is doomed to failure.

The metaphysical presupposition of a philosophy of Christian education must define its ultimate reality as God Himself. This premise is however, never assumed to be above question. The person who exhibits an 'ostrich-type' faith, that is, one who simply responds to legitimate questions with a condescending "Because" is never ready to truly define their epistemological base. "The Christian educator does not hesitate to welcome open investigation of the reality of his faith."

Given the premise that the eternal God is the basis for any Christian philosophy of education, then revelational truth must be at the core of its teaching. Both general revelation and special revelation are considered valid and important for the student to understand. Non-Christian philosophies of education give general revelation (although not noted as such) in much the same way that Christian philosophies would. But Special Revelation is necessary to direct us not just to the unmoved-mover of Aquinas, or the greatest form conceivable of Plato, but to the God of Scripture. Gaebelein has said "The world of nature bears overwhelming evidence to God and His greatness and essential being. But of the knowledge which is eternal life it does not directly state." Any educational philosophy that removes Special Revelation as a base component leaves out the foundation for which all other knowledge must be based.

What is the worldviews that must be espoused in a Christian philosophy of education? In most secular educational philosophies, man is viewed as "good and getting better." But in a Christian philosophy, man exists in a fallen state and will choose darkness over light. (John 3:19) The Christian educator must, as their primary goal, seek to lead the student to a full understanding of their need for a Redeemer, for the purpose of putting the student back into a proper relationship with God. Without the relationship in proper order, then the knowledge that is gained will always be with doubt and cynicism.

The ethos of Christian education must always have eternity foremost in mind. Gangel references Comenius as saying this task is threefold in nature: "First, man must know all things, including himself; second, he must be master of all things, including himself; and third, he must direct all things, including himself, to God. In order to attain these objectives the work of Christian education is to develop the pupil in knowledge and understanding, in moral insight and action, and in reference to God and in true spiritual living." The true spiritual living is to live according to the precepts of God, not looking at merely today or tomorrow, but looking at eternity as our final goal.

The curriculum that is used in Christian education is of paramount importance. My dealing with a very popular curriculum source is, considering mathematics, that it is excellent for early years, but very questionable for later years. It uses rote learning and repetition for teaching foundational facts of mathematics, but continues that for older children, so that when a child gets to about the fourth grade, possibilities outside of the previously taught spectrum, like negative numbers, are difficult for a child to even conceive. The student must be taught to think independently, even from an early age. We are created in the image of God, and therefore have the ability to think creatively. That independent thinking must be taught under the umbrella of a Scripturally based curriculum. Scripture is not afraid of the hard, academic questions, but many teach as if they must fear any questioning that arises outside of their established curriculum. God is the source of all truth, so why fear a question that arises from studying His truth? Remember, the undeniable reality of God is the premise of Christian education.

The curriculum must follow this pattern: "If God is the ultimate reality, if truth is inseparably related to His revelation, and if the objective of church education is to make people like Jesus Christ, then the centrality of the Bible in the church's curriculum is a foregone conclusion." Any other attempt to convey truth without including the truth of Scripture is faulty at best. The last few decades have seen 'truth' subjectively defined and the truth of Scripture placed equally along side of other religious truths and the student is told to take this leap of faith to see what is the best truth for them. "The Kierkegaardian seed produced the neo-orthodox plant which now gives forth an existential rose. But such a rose by any other name is still heresy..."

The Christian educator outside of the home must realize that the responsibility for the education of that child is given to the parents. The educational institution, whether formal or informal, must generate a positive relationship between the parents and the institution. The institution must realize that they are in existence to complement the education of the home, and not to play an antithetical role to it.

THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER

The role of the teacher in a philosophy of Christian education is more than just a conveyor of knowledge; they are a mentor and ally. The teacher's goal is to take you to a place educationally, morally, and spiritually beyond which they cannot practically give any more knowledge and then turn the student over to another mentor who will take them further in all of these areas.

The first key in this is to know your students. As far back as 1884, John Gregory wrote: "The language used in teaching must be common to teacher and learner." How can a teacher know what language the student is speaking if they do not know their student? The Christian teacher must be involved with their students in order to see where they are and what they really need. The concept of mentor as exhibited in Scripture is really the model for the Christian teacher.

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