When strangers become friends...

Every now and then in India I meet someone who very quickly seems as familiar to me as one of my closest friends. And when I return to India it is, in part, to meet those particular people who have become my good friends.

From time to time I have wondered how that can happen so quickly between people who are from completely different cultures. I think that Henri Nouwen gives the answer:

The vision that Jesus gives us is this: That I am unconditionally loved, that I belong to God, and that I am a person who can really trust that. When I meet another person who also is rooted in the heart of God, then the spirit of God in me can recognize the spirit of God in the other person, and then we can start building a new space, a new home, a house, a community. Whether we speak about friendship, community, family, marriage, in the spiritual world we are talking about spirit recognizing Spirit, solitude embracing Solitude, heart speaking to Heart. And where this happens, there is an immense space.

A doctoral porfolio

I just now finished reading and writing my report on a very interesting portfolio that stands in place of the usual dissertation for a doctoral degree. It was a wonderful experience, particularly since the candidate lives, works, and researches in Australia.

I had never seen such a portfolio before. What made it especially worthwhile is that it contained so many articles that had been published in refereed journals. I wonder how many doctoral candidates have that kind of background!

True and Real Education

“In order for education to be true and real, two things are required: First, that the teacher’s personality and nature are filled with love and interest for the subject in question so that the pupil’s personality opens up and absorbs the thoughts, feelings and concept of the subject through the unfathomable power of the living word. Second, that the matter which is to be communicated, is such that the pupil, at his spiritual level, is able to receive it in such a way that it can either awake or nourish his spiritual life.”

(From The Danish Friskole: A segment of the Grundtvigian-Kold school tradition)

When I cannot forgive others...

Maybe the reason it seems hard for me to forgive others is that I do not fully believe that I am a forgiven person. If I could fully accept the truth that I am forgiven and do not have to live in guilt or shame, I would really be free. My freedom would allow me to forgive others seventy times seven times. By not forgiving, I chain myself to a desire to get even, thereby losing my freedom.

- Henri Nouwen
The Road to Daybreak

Conferences: Part 4

Helping teachers understand the Marks of a Christian School

The document Marks of a Christian School was developed to help teachers and school leaders understand the different aspects of Christian schooling. Discussion of what these aspects mean is an important part of a conference.

Since it is sometimes difficult for people in different language communities to understand what we mean by these items, the following examples are presented as illustrations of what some Christian schools have found to be important.

A. Each school must have a Mission Statement – This is a 15- to 25-word statement that identifies the school, its purpose, and possibly its constituency. It should be clear and easy to read. Example: ______________ Christian School is a school for children of parents who wish their children to have an excellent education that reflects biblical principles. The children will come to know how to live with justice and gratitude before their Creator.

B. Each school must also have a statement of beliefs. The following statements are often used by WCS Christian schools. If this statement is not appropriate for your school, please write your own.

Guiding Beliefs for our Christian School

1. God is sovereign over all creation, including the field of education. We make a connection to God’s claims in every subject (not just in biblical studies or chapel) and in all behavior, including language, dress, and attitude toward others, and toward property.

2. Because sin entered the world, no aspect of the world is the way God wants it to be.

3. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, we are now able to work to try to make this world the way God wants it to be.

4. Jesus is Redeemer of the cosmos, not just Savior of humankind. Christ, through the agency of human beings, wants to restore everything in the world to His definition of how it should be.

5. The Bible is the divine pair of glasses through which we look at reality. Apart from studying the Word of God diligently to know more about God’s way of dealing with humankind, we also look to it for guidance in developing a biblical worldview.

6. God reveals Himself through His creation (not only through Jesus Christ and the Bible). In spite of the Fall into sin, the original goodness of creation still shines through the character, structure and connectedness of things.

7. God’s revelation calls for an active response (not just assimilation of information). Education, therefore, always appeals to the heart, and has as its purpose to lead students into responsive discipleship.

8. This world belongs to God. It does not belong to the evil one. This Christian school needs to engage culture, not flee from it, and it needs to do so in the confidence that God is in control.

9. This school is to equip students with the vision and skills for the redemption of the earth. This is not a throw-away world; God will renew it rather than destroy it. This makes all actions to improve life on earth worthwhile.

10. This Christian school focuses on the nurture of children who have been consecrated by God. Christian schools are not established only to evangelize children from non-Christian homes. They also complement and extend that which is already taking place in the Christian home and as such encourage commitment to Jesus Christ.

11. The focus in the school is on community rather than on individualistic advancement. Children are to be taught interpersonal skills and a sense of belonging to the Body of Christ. Also, the entire Christian community bears responsibility for the Christian nurture of God’s children, not just the parents

C. The school must have in place a list of stated objectives – The objectives define what a teacher should help students achieve in order for the mission to be fulfilled. Not all objectives need to be measurable but the school must provide evidence that appropriate instruction is provided so that all objectives will be met.

Examples:
1. In this Christian school students will achieve an academic standard that is appropriate for their ability and that will allow them to live and work well in their country and in the world.
2. In this Christian school students will come to know Bible stories from the Old Testament and New Testament. They will learn the teachings of Jesus Christ so that they can live in obedience to those teachings
3. In this Christian school each student will learn to develop the skills and abilities God has given to her or him.
4. In this Christian school teachers work together to plan curriculum and plan discussions that help students develop Christian character and moral.
5. In this Christian school the superintendent or head person arranges for frequent sessions in which teachers continue to learn more about instruction that helps students develop an integral, Christian view of life and reality. The teachers introduce worldview questions in ways that help students learn the tendency to ask and search for answers within a framework that incorporates every area of life.
6. In this Christian school students will learn to recognize and become outraged by injustice in any form. They will learn to take action against injustice in ways that are appropriate for disciples of Jesus Christ and also appropriate to their developmental level.
7. In this Christian school teachers will help students come to know that we live in an inter-dependent, inter-connected world.
8. In this Christian school students will learn to think about their own learning, to assess their learning, and to evaluate how they can be better at learning because they are responsible disciples of Jesus Christ.
9. In this Christian school students will learn that people of every race and every culture image God. And students learn what it is to image God.
10. In this Christian school students and teachers are unafraid to study the world as it is, not only the good and the bad but also the ambiguous.
11. And the most important: In this Christian school students will learn how to tell others about God and about the saving grace of Jesus Christ in ways that will encourage others to want to be part of God’s community of Christians here on earth.


D. A board of directors governs the school. The school board has the following powers or duties:

Examples:
1. Each board member must have a clear testimony of faith in Jesus Christ.
2. All board decisions must demonstrate a pattern of regard for biblical principles, professional ethics, and high standards.
3. The school board employs a school head or superintendent and fixes that person’s salary.
4. The school board annually reviews and approves the school budget.
5. The school board approves all major expenditures.
6. The school board must provide a stated standard of behavior for board members, superintendent, teachers, and students that clearly provides protection from physical, sexual, and verbal abuse.
7. members must refrain from directing the school but rather give all suggestions for change to the superintendent or school head.

E. The school must have a superintendent or headmaster/headmistress. This person must be a committed Christian and have a clear testimony of faith in Jesus Christ.

1. The school head is responsible for instruction and for all of the learning that is part of the school.

2. The school head reports to the school board concerning hiring of teachers, major expenditures, and budget.

F. The school must strive to have teachers who are committed Christians and who have a clear testimony of faith in Jesus Christ. In addition they must:

Examples:

1. Be kind and compassionate with students and with other school personnel.
2. Be willing to work cooperatively with other teachers in planning curriculum, instruction, and planning classroom discussions that will lead to specific learning.
3. Be willing to continue their education by attending conferences seminars that require them to demonstrate how they use in their classrooms the information, assessment techniques, and instructional strategies they have learned.


F. The school must demonstrate how student learning will be assessed. – Assessments are ways teachers demonstrate that students have achieved the standards, schoolwide objectives, and mission.

Examples:

1. Objective One is measured in the following way: Students will achieve satisfactorily on standardized achievement tests;
2. Objective Two is measured in the following way: Each student will tell a Bible story, when asked, and also tell what we may learn from that story.
3. Objective Three is measured in the following way: Students will be able to discuss the different abilities that God gives to people and can describe how they are working to develop their own abilities.
4. Objective Four is measured by examining the units developed by teachers to determine the extent to which they are a collaborative effort.
5. In order to determine the extent to which Objective Five has been met, the school head will report to the board annually concerning the inservice opportunities that have been available for the teachers.
6. Objective Six will be assessed by observing how students act toward each other in class and on the playground and also by the extent to which they can speak or write about solving the problems of injustice in our world.
7. Objective Seven will be assessed by observing the extent to which students care for the earth by participating in preparing and maintaining vegetable gardens, work at creating compost to nourish the earth, and encourage each other in avoiding activities that endanger the resources of the earth.
8. Objective Eight will be assessed by observing the extent to which students can speak about themselves as learners and about parts of learning that are difficult or easy for them. They also will be observed to determine the extent to which they are willing to help other students learn.
9. Objective Nine will be assessed by observing the extent to which students are able to write or speak about what it means to be made in the image of God and what it means to reflect God’s image in their lives.
10. Objective Ten will be assessed by observing the teachers’ ability to explain how the students in each class study the world as it is.
11. Objective Twelve will be assessed by observing the extent to which students are willing and able to tell classmates about God and about the saving grace of Jesus Christ. They will also be asked whether they have ever told someone who is not a Christian about the one, true God.
(Each objective should show how it is assessed.)

Conferences: Part 3

2. Sharing with others

There are other ways of showing how faith is integrated into every area of life, of course. And simply hearing about the different ways at a conference does not mean that teachers will adopt those ways of teaching. For that reason, an important part of each conference is the time when teachers share with each other how they do this integration.

It is often difficult to get teachers in particular cultures to understand that such sharing is not “bragging” but rather is simply helping each other with ideas. Conferences are places where teachers help each other.

Conferences: Part 2

One of the most important reasons for the conferences in India is to help teachers understand what integration of faith and learning is and how that integration can and should be shown in many ways in the classroom.

What do we mean by “integration of faith and learning”? Many teachers think of the role of faith in the Christian school as being that important time when we pray together, have worship times together, and also when we study the Bible. Prayer, worship, and Bible study are important in the Christian school but that is not what we mean by integration of faith and learning.

Integrating faith and learning is more a matter of thinking through how, in a particular subject area and at different times of life, the perspectives of Christian belief help us to understand which things are true about the selected area of study and which things really matter. That integration helps us to understand how the calling to live a Christian life in the church and the world interact and influence each other.

In a very real sense a teacher does not have to “integrate” faith and learning because in God’s divine plan that integration has already taken place. It is the teacher’s task, however, to show students the ways in which biblical principles have already been integrated into every subject area and every area of life.

Showing this integration is done differently at each grade level and for each subject area. For that reason it is impossible for just one teachers’ conference to demonstrate how to do that sufficiently well. For example, we often use the Creation-Fall-Redemption-Restoration model to help students understand integration. But that model is used differently, depending on the age of the students. For younger students we demonstrate this integration by describing it to students. We expect and encourage older students to study the subject matter and to search the Bible to help them come to understand the integration for themselves and we walk beside them while they do so. Helping teachers understand what tasks are involved in walking beside students while they study this integration is an important part of the conferences.

Conferences for Christian teachers in India

Why do we have conferences for the teachers in the Christian schools of India? Conferences are expensive to organize and to run. Teachers and school administrators must leave their work and, in many cases, their families in order to attend. Speakers have their own busy schedules. We must be clear about our reasons for having the conferences and what it is we expect the conferences to do.

Most approaches to formal education among all cultures around the world grow out of a need to perpetuate what already is. Children and young people must come to know how people within their cultural group function and this forms the backdrop or stage for their educational programs. This is true in Russia, in the United States, in India, and it is true everywhere.

Christians concerned with education begin with a different premise. They build education programs with the understanding that all things exist to glorify God. God created the universe and sustains it by His power and authority. All subject matter, every classroom activity, each relationship, and the entire learning environment must reflect this understanding. This understanding undergirds the belief that all life is sacred. And it shapes all educational programs.

It seems right that at the end of children’s formal education, they ought to possess an orientation to life that pronounces "the heavens declare the glory of God" (Psalm 19:1). Their lives should reflect the truth that "the precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart" (Psalm 19:8). We hold conferences in order to help teachers better understand how to teach toward these goals.

In the coming days I will tell you about the topics we address at these conferences.

Am I the clay?

It has been too long since I've written but I am going to be much more faithful. At least that is my intention.

I found the following wonderful quotation on Sojourners online.

The art of praying, as we grow, is really the art of learning to waste time gracefully—to be simply the clay in the hands of the potter. This may sound easy—too easy to be true—but it is really the most difficult thing we ever learn to do.... This is the real reason why so few of us ever come, in this life, to the full experience of God’s love for us.

- Thomas H. Green
When the Well Runs Dry