The Biblical Mandate for Education - Part II
By Michael Myers, Founder and Headmaster
§ enlighten the understanding,
§ correct the temper,
§ form the manners and habits of youth, and
§ fit them for usefulness in their future stations”.
Historian-educator James Rose (1987) presented a comparison of Webster’s education
definition and a correlative passage from the Bible that corroborates and confirms the
definition from a biblical perspective. In II Timothy 3:16-17, the Apostle Paul reminded
young Timothy of his Christian heritage and then went onto expound on the value of
Scripture in shaping the life of the individual: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable
for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of
God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” A simplified version of Rose’s
comparison chart reveals a remarkable perspective on education in the context of a biblical
worldview.
Comparison of Webster’s Definition of Education and the Value of Scripture
|
Webster’s Definition of Education All that series of instruction and discipline intended to… |
Paul’s Teaching in II Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is profitable for… |
|
1. Enlighten the understanding |
1. Teaching |
|
2. Correct the temper |
2. Reproof |
|
3. Form the manner and habits of youth |
3. Training in righteousness |
|
4. Fit them for usefulness in their future stations |
4. So that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work |
From this comparative analysis, the biblical alignment of Webster’s definition is obvious. But, a biblically based definition does not a mandate make. In the next issue of Sonrise, we will begin to search systematically through the Bible in an effort to establish whether there is truly a mandate from God concerning how we are to educate our children.
Rose, J. B. (1987). A guide to American Christian education for the home and school: The Principle Approach. Camarillo, CA: American Christian History Institute.
Note: The Latin roots of education can be found at: http://www.babeled.com/2008/11/27/word-power-education/
Dayspring Students raise $1,000 for Alumnus’ Missions Work
It’s all fun and games until someone gets helped.
That’s how it was for Dayspring Christian Academy’s Penny Wars. Upper school students were asked to fill containers with spare change to benefit Dayspring alumnus Derek Homsher ‘07, who recently left to work as a missionary in an undisclosed Muslim country in Asia Minor. The catch? Pennies get counted for positive points for each class, but other classes can “sabotage” by putting nickels, dimes, quarters, and dollars in the containers to count as negative points. Got it?
As the contest launched, classroom containers were filled in an orderly way with long-saved pennies from home. But as the contest neared its end, students’ enthusiasm grew and so did the piles of coins. One class even went en masse to the Red Rose Credit Union on the first floor to convert their silver coins to pennies to elevate their totals and the friendly competition between classes. After all, not only was Derek to receive the fruit of the “wars,” an ice cream party was at stake here!
While seventh-grade students raised the most money overall, it was ninth grade who ended up with the most positive points to take the title of Penny Wars champions. However, because the students responded with such generosity, all of upper school will enjoy the ice cream party.
Meanwhile, Derek receives the $1,000 raised through Penny Wars as he begins his missionary service with refugees from Iran. His service, which continues through the end of the school year, is an internship through Liberty University where Derek is a junior. He is teaching English, assisting with the physical needs of the refugees, as well as sharing the gospel. Derek reports that these Iranian refugees are disillusioned with Islam and are open to the gospel.
Dayspring is honored to play a role in his service.
Why Logic is Essential to the Principle Approach®
Inherent in the Principle Approach® curriculum is the classical discipline of logic, or “the art of reasoning.” While logic was long ago removed from the public school classroom, it was part of education in America’s colonial and founding periods. Today, even a superficial understanding of the subject illuminates the value of logic as a skill.
All ninth-grade students at Dayspring take logic with Erich Schwartz, who also teaches New Testament Greek, Rhetoric, and American Literature.
“In Logic, we consider the popular faith/logic dichotomy, and contrast that with the Biblical role of logic in faith,” Mr. Schwartz tells his students on the class’ syllabus. “The Biblical thinker has an absolute basis for reason, but the modern pagan can only compare one temporal, fallen thing against another. The fruit of logical pursuits, as paradigmed in Genesis 1:1-5, is life. True logic and true faith have no competition, and no contradiction. The Bible re-educates us on the place of logic in God’s universe.”
The Biblical thinker is a dualist, meaning they recognize both spiritual and physical realms. “This is the only proper system for good reason,” Mr. Schwartz teaches, “because reason always involves the comparison of two ideas or terms. The Biblical thinker, unlike the modern pagan, has an eternal absolute by which to judge the temporal. This is apparent in the very opening of Scripture.”
Genesis 1:1-5. The first verse gives foundation for logic. While this is the beginning point Mr. Schwartz sets in the Logic class, he uses subsequent verses in Genesis that set the stage for logic and provide a pattern for logical performance.
Scriptural term In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth This indicates definition absoluteness intelligent exercise of will Ratio (comparing one to another)
How to identify truths
“Logic exercises the student in the mechanics of truth,” Mr. Schwartz noted. “Students learn to transfer one idea to another to another and to work through new ideas as they come together and lead to new conclusions. Those who are willing to do that will develop mature views of ecology, theology, politics, the world.
“Students learn to work through the truths themselves, so they own them and don’t just swallow them,” he noted.
The exercise of logic is taught as students grow in their ability to discern and express truth by learning to critique and construct logical arguments. They also compose and puzzle out logic story puzzles, learn to detect assumed premises, and learn argument analysis through an arrow-diagram approach among many skills covered in the class.
At Dayspring, Logic is viewed as a critical element of Principle Approach® education as we enable students to separate from progressive and secular philosophies and methods to avoid producing a character that is ripe for governmental socialism, secularism, and post-modernism.