EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHYAs a Christian Lutheran educator, I strive to not just incorporate and display the Word of God in my classroom, in my curriculum, and in all interactions with students, parents, and other faculty–– Christianity is the foundation and worldview through which I teach. I believe that as a teacher, I will make mistakes and fall short of my duties, yet in this I can testify to the grace found in the cross of Christ, relying on Him for forgiveness and perseverance.
To borrow from my alma mater, my mission is to help students internalize the Gospel-message of salvation in Christ Jesus. I believe that the purpose of education is to create well-rounded individuals and responsible citizens equipped to fill their vocations not only as workers but as family members, friends, and Christians. From this, I believe classical education suits a Christian worldview. Classical education seeks to refine and reform the human after God's own heart, creating not another worker but a free man or woman capable of critical thinking and faithful vocation. |
Wisdom begins in wonder.
I am highly interested in Classical education. Stemming from a Christian worldview, I believe that the student should begin studying her content in wonder and piety. Humbly approaching the curriculum and text as a scholar, the student may then digest and apply their knowledge. This mode recognizes the true potential of the student as a creation in Imago Dei.
The man who is contented to be only himself, and therefore less a self, is in prison. My own eyes are not enough for me, I will see through those of others... in reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself.
The quote above from C.S. Lewis's An Experiment in Criticism justifies the practice of reading to the reader, who not only participates in literature passively but savors it in such a way that feeds the mind and soul. The practice of literature and composition imparts experience and emotional intelligence. The great literary critic and author of The Educated Imagination, Northrop Frye, wrote that "Literary education should lead not merely to the admiration of great literature, but to some possession of its power of utterance." In English class, students encounter and wrestle with life's questions within the safety of the classroom and are granted the tools to respond and express their original thoughts.
As Christians, the tools used in analyzing text and written response transfer to Scripture; the student is equipped to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Word of God. Likewise, the biblical hermeneutic serves the study of literature.
More than just these pragmatic reasons, literature grows human being in the image of God through imparting wonder and love for the Creator and compassionate love for our neighbors.
As Christians, the tools used in analyzing text and written response transfer to Scripture; the student is equipped to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Word of God. Likewise, the biblical hermeneutic serves the study of literature.
More than just these pragmatic reasons, literature grows human being in the image of God through imparting wonder and love for the Creator and compassionate love for our neighbors.