Integrating Christian Faith in Education Philosophy - Essay Example

Integrating Christian Faith in Education Philosophy ID Education: Philosophy of Education 2) The paper analyses my philosophy of education through a series of dimensions. All of them are guided by the biblical or Christian perspective. In the biblical worldview, the purpose of learning is to seek God’s truth, and one achieves this by creating Christ’s disciples. Instructions need to reflect Christian perspectives of man’s unique characteristics. The uniqueness of all human beings needs to be acknowledged in the classroom by customizing teaching practice to accommodate this distinctiveness. I am also governed by a constructivist paradigm, which encourages the building up of previous knowledge through experience. This requires students to be personally involved in learning and educators to embrace diversity. Philosophy of Education 3) Introduction A philosophy of education is critical in performing one’s role as an educator because it is the basis upon which other elements of teaching emanate. The perception that one has about their students, stems from their expectations on what learner roles should be or how students learn. Furthermore, one’s philosophy outlines the purpose of learning and school in general. My philosophy of education rests on the premise that God is at the center of learning, so teaching strategies, relationships with students and perspectives of diversity reflect the biblical understanding. 4) Worldview and Philosophy of Life I posses a biblical worldview in which it is basically assumed that the bible is the foundation of all knowledge and answers all the key questions in life (Alexander, 2002). First, I acknowledge that there is a God and that he is a personal divine being who loves and cares for man. Further, I believe that God defines what is wrong or right through the bible, so it is incumbent upon the educator to know the word and practice it. The country is currently embracing an atheistic world view where all individuals are presumed to have equally valid beliefs. This culture supports the separation of church and state, yet at its core it is waging a war against Christian teaching in schools (Cates, 2005). I firmly stand behind the knowledge that God is the only source of truth and his word is final. The biblical worldview also sees humans as unique creatures of God, who were created in his own image. It is through this uniqueness that I approach all my students and teaching. I dispense knowledge in a manner that causes students to make meaning of ideas rather than to merely regurgitate what they have been told. As a Christian educator, it is critical to regard oneself as a model of Jesus Christ (Alexander, 2002). Showing comparison, acceptance and love as Christ did in disciplining and classroom management are all components of this perspective. This philosophy of life also penetrates into the metaphysical component of my teaching. To me, life derives purpose only when one fulfills God’s divine purpose. This implies accepting the absolute and unchanging nature of God’s truth (Wilson, 2003). Collective and subjective goals such as personal fulfillment or happiness are insufficient to bring meaning in life. All components of the universe get meaning from God, so one cannot claim that reality comes from man. In terms of axiology or the nature of my values, I rely on God’s perspective to determine what is good or bad. Unlike other schools of thought that are limited by man’s intellectual nature or his emotions, this perspective’s ethical construction emanates from what God really values. These desires can all be found in his word and his teachings through his son Jesus Christ. The thing I value the most is to model Christ in myself and in my students. They ought to know that they are unique and beautiful, and that God shines his light through them. 5) Philosophy of School and Learning I believe that the purpose of education is to create Disciples of Christ through conformity to his word (Lappert and Simonds, 2004). It is a vessel for modeling individuals into becoming more like Christ. In this regard, an education ought to assist students in learning how to think. It should help them in formulating proper questions so as to have the right answers. A critical thinker is one that can observe, analyze and recall information. They ought to be in a position to use that knowledge in order to construct various ideas or apply them in various ways. Discipleship in Christ is the only way in which students can become effective thinkers. Education ought to assist individuals in understanding themselves. They need to have a firm grasp of who they are, what their characteristics are meant to be and why they act in a certain way. Questions revolving around their origin and the reason for man’s existence ought to be answered in school. Education needs to teach students about their sense of direction, and a Christian perspective can augment their ability to meet these objectives (Cates, 2005). People need to have a healthy image of themselves; an education with Christian emphasis helps meet the above objectives in a satisfactory manner. Finally, I believe that an education ought to teach students how to appreciate their respective societies. Each individual belongs to a small or large part of society such as their neighborhood, sports club, state or county. An education ought to sensitize learners on the forces that control society. It should give them insights on how society got this way and the effects of being that way (Cates, 2005). Epistemology concerns itself with how knowledge is acquired. My philosophy of learning revolves around the determining truth through God’s revelation. It is necessary for a student to evaluate certain truths because everything in reality is not as it appears. Human reason or rationalism, the use of observation senses; empiricism, and subjective interpretations of truth or existentialism is not sufficient to distinguish truth from false assertions. These theories all have shortcomings that can be overcome through the use of the bible. I am also a firm adherent of the constructivist learning theory. This school of thought advocates for the acceptance of the autonomy of a learner. Students construct their knowledge from different experiences. Therefore, they need to discover for themselves new truths through their personal initiatives. I often lay the foundation of God’s truth by encouraging students to discover it for themselves within the classroom setting (Stakle, 2006). 6) Instructional practice / methodology My biblical worldview influences my perception of learners as I think of them as reflectors of God’s image. They ought to love themselves and also love their neighbors, so all teaching must perpetuate a positive self image (Alexander, 2002). Teaching techniques that embarrass and expose a learner’s flaws ought to be set aside. For instance, if they are learning a new concept, it would not be acceptable for individuals to go in front of the classroom and answer compulsory questions as this would cause embarrassment when they do not know. In terms of instructional strategies, it is essential to use teaching methods that meet every learners needs. The Christian worldview requires one to think of all students as equal, special and important. Therefore, educational methodology should reflect this uniqueness and offer a wide variety of options to all individuals. Most of these methods are event cited in the bible. I believe in the use of demonstration as well as personal involvement of learners during certain activities. Additionally, repetition and individualized instruction may be effective ways of getting through to learners. Educators need to emulate Jesus, who was an effective teacher. He often employed question and answer strategies when followers wanted to learn something. Likewise, this is a strategy I do while complementing it with lectures, which were also used by Jesus when teaching the masse. However, the student-centered instructional strategies do not imply that students will not be corrected when they err. Instilling discipline in students is critical by demonstrating that actions also have consequences. Some of the pedagogical strategies in use in the classroom include establishing prior knowledge that students already know about something. Communicating with these students is also paramount, and so is the use of open ended questions. The latter approach encourages them to think critically about truth (Bruner, 1996). Even in situations where students seem certain about something, I often try to challenge them to look into it in a different way using God’s perspective. 7) Teacher-Learner relationships My Christian worldview considers the teacher as a vessel of God’s truth. In the constructivist, learning paradigm, I often encourage them to discover this truth for themselves. Carrying out this role requires a thorough knowledge of the subject being taught. However, because of the unique nature of learners as God’s creatures, teachers need to go out of their way to create conditions in which students want to learn. When students are not motivated to learn, it becomes increasingly hard for them to attain God’s truth. I believe that one must start with what is known and then work towards what is unknown. Therefore, an educator’s duty ought to be to establish what learners already know in order to move forward. In order for an educator to ensure that their ideas have been well-understood, it may be necessary to review, repeat and apply information. Testing is not sufficient to analyze a student’s learning if it has not been backed by other methods of review (Gutek, 2004). Conversely, learners have the responsibility to develop physically, intellectually and most importantly spiritually. This perspective is influenced by the biblical perspective, which thinks of individuals not such as intelligent animals but as creatures with a spirit and a soul. They are also expected to cooperate with teachers and put in personal effort in order to learn new things. This should be backed by studying the word of God. Overall, the relationship between the educator and the learner is one of mutual cooperation and understanding (Alexander, 2002). Instead of thinking of the teacher as the exclusive bearer of information, both parties ought to combine their efforts in the learning process. None of the parties is supposed to go overboard in a certain realm. For instance, too much creative thinking in the student cases them to become superficial while too much focus on absorption of information may prevent internalization of the same. 8) Diversity God is a proponent of diversity because the quality is evident in all aspects of creation. A Christian teacher has the responsibility of following God’s example by embracing diversity in the classroom. Students speak different languages, belong to different cultures and have various proficiencies. In fact, teachers need to embrace diversity as something that was part of God’s plan. An educator needs to take into account differences in the way language is spoken. They need to accommodate cultural lenses in the classroom with special attention given to inclusions of all cultures in the group. Some children have divergent physical and emotional needs, so these require different approaches. Even matters of religion have to be considered as students have different spiritual backgrounds. In the latter issue, teachers should not shy away from learning about people’s beliefs in order to encourage them to seek God’s truth. Taking a stand is necessary albeit in a principled way. Student diversity affects instruction by causing an educator to adapt their curriculum in order to accommodate the language differences, emotional and social dissimilarities as well as the creative tendencies of all. Teachers ought to change their strategies in order to meet the needs of various learners in their classes (Wiles and Bondi, 2002). 9) Conclusion Overall, my philosophy of education is firmly guided by God’s word. It defines the purpose of education as teaching God’s truth. Because of ideas concerning man’s uniqueness in creation, a teacher should approach the educator-learner relationships through these dimensions. Teaching is tailored to diverse needs and students are encouraged to internalize their own learning. References Alexander, J. (2002). Education: A Christian view. Retrieved from http://cms.intervarsity.org/followingchrist/features/feature.php?id=641 Bruner, J. (1996). The Culture of Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Cates, P. (2005). A Christian philosophy of education. Retrieved from http://www.transformingteachers.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=37&Itemid=196 Gutek, G. L. (2004). Philosophical and Ideological Voices in Education. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. Lappert, R. and Simonds, R. (2004). A Christian worldview of education. Murphys, California: The coalition on Revival Press Stakle, A. (2006). Attitude towards teaching and learning in the context of students’ educational philosophy. Saule: Daugavpils. Wiles, J. and Bondi, J. (2002). Curriculum development: A guide to practice. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall. Wilson, J. (2003). Perspectives on the Philosophy of Education. Oxford Review of Education, 29(2), pp. 279-283. Read More