And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined.

— Luke 5:37

THE CHRISTIAN IDEA OF THE CHILD

Read and Reflect:

Genesis 1:27

Matthew 18:1-10

Ephesians 2:1-22

We find ourselves as parents and teachers as the products of a method of education that grew out of secular, atheistic, evolutionary view of man and of the child. Modern Christian education, a phenomenon of this generation, attempts to “Christianize” education by coating it with Christianity, when what is needed is a whole new form.

The Principle Approach® of American Christian Education, a method that proceeds from Biblical principles as the course of its philosophy, methodology, and curriculum, is documented in Teaching and Learning America’s Christian History, the original presentation of the Principle Approach® written by Rosalie J. Slater.

Principle Approach® education methods are distinctive because they proceed from the Christian idea of the child and include both content mastery and the satisfaction of the real needs of children. A visit to a Principle Approach® classroom reveals a teaching and learning dynamic that presupposes the image of God. The classroom represents an elevation of spirit and an appreciation of learning and reasoning. The teacher is the living textbook. and the students become the producers of their own learning, as they are inspired, principled, and as they are brought nearer the fullest expression of their individual value in Christ.

Education as defined by the father of American Christian education, Noah Webster, is “all that series of instruction and discipline which is intended to enlighten the understanding, correct the temper, form the manners and habits of youth, and fit them for usefulness n their future stations.” To this definition Webster adds a small sermon for our benefit: “To give children a good education in manners arts and science, is important; to give them a religious education is indispensable; and an immense responsibility rest on parents and guardians who neglect these duties.” The word religious, in Webster’s day, meant the practice of Biblical Christianity in every area of life and character.

In education, this requires more than spreading a Christian vocabulary over the old wineskin of progressive education. It requires the restructuring of education, creating a new wineskin: the identification and application of Biblical principles in every subject and as a yardstick for choice methods used.

(“The Christian Idea of the Child,” by Carole G. Adams, originally in the F.A.C.E. Journal, Vol. II, has been revised and republished in Family and the Nation: Biblical Childhood, F.A.C.E., 2002; also available free online at www.face.net.)

DESIGNING CURRICULUM USING THE FOUR R'S

Your personal research and written record should be organized in such a way that it will enable you to teach any age group of learners. Compile your research in a three-ring binder with dividers that reflect the whole subject. This will enable you to recover your research quickly, to add to your research, or to teach the subject at any time.