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    by Mike McHugh

An Educational Dilemma
Date Posted: May 17, 2007

My brother-in-law, Dave, and I are teachers. He once told me of an interview he had with a school superintendent. The superintendent asked him what he taught. Not recognizing the philosophical trap being set for him, he responded immediately, "Science." The superintendent repeated the question. Thinking that the superintendent had simply not heard his first answer, Dave came back again with, "Science." When the superintendent asked the question the third time, Dave finally recognized what was being required of him and responded, "Children."

That interview took place perhaps thirty years ago, but the debate over the central focus of education continues. Should it be the subject or the student? Should it be what is taught or who is taught?

Of course, there are proponents for both positions. The champions of subject matter lament that their beloved disciplines suffer when the student takes center stage. Academic standards decline because students must not be allowed to fail or suffer any loss of self-esteem. Excellence cannot be pursued because a child’s fragile psyche might be damaged if it faces too great a challenge. When the subject is secondary, the academic rigor which is the ambrosia of teachers must give way to what they see as coddling. Precious time needed for imparting knowledge yields to managing the self-centered and unruly denizens of the classroom.

The proponents of child-centered education are equally zealous. They repine that learning is not taking place because we have forgotten who we are teaching. As family life in the U.S. has suffered a general and deep decline in the last several decades, students do not come to the classroom "cleared for learning" as it were. They arrive at school undernourished, underloved, undersupervised, and burdened with a host of problems too heavy for their tender years. It is indeed difficult to envision achievement through a sterile focus on subject matter for students in such a mental and spiritual state.

In his book, Teaching For a Change: A Transformational Approach to Education (Puritan & Reformed Publishing, 2001) Dr. Norman De Jong reveals the rather simple way out of this apparent dilemma, thus performing a great service for the Christian educator. While acknowledging that concern for the subject matter and care for the student are essential in the pedagogical pursuit, Dr. De Jong clears the debris of the debate by reminding us that determining which issue is central is a purely secular dilemma. It needn’t trouble the Christian educator for whom God, and God alone, is the central focus of teaching and learning. Modern secular education, because it is pagan and denies the one true God, has subjected itself to futility and false choices.

The function of subject matter, while it may be inherently quite fascinating, is ultimately to reveal the God who is, who created and sustains, and who gives meaning to absolutely everything. Learning facts and relationships is essential, but can only be done properly in the context of knowing and loving God and enjoying Him forever. The real delight of a subject, beyond the material itself, is to discover the amazing, eternal, and coordinating Hand behind it all.

While it is most beneficial to care for and be sensitive to the needs of the student, the role of the teacher is not primarily to meet the student’s needs, nor to assist in self-discovery, but, through guided contact with the people and things God has created, to help the student find Him. When the student discovers and learns about God, and God’s provision concerning His people, true education has taken place. When the student is in a proper relationship with God, he is free to joyfully pursue all sorts of knowledge and he possesses the basis upon which to develop meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships with other people. Such a student is prepared for life.

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Biography Information:
This column is written by the staff at Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights, Illinois. As a pioneer in the homeschool movement, Christian Liberty ministries has been operating a full service, K-12 home school program for over thirty years and a Christian textbook ministry (Christian Liberty Press), since 1985. The mission of Christian Liberty is to provide parents with quality, affordable educational products and services that will enable them to teach their children in the home and to train their children to serve Christ in every area of life. A more extensive explanation of the CLASS home school program can be obtained at www.homeschools.org.
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