Thread: Christian Philosophy of Education

I'm going to be teaching English 101 this fall at a non-Christian university.

With so many secular educational philosophies out there, I'm curious what a Christian philosophy of education should look like. Can you recommend any books --from a Christian perspective-- on this subject?
Thank you,
Matthew

Look at Douglas Wilson (Classical Education and Excused Absence), CS Lewis, Gene Edward Veith, David Dockery - pres of Union University. He wrote 3 books on Christian Higher Education. Augustine of Hippo has some great stuff on education. (He answers the questions, "How do I love the Lord with my whole being and my neighbor as a student?")

You can look at ASCI (Association of Christian School International) and CSI (Christian Schools International) for resources. They publish a lot of stuff, but those are high schools. Different in purpose and intent at the undergraduate level, but they would help inform your worldview thinking here.
--
this would be your best bet

Shaping a Christian Worldview: The Foundations of Christian Higher Education
Edited by David S. Dockery & Gregory Alan Thornbury; Foreword by Charles Colson
Broadman & Holman: Nashville, TN (September 2002)

I don't have a book to suggest, but here are some thoughts.

First, since the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, it follows that education must also strive toward this end.

Second, the arts communicate thought, emotion, beauty, and other ideas. From eternity past, the three persons of the trinity have engaged in communication with each other. By teaching the art of English, you are reflecting an aspect of the Lord's nature.

Third, a uni-versity is to be unified. Historically, theology has been the unifying aspect of teaching. We now have multi-versities, but you can still conduct your teaching with the knowledge that a unity of ideas is necessary to provide meaning for what is taught.

I hope this fosters further discussion.

Thanks for your comments and insights.
I ordered that book, Shaping a Christian
Worldview: The Foundations of Christian
Higher Education and I hope to read
some of the articles that were suggested
as well.

Since some of my classwork has centered
around "how" people learn, such as "how"
do children learn language or which methods
are best for teaching others how to read
and write; I'm hoping that the book will
address something along those lines, but
I'm interested in your thoughts on the
above questions too --from a Christian
perspective.

It seems like a lot of theoretical work
has been done by unbelieving psychologists,
linguists, and social scientists; I hope
that more Christians will address some
of these issues to counteract the flood
of secular educational theories and to
inform budding teachers such as myself.

Thanks again,
Matthew

In terms of methodology, learning styles, and management those are needed in the classroom. One should know where the author is coming from. If you want to treat your students like animals, behaviorism works. But that is not how we are to treat students. (I too am a teacher.) Unbelievers have much to teach us as Christians, but we must recognize their presuppositions and how their systems of thought clash with biblical truth. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water, for Jerusalem has much to do with Athens.

To answer your questions though
(1) people learn in many ways visual, hearing, doing. Knowledge is formed by reason, emotion, sensory, intuition, experience, and revelation. Embrace this reality. Don't just lecture at students. I remember one time my college prof made us go up to the chalkboard and dry a diagram explaining the medieval society in Scotland. Fun and I remember that time and lesson well. Utilize everything you possibly can to teach them. Be creative and adjust your lessons to the students.
(2) Focus on the student. You will think you do this, but you dont. At least that was my experience. Interact with them, listen to their questions, and respond to them honestly. Treat them as people. In our society most students expect you to treat them as peers. If you dont treat them as adults though they wont take you seriously.
(3) Be honest and don't talk down.
(4) I learned to write by failure. My high school teacher pridefully said she taught us how to write, but it was not until my junior year in college that I learned the mechanics of writing. Give assignments, lots of them. Give feedback, lots of it. Take your time grading if you do those two things. You are a college professor, you earned that.

Another book that would be helpful, not Christian, but conservative and analytical of secularism is "Amusing ourselves to death." Postman recognizes the power of the clock in the classroom as the real king. Media Ecology, where we focus on the methods is very helpful. Look at things by T. David Gordon and Greg Reynolds here. Perhaps even a few things by Dallas Willard would help, as hes taught in the secular realm for his whole life.

Probably your best bet would be to contact certain professors at leading Christian schools that want to be academically competitive (Union, Calvin, Wheaton, Grove City)

this might be more general than you hoped for. But after my first year teaching they are huge lessons for me.

Christian Philosophy of Education, The Works of Gordon Haddon Clark, Volume 10 found here: Trinity Foundation

Hardback available, too.