Articles to shape who you are!
What is Wellspring’s “elevator pitch”? In this video, Kevin Dixon shares Wellspring’s fundamental theory of change and answers exactly how children across Rwanda access quality education. Is it what you expected?
In an earlier article, I argued that the teacher represents the school’s very essence. In fact, a school can only succeed according to the makeup of its faculty. “The excellence of an organization’s product cannot exceed the excellence of those responsible for producing that product… this means that the school will never be any better than its teachers and staff” (Frost, 2007). Thus, the characteristics and core values that define a quality teacher are those that define a quality school.
Although the author writes about challenges for classical schools, the temptations apply to almost every other form of Christian school as well.
By Brian Douglas in First Things, November 8, 2012
Having taught at a classical Christian school for five years and followed the classical Christian education movement for some years prior, I have come to believe that it is the best approach to K-12 education available today.
Due to its understanding of education as the reshaping of a child’s soul (in contrast to “discovery” models of education, for example), the method tends to develop thinkers defined by who they are instead of workers defined by what they do. Its focus on the Great Conversation gives students respect for history and helps them see themselves as contributors to that conversation. Unlike inward-facing fundamentalist approaches to education, this movement does not shy away from the world, but instead teaches students to interact thoughtfully with contemporary culture.
Classical Christian schools do these and many other things well, and consequently their numbers, acceptance, and influence are on the rise. However, as this form of education comes of age, it needs to be wary of certain temptations. Five specific cautions come to mind.
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