Philosophy of Education
Nature of Learner Role of Teacher Learning Process Curriculum
PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
Curriculum
The TCPS concept of curriculum is much broader than a list of subjects, reflecting on God’s call to be “doers of the word and not hearers only” (James 1:22). Learning is not simply repeating the right answer. “For Christians, mastering subject matter progresses from acquiring knowledge to understanding the implications of that knowledge to responding to that understanding with loving service to God and mankind” (Donovan Graham, A Biblical Yardstick for Teaching, p. 117).
God’s revelation of truth through creation and Scripture provides the basis for the TCPS curriculum. The Scripture lights the path to understanding reality (Psalm 119:105). Unlike today’s culture, which sees the spiritual realm as only personal and private, thereby allowing the spiritual no place in understanding reality, at TCPS the curriculum encourages students to look for the relationship between the Creator and his creation. Further, at TCPS the curriculum is more than books, worksheets and lectures. It includes training in good habits for life, such as concentration, listening evaluating, truthfulness, self-control, prioritizing, and unselfishness.
Knowledge is as immense and diverse as creation, yet unified in Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:17). Grasping the whole body of knowledge in one lump is too overwhelming, so its study is subdivided into various subjects. At TCPS the curriculum will not only emphasize a solid foundation in “reading, writing and arithmetic” but will include art, science, languages, technology and sport. Although the various subjects are studied individually, they must then be related back to each other and to Christ so that they relate to life.
Today’s culture sees the spiritual realm as personal and private and allows it no place in understanding reality. In contrast, the TCPS curriculum encourages the learner to look for the relationship between the Creator and his creation. In most TCPS classes the Bible itself is not the textbook, rather it provides norms for understanding creation. At TCPS a biblical perspective will be presented in every class. This biblical perspective may be presented through materials that are explicitly Christian or may be provided by a Christian teacher using factually accurate “secular” texts. Whether the materials used are Christian or secular, they must be excellent and must be employed by well qualified Christian teachers. It is imperative that teachers have developed a Christian mind so that they build-up their students’ understanding. However, at an age appropriate level students need to learn not only Christian views, but also Christian answers to other views (I Corinthians 2:15,16). Consequently, it is imperative that teachers spend time developing their own Christian mind so as to have answers for the students.
TCPS curriculum materials will be responsive to the Nature of the Learner. Curriculum materials and methods must employ all of the sensory modalities, not allowing aural and kinesthetic learners to be short-changed through the over use of worksheets that serve visual learners well. Curriculum materials will be employed which train students to deduce information from observation and experimentation as well as reasoning from general principles. Further, the curriculum will address spatial memory through learning experiences and events as well as placing information in short-term memory through practice and repetition. When the scope and sequence of the curriculum solidly covers the requisite subject matter, it proves the teacher with a structure within which he or she can be creative in using a variety of teaching methods. The routines of the curriculum become a framework upon which the teacher can hang experiences such as projects, experiments, field trips, interviews, and guests to accommodate the learning styles and gifts within a particular class.
Evaluating the results of the curriculum brings the discussion full circle, back to the Goal of Education. Testing the parts of the scope and sequence takes place in light of the whole. Making good grades on tests is not enough. The successful TCPS student is equipped and motivated to serve God and others.