I started writing this blog from the Youth Hostel (like a hotel) in Chicago where my 7th grade students were staying for the night. I was the lead teacher/chaperone. I woke up early, so I thought I would start on this blog post.

Every year the 7th graders take a two-day trip from Grand Rapids, MI to Chicago to visit the local attractions. We see many other schools from the local states visiting the places too. What makes the trip that my students go on any different than the ones the other public or charter school students are taking?

Yesterday, we started off the day with my principal leading devotions. The line that stuck out the most was “You will see many things on the trip that God has made, but the most spectacular thing will be the student who is sitting next to you on the bus.”

We left in time to arrive at the opening of the Brookfield zoo. We saw all kinds of animals: bears, reptiles, birds, seals, and dolphins. From the zoo, we went to the National Museum of Mexican Art. It was amazing to view the creativity of the artists.

Next, our group went to Navy Pier to eat dinner, go on the big Ferris Wheel, or just watch the boats on Lake Michigan. The lake is so beautiful to watch from the pier.

We left Navy Pier and went to the John Hancock Observatory, which is on the 94th floor of the building. As a group, we watched the sunset and the lights of Chicago go on. Even though I have seen it many times, I am still amazed at the vastness of the big city.

Next we traveled to where we stayed for the night at the Youth Hostel. This evening devotions were delivered by one my colleagues at The Potter’s House. She gave us the message of “light.” She asked the students about what kinds of light did they saw on the trip.  She reminded the students that “we are light of the world.” She went on to explain the Bible verse and how it relates to the “light” we saw on the trip.

After a good night sleep and breakfast, we met in a meeting room in the Youth Hostel for devotions. An adult chaperone led the devotions this morning. His topic was on “seeing,” and how God gives us the ability to see.  The students were to visualize those things on the trip so far that we have seen. He said that God reveals himself to us. The students soaked in his message and the Word of God that He had planned for them.

Now I am writing the final part of the post as we are at the Field Museum. There are large sections devoted to evolution. On Monday I will get the opportunity to talk to my students about it. The museum has the largest T-Rex ever discovered. The bones are over 90% complete. It is amazing that the sheer size of the animal. I look forward to engaging my students with making the connections with this dinosaur and the Creator of it all!

In this blog series, we have been discussing the “7 must haves” in your Christ-centered worldview. The sixth one is you must have a passion for Christian education. When you are teaching, are you connecting the subject matter to God’s Word? It is not a tacked on faith, but rather interweaving God’s Word into what you are teaching.

My hope is that my 7th graders have a better understanding of God’s Word though this trip. I also want them to realize the role that God has for them in their lives which is make the world a better place. If they do, then this trip is different than most of the schools that we have met.

The next “must have” in our trek to discovering and writing down our Christ-centered worldview is to have a working philosophy of education. When was the last time you looked at your philosophy of education? Do you still agree with what you wrote?

For some of us, it has been a long time since we wrote the statement for college. You may have not even have been a teacher yet. I strongly suggest that this summer when you are writing your Christ-centered worldview that you include your philosophy of education. Most importantly, I suggest that you re-write it to fit with who you are today as a teacher.

In this blog series, and actually in all my work for CSI, I have tried to give you, the Christian school teacher, practical tools and suggestions to work in your classroom today. Actually, I love to think in terms of philosophy and in the more sophisticated way. But I know as a teacher, there are a lot of people in our lives who think this way. I choose to focus with you the practical, hands-on approach to impact you and your teaching.

In that light, when you look at your philosophy of education, try to give it practicality.  For example, here is part of my philosophy of education I wrote in college:

Epistemology, according to Kauchak and Eggen (2005), “is a branch of philosophy that examines questions of how we come to know what we know.” In other words, epistemology is how students acquire knowledge. Knowledge is more than just bits of information. It needs to hook into a schema and create a sense of action. A relational understanding is the ability to use and apply it (1978).

My goal as a teacher is to help my students gain a relational understanding of the concepts I am teaching them. I do not want them to memorize facts for a test, but rather want them to add the information into their prior knowledge and experiences and make it a useful tool for them as they make decisions in the future. This means assessment goes beyond the cumulative test. Assessment becomes an on-going interaction where students apply what they have learned.

I still agree with what I wrote a few years ago in my Master of Education program, but it is academic (as it should have been).  Your working philosophy of education needs to have the practical in it too along with the academic. To make my statement practical, I would add the following:

For example in Bible class, I have my students, as a class, build one Old Testament tabernacle.  I have some students build the fence. I have some build the tent. I have some make the basins.  By working on the project, I strive for my students to have a relational understanding of how the Israelites built the tabernacle that the Lord commanded of them.

After the Tabernacle is built and all the pieces are in place, I give my students an assessment.  I allow them to look at their project, and they are to draw and label the Tabernacle on a piece of paper.  Then they will have an open-ended question on how they thought the Israelites enjoyed dis-assembling the Tabernacle and re-assembling the Tabernacle after they landed at the place that God told them.  

Where is your philosophy of education? If you can’t find it, or you believe you did not write one, please email me at kezell@csionline.org and I will give you resources to help you write your statement out.

I am currently reading the book, The Next Christian by Gabe Lyons.  In the book Lyons writes, “When we allow those talents to intersect with the burdens God and placed on our hearts, therein lies our calling.  Where your gifts and natural skills collide with your deepest burdens –you have calling.” As this idea pertains to our teaching, we must not only know our content and execute sound pedagogy, we must also have a passion for being around children and young adults.

In our series on writing your Christ-centered worldview, the fourth must have step of how to write your Christ-centered worldview is to explore how God sees children and young adults. God sees children as image bears of Himself.  Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.” I know that when the children in our classroom are “stinkers” it is harder to think of them as image bearers of God.

I am encouraging you to write your Christ-centered worldview so that you know the worldview you are teaching the students in your classroom.  One of the strongest ways we teach worldview to our students is how we manage our classrooms.  Creating a classroom a classroom built on mutual respect, highlighting kids’ gifts, and teaching them how to make wise decisions is all part of this. The way you handle the students who are not cooperative is a direct reflection of how you see children in general.

When I was in middle school, I was not the most cooperative student.  I was not as respectful to my teachers as I should have been, and I regret the choices that I made.  In God’s sense of humor, I teach the classes that I got into trouble the most.  I tell my current students that I now get paid to do what I used to get in trouble for in class.

One day in Bible class, I was being disrespectful, and my teacher removed me from the classroom.  I had to sit in the “eraser cleaning room” next to the Bible classroom.  When class was over, my Bible teacher prayed with me.  In retrospect, I believe the teacher had good intentions.  One line that I remember my teacher saying was for God to change me.  At the time, I took the sentence to mean that God should change my personality. In other words, God should change how he created me.  I took that phrase as God made a mistake with me, and God should change me into a quiet, compliant student. This phrase impacted negatively on how I saw God. In others words, my worldview was influenced.

Lyons quote reminds us that as teachers we need to be not only effective in our methodology of teaching, but also in our passions.  The passion we need to have is for the children in our classroom.

Is your classroom full of truth but also grace?  When disciplining a child are you keeping in mind this child is an image of God?  Take time this week to write out how you view children. Do you need to adjust your view of the children in your classroom? Pray that God will help you see them as He does, and take seriously the responsibility He has given you as he puts his most precious gift into your care.

As I am writing this blog, it is Spring Break. I am enjoying spending more time with my wife and children.  My wife and I worked out a deal with our children that they need to read as much as they spend time on the Wii.  So far, the plan has worked.  My daughter even said that she enjoyed a sports book written by Matt Christopher.

On Easter morning, I listened to my children discussing the Easter story.  Even though my children are seven and nine, they understand (as much as any of us) how Jesus died on the cross for their sins and how He rose again from the dead.  My daughter ended the conversation with “I just don’t understand why Jesus had to die.”  I am so proud of my children.

I would like to say that the spiritual depth of my children is because of my awesome parenting and guidance.  The truth is that my wife and I, grandparents, church, and my children’s Christian school are the reasons that I believe my children are on track with their relationship with Jesus.

The fourth “must have” to writing your Christ-centered worldview is you must know the major themes of the Bible, and how God has worked through the lives of the Bible characters.  If you wish to see the full list of “Must haves,” please click here.

In my Reformed tradition, I believe in the creation, fall, and redemption theme.  In my children’s conversation, I could hear their teacher’s words when talking about why Jesus had to die. The words were the message of Jesus coming to restore this broken world.

When you understand the Biblical themes, you can apply this to your classroom.  Literature, History, Math and other subjects can be taught through the prism of your theme.  The goal of Christian education is to train the students to see God in all things so that they will see God in all things when they are adults.

Creation, Fall, and Redemption theme is complex and it is difficult to develop in this blog, but click here and you will get an excellent overview of creation, fall and redemption theme from the Colson Center.

Most movies and books follow the creation, fall, redemption theme. For example, consider the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis. The creation is the entering into Narnia. The fall is Edmund’s working with the witch, and the redemption is the killing and then raising to life of Aslan, returning Naria to its intended state.

An example in Science might be shown through recycling. We have goods that are created, but then when we are finished with them, do we just throw them away? (a version of the fall). By recycling, we are showing a version of God’s redemption – bring something new out of something old.

These are just two quick examples to get you started in your own thinking: How does creation, fall, and redemption affect your worldview?  How is creation, fall and redemption taught in your classroom?

I have been talking this year about a Christ-centered worldview and more specifically how CSI’s Bible curriculum Walking with God and His People builds a Christ-centered worldview.  In my classroom, I teach the curriculum that I support for CSI.  I appreciate how well my students have responded to it.

Walking with God and His People builds a Christ-centered worldview of the head, the heart and the hands.  Toward the end of the year, I will write with specifics on how it accomplishes this pursuit.

My original intent in this blog series was to go into the specifics of how Walking with God and His People builds a Christ-centered worldview after I talked about people in my life that exemplify it.  After talking with several groups of Christian school teachers, I found that many don’t know how to articulate their own Christ-centered worldview.  This part of the blog series is about how to articulate your Christ-centered worldview.

I have written a blog post about the 7 must haves in a Christ-centered worldview.  You can read the blog by clicking here.

The second of the 7 must haves is to know how Jesus affects your actions and thinking. In other words, a Christ-centered worldview should influences our head, heart and hands.  Traditionally, when we have thought about Christ-centered worldview, we have only thought about the head.  I strongly believe that a Christ-centered worldview is more than just the head.  It is also about the heart and the hands, too

I suggest that you find a piece of lined paper and divide into three parts.  On the top, write about how Jesus affects your thinking.  The middle section is about how Jesus affects your feelings, and lastly how Jesus affects your actions.

Jesus affects my thinking.  I like to think about how to solve problems. Any personality test I take shows that I am a visionary.  I don’t see the world as it is but rather of what it could be.  Christ has influenced my thinking by coming up with ideas that impact the world of Christian schooling. I want more students in Christian schools because I believe in its mission. I am thinking of ways to make Christian schools more economically viable.  I would also like to see more Christian schools.  This is one of the ways that Christ has influenced my thinking.

Jesus has influenced my heart.  I feel for children who live in impoverished areas.  The new video from Audio Adrenaline exemplifies how Jesus has influenced my feelings. Here is the video.

In your last part of your paper think about how Jesus has influence your actions.  My teaching in a Christian school is part of what I consider to be my ministry. Is it for you? What other areas of your life are you serving in because of your worldview

The other day I was in line at a grocery store. The elderly person in front of me did not have enough money to purchase her groceries.  I told the clerk that I would purchase the groceries for her.  The woman was so appreciative and wanted to take my name and phone number and pay me back. I told her that I would not give her my name.  I am not trying to sound pious, but rather give an example of how my actions are influenced by Jesus.

When you are finished with your sheet of paper (or papers), save it.  When we are finished with the “7 Haves in your Christ-Centered Worldview,” we will put it together in a portfolio.

Please share examples of how Jesus has affected your head, heart and hands by commenting on this blog.

In my Bible classroom, I use the theme of “Why did God make you, and what are you going to do about it.” I help students to see that God has a plan for their lives, and they have a choice to follow it. For example, this week we have been studying Ezekiel. We looked at God’s call to Ezekiel and compared it to the call that God is going to give to the students. We also looked at the Valley of the Dry Bones that God gave new life to dried-up bones. In other words, God can use my students to take someone or someplace and redeem it for God’s glory.

This year on the blog, I have been talking about Christ-centered worldview. One of the 7 things we need in our Christ-centered worldview is a look at our own faith.  In other words, do you know why God made you? Are you following the plan that God has for your life?

If so, then ask God to guide your heart to express your faith in your classroom. As teachers, we should not divulge everything in our lives, but we do need to show the students that our faith is authentic. Students need to see our relationship with Jesus.

I would love to hear how you keep your faith strong in the Lord. Please comment with the above link.

My wife and I love watching real estate and fixer up type TV shows.  The homeowners always have a “must have” list that they want the show host to do for them with their house.  I have used the same language to describe “must haves” in your Christ-centered worldview.

My goal is to have us write our Christ-centered worldview so that we can incorporate our worldview into our teaching. I would argue that a Christian school teacher that does not teach with a Christ-centered worldview is not a Christian school teacher but just a teacher.  As a parent, I pay my Christian school tuition because I know that my children’s teachers are teaching with a specific, Christ-centered worldview and are sharing it with my children.   Here are the 7 must haves in your Christ-centered worldview.  Over the next few weeks, I will expand on each one of the items.

1. You must have a healthy relationship with Jesus and an understanding of who He is in your life.
2. You must know how Jesus impacts your thinking and actions.
3. You must know the major themes of the Bible, and how God has worked through the lives of the Bible characters.
4. You must know how God sees children or young adults.
5. You must have a well-developed philosophy of education.
6. You must have a commitment to Christian Education.
7. You must have a sense of the culture that students live in today.

As you begin to think about these ‘must-haves’, use them to spark conversations with your fellow teachers. Do you agree with my list? Some you would take out? Others you would add? We will explore these in more detail in the weeks to come.

The purpose of this blog series is to get us to think about how we see the world, and how we can teach our view of the world to our students. All of this is important so that our students develop a worldview that is Christ-centered.  Along with the home, the best place for a Christ-centered worldview to be developed is in the Christian school.  I believe that when we are clear with our own worldview, CSI’s Bible curricula will best be served to guide us in developing Christ-centered worldview in our students.

I encourage each of us to write our Christ-centered worldview on paper.  Start thinking about your worldview.  You will find information in the weeks to come in this blog series on how to write and develop your Christ-centered worldview.

I believe a well-developed Christ-centered worldview is paramount to being a great Christian school teacher.  We live in a new world where parents have a lot of choices of where to send their children to school.  In Michigan, I hear from parents who send their children to values-based charter school that they are receiving “free” Christian education.  This is not true.  Charter school teachers cannot express their Christ-centered worldview to their students or guide students to develop their own Christ-centered worldview.  In fact, I would argue that a worldview of “being a good person” is developed in a morals-based charter school.

I believe, as Christian school teachers, we need to become much more intentional in articulating our own worldview to students and parents so that this is clearly a Christian school’s distinctive.

What are your thoughts?  Please post them here.

The school year’s blog posts have been on how CSI’s Bible curriculum Walking with God and His People builds a Christ-centered worldview. I started the year with people who have exhibited a Christ-centered worldview.  As the New Year begins, I am going to focus on how to articulate your worldview to your students, and lastly how to build your students’ Christ-centered worldview.  Please keep reading this blog as we discuss this topic for the next few months.

One of ways to build worldview is to help students learn the Bible.  Technology can have a role in that pursuit.  My next webinar, 7 Ready to Use Ideas for Integrating Technology in your Bible Classroom.

Here is the link to this free webinar.

https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/585904007

I am going to talk about iPad apps and websites that can help you teach the Bible to your students.

Students cannot have a Christ-centered worldview unless they know the Bible.  Please join me in integrating technology with God’s Word.

Was spending more time with God one of things you wanted to do this new year? Pray more? Read the entire Bible? Spending time with God is, of course, important for our relationship with God. Spending time with God is important for you to be an impactful Bible teacher.

Here are five ways to grow in your relationship with God.

1. Read the Bible every day. I am enjoying the “Jesus Calling” devotional. I read the devotion before I go to school each day. I have found that I repeat the devotional in my Bible class when it is appropriate.
2. Pray to God with the long prayers and in the short prayers. Often students or adults will come to me with a problem. Being a man, I want to fix every one of the problems. I know that I cannot. I tell them that I will pray for them. I do it after I talk with them because I know that if I do not, the busyness of the day will overcome my good intentions.
3. Socialize with solid Christian friends. My wife and I are in a small group at my church. We enjoy meeting with them twice a month. If you are not in a small group, I suggest you start one. You need this time to study God’s Word beyond what is required in your curriculum.
4. Tell others about Jesus. If you don’t have opportunities to share your faith, ask God to provide people in your life that need to hear about God’s loving grace. This might mean just asking a clerk in your grocery store how they are doing. By spending a few more minutes with a person will show them that you care.
5. Go to church. It seems it should be obvious that if we are Bible teachers, we are going to church each Sunday. But if you aren’t, why not? If you are there, ask God each Sunday to reveal His truth to you. Look for ways to connect the Pastor’s message to your Bible classroom.

In my next blog post in two weeks, I am going to talk about my upcoming webinar, 7 Ready to-Use-Ideas for Integrating Technology in Your Bible Classroom. It is on February 5 at 7:00 Eastern.

Here is the link for you to register:

https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/585904007

Have a wonderful week teaching students God’s Word