Running head: EDUCATING FOUNDATION GOD
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Educating from the Foundation of God
Emily Watts
Liberty University
EDUACTAING FOUNDATION GOD
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Abstract
My philosophy of education is to enable students to believe in themselves and to do their best in
a loving, safe environment where God is the foundation of their education. This paper includes
ways teacher’s in today’s society can incorporate God into their classroom and how it affects
student’s long-term educational experience. It explains the positive affects when teachers believe
in God, all things are possible in their classroom through Him. It emphasizes that having God as
the foundation of a classroom creates effective instruction, makes learner-teacher relationships
stronger and diversity easier to manage.
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My personal philosophy of education is to enable students to believe in themselves and to
do their best in a loving, safe environment where God is the foundation of their education. The
society is changing more than ever in our time period and technology is only going to keep
getting more advanced. This makes the purpose of education extremely important for individuals
in society because children are the future of our next generation. When students are well-taught
in a faith-based education, it gives them a broader and healthier perspective on life enabling them
to be adequate members of society in the future.
Philosophy of Schools & Learning
I believe that the foundation of education should rely strictly on God. Matthew 19:26
states, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible”. Once you have God
as your foundation, all things are possible through him. In education, this serves as a ripple
effect. When educators believe that all things are possible through God, they also believe that
their students can accomplish anything. Then the students believe that they can work hard and
get good grades because their teachers believe in them and they believe in themselves. Having a
biblical worldview and philosophy on education means that I am a person of faith. I believe that
Christian educators are loving, joyful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and show self-control
inside and outside of the classroom. When implementing The Fruit of the Holy Spirit in a
classroom, it shines the light of Jesus that every student should learn and understand. This will
not only help to educate students but to also teach students how to treat others. For Christian’s,
religious ideals are one of the most important sources of meaning and therefore serve as an
important part of their identity that schools should recognize (Ruyter and Merry, 2009). When
students are motivated to preform positive actions and possess an understanding of wrong from
right, they are more likely to develop into strong, independent members of society.
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Instructional Practice
In John 18:37, Jesus answered “I am a king, To this end was I born, and for this cause
came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth
heareth my voice” (King James Version). As a Christian educator, I want to base my instruction
on my biblical views and incorporate God’s principles in my lessons as well as activities. By
implementing biblical principals in my lessons and activities, learners will easily understand the
meaning of truth. To understand the meaning of truth, you need to have a biblical understanding
of what God considerers truth is. As educators, we are asked to believe many different things
about children, right and wrong, discipline, punishment, teacher roles, parent responsibilities,
motivation, rewards, and much more (McCullough, 2008). We are not able to make things fair
and equal for everyone unless we have a good understanding of what truth is. Having this
understanding of what God states as being true, will help lay the foundation of what truth is in
my classroom. It will also help with classroom management and discipline.
For learning to occur in my classroom, there must be an organized system of classroom
management. When there are rules, procedures and relationships established students will be
more likely to be on-task in the classroom. I will rearrange my classroom and plan instruction so
there is little distractions, so my students are taught effective lessons. I also want to plan my
instruction to motivate every student in my classroom to learn and succeed. I need to become
familiar with effective teaching strategies and use them in ways that fit my students’ personalities
and areas of giftedness. I personally believe that using student-centered curricula in my
classroom is essential, especially working with younger children. It can be challenging to keep
young children on task for long periods of time. So, teaching in various types of ways that
emphasize students interests and needs will create creativity and freedom which is essential for
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growth (Ornstein, Levine, Gutek, & Vocke, 2017, pg. 400-401). Teaching in small activity-
centered groups is also a good way to keep young children interested in learning. They can gain
more one-on-one attention working in smaller groups and they are also able to learn how to work
well with others. Technology is another teaching strategy that I believe will differentiate my
instruction and keep my students interested in learning. Many students with special needs benefit
from the use of technology and rely on it to help them learn inside the classroom. These teaching
strategies will help maximize achievement and satisfaction for not only the students but for me
as the teacher as well. Effectiveness in instructional practice will minimize disruptive behavior
and will help my students learn more effectively.
Teacher-Learner Relationships
As an educator, I can plan and conduct effective instruction only if I also strive to have
great relationships with my students and build a positive learning community. As a leader in the
classroom, my goal is to build a Christlike community of learners and a community that reflects
how God expects us to live here on earth (McCullough, 2013, p.53). I believe that to fulfil this
intention I must maintain positive relationship with my students that are meaningful, professional
and growth-producing. Students look up to educators as role models, authority figures, servants,
and mentors. So, it is essential to always support students and to establish a strong productive
relationship with them. This will improve their learning ability and will prepare them to be active
members on the society in the future. I want my students to always feel comfortable with me and
able to ask any questions without feeling anxious. The first week of school will take the time to
get to know each and every one of my students and get to know my student’s backgrounds, what
makes them happy, and how they learn the best. This is extremely important as well because
students come from many different backgrounds. One student may be living with a single parent
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causing him to get little help with homework while another student is new to the area and doesn’t
have many friends. All of this information will be helpful to me because it can affect the
student’s learning abilities. I believe it is important to know things that are going on in a
student’s life so that I am able to differentiate the lesson for them if needed. Having strong
relationships with students is essential when teaching and will help maximize my student’s
education achievements.
Diversity
As I begin to grow strong relationships with my students, I will quickly see the amount of
diversity there is in my classroom. No matter if you teach in a private-school or public-school
system, there is going to be diversity everywhere. I believe that believing that every child was
born to be different and to stand out in their abilities is important as an educator. This being said,
understanding that my students are all going to learn differently from one-another is essential
when trying to teach my students. This may be challenging for me at first, but I must remember
that every obstacle, every challenge, every adversity I face is subject to God’s power. Through
adversity, God calls us to become more His Son, Jesus Christ (McCullough, 2008, p.275).
Knowing that I have God to motivate me will enhance my teaching abilities and make it easier
for me to help diverse students gain the best education as possible. I want to make sure that I
have a welcoming classroom as well as a welcoming demeanor. I know that students come from
all backgrounds and cultures and some may be experiencing trouble at home. I want them to feel
safe and loved as soon as they enter my classroom and I want them to enjoy coming to school
every day. Making sure the children feel safe and loved will enhance their learning process and
increase their motivation to succeed. There are many other diversity factors that need to be
considered as well. There may be students who speak a different language, disabled students,
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students who may have a mental illness, students who are gifted and so much more. As an
educator, I need to create a classroom that will maximize success of all my students and I will
accommodate a diverse range of skills, needs and interests (O’Donnell, 2017).
Conclusion
If I have a strong relationship with God and have a good understanding of the truth, then
all things are possible in my classroom. Believing in all my students to succeed enables them to
believe in themselves. When running my classroom with the foundation of God, my students are
able to learn in a loving, safe environment where I do everything to maximize their education.
By implementing strong relationships and differentiated lessons, being flexible and able to teach
with adversity will enhance my student’s ability to succeed in their educational experience and
grow to be productive members of society with God as their foundation of life.
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References
O’Donnell, A. (2017). Teaching tools and strategies for learners. Literacy Daily. Retrieved
October 22, 2018, from https://www.literacyworldwide.org/blog/literacy-
daily/2017/10/26/teaching-tools-and-strategies-for-diverse-learners
Ornstein, A. C., Levine, D. U., Gutek, G. L., & Vocke, D. E. (2017). Foundations of education.
Boston, MA, USA: Cengage Learning
McCullough, J.D. (2008). Kingdom living in the classroom. Colorado Springs: Purposeful
Design Publications.
Ruyter, D.J., & Merry, M.S. (2009). Why education in public schools include religious ideals.
Study Philosophy Education 28:295-311. DOI: 10.1007/s11217-008-9120-4
