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"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" Matthew 5:16.

As educators we have our own world view based upon our personal life experiences. The book states that todays world views are secular and Christianity is irrelevant. We have observed this with social media, music, and reality tv. But even with all of the chaos that exists in todays secular society, we still must work towards peace, love, joy, and hope for our students. The worldview issue of today pertain to individuals leaving Christ out of their daily equation. We make decisions based upon what the majority thinks about education when in reality we should still instill hope, strength, and courage in spite of the many struggles we face( pg. 50). God wants us to respond to world issues with the intentions of reaching out to others and assisting in the transformational change of going back to Gods values. Although we cannot shout out our claims of faith as we would like, we can still influence curriculum and make sound decisions. The book states we can do several things to model lives of joyful obedience. This way our students will begin to understand what it means to put their lives in Gods hands(pg. 56). Giving Christian responses is my personal way of giving a Godly influence to students. I have also had controversial conversations about world topics in the news and we problem solve as a group. Students enjoy the engagement that such activities bring into the classroom and they appreciate the life lessons and values being taught in each lesson. The world view doesn't allow us to fully implement Christian material and music into the curriculum. But i feel that several schools systems bring in spirtual belief systems into the curriculum without knowing it. The PBIS module(Positive Behavior Intervention Support) has several biblical based tactics to promote positive behavior within a school. Students are taught to be their brother or sisters keeper by showing respect, making good choices, and thinking before creating action. The scripture tells us to be our brothers keeper(Genesis 4:9), make wise decisions(Romans 14:21-23), and thinking wisely(Proverbs 12). This particular curriculum has been used as a successful school reform program inspite of the secular ideas given to our children in other formats. Although public education tries to move aways from Gods value system, we still find a way to embed the gospel with collaborative learning, service opportunities, and conflict/resolution activities(pg. 62).

Van Brummelen, H. (2002). Steppingstones to Curriculum. Colorado Springs, CO:Purposeful Designs Publication

SECOND REPLY

1. Who and where am I?

I find that often we are driven by who we are and where we are but do not often see that question as a view of creation. Is our curriculum influenced by our values? In the public sector, we are often reminded that we are to be neutral in our political as well as biblical beliefs. When curriculum is developed, the “who” and “where” is often answered by “public” and “public system”. However, I want to go a step further here and say how big of an impact our school has because of the military base right around the corner. We plan multiple events each year based around Veteran’s Day, Labor Day, Memorial Day, and the comings and goings of our veterans to war each day. We have welcoming parties, bon voyage gatherings, and school counseling offered to support students whose parents may be away.

2. What has gone wrong?

I talked in a previous post about accountability. When considering the fall, we often look around at others to blame and seldom do we regard the fall as something we personally have done. I find this reflection helps me grow, when I can “blame myself”. The text discusses for schools to be effective, they need to plan moral and values education. In the public sector, we never look at these things in curriculum planning, but often look at them after the affect and blame the parents for not teaching their children values at home.

3. What is the remedy?

When thinking about how the problem can be fixed or what our redemption is, I find again, we are often not accountable. In the text, Van Brummelen talks about teachers effectively fostering responsible moral action and commitment and how those teachers act as models, helping students care about each other. I think morals and values need to be considered as an influence on our curriculum and just hope that those morals and values are biblical and spiritual.

4. What does the future hold?

Where do I want to be in the next few years is not often guided by fulfillment as described in the book, but instead guided by more worldly viewpoints such as status or money. Who we want our students to be is what our future holds.

Reflecting on those four questions, I believe our curriculum should revolve around our students knowing solid answers to those four questions. Who am I? Is there a problem? How can I fix it? What do I want for my future? Both public and private sectors should offer a curriculum that offers exactly that kind of growth to students.