Friday, March 27, 2009

“The ‘Educere’ in Education”

Bill Stevens, Headmaster
Wilmington Christian School, Delaware

That's what we do . . . we educe. Now all of us can see the root word here, but not many may know the true meaning. It's Latin, educere, for "to draw out", "to elicit", "to deduce". We truly educate when we are drawing out what is from within. It's a delicate balance of giving information and getting response. Too often, (even our) education is pumping in what we want to be there and then testing to elicit the desired answer. What makes a Christian education so distinctive is that this drawing out centers upon what God has already instilled, created in a young person. As Psalm 139 so vividly proclaims, we have been created with a frame of reference already built-in. If we truly believe that, then why do we settle for an inferior version of learning? Why don't we (homes & churches) put all our resources into seeing that our children receive an education that centers on what's been centered naturally in them?

Let me get anecdotal to this point. The other day was a special day in our elementary school. It was Young Reader's Day. Our guest reader was also an author, and someone from our own community! Mrs. Donna Aviles (daughter Estella is a sophomore) has written several books about her family history gained from conversations. She was sharing with our little ones about how they would collect oral histories of their own families. She asked the kids what they would ask their grandparents if they were writing a history of their lives? After several responses that we'll keep to ourselves for a small fee . . . one 3rd grader uttered, "They could tell us when they asked Jesus into their hearts . . ."

OK, so after we all ran for the Kleenex, the emotionalism turned to realism. This was a natural response coming from a little person who felt comfortable enough to just let it out. I thought to myself, "Now would this deduction be expressed in a secular educational setting? I doubt it. And what would be the response given that would reinforce what was felt in the heart? No, this is not a trivial Sunday School lesson, but rather a facet of the complete life for us to grasp how wide, and long and high and deep is the love of God . . . a
love that surpasses knowledge.


When Jesus told his disciples, "Let the little ones come to me", I do not think he was simply saying to let them come sit on his lap, or don't push them down the mount so just the big folks can hear him. No, I think he was speaking to the kingdom of God that exists in a child, and if we mature, sophisticated, intellectual types don't recognize this and respond to it in kind . . . we won't enter it!


Allow me to "educe" from you a thought . . . looking ahead a generation and writing your own family history, what would you elicit from your children as important to include?

Thursday, March 19, 2009

The Barna Group - Worldview Survey

A Note from MACSA President, Dr. Tim Sierer

Please take a few minutes to click on the link below and read the latest study conducted by the Barna Research Group. The study speaks to the changes in Christian Worldview in our society during the past 13 years. If nothing else it clearly points to how parents (working together with the Christian School) must remain vigilant in the training of our young people.

Click here for a full review of the survey as posted by The Barna Research Group.

Thank you for allowing us to partner with you in the training of your children.

Monday, March 16, 2009

The "Buzz" from the MACSA Spelling Bee

MACSA Spelling Bee
Friday, March 13, 2009
Eagle’s Nest Christian School – Milton, DE

Schools in attendance:
  • Christian Tabernacle Academy
  • West Fallowfield Christian School
  • Cape Christian Academy
  • Shrewsburg Christian Academy
  • Eagle's Nest Christian Academy
  • Perry Hall Christian School

Top 2 spellers from each grade:

5th grade:
· Taylor Cox - CCA
· Stephen Rouse - SCA

6th grade:
· Brittany Kramer - CTA
· Emma Miller - WFCS

7th grade:
· Courtney Stangl - WFCS
· Rachel Bernatowicz - SCA

8th grade:
· Paul Stangl - WFCS
· Meredith Lashley - PHCS

Grand Champion:
· Meredith Lashley - Perry Hall Christian School

Highest Team Totals
· 5th and 6th grade team: West Fallowfield Christian School
· 7th and 8th grade team: Perry Hall Christian School

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Thinking Outside the Box - Meeting the Needs of Homeschooling Families

Kym Wright
Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer

The first day of school, with nearly 15,000 students enrolled in Pre-K –12, and only a small portion of them arrive before the starting bell. Is the principal worried? With a large number of his school’s pupils tagged as “off-campus students,” many of the students do not show up for all-day classes. Instead, this school serves classes up cafeteria-style letting the students pick and choose which courses to take to meet their unique needs and specific goals. This is the way many Christian schools are choosing to work with homeschooling students in their states. Most view their off-campus courses as “supplementing what the parents are doing at home.”

Why do Christian school administrators choose to work with homeschoolers, when it apparently creates more work and has inherent hassles? In Time magazine the Federal Government statistic was quoted that nearly 1 in 5 homeschool students takes at least one class in a public or private school. With homeschooling growing at an estimated rate of 11% per year, both homeschooling and homeschoolers’ involvement in private schools seem to be trends that are definitely here to stay. According to NHERI President, and education researcher, Brian D. Ray, Ph.D., “this healthy synergy would require both public [and private] school administrators and homeschoolers to stop being so suspicious of one another.”

Click here to read the full post on the Crosswalk site.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Where's the Focus?

Bill Stevens
Headmaster, Wilmington Christian School (Delaware)

Most of us heard this past week that Dr. James Dobson is stepping down from leading “Focus On the Family”, a ministry that has brought our attention to the issues of Christian morals, family health, and child development for the past 32 years. It is, in several respects, the passing of an era. As our culture stepped onto the slippery slope of moral relativism, Dr. Dobson and his ministry stood as a beacon of truth and bulwark of resistance to that slide.

So, where will the focus now come from? What noted psychologist, author, or preacher will step forward to continue the crusade and teach us? Our preoccupation with the cult of personality begs for a person of note and expertise to emerge and lead us . . ..

As I mentioned in another writing, I believe that the days in which we live will offer unprecedented opportunities for the evangelical Christian community to come alive and together in witness to the gospel of Christ.

I believe that the “big three” ~ home, church, and school need to speak the same language to our culture, to the next generation, and perhaps most importantly, to ourselves. We need to focus. Men and women like James Dobson have been calling us to focus for years. Now we need to commit to doing it.

What is the focus?

I believe it’s where it has always been . . . on Christ and His Kingdom. Jesus said it himself, “Seek (Focus?) first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things (daily needs) will be given to you as well” (Matt 6:33). Our economic situation, and its effects upon our societal situation, will never be solved through monetary stimuli. Nine verses earlier, Jesus places the conflict before us, we can’t serve two masters. I believe that when we focus our attention and resources on the institutions God established for the preservation of his kingdom on earth, and in preparation of its completion when he returns; it will be the home, the church, and the discipling of the next generation that will save our day. I saw it in Romania. The country, after communism, was in economic shambles, like nothing we would ever think of (or can imagine) here. Yet, their recovery was not to be found in the government (“we already had that, thank you”) or the economy.

When I speak of the family, I mean the whole family of God. Our faith is a generational thing and it will take an “all hands on board” attitude and commitment to bailout the next generation. When I speak of the church, I mean the evangelical church that worships both in spirit and in truth, and purposes to disciple in its fullest sense. When I speak of discipling the minds of our youth, I mean that education can not continue to be business as usual, or throwing more money at the problem, but rather . . . well, what true Christian education is all about. Think of the voice and effects we would hear and see if we could unite our efforts around these three . . . it’ll take focus.

I truly believe that as we join together in strengthening our homes around the sanctity of marriage and family, uniting our churches around the call to worship and discipleship, and training our children around the spiritual and academic formation of a biblical worldview, we will experience recovery restoration, and revival. If we fail to see this, we will remain out of focus.