Teaching with a Biblical
Focus
The ultimate desire for Christians
should be for their children to have a heart of
wisdom--true wisdom from God. To teach true wisdom,
a curriculum should spend a significant amount
time studying God's Word.
For the word of God is quick,
and powerful, and sharper than any two edged
sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder
of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow,
and is a discerned of the thoughts and intents
of the heart (Heb.
4:12).
Although the academic school requirements
are included in this curriculum, the main objective
and focus of the Heart of Wisdom curriculum is
on students and parents learning God's Word and
establishing a relationship with God.
Author David Mulligan explains
the importance of Scripture-centered curriculum
in Far
Above Rubies: Wisdom in the Christianity Community.
He also reveals the surprising hesitancy Christians
feel about this approach to curriculum. He states:
The idea of spending
a lot of school time on the study of Scripture
may at first be disturbing. We are so used to
dividing "religious" activities from
the rest of our time it seems as if Bible study
just does not fit, except in a minor way, in our
regular school day. We think of Bible study as
suitable for family devotions, church services,
Sunday school classes, and if the study gets "deep," in the seminary. How much Bible can children get
without detracting from other studies?
In asking this question
we uncover in ourselves something of the tension
that exists in the Western world between learning
and religion. We know somehow the question is
not right; we should be first giving place to
Scripture, but can not quite let go of the other
side of things. And rightly so! The other side,
God's creation, is vastly important, but still
Scripture should come first, and all other studies
find there place in relation to it. We should
turn the question around: "How many secular
studies can a student pursue without detracting
from his knowledge of God's Word?!"
Christian education
must be built upon a pattern that maintains Scripture
at its center and bring all subordinate studies
into the circle of light radiating from thence.
Marilyn Howshall explains in Lifestyle
of Learning, we must consider the problems
confronting us as Christian homeschoolers:
We come from a generation that
was not taught how to learn. Few Christians
know how to access the Word of God for themselves
and fewer still know how to access the Lord
for themselves in an intimate way. Many parents
were, themselves, not given a love of learning
as children and are now lacking in purpose,
and training their own children in the same
way.
With only the raw material of
our fragmented lives to work with, we attempt
to implement our new godly desires and goals
into our existing lifestyles and systems. In
so doing, we create an additional problem-burn-out!
We use the world's methods and means to produce
something they were not designed to produce.
When we finally accept the truth that the old
way will not produce the results we want, we
are ready to receive the suggestion of a new
way. Now we are ready to learn. That is what
Lifestyle of Learning is all about - a new way,
a new system - and a fresh beginning for the
entire family.
Download and read this overview
to see how you can make the Bible the focus
of your day.
Heart
of Wisdom Overview
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