John Hayward Posted: 15 July 2009
Keywords: Education,
One in five councils have experienced increased demand for state school places in the past six months, according to a survey by the Local Government Association, with another one in eight councils expecting extra pressure on places in the future. More than 15 per cent are also reporting a rise in families applying for free school meals for their children. This comes on top of news earlier this year that 25 of the 33 councils in London were experiencing capacity problems or were expected to within two to three years.
Once again, then, the plight of parents trying to decide what kind of schooling would be best for their children is in the news: a quite possibly overcrowded state school with temporary classrooms or disruptive expansion programme? an independent school possibly facing an uncertain financial future following news this week that as many as two out of five may fail to qualify for charitable status under new rules? one of the many faith schools, whose quality and distinctive ethos seems regularly to come under attack? or the increasingly popular trend towards home-schooling, given recent support by Essex County Council but now viewed suspiciously as a new target for government regulation?
It is into this complex and often confused situation that the Jubilee Centre has formulated with the Evangelical Alliance's Forum for Change Education Cluster a shared 'Point of View' on Education. Seeking to express a common position on what Christians think about education, this aims to address the Church, the educational community and the wider society. It submits that the best education:
- Helps everyone to develop their life-affirming physical, mental, emotional and spiritual capacities to their full potential; for all humans are of infinite value, made in the image of God.
- Promotes the life-long development of character and wisdom, not just the acquisition of skills and knowledge; for true understanding requires discernment.
- Involves families and the local community as closely as possible; for the primary responsibility for education lies with parents and families, not the state, and the context is always our relationship with others.
- Enables us to find our place in and contribute to wider society, using our gifts and resources responsibly; for personal fulfillment is to be found in loving our neighbour.
Read the full statement and let us know what you think in the comments below.
I´m agree with the statements. Probabbly most of people would be also. The point is to bring for the teacher´s community some curricular and instructional practical ideas from those issues. I would appreciate if You could give me book's references on primary and secondary public education's contributions from a biblical or christian perspective. (Sorry about my English, I'm a spanish speaking person)
sergio saavedra 27 September 2009
Sergio, how about trying the following for starters:
The Bible and the Task of Teaching by David Smith & John Shortt
Educating for Life: Reflections on Christian Teaching and Learning by Nicholas Wolterstorff
To Know as we are Known: Education as a spiritual journey by Parker Palmer
John Hayward 30 September 2009
Yes - schools should be doing all of these things; indeed the need for relationships to be fostered between school and home is crucial. Parents need to have trust in the schools to which they send their children. In turn schools need to engage children so that they become lifelong learners who work at home. So a conducive, supportive home environment that views the schools and schoolwork positively is imperative.
I used to teach in a church school and frankly miss that ethos. Having worked in state 'secular' schools I can see why parents clamour to get children into church schools.
Andrew Martin 20 September 2010
Thank you for your blog. I think that people who intend to think Christianly about the educative task needs to answer 5 basic questions.
1. The purpose of Education
2. The nature of the learner
3. The nature of the teacher
4. The natue of the learning process
5. The nature/conceptuialization of the material to be learnt.
I agree with John's selection of books. In Australia the seminal book that launched the new CHristian School movement is called "No Icing on the Cake" which is sadly out of print, but very useful in adressing these issues. There are many other great books on this area, but one needs to be careful when starting this process to begin with a thorough understanding of both the Biblical story, and the Western Enlightenment story which has fundamentally shaped the schooling for the past 200 years! There is a group of professional educators in Australia who grapple witgh aspects of this as part of their daily life. You can see the front page at www.cepa.edu.au
www.covenant.nsw.edu.au
Bill Rusin 3 May 2011