Do you know what your personal philosophy of education
is? Have you ever considered sitting
down and writing it out? I’m so thankful
that I had to do this for a class because it forced me to look at every aspect
of education and decide what I believed about it and what things are most
important.
The Westminster Catechism’s very first question is:
“What
is the chief end of man?”
The answer – and what we teach our children:
Man's chief end is to glorify God, [a] and to
enjoy him forever. [b]
[a]. Ps. 86:9; Isa. 60:21; Rom. 11:36; I Cor. 6:20; 10:31;
Rev. 4:11
[b]. Ps. 16:5-11; 144:15; Isa. 12:2; Luke 2:10; Phil. 4:4;
Rev. 21:3-4
This should, if I’m consistent in my convictions,
flow into my philosophy of education when homeschooling my little ones. The chief end of Christian education is to
glorify the God. This means that an
education which reflects a Biblical worldview will be of greatest
importance.
My
Educational Philosophy
My
personal philosophy of education in some ways reflects that of an idealist
because I believe that education should stress that morals and values are
universally absolute (Webb, Metha, & Jordan, 2010). Neo-Thomism appears to compliment the
idealist position on education in that I believe that absolutes come from God,
and that He alone gives purpose to mankind and the universe (Webb, Metha, &
Jordan, 2010). This relates to my belief
that the purpose of educating my children is to serve and obey God through
discipleship in a Biblical worldview.
The method for which this goal can be guided is through the
ecclesiastical perennialist philosophy, which believes that Christian doctrine
as revealed in scripture is one of the most important parts of the curriculum
(Webb, Metha, & Jordan, 2010). The
theologians of the Protestant Reformation, such as Martin Luther and John
Calvin, would agree that the scriptures were a vital part of the instruction of
Christian children. Martin Luther once
said “I am afraid that the schools will prove the very gates of hell, unless
they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures and engraving them in
the hearts of the youth”. While he was
specifically speaking of the universities of his day, he would most certainly
and emphatically stand by this statement in regards to all schools that have
the responsibility of training the minds and hearts of children. While it is contended that both Martin Luther
and John Calvin supported State funded compulsory education, it must be kept in
mind that both men did not view the State and Church as mutually exclusive
institutions as we see them today in America.
Calvin elevated the importance of civil government in his writings.
However, instead of treating it as an institution off by itself he viewed it as
the natural extension of religious government, so much so that he considered a
government which neglected to incorporate the Laws of God as shameful,
indolent, and preposterous (Calvin, 1960). It is only from being granted the
incorporation of Christianity into civil government that Calvin argues for
universal state sponsored education. The
form of civil government and public education that John Calvin envisioned was
to be grounded in Christian principles.
John
Calvin did receive an early humanistic education; however after his conversion
from Roman Catholicism he adopted Reformed Theology. It should also be noted that the form of
humanism taught during the time of Calvin was not secular humanism as is the case
today. The Reformed view elevated God
alone as sovereign and it was from his newly found theocentric worldview that
he produced the works which he is famous for.
Even though Calvin was formally trained in law, after his conversion he
stated that “laws are absurd which disregard the rights of God, and consult
only for men” (Calvin, 1960, p.1485).
Calvin,
J. (1960). The Institutes of the
Christian Religion (Ford Lewis Battles, Trans.).
Westminster John Knox Press, KY: Louisville.
Webb,
L., Metha, A., & Jordan, K. (2010). Foundations of American education (6th
Ed.). Merrill,
NJ: Upper Saddle River.
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