A Time to Reflect

Christmas is a time to slow down and reflect. It is a time to reconnect with old friends, sleep late and make new friends. It is also a time when people tend to be friendlier. Why is that?

Albert Einstein once said, "There are two ways to live your life. One is though nothing is a miracle. The other is though everything is a miracle."

I have often thought of this quote during this season because it seems to me that we only live as if everything is a miracle during Christmas. As soon as Christmas ends, we go back to living life like nothing is a miracle.

As this season slowly becomes part of our past once again, let me encourage you to live life like everything is a miracle because that is the only realistic way to live, if you are truthful with yourself.

This season is about a baby born in a manager. It is about that one miracle that saves all who believe in that miracle. We know a baby named Jesus was born. We know he lived and preached. We also know he was nailed to a cross and died. The rest of His...story is the part where you have to decide if you believe in miracles or not. I, personally, choose to live life believing in miracles because if I did not...there would be nothing to believe in fully.

Look around at the world today. Yes, there are many terrible things occurring, but in the midst of it all, there are many wonderful selfless acts taking place. That is, in itself, a miracle, and they occur every day! I encourage you to live inside the reality of miracles and become a miracle for someone else. It will make your world a better place because it is truly better to give than to receive.

I leave you with this question. Which way of life sustains life: living life as if everything is a miracle or living life as if nothing is a miracle? MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Some Christmas Cheer...

I wish you and yours a warm heart-felt Merry Christmas! I pray that your time will be filled with relaxation, family, and spiritual intimacy. I leave you with some fun. Here are some of your favorite holiday carols, written a wee bit differently. See which ones you can name. Click HERE to get the answers. You will have to scroll down to see the answers.

1. Move Hither The Entire Assembly Of Those Who Are Loyal In Their Belief
2. Embellish Interior Passageways
3. Vertically Challenged Adolescent Percussionist
4. First Person Singular Experiencing An Hallucinatory Phenomenon Of A Natal Celebration Devoid Of Color
5. Soundless Nocturnal Period
6. Majestic Triplet Referred To In The First Person Plural
7. The Yuletide Occurance Preceding All Others
8. Precious Metal Musical Devices
9. Omnipotent Supreme Being Elicit Respite To Ecstatic Distinguished Males
10. Caribou With Vermillion Olfactory Appendage
11. Allow Crystalline Formations To Descend
12. Jovial Yuletide Desired For The Second Person Singular Or Plural By The First Person Plural
13. Commence Auditory Reception The Announcing Cherubs Vocalize
14. Kris Kringle Will Be Arriving In The City In The Not Too Distant Future
15. Bipedal Traveling Through An Amazing Acreage During The Period Between December 21st And March 21st In The Northern Hemisphere
16. Its Arrival Occurred At Twelve O'Clock During A Clement Nocturnal Period
17. Exclamatory Remark Concerning A Diminutive Municipality In Judea Southwest Of Jerusalem

Critical Thinking

At Westminster Christian Academy, we have mentioned the phrase "critical thinking" quite a bit this year. Well, what is this concept of critical thinking?

According to the Foundation for Critical Thinking, "critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness."

The question then is how do we teach critical thinking to our students? I believe there are many different ways to teach critical thinking, but one of the best and most effective ways is by way of the Socratic teaching method. In the Socratic teaching method, the focus is on giving students more questions than answers. The goal is to model an inquiring probing mind by way of example. The Socratic teaching method also focuses on the elements of reasoning in a disciplined and self-assessing way. A teacher teaching in this method should:
1. Keep the discussion focused
2. Keep the discussion intellectually responsible and stimulating
3. Periodically summarize and get students to do the same
4. Draw all students into the discussion by making the environment safe by taking hard
stances on ridicule and peer pressure
5. Demand that statements be weighty and not random
6. Promote that words have meaning and value

Another aspect of teaching critical thinking is to focus on skills over content. What I mean by this is to use content as a tool in teaching students the elements of critical thinking. One of the best expressions of critical thinking can be found in Bloom's Taxonomy; click HERE to go to a website that gives a good explanation. I believe the taxonomy should be structured a little differently, but that is a discussion for another day.

If you examine the taxonomy you will discover that there are three domains of learning. At WCA we are three dimensional teachers, teaching in ways that address all three domains of learning. And...assessment will be part of the process. It is easy to forget that to teach critical thinking you must also assess for critical thinking. These tasks are laborious but well worth our efforts.

We are commanded by our Lord to love Him with all of our mind as well as our heart, our soul, and our strength. At Westminster Christian Academy, we will strive to make sure every graduate leaves our campus prepared for the rigors of college and the arrows of the world.

Click on Foundation for Critical Thinking to go to their website. It is worth the visit.

' Tis the Season...

As the Christmas season approaches, I am reminded of one of my favorite poems. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the following poem back in 1863, and, guess what? It still rings true today. Read and enjoy!

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play
And mild and sweet the words repeat,
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had roll'd along th' unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bow'd my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."

'Til ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, good will to men!

Merry Christmas!

THE FIRST AGORA OF WESTMINSTER

This is a picture of the ancient Agora in Athens, Greece. Agora is a form of the Greek word 'Agorazo' which means "to buy" - hence the meaning, marketplace. The Agora was much more than a marketplace; it was the center of Greek society, and it was the place where "the" discussion and debate of the polis (a Greek city-state) took place.

This past Saturday night, at my house, several students, a parent, a doctor, a teacher and one head of school sat down to discuss the concept of truth. Discussions like these often take place at lunch but are always interrupted by time (the bell). We kicked around the idea of getting together outside of school to discuss and debate various topics, and Agora was born and finally fulfilled on Saturday night. This Agora was focused on the idea of truth, and the question: what is truth?

For almost two hours we discussed this idea of truth. We came away with a better understanding of how difficult it is to define truth, and that thinking critically is hard work. We did agree on some things. First, that absolute truth, which we called 'T" ruth, is only found in a Holy God, and it defines all other truths. We agreed that all other truths, which we called 't'ruth, are grounded in these three dimensions and subject to 'T'ruth. We discussed facts and standards and their relationships to both 't'ruth and 'T'ruth, and how many have elevated them to the status of 'T'ruth with little or no justification to do so. All in all, it was a great beginning to what I hope are many more to come.

The goal of Agora is to discuss topics in an inviting open environment with civility and the love of Christ. Saturday night only Christians came, but our hope is to expand and receive non-Christians as well as Christians in the future. We wish to engage students from other schools (we had one student from another school) and discuss the tough topics for one main reason: we trust that our God is mighty and the only answer to a hurting world.

Discussion and debate are both higher categories of thinking, and what we should be teaching our students as Christians. As adults they will need to discern and think in higher categories to root out false prophets, defend their faith, and continue to bring the gospel to the world.

So...stay tuned for details on the next Agora!

Education Defined!

What is education?
Jacques Maritan, a philosopher and educator, stated that, “every theory of education is based on a conception of life and, consequently, is associated necessarily with a system of philosophy.” He goes on to write that education, the process, is a function of philosophy because every man, woman, and child worships something whether it be the God of the Universe, Nature, Liberty, Culture, or Man. I happen to believe he is right in his assessment of the epistemology of education.

In order to think about education in semantics, one must first begin with the conception of the world. As Christians education must begin with the Christian worldview which shapes all that we do. Education, the process, is about teaching and learning, and they too must be rooted in a Christian worldview. If any part of this process is not rooted in the Christian worldview we run the risk of developing the foundational problem of consistency – a worldview inconsistent with that which we teach our children in our homes and our churches. The problem, if left unaddressed, becomes a major obstacle for several reasons.

First, as children grow the time they spend in school overtakes and exceeds the time they spend in church and home. Second, as they hit the middle school years, the influence of peers overwhelms all other influences in their lives. If that influence is dominated by secular postmodern worldviews, well, you can see the problem. Finally, as children grow their worldviews continue to become concrete. Most experts estimate that the worldview becomes concrete around 13 or 14 years of age. Most of the major development of that worldview occurs in the middle school grades, the precise time that children begin to spend more time at school.

Education is a process created and used by a Holy God to convey His expectations to His people. To Moses the Lord said in Exodus 4:12, “Now go; I will help you to speak and will teach you what to say.”

In Deuteronomy chapter 4, God calls his people to hear Him and obey Him and to remember Him by way of teaching. The later part of Deuteronomy 4:9 states, “Teach them (the things the Lord has done in the past) to your children and to their children after them.”

Jesus, in John 14:26, states, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

In my opinion, education is a process created by a Holy God to instill in His people His commands, His history, and His will for them. Education is, in its truest form, a process that shapes the way one view’s the world. Therefore, as Believers in the Lord Jesus, the education that we choose for our children should be one that reflects consistently our faith by way of our worldview; it also should instill this worldview in our children by way of daily teaching and learning. This is education, and why Christian education ought to be so important to all of us.

The Lighter Side

I love humor. I believe that humor is medicinal. My favorite comedian is Brian Regan. I have no idea where he stands spiritually, but he is clean and very funny. Click here to go to his website. I have not seen all of his routines, but the ones I have seen are clean and hilarious. I still urge caution and review before exposing children to any website, and I do the same here.

Having said that, I think if you like to laugh you will love Brian Regan. Enjoy the lighter side once in a while; it will be good for you!