Philosophy of Christian Education by
Michael PaulsonDecember 16, 1996
Table of Contents 1) Introduction
2) The Foundation
3) The Why of Christian Education
4) Discipline
5) The Teacher
6) The Training Process
Introduction What is Christian education? What is its goal? What is the
church's role, the parent's role, and the child's role in it? In
this paper I want to give you a glimpse of the philosophy of
Christian education. What does philosophy mean? A philosophy is
a body of principles which guide a life toward a goal. Every
thought we make is made based on these principles. We all have a
philosophy. All educators have a philosophy, which will almost
always greatly influence those being taught. The power of
philosophy is often overlooked. The basis of Christian education
is its philosophy. this philosophy is founded and based on the
holy Scripture. For an education to be Christian it must be
based on the Bible.
The Bible is the only sure foundation. Without the fear of
the Lord, there is no knowledge. Without the new birth, the
teacher will not be able to discern truth nor teach the right
philosophy to its pupils. The Bible teaches that all truth is
centered in God (John 14:6). The training and education of the
child is squarely placed on first the parent and then the church.
Education comes from a combination of influences both formal and
informal, which mold your thoughts and actions. Christ is truth
incarnate; the Scriptures also must be used to set us apart (John
17:17). The unifying principle in Christian education is that
all truth is God's truth, and we are to ponder them in light of
the Scripture. Without God at the center of education, you will
find lies. All subjects, whether historical, scientific,
mathematical, literary, or artistic, must fall in line with God's
truth. We must stand for and honor this truth, for it is of God.
Truth is holy, not to be tampered with; for God will not hold him
guiltless who perverts the gospel or any truth (Gal. 1:6-9). John
8:32 says that truth will set you free. Truth is not changing. The Book of
Hebrews says, Christ, Truth, incarnate is the same yesterday,
today, and forever. Values not based in truth will change, but
God's values do not. Morals not based on truth will change, but
God's morals do not. I will not labor this point; truth is
impartial, unchangeable, objective, black and white. With the
promise that God's word will not pass away, we can look to it for
what is right and wrong (Matt. 24:35). Christian education is
based on absolute authority. Experience, reasoning, and man-made
ideas cannot be trusted, the Bible must be the standard.
Christian education must be Christ centered, Holy Spirit
controlled, pupil related, and socially applied with the Bible as
its foundation.The Foundation The foundation of Christian philosophy is the Bible. The
Bible is the only book which God has ever sent and the only one
He ever will send into this world. All other books are frail and
transient with time, since they only register time in one man's
eye. The Bible is durable and eternal; its pages contain the
record of eternity. All other books are weak and imperfect like
the author, man, and cannot be trusted in the training of a
child.
The Bible is a book that is powerful in its message and
perfect in its truth. The power to divide the soul and the power
to change lives are in the Scriptures. The Bible contains truth
in its purest form. The Bible's importance to mankind is
priceless, for in its words is life to those who believe. All
have opportunity to use it as the standard for all truth, but few
use it. The Bible is remarkably divine in nature and could not
have been written with the mere mind of a man. Its commandments
are for all men, both poor and rich. The Bible's promises are
eternal and unchangeable. If followed, it will bring peace and
happiness. If rejected, it will bring eternal sorrow and woe.
The holy writ is pure and full of heavenly wisdom. The depth and
variety of thought could only have been obtained by divine
author.
This book of truth is timeless in its teachings and is
universal in nature. It contains all that God wants us to know
and as such it is the primary tool for Christian education. The
poetry, eloquence, treasures, philosophy, and history are
unveiled for man to see. It is boundless in its truth. The
black and white nature of God's law and the attributes of God are
only found here.
The Bible gives us the Christian philosophy of education.
Where is wisdom found? Where is the place of understanding? It
is in God and His word! Knowing this, we must turn to the
Scriptures as the foundation for a Christian philosophy. True
religion must be the basis for an ordered society. Religion is
not a private affair; it must be the forefront in educating young
people. Humanists want to see it destroyed! Christ centered
education brings virtue and social order. Pure and undefiled
religion is good for any country and any people. The God of the
Bible is a friend that no man should shun. What is virtue except
that there be a standard? The social fabric will come crashing
down if the ideas and commands of the Bible are ignored and
attacked! Accountability and responsibility and the life
hereafter are key parts in Christian education.
Without a Bible foundation there is no God in charge of
human affairs, there are no guardian angels, we are but
"glorified" ape men, the weak have no avenger, there is no
recompense for good or evil, secret sin never happened, human
existence has no purpose, life on earth is everything, and death
is the end. Desolation will follow without a Christian
philosophy of education. Erase all thought and fear of God from
a community, and selfishness and sin will reign, sensuality
will grow. Lasciviousness, no restraint, no hope, and wicked
acts will follow a society void of God and His law. Man would
become a brute beast, void of compassion and full of self and
sin, without a Bible standard. Self interest and a totally[2]
humanistic society would follow. Therefore, man needs a
Christian philosophy of education or it will destroy itself.
With the Bible as the center of the curriculum, you cannot fail;
for God tells us in His word His requirements of what is
important and what to believe and do. We gain favor and a
fantastic future if we follow these things. Rejection of Bible
truth will bring divine disfavor. Education must reveal the
mysteries. Creation, the nature of God and angels, the reason
for man's creation, the origin of evil--which includes the
connection between sin and misery--are all found in Christian
education.
Therefore, the Scriptures are especially designed to make us
wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, to reveal to
us the mercy of God, to form our minds after our precious Saviour,
to build up our souls in wisdom and faith and love and holiness,
to make us know how to glorify our God on the earth, to make us
perfect (complete).The Why of Christian Education Why should children be educated at home? Socialization with
the world is not positive. They are exposed to views contrary to
the Bible. Some say my child could go to a secular school and be
a witness, but the reason for school is not evangelism but
education. Evil communication corrupts good manners. Education
is the key to victory in the minds of the young. They are our
future.
The children do not belong to the state. They belong to
God. They are entrusted to parents for proper care and training
in His word and way. "Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD:
and the fruit of the womb is his reward" (Psalms 127:3).
Children are graciously given to us (Gen. 33:5). God gives
parents, not government, the responsibility of educating
children. Fathers are to bring their children up in the nurture
and admonition of the Lord and to take care not to provoke them
to wrath (Eph. 6:4). The father has the right to allow others to
help in teaching, but he is ultimately responsible for the
children (Gal. 4:1-2). Only in a home school setting can a child
be in a continued atmosphere of training and teaching (Deut.
6:6-9). Only by home schooling can a parent lead and know the
way the child is being trained (Prov. 22:6). God has set the
home, not the school, Christian or otherwise, to be this training
center (Deut. 11:18-21).
The world's philosophy will ruin a child, and has not time
to teach the fear of the LORD, which is the beginning of wisdom
and the commandments of God (Ps. 111:10). Secular education
exalts itself against God and should have no place in child
training (II Cor. 10:5). With God thrown out of secular schools,
there is very little knowledge and even less wisdom in what they
teach; for wisdom is given by God (James 1:5; Col. 2:3). Only
Christian education speaks according to His Word and the light
of God is in[3]
it (Is. 8:20). Only Christian education can equip a person to be
a faithful servant of God, to be holy as God is holy. The goal of
education is not degrees or brains, but is the propagation of the
faith. Only Christian education will train a child to have the
mind of Christ (Ph. 2:5). Let me add that educating in the way
of evil or the study of it has no part in Christian education.
Don't teach your children to error from the words of knowledge
(Pr. 19:27). The nuts and bolts of evil need not be taught; it
is good to be ignorant of the evil way (Rom. 16:9). Christian
education is separatist in its way. The child is to be yoked
with those who live and think like mom and dad, not heathen (II
Cor. 6:14-18). The wisdom of mom and dad will lead to wisdom in
the child (Prov. 13:20). Only Christian education through home
schooling will allow children to be different from the world and
do God's will (Rom. 12:1-2).
Parents are to care for the child's soul and body (I Tim.
5:8). They are to feed him the milk of God's word and the bread
of life (I Peter 2:2; John 6:35). Parents know best when to
increase the intensity of Bible instruction (Luke 12:42). Only a
parent has time to teach "precept upon precept; line upon line...
here a little, and there a little" (Is. 28:10). To turn a child over
to a school is to shun this responsibility. The word of God is
the basis for the responsibility (Ex. 20:12; Col. 3:20-24). God
takes it very seriously when offending or instructing His
heritage. In fact it would be better to die than to do it (Matt.
18:6-7). Only in Christian education can a child be guided to
rightly divide God's word (II Tim. 2:15). To know God is our
primary goal (John 17:3). Not only will your children get a
great academic education, but they will learn character from
great men and women in the Bible. A child will learn your view
if you teach them at home. He will also excel more because of
the lower student-teacher ratio. Christian home schooling keeps
the child from evil both physical, mental, social, and spiritual.
With the Bible at the center of the curriculum, he will
learn everything from God's perspective. History will have
greater meaning. All subjects will be purposeful. The child
needs purpose for life and a reason to live and something to live
for.
Education that is taught and caught will be that of the
parents. Christian home schooling allows for biblical discipline
done in love. As the Lord loves those He chastens, so the parent
must guide, through instruction and discipline, a child in the
way he should go. Children must be instructed at home or they
will get little Bible instruction. Sunday school and devotional
time will have little effect if a child sits in a secular school
hour after hour, year after year. Only at home can instruction
be done on a daily need basis. Lying can be dealt with through
Scripture (Ex. 20:16) and the child can learn that Satan is the
father of lies (John 8:44). Personal instruction is impossible[4]
in a school atmosphere. As problems arise, the child needs to
learn biblical principles through instruction and correction.
Therefore, the goal of Christian education is to bring glory
to God (Col. 1:17). Everything done in Christian education
should seek to bring God glory; to give children a proper view of
where man came from, why he is here, and where he is going; to
train the child in the way he should go and to obey the commands
of God (Pr. 22:6; Deut. 6). Teach the child patriotism, respect
for authority, hard work, love of God, discipline, and multitudes
of things. Build character in the child, where he'll do right
because it is right. Prepare the child to serve the Lord. He'll
learn how to live and how to make a living. Build a generation
of future leaders. Teach them about the sacredness of life.Discipline Give pupils a set of rules and enforce them. Be positive in
your approach. Let the child know he broke the rule and make him
believe he can do better. Command good behavior and be firm but
kind. Pray for your students and love them. Say what you mean
and mean what you say. Keep your word. Remember the road of
reproof gives wisdom too (Prov. 29:15).
Parenta1 and elder authority must be
instilled in the child if a child is to be educated. Without
obedience to a human authority, the chances are bleak for a child
to turn out (II Thess. 1:8). The rod of reproof must be used
(Prov. 23:13-14). The child must learn to honor and obey his
parents (Ex. 20:12; Eph. 6:1-3). Foolishness, lying, stealing,
and selfishness must be corrected (Prov. 22:15). A parent cannot
slack, shirk, or fail to discipline and expect to educate them.
Screaming, shouting, tantrums, and other unruly behavior must be
put down. The rod is the teacher in Christ centered education.
It teaches four things: 1) There is a price to pay for sin; 2)
There is pain involved with sin; 3) Authority must be obeyed; and
4) Rebellion is not allowed. Tears will follow the parents who
fail to discipline a child as they educate him in the way to go
(Prov. 22:6).The Teacher There are some things we should look for in a teacher.
First, they must be assured they are a child of God. Second, the
teacher needs a good testimony. Third, he must know that
teaching is the will of God. Fourth, he must walk with God. He
must have personal devotions and be involved in helping the
students follow by example. He must have a shepherd's heart and be
willing to give much. Fifth, he or she should live a life of a
leader. A man should be faithful (one wife), vigilant, sober, of
good behavior, hospitable, teachable, patient, grave, not greedy,
and not double-minded (I Tim. 3). A woman should be grave,
faithful, holy, good, obedient to her husband, not a slanderer,
and not a false accuser. Both should adhere to Bible standard's[5]
in dress, behavior, ability to lead by example (Phil. 4:9; 3:7; I
Cor. 11:1). The teacher needs to be flexible in her schedule,
loyal, honest, well groomed, honorable, and patient and should
also have a sense of humor and be willing to sacrifice (Rom.
12:1-2).
Your goal is to build character, Christ-likeness, into the
child. You are seeking growth spiritually, physically, mentally,
and socially (Luke 2:50-52). It must be remembered that no
philosophy comes out of a vacuum. The teacher will express the
convictions he lives by, whether we believe it or not. That is
why a lost person should never be in charge of teaching children.
Only a saved teacher who has the Bible at the center of his life
and thoughts, and who lives accordingly, should teach. The
English teacher should use the Bible as its primary teaching tool
for literature and all forms of communication. The teacher must
dwell on the things which are true (Phil. 4:8). Music is not
morally neutral. It can be used to prepare the heart for truth,
or it can be used to enhance the chances of fornication,
adultery, or other devices. There are both spiritual
songs and fleshly ones. The teacher must not be musically
illiterate; for the rise and fall of a good church or education
system can be controlled by it. Extracurricular activities
should lead to self-sacrifice and self-restraint. Discipline in
education must be done in love, but must also deal with the
child's disobedience. The matter should be talked over and
prayed over before action (chastening) should occur. The goal of
the teacher must be to help his pupils to achieve far more
spiritually and academically than he himself did.
The teacher must pray that the Holy Spirit would help teach
the students. The Holy Spirit drives teachings home through
conviction. The Holy Spirit is needed to reveal spiritual truth
to the students. The teacher needs to be controlled by the Holy
Spirit to guide and instruct the child and to know how and what
to teach. Remember, the goal is salvation and growth in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord. The Holy Spirit and the
teacher must be a teaching team.
The truths then must be applied to the student's life. He
must learn to practice in his life what is being taught. Life
application is a must. They must learn the Christian
relationship with the world (John 15:19; I John 2:15-17). Social
graces and the proper roles of women and men should be taught.
Work relationships must also be taught. Dress, conduct, and
discipline standards should be done in light of the Scripture.
Teach them God's word is the absolute and deciding standard. If
God's stand is not used, the education ceases to be Christian.
The teacher must have a Christian philosophy of education.
Know that the moment that the soul is capable of damnation, he is
also ready for salvation. Teach him; live before him and teach
him the fear of the Lord (Ps. 34:11). Train, knowing who you are
teaching. You are dealing with God's heritage. You are teaching[6]
the teachable. Teach him a lie and he will receive it as truth.
You are sowing precious seeds of truth; take care in what you are
doing. The humanist is poisoning the minds. You are preparing
a soul for eternity and life. A child led in the road of error
could forever stay on that road. The teacher must know whom he
is teaching for; God. You must seek to teach to the best of your
abilities. Take care in your teaching; for it will either help
them or hurt them. You are a steward; take care in how you
labor. Remember, the child needs teaching. Without it, he will
surely end up in Hell; for he must be saved.
As a teacher, love your students. Don't teach a child to be
kind and deal with him harshly. Get the children to love you and
they will sit at your feet like Mary did at Jesus's. Give them
something worth learning; don't bore them. Use pictures,
parables, figures, and fun. You don't listen to boring preachers
or teachers, and you shouldn't expect them to either.
Teach the child for the heart. Only a parent
has the emotional energy that is needed to teach
them. Young men need a dad to teach them to work, not a dad
who's too busy working. The best home schooling is a good home
life. Praise and reward desired behavior and you will get little
bad behavior. Don't use flattery. Let the child know he has
earned praise. As a father, your presence and praise is needed
and cannot be substituted. Spiritual training is dad's job. If
mother does the training, the child will believe that religion is
for women. Dad ought to put the child in bed in the evening and
read and pray with them. As the child grows, teach him a trade.
Instruct him about building and maintenance skills. Teach the
child about real life. Adversity and trials should not be hidden
from children.
Take great care in what you teach children. There are five
areas in teaching. Teach morality. Never teach it as a way of
salvation. Teach common sins for youth. Teach about lying,
petty theft, disobedience to parents, and sins of the tongue.
Teach godliness. Teach them that God sees everything. Press
this fact into their hearts. Teach them that God sees the bad
and the good. Teach them the exceeding sinfulness of sin plainly
and broadly. When a loved one dies, tell them the truth.
Honesty has a purpose. If they died saved, tell them; if they
died lost, tell them. Teach them that we can judge by fruit.
Teach them that evil will slay the wicked. Teach them the
necessity of a changed heart. Without true and thorough
repentance from sin, and forsaking it, conversion won't occur!
Teach them the blessedness of being a Christian. Let your
children see that you are blessed and how God took you through
trials. The teacher must know that his labor is not in vain.The Training Process Who is to train and how is Christian training to be done?
The parent is to train the child primarily. The church is also[7]
responsible and has a part too. The child is God's, but the
parent is delegated to oversee God's heritage (Ps. 127:3). The
parent is to nurture and train the child (Deut. 4:1-10; 6:4-7;
Ps. 78:1-8; Ephes. 6:4). Train by a consistent example (I Cor.
11:1). You must do as you say, with right priorities. The way
you are will be manifested in your children. Leading by a bad
example will lead to sorrow later on. Deut. 6:3-9 says to train
diligently and consistently. Pray for wisdom and grace in how to
train (James 1:5; 5:16). Pray for each child by name and pray
with them before they go to bed. Teach them to rely on God as
you rely on Him. Talk about answered prayer. Administer
biblical correction. Diligently teach the Scripture and biblical
principles. The parent as teacher must see himself as a teacher
from sun up until sun down. If the wife is doing the day school
teaching, the father must take out time during the evening to
teach them biblical things. Read them the Bible stories and ask
them questions as you read. Sing songs and listen to good, godly
music daily. We need to capture their minds. Read biographies
on great Christians of the past. Read about men who sinned and
died miserably. Teach the children to stand alone like Joseph,
Moses, Samuel, David, Jonathan, Josiah, Daniel, the Hebrew
children, and Timothy. Work on memorizing Scripture together.
Remember you're training eternity-bound souls. Do not rely on
the church to prepare your children to stand alone for God.
The church also has a part in training; for it is the pillar
and ground of the truth (I Tim. 3:5). Its primary responsibility
is to preach Christ and His crucifixion. To declare Jesus is the
only way to Heaven. It needs to declare the mercy of God and the
cross. The church also needs to declare the facts about sin,
warning of judgment and the consequences of sin and telling of
the pleasure of sin, which then leads to sorrow. The church also
needs to help the parents by providing opportunities for service
for young and old alike. The parents need to allow the children
to get involved and promote these ministries.
The local shepherd, the pastor, is to help the parents by
training them to be able to teach. He can also enhance what is
being taught through vacation Bible school, camps, Sunday school,
and children's church and youth ministries.
Therefore, if Christlikeness is the goal, salvation must be
first. Christ must have pre-eminence in all things (Col. 1:18).
You will be limited in your ability to teach until this occurs.
Teach the child that he is by nature evil, not good. He must see
a need for a Saviour and take personal responsibility for sin.
Once he is saved, he belongs to Jesus. We are not our own. This
must be taught. Teach him to pattern his life after Christ.
Teach everything with the Bible at the center. History should
deal primarily with God's dealings with mankind. Geography should
be a study of the spread of the gospel, and the many travelings of man
under God's geographic camera. Science will be a study of God's
laws of nature. Mathematics shows the absolutes of His power.[8]
Civics shows God's view of the world culture, government, and
society. In health class, we should see how we were fearfully
and wonderfully made. In home economics, the study of God's role
in marriage will prevail. All subjects need to bring the Bible
into the forefront! Teach the student that his objective,
desires, and deeds need to be like Christ! In all things Christ
pleased the Father, and this is to be the student's goal.
The Book of Proverbs gives many tips on how to train and
what should be taught to the child. In Proverbs we find wisdom,
instruction, understanding, justice, judgment, equity, knowledge,
discretion, learning, wise counsel, and hard sayings which can be
used to develop a student in fearing the Lord. So, I want to
give you principles that should be used about how to educate and
what should be taught to the child. Teach the child to hear and
obey mom and dad and to flee from evil and seek the Lord.
Instruct him in the pitfall of sin and the blessing of walking
with God. Admonish him to follow good men, to be truthful, and
to trust the Lord. Teach him that chastening is for our good and
should be only done in love. Preach to them the priceless nature
of wisdom and discretion. Advise him to do good to his neighbor
and to be a good example. Teach him to keep his heart, watch his
eyes and ears, and walk with God. Admonish them to love their
future spouse and not to be a sluggard. Tell them the seven
things God hates (Prov. 6). Teach them to walk daily with God
and beware of flattery and strange women. Advise them not to
gain things unjustly and to know the importance of a good name.
Teach them that love covers all sin, the trap of sin, and that
the wicked has no hope after death. Promote honesty, honor, and
graciousness. Preach against hypocrisy and about the importance
of keeping secrets. Teach them about the blessing of giving, the
law of sowing and reaping, not to trust in riches, and the
rewards for good. Admonish them to cover a fault and not to
bring out the faults in others. Preach against foolish talking
and the result of prideful actions. Tell them hard work will be
rewarded and to wait on the Lord. Let them know the way of sin
is hard, and a teachable spirit will bring reward. Teach the
satisfaction of a job well done and not to believe everything he
hears. Train your child not to envy, to be slow to answer, to be
merciful, and to behave wisely. Tell them a soft answer turns
away wrath, and the lost can't please God. Teach him to seek
counsel and to speak well of others. Instill in them to walk
humbly and to learn from experience. Instruct them not to trust
their heart and not to sow strife or be a whisperer. Teach them
the principles of contentment, equal yoke friendship, agape love,
and the benefits of laughter. Help them to learn to put others
first, to walk in integrity, and to be kind to all. Instruct
them to beware of alcohol, the pleasure of sin for a moment, with
the grief that follows. Admonish them to save then buy, table
manners, and other etiquette. Warn them to avoid unstable
people, that life is brief, and about stewardship principles.[9]
Teach them that riches are fleeting, God's word is pure, to be
diligent in everything, and the attributes of a virtuous woman.
Develop their character from the Book of Proverbs. Make Proverbs
a part of their lives.
In training, you are seeking to develop certain things and
stop certain behaviors. Here are 15 specific areas that you must
develop in order to produce a Christlike students.
1) Obedience (Eph. 6:11). A child needs to obey his parents
and all in authority. Discipline cannot be overlooked!
2) Respect for authority (Eph. 6:2). Rebellious attitudes,
smart mouths, talking back, scornful looks, and rudeness
should not be tolerated and should not be overlooked, but
punished.
3) Self-Control (Prov. 14:29; 16:32; 25:25). A child must be
taught to restrain his anger. Temper tantrums, self-pity must
taken care of.
4) Patience (I Thes. 5:14). Teach a child to wait and do so
with a good attitude.
5) Diligence (Prov. 15:19; Rom. 12:11). Work must be promoted,
while laziness, boredom, and disinterest curtailed.
Enthusiasm and hard work should be a part of your teaching.
6) Kindness (Ephes. 4:32). Teach him through experience to give
and to love others. Rudeness, name-calling, making fun of
others, and selfishness need to be stopped.
7) Teach him to look to God for strength and courage. Fear and
timidness need to cease.
8) Happiness and joy (I Peter 3:10; Phil. 2:14; 4:4). Teach
them to love life and be grateful for each day. Depression
and complaining must not be allowed.
9) Love for others (Rom. 12:10; James 4:11; Titus 3:2). Teach
them to pray and to love all people. Criticism and partiality
need to end.
10) People skills (Matt. 5:9; Rom. 12:18; Eph. 4:31; Prov.
17:14). Teach the child to get along, live peaceably, and
bridle his tongue.
11) Honesty (Rom. 12:17; Eph. 4:25, 28; Prov. 11:1). You
cannot, above all things, allow a child to lie, cheat, or
steal. Dishonesty will grow in his heart and could lead to
deception that leads to Hell.
12) Wisdom and knowledge (Prov. 2:4-9; 8:33). Teach the child
the nuts and bolts of as much as you know (knowledge). Then
teach him how to use this knowledge (wisdom). Ignorance and
lack of education in all parts of a Christian curriculum must
be emphasized.
13) Purity (II Tim. 2:22). Help them to learn to cast down
imaginations and perverted thinking. Teach on remaining pure
in thought and practice in matters of sex (II Cor. 10:5). The
mind must be transformed. Saturate the child's mind with
God's word (Rom. 12:1-2). Abstain from all appearance of evil
(I Thes. 5:22).[10]
14) Friendliness (Prov. 18:24; II Tim. 1:7). Teach them to be
friendly, to make new friends and to seek to be outgoing (not
shy).
15) Dependability, loyalty (Prov. 11:13; 25:19; I Cor. 10:31).
Teach them to be responsible, faithful, and good stewards of
time, treasure, and talent. Teach them the principle of the
heart and treasure (Matt. 6:21).Finally, I want to cover a few things that will help you
train your child. I will only cover a small part of the overall
curriculum here, but the nuts and bolts of Bible instruction will
be covered somewhat.
How should I teach at home?
1) Take time for family worship. Read a chapter. Go
through a book of the Bible, using experience and wisdom to
dictate where to read. Implant biblical truths. Before reading
to the family, read ahead of time because your children will
doubtless ask questions. Make life applications. Tell them and
read the stories of the Bible. Read from story books like
Hurbuts or Egermeiers, or make up your own when they are small.
Read and reread the story from the Bible, first for scriptural
accuracy. Teach the stories through series. Use the Bible
wording where possible and especially when they grow older. They
need to know the Scripture from their youth (II Tim. 3:15).
2) Help them memorize the Bible. Memorize verses and whole
chapters. Reward and praise them for learning.
3) Use Scripture when disciplining and when problems arise.
Training is a 24-hour job (Deut. 6:6-8). Treatment of animals,
social graces, and God's provisions must be emphasized. Trust in
God, the love of God, and mercy; hate and all God's attributes
should be taught.[11]
Bibliography
Cook, Barbara. How to Raise Good Kids. Bethany Fellowship,
Minneapolis, MN.Fugate, Richard J. What the Bible Says About Child Training.
Alethia Publishing, Inc., Temple, AZ.Gaebelein, Frank E. *The Pattern of God's Truth. Moody Press,
Inc., Chicago, IL.Hutson, Curtis. The Why and How of Child Discipline. Sword of
the Lord Publishers, Murfreesboro, TN.Kieuel, Paul. Ten Reasons Why You Should Send Your Child to a
Christian School. Bread of Life Tracts, Macon, MO.Lowrie, Roy W. To Those who Teach in Christian Schools.
Association of Christian Schools International, Whittier,
CA.Pearl, Michael and Debbie. To Train Up a Child. Pleasantville,
TN.Pratter, Bill. Prov. 22:6 Promise or Principle? The Wilderness
Voice, Liberal, KS.Rice, John R. The Home. Sword of the Lord Publishers,
Murfreesboro, TN.Smith, Thomas. What Every Parent Should Know About Christian
Education. Christian Education Publications, Murfreesboro,
TN.Spurgeon, Charles Haddon. Teaching Children. Baker Book
Reprint, Grand Rapids, MI.Unknown. *Education Fact Sheet #7. Plymouth Rock Foundation,
Marlbourough, TN. [Info only]Unknown. *Home Schools and Christian Education Fact Sheet #37.
Plymouth Rock Foundation, Marlbourough, TN. [Info only]Williams, Donald. Are You Keeping Yourself Pure. Hephzibah
House, Winona Lake, IN.Williams, Donald. Training Soldiers of the Cross. Hephzibah
House, Winona Lake, IN.[12]
Bibliography continued
Williams, Ron. Family Heritage. Hephzibah House, Winona Lake,
IN.Williams, Ron. Correction of Children. Hephzibah House, Winona
Lake, IN.[13]