This
was the question that shaped one of two plenary addresses I presented
to the 'Christian Schools Australia' annual conference in Brisbane
recently. I was asked to speak to the 300 delegates about the key points
of difference in pedagogy in Christian schools compared to public
schools. The brief was to unpack the ideas in my book 'Pedagogy and Education for Life'.
It was a challenging task to synthesize all aspects of my work in two
45 minute addresses. But, it's even more difficult to do so in two
posts. But here goes!
1. "Is There Such a Thing as Christian Pedagogy?"
The word 'Pedagogy' is derived from the Greek word “Paidagogeo” which is a compound of “paidos” (child) and “agogos” (one who leads or guides) (Cairney, 2018, p.32). Some quick questions in response. Is this how we see the role of the teacher in Christian schools? I believe it should be. If so, how do we lead or guide our students? Does it look any different to secular schools?
The Apostle Paul used the word “Paidagogeo” in Ephesians 6:4 in relation to “discipline" which is how it is often translated. But Paul and others were using it in the sense of “bringing [them] up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” But what does he mean by this? Let me work through some key points.
2. What does it mean to teach 'Christianly'?
I think most Christian Christian leaders would agree that teaching is different in Christian schools. But as I have visited Christian schools, and talked with teachers and administrators, much of what they mean when using the term “Christian teaching”, or in some cases “Teaching Christianly”, is have a faith in God, and that their personal faith somehow shapes their work in the classroom. That's one of the reasons, I use the term Christian pedagogy NOT Christian teaching.
In a school with all (or mostly) Christian teachers, what's different about their practices? Is the relationship between teacher and students different? At a broader level, what do the principal, school board and parent body, see as the fundamental things that make their school a Christian school?
How recognisable would this be to others? Would they be recognisable to parents, students, other non-Christian schools and so on? Or, are our schools (and parents) just as distracted by academic success, and simply relegate matters of faith to the background?
I believe we need to devote more time in Christian schools to considering what faith-based pedagogy looks like in all classrooms. In fact, we need to develop a 'whole of life perspective' as well as a community perspective in our schools. Why? Because our schools should be places where faith is evident in varied ways, and where it is discussed and seen as a priority with teachers, students and parents.
3. Education is the whole of life of a school community?
One of the key assumptions and priorities in the type of pedagogy I'm suggesting, is that we create classroom and school environments where:
"Education is seen as the whole
of life of a community, and the experience of its members learning
to live
this life, from the standpoint of a specific end goal" (Cairney,
'Pedagogy and Education for Life'). And of course, I'm suggesting that
the "whole of life" of the school is more than studying subjects and
succeeding academically, in order leading to gain good results and
employment.
Rather,
the "whole of life of the school" should be just as much about shaping
students to grow in faith, with an understanding that God created them
to do more than simply being successful in life. Our God wants our
students to know Him, seek to honour Him, and lead lives that bring
glory to Him.
- If so, what does such community ‘life’ look like?
- How do we live from the standpoint of a specific goal?
- What might the goals of the school and the teacher look like?
- What is our role in
helping to achieve such communities?
I will look more closely at some of these questions in my next post. But I quote John Hull in the introduction to me book, who helpfully notes:
"What normally passes for Christian Education can more accurately be named 'Christians educating'." Ouch!
Hart also suggests, as I do, that what makes “Christian Education” distinctive, is not the curriculum, specific pedagogical methods and so on, but an “eschatology” that views our hopes for our students, in light of a much bigger vision than academic success, future employment and ongoing self-advancement.
4. Summing Up
I hope our schools, teachers and leaders, articulate and offer clear reasons for the faith that drives their every action? I implore all of us to assess whether our pedagogy and priorities demonstrate a much bigger vision for our students’ future (and their parents), than just top marks and rankings, careers and success. Of course, this might be different from what some parents (and even staff) perceive as the ‘good life’. But there is no reason to see these things are incompatible. We need to keep asking, what does “success” look like for students and us as teachers? Finally, if teachers, parents and students have different views, how do we reconcile them?
Christian schools should seek to create rich school environments, that point students towards faith in our Lord and Saviour, not just ‘success’ in life?
In my next post, I will look more closely at how Christian Pedagogy has a key role in shaping our students in the faith which at times might be invisible. While we can easily see and assess student growth in knowledge, skills, and commitment to learning, how do we assess growth in the inner life of our students?
No comments:
Post a Comment