Meet Tomoko, your new student. At home and at church, she talks about living for Jesus, doing devotions, and telling others about Jesus. At school, you talk about applying the Bible to what’s being studied. This is new to Tomoko.
 
While Tomoko gets how the Bible connects to behavior, devotions, and evangelism, she doesn’t really get how the Bible is connected to math, social studies, and English. She doesn’t really understand how a Biblical perspective can be applied to what she studies.
 
Question: How can you help Tomoko? (How can you help Tomoko understand that a Biblical perspective can be applied to course content?)
 
Answer: Kim Essenburg, English 10 teacher at Christian Academy in Japan, says:
 
I want my students to connect the Bible and what they study in English 10. As a starting point, I have to get my students to see that this is possible. I have to get my students to see that the Bible can be applied, for example, to the literature and grammar that they study.
 
Key strategies I use include:

1. Asking essential questions. I ask questions like “What’s wrong with the world?” Questions like this result in my students connecting the theme of restoration in Cry, the Beloved Country and what the Bible teaches about mercy and justice. When my students experience connecting course content and the Bible—or when they see classmates do so, they see how the Bible applies to everything, including literature.
2. Modeling. During class, I intentionally articulate how the Bible connects to the literature we are studying. When we read Confucius, I note how some of the analects sound a lot like some of Solomon’s Proverbs, and I talk about how people can see some of God’s truth reflected in creation.
3. Doing devotions. I deliberately choose scripture passages that are relevant to what we are studying in class—like Micah 6:8 when we’re reading Cry, the Beloved Country or Romans 1 when we’re reading Confucius. I relate the passage to the literature we’re studying.