Christian education involves worldview education, education that helps students develop and apply a Christian worldview. Regarding providing worldview education, what helps/hinders you?

Here’s a summary of the responses of teachers at Christian Academy in Japan:

• Helps: conversation, time, resources, personal knowledge of a Christian worldview, essential questions
  
• Hindrances: insufficient conversation, time, resources, clarity regarding expectations for student learning, student background knowledge, and accountability

Real question: The real question isn’t “Regarding providing worldview education, what helps/hinders you?” The real question is “Regarding providing worldview education, how will you maximize your helps and minimize your hindrances?”

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Here are the responses of teachers at Christian Academy in Japan:

(1) Regarding providing worldview education, what helps you?

Conversation:

• …I really need conversations with others….
  Conversations with colleagues about what I’m trying, what they’re trying, energize and motivate me.
  
• …conversations with others on how to do this—or hearing what they are doing in their class.
  
• …conversation with other math teachers during the unit-planning stage of the lesson.
  
• Having conversations about teaching Biblical perspectives with other math teachers also helps me directly apply it to my lesson plans.
  
• …conversations at school…[have] been helpful.

Time: …taking the time to read about Christian worldview education and various authors’ views on it stimulates my thinking. Following it up with time to reflect, journal and talk it over with others helps me to sort out my understanding of worldview education.

Resources: I am helped by my own readings and the library I keep around me.

Personal knowledge of a Christian worldview: …[being] familiar with what God’s Word says in every area.

Essential questions: [Having essential questions in each unit helps] students think about a Christian worldview…. The questions…elicit valuable student conversations and whole-class discussions.

(2) Regarding providing worldview education, what hinders you?

Insufficient conversation: …lack of opportunity to dialogue.

Insufficient time:

• We have so many responsibilities these days, just to survive, it’s hard to think about finding time to discuss and contemplate the great things we could/should be doing. Most days I’m just staying alive!
  
• …not having enough time to reflect and time to devote to developing worldview education.
  
• What hinders me from doing this is time to think about the big picture, collect my thoughts, and then to articulate them.

Insufficient resources:

• When I need to look for help in designing a great math lesson, I have multiple resources to tap. When I need help designing a great worldview lesson, I have far fewer places to go for help. There aren't models out there; there aren't resources to access.
  
• I’m hindered by lack of good reading material.

Insufficient clarity regarding expectations for student learning: Now I seem to struggle more with what is expected of students at the level I teach. What should be the standard? How do I best evaluate the students` understanding? Are students who are very definitely concrete thinkers able to understand and articulate more abstract ideas?

Insufficient student background knowledge:

• …a lack of students’ Bible understanding hinders me from pursuing a deep connection. Also, lack of subject understanding hinders worldview education. Because of this lack of understanding, time is consumed in class to bring students up to the level to integrate their worldview education.
  
• Lack of basic Bible knowledge hinders some students from going beyond concrete ideas. What often compounds the problems is the desire to challenge others who have a strong knowledge of the Bible. The dichotomy makes it difficult for me to help students apply a Christian worldview.
  
• Many students are very limited in their knowledge of the Bible and Christian doctrine.
  
• …the key aspect that hinders the providing of a worldview education would be the challenge of leading the students to a knowledge of God’s will and the doing of His will—especially for the students with little or no Bible background.

Insufficient accountability: Lack of accountability hinders me. If scores on Iowa Tests, AP tests, SATs, etc., rise or fall, someone is monitoring, concern or success is registered: we know what the standard is, and we know it’s important. Worldview education—everyone says it’s important, but there’s no accountability. No one is monitoring. No one ever says, “Hey, this indicator is up! Our students are doing well! Let’s celebrate!” or “Oh, oh, this indicator is down. We have to work on this.” We don’t even know what the standard is. What is good worldview education?