Kim Essenburg, English 10 teacher at Christian Academy in Japan, reflects her assessment results:

It’s 8:20 on a Thursday morning, 10 minutes before class begins. Four 10th graders (an Indian, a Japanese, a Korean, and an American) are talking loudly. So loudly that I’m getting distracted from writing my lesson outline on the board. They are discussing (in Japanese) how to say “9:45 a.m.” (in Spanish). There must be a Spanish test today....

I love seeing these diverse students working together. It reminds me that God calls us to have right relationships with Him, others, ourselves, and creation.

Such “right” relationships, of course, don’t always happen. For example, my students sometimes fragment into groups based on language (English, Japanese, or Korean). To encourage my students to value and to have “right” relationships, I had them read Cry, the Beloved Country and focus on God’s peace (shalom). Here’s what they learned:

1. “From now on, I will be quick to forgive....”
2. “In Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country there are characters from all walks of life—rich, poor, important, and unknown. However, they each do what is in their power to help restore the brokenness around them, and this is a powerful message for us today.”
3. “Each person’s actions lay a brick in the bridge we’re trying to build, the bridge we call shalom.”
4. “God is the ultimate source of shalom and without Him, nothing can be restored.... Jesus was crucified…to restore shalom, and He is the first Restorer. After He ascended to heaven, who was going to carry on His mission to restore shalom?…Christians.”

Heidi Schaeffer, who teaches grade 5 at Christian Academy in Japan, reflects on a recent unit.

What are you excited about?
Heidi: I’m excited that my 5th grade science students can connect course content to Biblical teaching, resulting in them making healthy choices. Read More...

Kim and Michael Essenburg, missionaries with Christian Reformed World Missions, serve at Christian Academy in Japan. Here they discuss students applying a Biblical perspective.

Michael: What are you excited about?
Kim: I’m excited that 1 of my English 10 students wrote... Read More...