I am committed to faith-based education because I see the beautiful possibility for an educational journey directed outward rather than inward; the cultivation of a sense of calling beyond one’s own aspirations or ambitions or personal success to something outside and beyond oneself.  I have seen how that sense of calling can animate, enliven, and contextualize the learning process.

This dynamic is inhibited in faith-based education by a prevailing deeply conventional approach (to many things, including) to pedagogy -- one too often driven by teachers, or textbook publishers, or perceived college admissions expectations rather than a purposeful sense of mission or even by an understanding of how kids learn.  I envision a Christian school that invites students to be agents in their own education, charting a journey beyond knowing to understanding (using knowledge to accomplish new things), and beyond understanding to wisdom (using knowledge to accomplish good and important and beautiful and meaningful new things).

One more layer: I believe that the Gospel provides unique and vital resources for humble, meaningful, loving, honest conversations about how Kingdom principles such as justice, goodness, mercy, and shalom can be cultivated in and through the lives of students, in our world and in our time. Too few Christian schools realize these resources — I would like to be among them.