Educating for Eternity (Part 1)

Educating for Eternity by George R. Knight provides an excellent overview and foundation for the principles and practice of Adventist education. While this book is focused on schooling, Knight reminds us that Adventist education also includes the home and church (48).

Knight expounds upon the four key factors to the philosophy and practice of Adventist Education: (1) Role of teacher, (2) Curriculum, (3) Methodology, and (4) Social dimension. We will look at the first two in this post.
 

1. Role/qualifications of a teacher:
Since God, redemption, and education are all so relational in nature, it is integral to Adventist education that the teacher is not just a conduit of information, but a living, breathing embodiment of the work of redemption and education. This is not to say that the teacher must be perfect, but that there is a direct connection between the qualifications of the teacher and the education that students receive. 

The four key aspects of a teacher are the spiritual (“it is only life that can beget life. He alone has life who is connected with the Source of life, and only such can be a channel of life” , mental capabilities and development (knowledge of their teaching materials as well as of current and biblical culture), social (Jesus mixed with the people he taught and “engaged in their social events” – “the true teacher can impart to his pupils few gifts so valuable as the gift of his own companionship… show that they love them, and would manifest an interest in all their efforts, and even in their sports, sometimes even being a child among children, they would make the children very happy, and would gain their love and win their confidence”), and good physical, mental, and emotional health (“Without balanced health, a teacher will find it well-nigh impossible to maintain a sunny disposition and an even temper that reflect the image of Christ”) (79-80).

In all these things, it is vital that the teacher is actively seeking and engaged in a relationship with Jesus in all these areas, that they may convey these four aspects as a living lesson to their students, and that, above all else, they may love their students as God loves them.

2. Curriculum
When it comes to the curriculum, we need to be excellent at everything and yet also prioritize what matters the most (86). We must also have an intentional plan, not copying what public schools are doing with a little extra Jesus sprinkled on top (88, 96). “All truth is God’s truth” and thus we can not only find God in all subject mattes but teach them in ways consistent with the law of God (which is love) (89). Additionally, this approach has a reciprocal bonus for learning. Using literature as an example, “not only does the biblical worldview help us interpret literature, but literary insights also help us to better understand religious experience within the context of religious truth” (98).

Lastly, when considering how this curriculum with contribute to the goal of redeemed and transformed individuals, it is noteworthy that the principles extend to “the social whole” as well. “Like the Old Testament prophets, Adventist education will raise significant issues related to social justice in an unjust world because biblical valuing involves the public as well as the private world of believers” (105).