Featured Five

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Business Manager
International Education Services
Middle East
IES is seeking a business manager who will oversee the finance department and non-educational related facilities and operations. Management experience preferred. At IES, you will have the opportunity to work in one of the largest unreached nations in the 10/40 window.

Inquire Now

Guidance Counsellor
Evangelical Christian Academy
Madrid, Spain
Impact students from over 20 nations as they make decisions regarding their academic futures. ECA is seeking an experienced guidance counsellor to fill this important need. Your investment in their lives will have significant impact around the world!

Inquire Now

Secondary Science Teacher
Bucharest Christian Academy
Bucharest, Romania
We urgently need someone to enthuse and educate children about science. Students at our small, K-12 school are from five different continents and learn in a loving and nurturing Christian environment.

Inquire Now

Elementary Teacher
Faith Academy
Manila, The Philippines
Impact the lives of Third Culture Kids while enabling their parents to do kingdom work in Southeast Asia. Both upper and lower elementary classroom teachers are needed for the 2018-19 school year and onward.

Inquire Now

K-12 Phys Ed Teacher
Sahel Academy
Niamey, Niger
The vision of Sahel Academy is to nurture students to be learners who love God and will transform their world. You can be a part of this vision by teaching physical education classes for students in grades K-12.

Inquire Now

Featured Five

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Kindergarten Teacher

Arbor Christian Academy
San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic

We are looking for someone who is certified in elementary education and enjoys working creatively with curriculum. Spanish is not required but a desire to learn the language is.
Watch the video†featuring Jessica Moulding, director, and Carolin Garcia, preschool teacher, to learn more about this bilingual school!


Inquire Now

Special Needs Teacher

GDQ†International Christian School
Tirana, Albania

GDQ is looking for a qualified special needs teacher who can honour the differing strengths and developmental rates of its students. This teacher will†provide academic assessment and support to both students and classroom teachers.


Inquire Now

Grades 3&4 Teacher

Pag-Asa Orphanage School
Cainta, Philippines

This class of multi-aged children at the academic level of grades 3 and 4 is team-taught by a missionary teacher and Filipino teacher. The primary responsibility will be teaching English in small groups, but also will include sharing other lessons with the partner teacher.


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Graphic Designer

Communications Department
TeachBeyond USA

Be part of a passionate and committed Communications team desiring to transform individuals and communities. We are looking for a person to help design graphics, create tools to aid ministry, and develop communication materials used by TeachBeyond and our partners around the world.


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Financial & Operations Manager

The Life School
Pierrelatte, France

Would you like to join our team in the RhÙne Valley of France? In this role, you will be responsible for handling the financial and daily operational needs for the school.†French language proficiency is desired.†You can attend a year of language school prior to starting the job.


Inquire Now

Featured Five

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Here are five featured openings in our schools.†Click here†to see all available openings.

Director

William Carey Academy
Chittagong, Bangladesh

Work with a group of both national and expatriate teachers leading a school of 340 students as we seek to provide a quality education and spiritual truth to the community around us. Teacher Meagan Carns tells what attracted her to the school.

INQUIRE NOW

English Language Teacher

Teach ESL
Prague, Czech Republic

We need four teachers for a unique opportunity: to teach English to public school students in grades 1 to 9 in a dynamic, supportive programme. Teaching credentials preferred but not required.†Check out the video at left†to learn more.

INQUIRE NOW

Secondary Maths Teacher

Grace International School
Chiang Mai, Thailand

We are looking for someone who can teach middle school math while modelling a life transformed by Christ. We invite you to join us in making a difference in the lives of our missionary and international students.

INQUIRE NOW

Third Grade Teacher

Whitman Academy
Amman, Jordan

We are seeking a dynamic individual who believes in a learning-centered pedagogy and creates a nurturing classroom environment. †And when you’re teaching Bible and history lessons to your third graders, itís in the context of where it all began!

INQUIRE NOW

Middle/High School English Teacher

Bingham Academy
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia†

Do you love literature and the Lord? If you can help our young people to analyze, synthesise, and also to evangelise, then we need to hear from you!

INQUIRE NOW

 

Culturally Relevant Transformational Education

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This year we have been examining TeachBeyond’s core values as they relate to our mission of Transformational Education. This month we’ve come to the value of cultural relevance and I [Becky] have asked a team working in a culture that is “pretty much as far as you can get from the TeachBeyond offices and from the culture in which TeachBeyond grew up” for their perspective on this. Here’s what they had to say:

What is Transformational Education? How do you do it

Picture1These are questions we wrestle to make relevant to what we do every day. But, let’s make
it harder. Let’s consider if our answers work everywhere. Is Transformational Education the same in South America and South Asia? Do the same things work in TeachBeyond run schools that tell everyone about Jesus openly and in closed countries, where creative access opens quieter doors?

Our team is in a country, pretty much as far as you can get from the TeachBeyond offices and from the culture in which TeachBeyond grew up. When we considered these questions, we had to challenge ourselves to think about what transformational education means for us here, in our (non-TeachBeyond run) school. How do we bring transformational education into classrooms filled with real children and limited by our own busy schedules?

Here are some of our team’s thoughts on the matter.

First, “What is Transformational Education?”

Transformational education is bringing Jesus to students in an academic setting where we use education to build relational bridges strong enough to bear the weight of Truth, which is Christ-Centered and sees the students as unique individuals created in the image of God. This means that everything looks different. Discipline and teaching look different.  Classroom culture looks different. It is not easy. This type of education is done through the love of God-called teachers, and it challenges motives of both teachers and students.

 

Transformational education has many parts but at its essence is a relationship that moves students closer to fulfilling how God designed them. It is equipping the student through information, building skills, encouragement, challenges, reflection, and other experiences where a teacher/friend comes alongside to grow the student and feed each one’s spirit while educating the mind. This serves not only to improve that student’s life, but also to impact the greater culture.

Picture2It is education that helps each student grow to be the best he or she can be, developing the gifts and abilities that God has given them. This is a calling of transformation that takes place in natural ways until Jesus is invited into the person’s life and transformation with a capital “T” takes place. This ultimate transformation finds its fulfillment in a transformed life in Christ that changes lives from the inside out.

 

And, the second question: “What do we do to create Transformational Education?”

We approached the second question with the idea that we needed to move beyond the theoretical realm into the realm of the practical. So we tried to think of what we could do in our classrooms the next day to help bring about transformational education.

 

To bring about Transformation with a capital T, we do a lot less than we think. The Holy Spirit is the one doing the transformation so we should follow His lead, working prayerfully and humbly under His guidance. We have to start by ourselves being transformed which allows us to love students well as we guide them to truth in all areas and point them to Jesus as Creator, sustainer, redeemer, and life giver. This begins with prayer. Then it overflows in tangible ways that we can implement that can then open a door for the Holy Spirit to do His work.

 

We need to show that we care more about who students are than what they can do. We do this by speaking openly and honestly with students, loving them like Christ does, even when they are not particularly likeable. We treat students with dignity, even when they are slower or disobedient. We embody love, joy and humility when we enter our classrooms, and find ways to serve our students—not just as learners but as people—living out and expressing the hidden lessons of who God is through our actions of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. We live above reproach in a culturally relevant manner.

 

As we plan our lessons we have a higher purpose in mind, one that transcends our daily Picture3objectives and reminds students of the bigger picture. We work hard to create a great—and safe—environment for students to learn. We teach from a biblical worldview and encourage our students in new ways of thinking. We prepare ourselves by studying God’s word and His world, seeking to see and understand His presence in all aspects of creation (and by extension in all we teach). We let conversations with students become a priority and not an interruption.

 

Above all, we invite the Holy Spirit to show us where He is at work already in the lives of our students, our colleagues, and our subject matter. We listen to and respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit in our classes and interactions and direct students, teachers, and parents to God in a way that wouldn’t happen if we weren’t here.  We do our best to include opportunities to introduce Him when appropriate (music or Scripture on agenda, keychain, etc.). And we have faith that He can do the impossible.

 

What do you think? Would these principles and practices of transformational education work in your cultural context?

A Team in Southeast Asia 
Edited by: Becky Hunsberger
Teacher Education Services
TeachBeyond Global

Photo Credits: All the photos in this week’s OnPractice are taken from different TeachBeyond owned or partner schools around the world

Expectations Matter

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3892422834_e4eb787ce8_z“What is the matter with you? I’ve explained this three different ways. Why are you still having trouble getting it? Maybe maths just isn’t for you,” my teacher exhaled exasperatedly as I sat, head in hands, attempting to understand a basic trig lesson. It has been about seventeen years, and I still remember the sting of his words, and how, after being an A student until that point, I gave up on maths because I was just too stupid to comprehend what everybody else seemed to understand.

Then there was my seventh grade science teacher who absolutely loved science and made all of us love it too. He made complicated topics seem simple and made us feel like mistakes were just part of the fun. Tests were never stressful as we’d come to believe we were capable of learning and comprehending every aspect of his class. He never raised his voice in anger; he never sighed in annoyance at having to reteach a lesson; he never rolled his eyes at a wrong answer. What he did, instead, was expect that every kid that walked into his classroom was capable of being successful, and he did everything in his power to make that a reality. It has been over twenty years, but I will never forget how he made me feel powerful and capable of just about anything.

Proverbs 18:21a says, “The tongue has the power of life and death.” What we say (and do) as teachers matters. If we believe that a child can be successful and express that in our words and actions, a child is likely to believe us. The opposite is true as well. When we roll our eyes at a child’s mistakes, sigh impatiently, or refuse to reteach the material a new or different way “because I’ve already taught it more times than I wanted to,” the child in front of us might just hear, “You’re not worth my time. You’re never going to understand this material anyway. Just give up.”

Expectations matter. Our attitudes matter. Teaching is exhausting. There is always more to do than you have time for. But we have to remember that what we say and do can change a child’s life for better…or worse.

I work at a school for students with autism, most of whom are with us because they have been unsuccessful in other programmes within their home district. They come to us because they have violent outbursts, modesty issues, or a variety of other concerns that cause them great difficult within a traditional learning environment. They have been shuttled from one teacher to another, from one school to another. They’ve been told that they’re bad, too hard to manage, and just not worth the effort. They carry themselves in a way that says, “You’re not going to like me either.”

On my first day in this job, a little boy bit me on the back of my arm, kicked my shins, pinched my breasts, and threw a table in my general direction. I sobbed to my husband that there was no way that I could make an impact in this child’s life, especially after what I’d heard about him. He’d been at this school for several years and “No one could manage or control him. It was just too hard.”

My husband reminded me of two principles that I’d always clung to as a teacher: your expectations for the student matter, and it’s important that he knows you’ll like him no matter how bad he is.  My teaching assistant and I decided that we would choose grace and mercy for this child every single day, no matter what his behaviour. We would praise him for his positive choices, correct him when he chose poorly, and continue to like him through it all. We spent months managing this student’s aggression, teaching him to communicate through signs or visual aids, and showing him that no matter how “bad” he was, neither of us was going anywhere. After about fourteen months, this boy began sitting in a chair, doing work independently, communicating in his limited fashion, refraining from aggression, laughing, and showing his true potential to learn. Our behaviour specialist asked him why he was suddenly successful in our classroom and his response was pretty simple: “They like me.”

Expectations matter. They matter for students like me, an A student struggling in trigonometry; they matter for students with extreme learning challenges, students that people have seemingly discarded because “they’re just too difficult.”

When we behave like Jesus in our classrooms—picking our students up when they fall, choosing grace over exasperated eye-rolling, loving them when they just aren’t likeable, and believing that they are more capable than they think they are (especially with our help)—our children3892422834_e4eb787ce8_m thrive, no matter what other challenges they face. When we choose love, grace, and high expectations, we are choosing life for our students. That’s what transformational education is really about.

Andrea Davis
Special Education Teacher
TeachBeyond Associate

Photo Credits: Discouraged Student. and.e. Flickr via Compfight cc. Tantrum. larkin.family Flickr via Compfight cc

Hands on Maths

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“Struggling in mathematics is not the enemy, any more than sweating is the enemy in basketball; it is part of the process, and a clear sign of being in the game.”—Suzanne Sutton
This quote has hung in my classroom for six years, defining how I approach teaching mathematics. Maths—and every other subject—should be accessible to every learner, and facilitated by a master learner. I’m a teacher, but above all I’m a learner who embraces struggle and creates opportunities for students to positively wrestle with problem solving by providing learners a context and reason for learning. In my classroom we focus on defining, modelling, and applying mathematics. These are skills necessary in maths, but they can be translated across disciplines.
Winston Mills-Compton teaches a class in mathematics at the Mfantsipim Boys School in Cape Coast, Ghana, June 20, 2006. Mfantsipim is one of the oldest schools in Cape Coast, a town that prides itself as the academic center of the country. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is one of the school's alumni. (Photo by Jonathan Ernst)

Defining: Students at any level need to have a way to connect learning to background knowledge. Defining mathematical terms in light of a familiar context is one way to do this. In a classroom setting, I use bell work to elicit memory from yesterday’s material or their long-lost basic algebra days. In addition, I connect material to situations within the parameters of my students’ world (i.e., Intro to Algebra and basic financial literacy with addition and subtraction; Geometry with house design; Algebra 2 with modelling business projections using systems of equations). It is also effective to define terms by what they are not, and to discuss the biconditional nature[1] of definitions within mathematics. The more specific we can be in defining terms and notation, the more articulate the maths conversation can be. In the last year, I have connected maths concepts to grocery shopping, Minecraft, video game programming, theme parks, art, sports, cooking, engineering, and physics. Get creative and collaborate with your students and colleagues to find connections that work for your students.

Modelling: Design it. Draw it. Build it. These are the mantras I live by in the classroom. No matter how old your students, these ideals facilitate learning for all modalities and encourage student problem solving. My classes design mathematics in groups as we collaborate and research possibilities. We draw maths situations with crayons, coloured pencils, graph paper, compasses, protractors, and graphing calculators. Remember the phrase, “If you build it, they will come”? Picture1

We build maths with Lego, manipulatives, Wikki Stix, string, toothpicks, and recyclables. There is absolutely a place for technology, but it should never be a replacement for student-teacher interaction and conversations about mathematics[2].
 

Applying: Modelling is the first step in applying. The visual shows the application; however, I never exit a unit without connecting it to past units and previewing what is next. Part of application is explaining how the puzzle pieces of our learning fit together. We call it the “story of maths.” In this story, we must understand positive and negative numbers before we can understand balancing equations. We must understand linear functions before we can understand parabolic functions. Project-based learning is ideal for this type of application, but it can be challenging given school parameters. I advocate for mini-projects and consistently require written components that allow students to articulate maths in words. After all, the ultimate goal is for students to be maths literate and able to construct arguments and critique the reasoning of others. As an added bonus, this type of application addresses the standards for mathematical practice dictated by the NCTM.[3]

Just try it! Don’t be afraid to challenge your own classroom norms. As I change schools this year, I am feeling like a new teacher all over again, and developing a fresh perspective on my methods right along with you! I am embarking on the adventure of flipping my classroom with video lectures/notes at home to allow for more guided application in my classroom. In order to make sense of mathematics it is my goal to provide learners with different entry points to the curriculum by clearly defining, actively modeling, and articulately applying concepts into the larger “story of maths.”

Alaina Shelton
Associate Consultant—Mathematics
TeachBeyond

[1] Biconditional definition is where both the conditional and the converse are true: Example-Definition of parallel. Conditional: If two lines are parallel, then the lines have the same slope. Converse: If two lines have the same slope, then the lines are parallel. Biconditional: Two lines are parallel if and only if both lines have the same slope.

[2]Resources: http://illuminations.nctm.org; https://www.ted.com/talks/tom_wujec_build_a_tower—best team building exercise I’ve ever done!; https://www.teachengineering.org

[3] National Council of Teachers of Mathematics whose standards correlate with both the Common Core State Standards (US) and Canadian Mathematics Curricula (Ontario Curriculum, Quebec Curriculum, and WNCP-based curricula). See here for a chart outlining the correlation of these standards.

Photo Credits: Algebra. World Bank Photo Collection Flickr via Compfight cc, Angles. Alaina Shelton.
Alaina Shelton is a Kansas maths teacher and TeachBeyond associate member who has 6 years’ experience specialising in Algebra 2 and below. She’s most passionate about Geometry and designing hands-on curriculum. This school year, she is reinventing her craft by digging deep into blended learning and the flipped classroom model. If you have questions for Alaina, you can find her on the TeachBeyond Consultant Board.

Mark your calendars:
Starting January 2018 the K-12 School Leadership Program is back, and will be offered completely on-line—and registration is now open!

You’ll have your choice of two tracks—practical school leadership (January through April) or intercultural school leadership (August through December)—or you can enroll in both. Registration is open now.

To find out more about the program or to register visit the K-12 Leadership web page.

Love for Others, God’s Way.

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Susan was distracted all morning. Not her normal self, she couldn’t seem to start working and played with her crayons during directions. She talked to her neighbour during work time. Mrs. Jenkins corrected Susan a little, but mostly watched and let it go as just an odd day for Susan.

At lunch, Mrs. Jenkins had her first break, fifteen minutes to eat quietly. She took her first bite when someone stood at the corner of her desk. It was Susan.

“Mrs. Jenkins, could you help me? I don’t know how to do our work from this morning and I don’t want to take it home.”

“If you had paid attention, it wouldn’t be a problem.” That is what Mrs. Jenkins thought as she laid down her sandwich. Instead, she looked in Susan’s eyes and said, “Yes. Let’s see what we can do.”

32932339950_7d0969d68b_qWhen she finished, her break was gone. But, Susan was set.

This is love, God’s way. It is about what is best for someone else. It is about giving yourself, a sacrifice of some sort. It is about the thousands of moments and times teachers show God’s love by remembering His greatest gift to us and how much we don’t deserve it. And, then doing the same for a child.

Love, God’s way, is powerful. It breaks down barriers in lives and cultures and countries. Nothing can stop it as it seeps into hearts that are hungry for someone to care unconditionally, with nothing expected in return. It is radical in a world based on transaction. It is free. But, it requires sacrifice.

The life you give away is yours. While you may not physically die, your gift of your life for the sake of children demonstrates love, God’s way.

Whether rich or poor,36502702275_3c3194c158_m Christian or not, everyone craves this love. “Good” kids need to know that this love can’t be earned; it is not bought with good behaviour. Messy kids need to know someone is on their side, even though that love is expressed through caring discipline. God’s love differentiates according to need and changes lives.

As one of TeachBeyond’s core values, “love for others” brings purpose and power to what we do. It guides our words and choices both in the classroom and outside of it. It aligns our daily work with God, minute-by-minute, for any situation or place. Love is our method and our message. It is the goal of our instruction.[1] John tells us that it is how people know we are Jesus’ followers.[2]

This agapao type of love is not soft and sweet, although it can be. This love is not the world’s “love” that thinks first of hugs or chocolate or sex. God’s love is the sort that often acts in spite of the other person, not because of him or her. When God loved the world enough to give His only Son, it was not because He liked our sinful, messy, and rebellious world. This love takes strength and courage. It is not for the timid.[3]
Love, God’s way, has much more to do with choice and action than feeling, although often the feeling follows. This love shows itself in hugs and encouragement as well as discipline and demands. It acts in a way that is best for the other. It is hard work and empties us of self.

Last week, I sat with a team of TeachBeyond teachers in a sensitive country as they discussed Transformational Education. They are immersed in a world that strips away the easy answers. Each one of these experienced teachers talked about love as central to their job in the classroom.

And, they also understood that the only way to love like this is to first be loved by God and transformed by Him, to let the Holy Spirt make them different and empower them.

The beginning of love for others is to know and feel that you are loved. To meet God often enough to begin to understand the incomprehensible and overwhelming love He has for each of us. “We love, because He first loved us.”[4]

As Paul reminds us in Ephesians, may each of us “know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God” and that we may see Him “do far more abundantly beyond all the we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.”[5] God makes loving others possible.

This is good news indeed. And students like Susan are counting on it.

Joe N., Th.M.
Elementary School Principal
Asia

[1] 1 Timothy 1:5

[2] John 13:35

[3] 2 Timothy 1:7

[4] 1 John 4:19

[5] Ephesians 3:19-20

 

Photo Credits: Teacher & Students. Global Partnership for Education – GPE Flickr via Compfight cc Veddah girl. Allesandro Pucci. via Wikimedia Commons. cc. Art Project. All32932339950_7d0969d68b_q4Ed Flickr via Compfight cc

Joe has served in Christian school leadership in three schools  over a span of 32 years, spending 14 of those as a headmaster and the rest as a principal. Additionally, Joe has been a speaker, writer, and consultant for Christian schools. He is now serving with TeachBeyond as an elementary principal in Asia.

Transformational Perspectives: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa

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This issue of OnPractice is taking a slightly different format than normal as we hear from one of our school leaders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Heritier Fima will share with us his perspective on what Transformational Education looks like. A complete transcript (in English) can be found after the video.

I want to say a big hello to you. My name is Heritier Fima, and I am the administrator (Head) here at the Fateb Kinshasa Academy. We’re very happy to be partners with TeachBeyond who really has at their centre a vision to transform and use education as a means to transform children’s lives.

Kinshasa is a big city with a lot of people and a lot of schools. There are things that are particular to our school. Most schools in this area teach subjects like science, maths, and even Bible, but it’s hard to really find what makes that school different. And do we see a difference? So a lot of these schools really struggle with integrating their faith in the daily lessons in a very practical way–in how we prepare and what we teach. That is a struggle in most of the schools in our area here in Kinshasa.

This is what makes the Fateb Kinshasa Academy hopefully different from other schools. We believe that we can integrate God’s Word and God’s values, even at a very young age (3, 4,and 5 year olds) and that’s what makes a difference.

So [a] Christian worldview is really what we are talking about. We believe that it’s not only in the classrooms with these young children, but we also want to integrate it with our administration, the people working for our safety, [and with those] who cook and clean. So it’s at all different levels that Christian values and worldviews should be integrated in all things in the school. So if we don’t live that, and reflect these values, how are our children going to learn these things?

In French there is an expression (and I’m not sure if the translation is going to work), the beautiful woman gives the best that she has.

We see a change in children who came and did not know about or even think about asking for forgiveness if they hurt their little classmate, and now we see changes in those things where they are living their values as well. We are having children memorise by heart and carry God’s Word in their hearts. Parents are surprised and so pleasantly pleased, they even sometimes think, is this school or a church? because of the way that their children are taking home things from the Bible. There is a change in their lives, and that we emphasise that here.

DRCAnd a little bit of advice I can give other schools who are maybe trying to implant this Christian worldview in their schools. Let’s be patient with the children we are trying to develop. As we teach these things, it takes time for these things to really implant. Those seeds need to take root in their hearts and to see them grow. Sometimes change happens fast, and sometimes other things take a long time and it is a slow development. Be patient with those children so that we can see and have faith. Be patient, and pray for these children, that we see a change and transformation in their lives. We need to surround them, love them, and walk beside them as they walk towards a future where they will also make an impact on others around them.

This is what we wanted to say with the things that are happening here at the Fateb Kinshasa Academy.

Heritier Fima
Administrator, FATEB Kinshasa Academy
TeachBeyond DRC

Translation: Tamera Peters, School Start-up Consultant
Transcription: Chelsea VanBuskirk, School Services
Photo Credit: FATEB Kinshasa Academy

Transformational Perspectives: Scriptural Underpinnings of Transformational Education with a Christian Worldview

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For the Christian educator, be that person a teacher or leader, the primary goal of teaching and learning is to present everyone mature in Christ[1]. Christian education fosters maturity in Christ, preparing students for both life beyond school and eternity, for honouring and glorifying God.

christian-cross-clipart

The first Scriptural underpinning for this is the Great Commission. In Matthew 28:16-19, Jesus states “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. The global perspective that Christian education should hold is clear; all nations and all cultures are to be baptized and made disciples. Thus an understanding of how the world works, and how people, cultures and nations interact with each other, is important if the goal of Christian education, the presentation of everyone mature in Christ, is to be realized.

One way such a goal is realized through teaching everyone with all wisdom. This means that all learners receive a quality teaching and learning experience. Christian learners are prepared to impact their world for Christ and non-Christian learners are shown a meaningful faith that possesses at its core an intellectual credibility applicable to the wider world.

Thus, the learner is the focus of Christian education. Each learner is considered unique as he or she is made by God[2]. Learners are also acknowledged to be complex, entering the classroom at different stages in their learning, with different experiences, and different levels of knowledge or skills. Christian educators recognise the complexity in all learners and that they are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance[3]. Thus, Christian education is something that helps learners mature by unwrapping their God-given gifts so that they can find their place in service of others and have an impact on the world for Christ.

labBFA

In the closing remarks of his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul exhorts Christians to strive for excellence[4]. His point is made on an understanding of human nature. To dwell on matters not conducive to a healthy mindset adversely affects thought, character and action. It stunts maturity in Christ. For the Christian learner, Philippians 4:8 makes a clear call to excellence as the standard for living a Christian life. For the non-Christian learner, the call for excellence in all things deflects criticism that in some way, shape or form, Christian education is not good enough, that it is in some manner deficient or irrelevant.

Additionally, Paul reminds us that we are called to be Christ’s ambassadors[5]. Such a description is no small thing, for an ambassador is someone who represents the interests of his or her nation in a foreign country, someone who is completely knowledgeable about whom they represent and their worldview. In the context of Christian education the directive from 2 Corinthians 5:20 calls schools to be prepared to represent God and His message faithfully and accurately in all that they do. Christians will attract the attention of those around them and so it is therefore critical that Christians act in the same manner as an envoy or representative. Teaching and learning programs must engage in the wider world knowledgably and with certainty about that message.

Education is therefore a life-long process[6]. It focuses on the intellectual, personal, emotional and social growth of the individual through all domains of knowledge[7]. Education prepares learners for a life of active, responsible citizenship with both a local and international outlook[8]. It instills in them a passion for lifelong learning, inspires them to excel academically, to work towards intellectual and emotional maturity and to ensure they are prepared for the world beyond the classroom[9]. Through Christian education, learners develop a deep subject expertise alongside the ability to engage with a diverse range of people, embrace both traditional and innovative thinking, and be able to bridge cultural boundaries genuinely. This is what we should strive after as we seek to develop learners who will be presented mature in Christ. This is transformational education.
BFA
Timothy Scott, Ph.D. 
Director of Student Learning and Head Principal
Black Forest Academy, Germany

[1] Colossians 1:28

[2] Genesis 1:26-28; Psalm 139:14

[3] Ephesians 2:10

[4] Philippians 4:8

[5] 2 Corinthians 5:20

[6] 1 Timothy 4:13

[7] Proverbs 1-4; Romans 12:2

[8] 1 Timothy 2:2-8

[9] Philippians 4:8

Photo Credits: Great Commission. Christian Cross Clipart. Lab II. BFA.TeachBeyond.

Timothy Scott is the Director of Student Learning and Head Principal at Black Forest Academy (BFA) in Germany, where he leads the school’s academic program operating across three campuses and is involved in curriculum management and development, and student pastoral care. Additionally, Tim manages the partnership between BFA and several German Christian schools. He has a passion for teaching ancient history, historiography and philosophies of history, holding a PhD in the subject. Tim has 20 years of experience in education, having taught and held leadership positions in several large independent schools in Sydney, Australia.

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