There is No Neutrality – True Education primarily is a relationship-driven activity Richard Edlin comments: The reflections below from Scot McKnight (prof of NT at Northern Seminary, Lombard, IL) echo the focus that Jamie Smith, Benson Kamary, Roy Atwood, Doug Wilson, myself, and many others put on the key dynamic that education is not primarily the transfer of information. It … Read More
A Look Back…
The following speech was given during Homecoming Week at Unity Christian High School in Orange City, Iowa on January 19 of this year. It was given by my father, Marion Van Soelen, who served as Unity’s principal from 1970-1977 (and a servant in Christian education for 50 years). Clearly, I am pretty biased when it comes to the content, but … Read More
Christian Education and the City: Leaders, Givers, and Planters
We began this series by giving cultural, missiological, and visceral reasons why engaging the city is essential for the future of K-12 Christian schooling. Why have we chosen to highlight the city in particular? While most American cities have been growing steadily over the last twenty years, Christian schools in the city have been disappearing, and fast. Between 1990 and … Read More
A Letter to my Daughter on her Graduation from Christian High School
Dear Katie, Graduation Day at last! Congratulations! Bravo! Well done! Hurrah! I’m so filled with love and pride right now I’m about to burst. Many times I’ve come into your room late at night and found you toiling over algebraic equations, or struggling to plumb the depths of Dostoyevsky, or trying to think clearly and Christianly about the big questions of life. I … Read More
Welcoming Disability in Christian Schools
Recently I was talking with an administrator who has long been supportive of inclusive Christian education for students with disabilities, and he reflected on the attitude of parents of students with special needs. “Every time they come, it’s a question of ‘won’t you please include my child?’ Why is that? Their child belongs here; we are incomplete without students with … Read More
Praying to Live by Faith
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. (Hebrews 11:1-2) Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race … Read More
Education, Micro-aggression, Viewpoint Diversity, and the Tolerance Mirage of Rampant Secularism
One consequence of the contemporary postmodern ideology that there is no truth beyond each individual’s concept of it, is the increasingly desperate attempt on college campuses to eradicate any evaluative reflection concerning one tribe or person’s truth by any other tribe or person. This has led to the apparent evil of “micro-aggressions”, or what Lukianoff and Haidt describe in their … Read More
Praying for Jesus’ Rest
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29) Jesus is offering us a blessed trade: we give him our weariness and our burdens and he … Read More
What Does It Really Mean to Graduate from _________ Christian School?
An interesting piece in the New York Times prompted me to think about this question. The title of the editorial was As Graduations Rates Rise, Experts Feel Diplomas Come Up Short. I am guessing this editorial was a response to the Education Department’s release, noting that high school graduation rates were up a percent from the previous year (82%) and … Read More
Bright Promise Fund and Chicago: An Innovative Approach to Fundraising in the City
In an introductory entry for CACE on the topic of Christian schooling in the city, Dan Olson highlighted the cultural, missiological and visceral reasons why urban Christian education will continue to grow in importance. His piece presents the foundational reasons why cities need Christian education. This entry in the discussion focuses on the issue of affordability and sustainability in urban … Read More
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