Yes, 2 plus 2 still equals four, even at a Christian school.  See the column below ...

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Spirituality Column #858

April 25, 2023

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

 

Creative License, Part 2    By Bob Walters

“How do they do math at a Christian school?” – honest fifth-grade query on a public school bus

Thus was one thoughtful response after I told my fifth-through-eighth grade riders of my pending retirement after 11 years driving an HSE school bus.

My answer? “Just like they teach math everywhere else.”

In last week’s column I buried the lede down near the bottom, sharing that I’m retiring off the school bus and shifting gears into a change-up career teaching high school at Mission Christian Academy here in Fishers, Indiana.  In August this year, I’ll be full time at MCA teaching economics, government, U.S. history, world history, and as of right now, one section of sixth-grade English.

For you teachers out there keeping track … yeah, five preps.  The good news is that MCA meets only Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday, then heavy student homework for Friday and Monday.  This “hybrid” school model, growing in popularity, is an olio of home schooling (flexibility and truth), regular school (teachers and classmates), and home-school co-ops (group efforts for art, music, performance, sports, etc.).

This affords, as I said last week, a spiritually rich education that needn’t duck the reality of God, the truth of Jesus, or the authority of the Bible.  Nor is it shackled by the zeitgeist (spirit of the age) of cancel culture, critical race theory, gender fluidity, or forced equity dynamics, all of which rob young minds of their courage, creativity, aspiration, and uniqueness. “Do not love the world” (John 2:15) has never been better advice.

We are all equal before God, and we are all uniquely created by God.  In MCA’s case we actually mean it and teach it in the unblinking context of the entirety of reality and truth.  We do not edit-out the actual capital-G God; this isn’t half an education.  We encourage rather than mock a life of Christian love, service, and grace fully engaged in the rough and tumble of the marketplace, professions, community, culture, and evermore-unhinged societal enforcement of unworkable, spirit-killing victim chic.

Anyway, the question about math was my favorite.  Kids in their early teens don’t question why you are crazy enough to take on a new challenge like this when sneaking up on 70 years old.  Kids just want to know how stuff works, and “Christian school” to this wonderful young fifth grader sounded like full time Sunday school even if, unlike growing up 60 years ago, a lot of kids today don’t know what “Sunday school” is.

While finishing out the current school year on the bus, I’m teaching two mid-day classes: high school economics and 7^th grade U.S. history.    

In encouraging my juniors and seniors to take seriously the challenge of reading difficult material (e.g., economics) and being patient for understanding to come, I asserted that no matter their future academic goals, a Christian life is going to be filled with ongoing Bible studies and reading. They mustn’t shy away from the hard stuff; scripture and robust study enrich the Christian heart.  “Train your mind” (2 Cor 10:9).

A Christian’s best weapon against the wiles of the fallen world is a courageous and well-developed mind that beholds opportunities, discerns truth, and marches in peace and grace ever-closer to God’s heart.  All kids deserve the best possible start.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) “clearly doesn’t understand this retirement thing” said high school friend Carla Anderson, chairman of last summer’s 50^th class reunion. BTW, see “about us” at the school’s website MissionChristianAcademy.com; both Pam’s and Bob’s bios are in there. (Psst … if you missed it last week, Bob’s wife Pam is MCA’s HS English teacher.)