An Educational Philosophy Rooted in T.R.U.T.H.

T.

Teach children that each subject reveals a certain aspect of God’s nature. We will model a love for learning with an excitement for God’s word and God’s world—in both academic and non-academic forums. Children have a beautiful, built-in thirst for learning, and education should only facilitate its growth and satisfy a portion of its desire. Children should be shown that learning is happening all the time, through all parts of their day, so that they recognize that school is only one form of a lifetime of exploration. In addition, we will provide a creative, hands-on approach and give students the opportunity to thoroughly participate in and enjoy the learning process.

R.

Recognize and encourage children’s gifts. Every child is gifted in certain areas, and we believe that one of the main focuses of education should be to find those gifts and facilitate their development by providing the proper encouragement, guidance, and resources. We will also celebrate the fact that each student is fearfully and wonderfully made for a specific purpose that glorifies God, honors people, and allows them to truly flourish in becoming all that God created them to be. Celebrating each child as an individual, made uniquely and purposefully by God, allows them to realize that while we may all learn and grow at different rates, what really matters is to keep moving onward.

U.

Unearth a desire to learn and grow in all areas of life. Our desire is to foster a well-rounded approach, teaching children that intellectual abilities and growth are only one piece of the larger puzzle of humanity. In this sense, while academics will certainly be a main focus, our desire is to also cultivate a strong work ethic through discipline and self-control, an understanding of our physical capabilities and gifts, biblical wisdom and application, recognizing and channeling emotions healthily, and tools for thriving in the world at large.

T.

Teach for understanding. We believe that students need a healthy balance between information acquisition and topical understanding. Rather than teach to the next exam, we want to make information relevant, age-appropriate, and interesting. We want to see children love to learn and soak up exciting topics, rather than be concerned merely with terms and dates that are memorized and then forgotten shortly thereafter. We will teach children that all subjects relate to one another since they all came from one source-a God of order, which will heighten understanding of the material as we integrate subjects at key intersecting points.

H.

Hearten children’s effort in all circumstances. While gifts will be recognized and encouraged, areas of struggle will be viewed as opportunities, and effort will be the link connecting both strengths and weaknesses. It is very important that we not only help children to flourish and grow in their gifts, but also to learn through making mistakes, working hard, and persevering through challenges. Mistakes will be seen as opportunities for learning and growth. Effort will be greatly encouraged—more so than outcome. Perseverance, in addition to success, will be praised. Questions will be rewarded with excitement and exploration. Our goal will be to emphasize both strengths and challenges and the benefits of both for the growth they produce. We will teach students the importance of self-discipline and the reward of accomplishing tasks that may be more difficult. When we can learn from both struggles and strengths, we are truly victorious in all our endeavors.