Institute
of Christian Teaching
Education
Department of the Seventh-day Adventists
THE
CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION SYLLABI FOR
SECONDARY SCHOOLS: AN ADVENTIST
ASSESSMENT AND A PROPOSAL
By
Yona
Balyage
Chairman,
Department of Education
Bugema
University
Kampala,
Uganda
352-98
Institute for Christian Teaching
12501
Old Columbia Pike
Silver
Spring, MD 20904 USA
Prepared
for the 23rd Faith and Learning Seminar
Held
at the University of Eastern Africa -
Baraton, Kenya
November
22 - December 4, 1998
Introduction
This paper presents a contemporary issue in the teaching of Christian
Religious Education in secondary schools in some African Countries especially
in Uganda and Kenya. It shows the
origins and development of the syllabi used.
Their implications on the learner's faith in the Bible. It also seeks to show the way these syllabi
endeavor to undo some denominational philosophies and promote others. The paper goes farther by proposing ways
through which the Seventh-day Adventist Church could preserve their philosophy
of Bible teaching in Secondary School without necessarily avoiding writing
government examinations in Religious Education.
Current Secondary School
Syllabi in Religious Education
The secondary school syllabi
for Christian Religious Education in some African and Asian countries are said
to have been conceptualized by Saint Ignatius Loyola the founder of the Jesuit
Order of the Roman Catholic Church, and were later on put into practice by the
Department of Education of the World Council of Churches (Girault, 1990:30) to
work as a bridge across denominations for Christian unity (Chaube, 1990/91:71,72 and Semlyen
199:3139).
According to Dian and Van
Diepen, (1972: X) the influence of the
World Council of Churches (Ecumenical Movement) first entered in the East
African Secondary schools in 1968 when a joint education panel for Catholic and
Protestant schools and colleges was formed to formulate a transitional
Religious Education syllabus, that could secure freedom of worship as contained
in the Kenya Education act of 1967. This syllabus, which was based on St.
Luke's Gospel, was first introduced in Kenya in 1972 and Uganda in 1974 under
the East African Examinations Council.
It was commonly known as 224
Religious Education.
In 1974 an alternative to
the Biblical syllabus 224 was launched.
This was syllabus 223 Religious
Education also known as Christian
Living Today. It was based on
socio-anthropology. Similar syllabi
were introduced in various countries of Africa and Asia. In some countries the ideas reflected in
these syllabi were incorporated in a course entitled Values Education. In some countries values education has been
introduced in colleges and universities as a degree course.
In the twenty-five years of the
administration of Christian Religious Education syllabus several schools have
shifted from 224, which is based on the Bible to syllabus 223 which is
socio-anthropological oriented. The
reason for the shift was that the syllabus is easily taught, understood and
passed with better grades than its counterpart 224, which requires a strenuous
Bible reading. Time may come when this
syllabus will remain the only option since the number of schools registering
for 224 is on the decline. In Uganda there are very few Protestant founded
schools still teaching syllabus 224, and no school, which does not offer
syllabus 223 to a group of students for one reason or the other. Moreover the teaching of syllabus 223 poses
a threat to the Protestant Philosophy of Education in general and the
Seventh-day Adventist philosophy of Education in particular by putting less
emphasis on Bible reading.
PHILOSOPHY AND EDUCATION
For any school program to
operate there must be a philosophical screen, which suggests educational goals,
and objectives against which its beliefs and values are validated (Palma,
1968:38). This philosophical outlook
becomes the basis of curricula planning which according to Palma (1968:30) and Glickman
(1985: 307) determines the content of instruction that is intentionally taught
to students in a school setting. It
also determines the selection and hiring of the teaching personnel, the
purchase of text and library books and other instructional materials. It is upon such a philosophical outlook that
the total discipline of the educational program is analyzed and evaluated
(Balyage, 1998).
Butler (1968:13) and Knight
(1980:14-36) discuss three main problems that determine the content of
philosophy: metaphysics, epistemology and axiology:
1. Metaphysics is the study of questions concerning the nature of
reality. It seeks to ask and give
answers to such questions as 'what is reality beyond reality?' What lies beyond what we see, hear, touch
and taste? Is what we see real or a manifestation of reality? What is the nature of that Ultimate reality?
2. Epistemology is the study of questions about truth and
knowledge. It also encompasses the area
of ontology, which deals with how truth and knowledge come to be known. The study deals with such questions as what
is truth? How do we come to know it?
How can we know the Ultimate reality?
This question of knowledge is the most important factor in the study of
philosophy. It is what philosophers,
educators, theologians, and clergymen always seek to explore. The Bible also seems to support this idea by
stating that people are destroyed because they either lack or reject knowledge
(Hosea 4:6).
3. Axiology is the study of questions about value and beauty. Philosophers ask themselves such questions as
what is of value? Of what value is
the knowledge of the Ultimate reality?
Does that knowledge of truth have any beauty? What beauty are we looking for?
Adventist Philosophy of
Education
As a Church, Seventh-day
Adventists base their philosophy on the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. It is on the basis of these that they give
answers to the study of the questions on the content of philosophy as follows:
1. Metaphysics - Adventists believe that God is the Ultimate
reality. He is the first cause of every thing in existence. He created heaven and earth and all that are
within. Also His impress is seen upon
all created things. His hand guides the
planets as they revolve around their orbits.
He sustains the unnumbered worlds in the universe and guides all lives
(Nehemiah 9:6; and White, 1952:99).
2. Epistemology - "The science of salvation, the science of
godliness, the knowledge of which has been revealed from eternity..."
(White, 1943:14) is the very knowledge that God desires the youth to
acquire. This knowledge can be
obtained by "...diligent study of the scriptures..." (Ibid., 11) and
"...enlarge the narrow confines of human scholarship, and present before
the mind a far deeper knowledge to be obtained through a vital connection with
God..." (Ibid., 13). The Bible
contains all principles that men need to understand in order to be fitted
either for this life or for the life to come or both (White, 1952:123).
3. Axiology - True education prepares its candidates for the joy
of service in this world and for the higher joy of service in the world to come
(White, 1952:13). This type of
education seeks to meet the greatest need the world is after. According to (White (1952:57) the world is
in need of people who will not be bought or sold; who are true and honest,
those who can call sin by its right name, those who are as true to duty as a
needle to the pole and those who are ready to stand for the right though the
heavens fall. It is such type of values
that the Adventist system of education is endeavoring to inculcate in its
students.
It is upon these
philosophical premises that the Adventists look at education as a process of
redemption (White, 1952:30) which gives students a hope of salvation, restoring
in them the image of God, bringing them back to the perfection in which they
were created and promoting the development of their body, mind and soul (Ibid,
15,16). This philosophy of Education is
based on the fear of God and giving glory to Him, and worshiping Him who
created the heaven and the earth
(Revelation 14:5,6).
Under this philosophical
thought, the teacher is seen as a co-worker with Jesus Christ and a laborer
together with God (White, 1952:30) in the process of restoring the lost image
of God in man. The teacher is also a
representative of God (White, 1952:287,288) to his/her students. The learner is looked at as a son of God
(Ibid.,29,79), the purchase of the
blood of Jesus Christ and a young
member of the divine family (White, 1968: 91). One with an intellect
that needs to be directed through the process of self control (White, 1943:73).
The Philosophy of Ignatius
Loyola
One of the ideas of the
Roman Catholic Church is to control the educational system throughout the
world. This philosophical outlook was conceived in 1540 by Ignatius Loyala the
founder of the Jesuit Order (Chaube, 1990/91: 71 - 76). The plan of Loyola's educational thought was
finalized between 1586 and 1599 (Ibid. 71,72) soon after the Protestant
Reformation. Therefore it had to
negate the reformation and its impact on the Roman Church. It was in the light of this problem that
Ignatius Loyola came up with his educational master plan to help the Church. According to Chaube (73) "…the main purpose of the Catholic education
was to propagate the catholic faith..., to bring the Protestants back to their
fold... to promote the development of character according to Catholic ideals
and generate a feeling for propagation of Catholic religion and to strengthen
it further. .." Other methods the
Catholic Church used to counter the reformation were the Council of Trent, the creation of a systematic inquisition, and the creation of the Dominican order.
The Roman Church believes to be the only Church that is united as
Jesus wishes his people to be. It even
feels mandated to carry out a holy objective of reconciling "all
Christians in the unity of the one and only Church of Christ" (The Catechism of the Catholic Church,
1995:223).
Referring to the encyclic of
Pope Pius Xi on the education for the youth, and on the work of Loraine
Boettner, Semlyen (1993: 108, 109) explains that the Roman Catholic Church
believes to have been mandated to teach all nations through its educative
mission which extends to all the people without boundary. For this very reason it does not hesitate
to claim openly that education is a function of the Roman Catholic Church, even
in non-Catholic states, as it claims that both preaching and administration of
the sacraments are functions of the Roman Church, and not any other
denomination.
Pope John Paul II (1996:
215, 216) while talking about Christian unity quotes the Testament of Paul IV
about ecumenism drives the point home by saying "let the work of drawing
closer to our separated brethren be pursued with much understanding, with much
patience, with great love, but without
deviating from the true catholic doctrines." (Emphasis supplied).
The Philosophy of the World
Council of Churches (W.C.C.)
The philosophy of Ecumenical
movement is quite different from the orthodox doctrines of the founders of
Protestantism. Martin Luther, the
champion of Protestant reformation built his faith on doctrines whose precedent was salvation.
It was for this truth that the Protestant champion stood and confessed that
salvation is by grace alone (Sola Gratia),
it is received by faith alone (Sola
fides), and the scriptures alone (Sola
Scriptura) are the authority upon which mankind has to base the knowledge
of salvation, (Girault, 1993:102).
Contrary to Luther's
confession, one of the founding fathers of the World Council of Churches and
former Archbishop of York and the much-respected Archbishop of Canterbury,
William Temple, stressed a point, which was seen to be a condemnation of the
Protestant reformation. He observed the
sin of Protestant Churches to be Christian
zealousness. He said that Christian
zealousness makes one blind to supplemental truths, (Semlyen, 1993: 21,22).
Archbishop Nathan Soderblom
of Uppsala Lutheran Church made a similar statement in a congress of Life and Work Movement in Stockholm in
1925. He said that since doctrines
divide Christians, the ecumenical movement should seek to concentrate on
actions that unite, (Girault, 1990:25). At the Faith
and Order Congress of 1927 at Laussanne, Bishop Charles Brent appealed to
members of the different denominations who were trying to forge unity to avoid doctrines but to work together in
practical, educational, and social work in which everybody could cooperate
without any difficulty, (Ibid.). It
should therefore be understood that the foundation of ecumenism is neither the
word of God nor the church, but the sociological and philosophical ideas based
on the construction of society through common understanding, (Ratzinger
1988:115).
In 1990, Semlyen (20) quotes
Cardinal Hume as saying that we have to concentrate on what unites us - it is
so simple and yet so profound - we have to concentrate on our own humanity.
Based on the recommendations
of these churchmen the ecumenical movement has all along avoided anything
doctrinal for the sake of unity.
Throughout the eight general assemblies of the World Council of
Churches, the supporter of the movement has all along avoided discussing any
doctrinal issue for the sake of unity.
Discussions have been centered on common statements that do not call for
doctrinal commitment. This is
reflected in the themes of all the General Assemblies of the World Council of
Churches held since 1948 as follows, ( Girault, 1990:30):
1. Amsterdam (Netherlands) in 1948, whose
motto was Human disorders and God's plan.
2. Evanston, Illinois (USA) in 1954, whose motto was Christ, hope of the World.
3. New Delhi (India) in
1961, whose motto was Christ, light of
the World.
4. Uppsala (Sweden) in
1968 whose motto was Behold, I come to make all things new.
5. Nairobi (Kenya) in 1975 whose motto was In Christ free and united.
6. Vancouver (Canada) in 1983 whose motto was Jesus Christ, the way for the world.
7. Canberra (Australia) in 1991 whose motto was Come Holy Spirit, renew all creation.
8. Harare (Zimbabwe) in 1998 which discussed social issues
rather than doctrinal issues.
As it has been stated in
this paper above, there are two predominant syllabi for Christian Religious
Education, namely, 224 Religious Education (St. Luke's Gospel), and 223
Religious Education (Christian Living Today).
224 Religious Educations
This presents syllabus 224
Religious Education that is based on the Bible. This syllabus has five papers.
Paper one, centers around the book of St. Luke and its relevance to
Africa. It is compulsory for every student who registers for Syllabus 224. It discusses the life and teachings of Jesus
Christ and its application to modern African society.
Together with the book of
Luke, the candidate or the school has to choose any one of the four remaining
alternative papers.
1. Paper 2 - The Old Testament: (Selected Themes). This paper centers around the Biblical
accounts of Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Ahab, prophets - Elijah, Nathan,
Jeremiah and Micah.
2. Paper
3 - The Early Church: Its growth and expansion. This paper centers around the early church
from Pentecost to St. Augustine, A.D. 451 (UNEB, 1996:54). It includes the book of Acts of the
Apostles. It depicts the Roman Catholic
Church as the true Apostolic church whose leadership and ministry was passed on
from Jesus Christ to St. Peter and then to the Bishop of Rome who keeps on
passing it to his successors on the same Holy See.
3. Paper 4 - The Church in East Africa. It traces the history of the Christian missionaries
in various countries of Africa. Their
strengths and achievements and the role of the Christian Church in modern
African society
.4. Paper 5 - The African Religious Heritage
with special reference to East Africa.
This option centers around African Traditional religious beliefs and
practices before the coming of Christianity and Islam. It discusses such areas as creation myths,
African childhood, initiations, courting, work and leisure, the community,
death and after death, spirit and ancestors, and duty.
As it has been already
mentioned, this syllabus was a compromise alternative between Protestants and
Catholics. It has also served as a
bridge between these two Christian ideologies in order to prepare the society for
yet another alternative, namely 223.
Most of the diehard Protestants take papers 1 and 2 of 224, which are
Biblical.
As we analyze syllabus 224
we need to look at its positive aspects:
1. Papers 1 and 2 are Bible based. They discuss the life and teachings of Jesus Christ as presented
in the book of St. Luke, and God's search for humankind as presented in the Old
Testament. It also gives the practical
application of the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Old Testament experiences
to modern society.
2. Paper 3 is partly Biblical and partly historical with much
emphasis on the rise of the Roman Catholic Religion. The Biblical part is on the Acts of the Apostles. It seeks to link the Apostolic Church with the Roman
Catholic Church and thereafter the supremacy of Rome and the Papacy.
3. Paper 4 is purely historical. It emphases the coming of missionaries to Africa and the
development they brought with them in "civilizing" and Christianizing
Africa.
4. Paper 5 is centered around the African religious
heritage. It emphasizes the African
Religious Heritage before the coming of Europeans and Asians.
5. This syllabus gives some alternative papers for the school
authority to choose from. Two of its
papers are purely biblical in approach, and are most preferred by Protestant
oriented schools.
A Critique of Syllabus 224:
1. If the school authorities are not well informed they may
choose alternatives that will lead students away from the Bible.
2. The events of Church history and African Heritage are taken
to be God's revelations just as it is with the Biblical accounts.
3. The syllabi (most especially the book of St. Luke and the Old
Testament) are said to be hard for teenagers and teachers because they require
a lot of Bible reading and explaining a lot of stories from the Biblical
account. Most people in society find it
hard to keep on reading the Bible and reproducing the same stories.
4. Most students who take this alternative do not pass with distinctions and super credits, compared to those
taking alternative 223. The exam is
based on the Bible rather than the community.
This makes it harder to pass.
5. It requires a lot of study, and acquainting oneself with
scriptures.
223 Religious Education
This syllabus 223 Religious
Education is also known as Christian Living Today. It has only one paper in the final examination. Students are required to discuss a question
from each of the following five major areas:
1. Man
in a changing society.
This section explains
changes that take place in society. It
also explains changes that took place right from the time recorded in the Bible
to the present. It points at changes
that take place at work and in leisure. It describes the Sabbath day rest as a
leisure activity. It appeals to the
child to get ready to accept changes that are constantly emanating within the
society, (UNEB, 1996: 29 - 32; Christian Living Today, Bk. I, 4 - 79).
2. Order
and freedom in society
This area explains ways
through which man has been trying to help himself to bring about justice in
society, giving examples from both society and the Bible. It explains how man frees himself from
conflicting loyalties, (UNEB, 1996: 32 -35, Christian Living Today Bk. I, 80 -
145).
3. Life
This section discusses
avenues in modern society in African traditional society and in the Bible. It also explains the nature of unending life
as taught in modern society, African traditions, church history and the
Bible. It also presents a theme on
success (Christian Living Today, Bk. I, 4 - 51).
4. Man
and woman
This theme presents family
life as practiced in modern African society, African traditional society and
the Bible. It explains sex differences
and the person, the aspects of courtship and marriage (Christian Living Today,
52 - 86).
5. Man's Response to God
through Faith and Love.
This section discusses man's
quest for God, man's evasion of God and a Christian's involvement in the world,
(Christian Living Today, Bk. II, 87 - 130).
The following are the
factors in favor of Syllabus 223:
1. One has to take only one examination
paper answering 5 of 15.
2. Most of the students who take this
syllabus pass it with very high grades. Most of these grades fall in the
bracket of distinctions, and supper credits.
This makes it possible for Religious Education to be the best class passed
every year in most of the schools, and the teachers of the same are classified
as either best or outstanding.
3. It is easy to conceptualize, teach and
pass, because questions are not based on the Bible texts, they are based on
what is actually taking place in the current society. The Biblical portions inserted in the textbooks hardly appear in
the examination papers.
4. One does not need to read the Bible in
order to pass the examination in Religious Education, as long as he attends
church services and observes what happens in the society.
5. It is society based; therefore it is
people oriented. It discusses the
current situation in the African world, in comparison with the historical and
Biblical accounts.
6. One can easily pass examination without
attending class. He can just read the
textbook and newspapers, watch current events, and attend church services. It does not require much strenuous reading.
A Critique of Syllabus 223:
1. It gives students a hope of being good
Christians without necessarily reading the Bible or attending church services.
2. It puts much emphasis on passing of the
exams rather than understanding Christian principles.
3. It emphasizes change as the principle of
Christian living. Everything is
changing therefore, Christians are also changing as the world changes, (Christian Living Today, Bk. I, 29
Reflections).
4. The Bible is referred to but is never
taken seriously. Even examinations
hardly ask for Biblical information.
All the Bible passages needed are reproduced in the textbook. Therefore one does not need to have a Bible
of his/her own since he/she has all passages required for examinations in the
textbook.
5. It handles the Sabbath day doctrine
under leisure activities (Christian Living Today, Bk. II, 56 - 790 and Sharkey,
117 - 125). Sharkey describes leisure
as: "...the time we have at our
disposal to use as we choose without being bound by any necessity. Freedom is the essence of
leisure," (Sharkey, 117).
6. It describes Sabbath
day rest as something that was begun by the Jews but not by God: "The
Israelites set aside a special time for rest, prayer and joyful celebration:
The Sabbath day. In our study of Living
and Working we looked at the Sabbath as an institution in Jewish Life… Exodus 20: 8 - 12; 3: 17...," (Christian Living Today, Bk. I, 72).
7. On the topic of family
the syllabus discusses polygamy in ancient and modern Society, (Christian
Living Today, Bk. II, 54 - 56) but does not explain the ideal family pattern in
our time. When talking about monogamy,
the syllabus describes it as if the practice was for the Jews only but not for
all believers in God, (Christian Living Today, Bk. I, 64).
8. The textbook talks of
men who live in cities and prefer living with some young woman temporarily,
after leaving their illiterate wives up country, (Christian Living Today, Bk.
II, 56). The textbook leaves this point
hanging without explaining the Christian stand on the whole matter.
9. The syllabus does not consider such topics as God, angels,
sin, salvation, repentance, conversion,
temperance, heaven and the
new earth.
10. The traditional beliefs and church
historical discussions overshadow the doctrine of death and resurrection and
emphasize the immortality of the soul as the major issue, (Christian Living
Today, Bk. II, 21 -254).
11. The syllabus is good for socio-anthropological studies rather
than Religious Education.
12. Since teenagers tend to
believe more in what they read than what they hear from other people, the
teacher has very little impact on the students understanding of True Biblical
Doctrines different from what is found in the textbooks.
In the Adventist system of
education the Bible is the center of all the subjects taught in the school setting
and the lifestyle. The Code of
Education (2,3) of the Eastern Africa Division points out that scriptures of
the Old and New Testaments were guided by the Holy Spirit and express God's
will to men. This makes it the only
rule of what we believe and live by.
Ellen G. White has this to say
about the Bible and the significant role it plays in our educational
curriculum:
The Holy Scripture is the
perfect standard of truth, and as such should be given the highest place in
education. To obtain an education
worthy of the name, we must receive knowledge of God, the creator, and of
Christ, the Redeemer, as they are revealed in the sacred word, (White, 1952:17).
Throughout the divine plan
of Education God has instructed His people to have the scriptures as the center
of learning. But these are not the only
subjects to be studied. In Eden school,
where God and Holy Angels were teachers of Adam and Eve, nature was the main textbook. Our first parents studied the leaves of the
forest, the stones of the mountains and the shining stars. They also studied the earth, sea and the
sky, (White, 1952:21).
In the light of the
Adventist philosophy of education syllabus 223 Religious Education (Christian
Living Today) does not meet the criteria to be taught in our denominational
schools because it does not meet church educational goals and objectives. It is not fully Biblical in content and
approach.
In the face of the problem
discussed in the previous pages, which is real and existing in the Adventist
schools in East Africa and elsewhere, we need to begin applying the appeal of
Prophet Isaiah to the children of Israel to
"cry aloud, spare not; lift up your voices like a trumpet; tell my
people their transgressions and the house of Jacob, their sins,..." (Isaiah 58:1). We need to tell teachers, school administrators and members of
the boards governing our schools that this cry is not only needed but is over
due. This calls for a reform in the school curriculum. The following also need to be looked into:
1. Strengthening the department of education at all levels
(university, college, field/conference, union etc.) by looking into the problem
seriously and providing an immediate solution.
Official circulars and institutional policies without action may not be
effective methods of curbing the problem, since syllabus 223 has been used for
many years and most of the teachers like it and praise it as the most
appropriate one. Even teachers born in
the Adventist families are victims of the same.
2. The church and its institutions should work hand-in-hand
with the government and come up with a
syllabus that is in harmony with what we believe and practice. Meanwhile alternative 224 paper 1 and paper
2 could be used as we propose our own syllabus to the government: (a) The
church needs to allocate money for this
project.
3. The church needs to continuously hold seminars exposing
the weaknesses in the current syllabi and seek for alternatives. Corresponding remunerations (in form of salary
increase) and points counting towards the academic ranks should be
awarded to those attending such seminars in order to encourage as many teachers
as possible to avail themselves of this knowledge and attach value to it. This
should be followed by periodic evaluation to crosscheck the extend to which the
information studied is being implemented.
4.
Employ
Bible
teachers graduating from Adventist institutions of higher learning and give
them privileges given to pastors and other church workers. Our College curriculum for education and
religion also need to be periodically evaluated in order to counter-check
whether they measure up to the expectations of the organizations and the
countries where they are located.
5. All teachers who take education outside denomination
universities and colleges who would like to teach in church schools, even when
they are church members in good and regular standing should be
required to enroll for some courses in the fields of education
and religion in our institutions, before employment. Corresponding
remunerations (in form of salary increase) and points towards
the academic ranks should be awarded to those attending such courses. This
needs to be made mandatory in order to inculcate them with denominational
philosophy of education.
6. Our schools need to be helped in making a school
curriculum with well defined: vision, mission, philosophy, goals,
objectives, opportunities, obstacles, and strategies. These aspects need to be well understood by every teacher in our
schools. It should be remembered that
the governments only give the minimum syllabi but do not give out the defined
curriculum for the total functioning of the school system. We can only be able to evaluate our
performance in relation to our curriculum planning and implementation of
vision, mission, philosophy, goals and objectives. We need to develop specific
either qualitative or quantitative indicators or both for this purpose. The
curriculum and the evaluation instruments should be made available to all
institutional employees for proper guidance.
7. We need to simplify Adventist Philosophy of Education in relation to the teaching learning
process, and avail it to the teachers and administrators so that they
understand what they are standing for. The Church needs to offer training
seminars to school administrators, and teachers about the Philosophy of
Education in comparison with other philosophies, before and after employment
for proper guidance. Most of the time
the church assumes that its philosophy of education as presented in the
writings of Ellen G. White is so simple and well understood, while even the
heads of the primary and secondary schools can not identify the aspects of
teaching learning process as defined by those.
In most schools classroom teachers do not have copies of the Book
Education by Ellen G. White, leave alone reading and understanding the same.
8. There is a need to initiate a proper and serious periodic supervisory
program to make sure that church schools are following the philosophy
of education they stand for without ignoring the society under which they
operate.
9. Appointing the right people to the right office. It is sad to say that most of the time the
department of education at some levels of church administration is directed by
graduates of theology/religion (pastors) with no training professional training
in the field of education. Little
consideration is given to professional teachers. When there is no professional teacher to man the department, the
church organization needs to get one from other areas of the world. They need to lay plans in training the
personnel to man it. It is quite
obvious that untrained personnel manning the department of education at field
level can not evaluate teacher's knowledge by performance and study programs
directed by professional teachers, since the school administrators and the
teachers under their supervision are professionally prepared than them. For such reasons Adventist schools and
their programs are never evaluated, assessed and upgraded. Everything is taken for granted as long as
students are passing and the schools are continuing to exist. Whether these schools are meeting
denominational educational vision, mission and objectives or not is no one's
business.
CONCLUSION
The Adventist philosophy of
education is a Bible based endeavor. It
seeks to train students at all levels in the fear of God, giving glory to Him
and worshiping Him because He created the heaven and the earth and all their
ingredients (Revelation 14:6,7). These
philosophy stresses that all truth is God's truth and therefore, God is the
center of what we believe and thereafter practice. It is through the Bible that we come to know Him and His Son
Jesus Christ. All true knowledge, both
scientific and philosophical emanate from Him as revealed in His creation. Therefore, when we deviate the religious
instruction to any thing else we are running a way from His will.
It is for this vision that
our schools exist and operate. If this
vision is lost, then there should be no reason for us to continue operating
them. Herein comes a need to stand
with prophet Isaiah and evaluate whether our Bible teaching is in harmony with
the law and the testimony (Isaiah
8:20), otherwise we may be "...weighed on the scale and found deficient,"
(Daniel 5:27 NASB). At that moment we
may not escape.
Balyage, Yona. Adventist Philosophy of Education: An
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