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PHILOSOPHY OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

I

The foundation for Cornerstone Presbyterian High School is the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, the infallible Word of God, as expressed in the Westminster Confession of Faith.  On this basis we affirm the following principles for Christian Education.

 

A Christian school . . .

1.       practices a life and culture of humility, prayer, and service (responsive discipleship). DISCIPLESHIP

2.       enables and empowers students to know that all things exist to glorify God who is known in and through Jesus Christ. GLORIFY GOD

3.       teaches students by word, practice, and example that God made the world and upholds His creation; therefore, it is of essential goodness and worth. That the purpose of the Christian school is to educate children for a life of obedience to their calling in this world as image bearers of God. That this calling is to know God’s Word and His creation, to consecrate the whole of human life to God, to love all people and to be stewards in their God-given cultural tasks. SCHOOLS

4.       leads students to know that God made men and women to tend the world as bearers of His image. That the primary responsibility for education rests upon parents to whom children are entrusted by God, and that Christian parents should accept this obligation in view of the covenantal relationship which God established with believers and their children. Parents should seek to discharge this obligation through school associations and school boards that engage the services of Christian teachers in Christian schools. PARENTS

5.       teaches students that God created a world of order, not chaos. That in their education, children must come to learn that the world and human beings’ calling in it can rightly be understood only in relation to the triune God who, by His creation, restoration, and governance, directs all things to the coming of His Kingdom and the glorification of His name. CREATION

6.       enables students to understand and realize that sin darkens the hearts of human beings and their ability to understand the world perfectly. That because human sin brought upon all people the curse of God - alienating them from their Creator, their neighbors, and the world, distorting their view of the true meaning and purpose of life, and misdirecting human culture–human sin also corrupts the education of children. SIN

7.       leads its students to understand that the Scriptures are God’s inspired Word. That God, by His Holy Word, the Bible, reveals Himself; renews human beings’ understanding of God, of themselves, of others, and the world; directs human beings in all their relationships and activities; and therefore guides His people also in the education of their children. THE BIBLE

8.       teaches students that Jesus Christ is Lord of all. That through our Savior Jesus Christ there is renewal of our educational enterprise because He is the Redeemer of and the Light and the Way for our human life in all its range and variety. Only through Him and the work of His spirit are we guided in the truth and recommitted to our original calling. JESUS CHRIST                              

9.       empowers its students to know that Christ calls all members of the Christian community to serve Him together. That because God’s grace covers not only parents and their children but also the entire community to which they belong, and because Christian education contributes directly to the advancement of God’s Kingdom and the development of a civil society, it is the obligation not only of parents but of the entire community to establish and maintain Christian schools, to pray for them, work for them, and give generously to their support. This holds true especially for the Christian community embraced by God’s covenant. COMMUNITY

10.    helps students understand and believe that every person expresses God’s image in unique ways. That Christian schools must take into account the variety of abilities, needs, and responsibilities of young persons; that the endowments and calling of young persons as God’s image bearers and their defects and inadequacies as sinners require that such learning goals and such curricula will be selected as will best prepare them to live as obedient Christians; and that only with constant attention to such pedagogical concerns will education be truly Christian. Every pupil is honored and a gifted child. The school must help the child unpack and develop his/her gifts. Some of these gifts are identified as:

                          • Linguistic: the ability to use words                                                                      

• Logical: ability to reason                                                                                      

• Musical: having a keen ear and sense of rhythm                                                  

• Spatial: ability to perceive the visual world accurately                                         

• Kinesthetic: having grace and agility                                                                    

• Intra-personal: gifted at understanding others                                                      

• Interpersonal: having insight into oneself                      PUPILS

11.     leads students to understand that their purpose in life is to serve God. Service to God gives a true sense of worth, purpose, and meaning. PURPOSE

12.     teaches students through assessment and measurement procedures and instruments that what is learned must gains its credence and value in light of God’s Word. EVALUATION

13.     has Christian teachers, who in obedience to God and in cooperation with parents, have the responsibility to equip students to think biblically and redemptively about all of life. TEACHERS

14.     is organized and administered in accordance with legitimate standards and provisions for day schools and should be fully recognized in society as free to function according to these principles. EDUCATIONAL FREEDOM

 

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