Some Mind Numbing Nastiness

SUNDAY SCHOOL

7 back-to-school kick-off ideas
By Jamie Snodgrass - 06 Aug 2004

No. 6 - The Jericho March

Schools are filled with kids who need the freeing power of the good news of Jesus Christ. Help your kids symbolize their mission to share Christ with others by re-enacting the Jericho battle recorded in Joshua 6. Beginning a week or so before school opens, lead your kids on a march around the school. After circling the school, deliver a brief and challenging message to kids about reaching their friends with the good news of God's grace. Repeat this activity each day until your next regular group meeting day. On this day, march around the school seven times. Then have your kids meet with congregation members for a time of prayer for the coming year and kids' efforts to tell others about Jesus. (Yes, lets teach them how to sack, burn, pillage, rape and massacre, just as it happened in the good old days - rist)

http://www.churchcentral.com/nw/s/template/Article.html/id/20147

Christianity and Education

The Christian church has historically suppressed any attempts to set up secular schools. The last schools of Greek philosophy were suppressed and finally closed by the Christian emperor Justinian (483-563). The reason, of course, was that the Greek schools taught pagan, and secular ideas. A French bishop during the papacy of Pope Gregory the Great (c540-604) wanted to set up a school for secular learning, his intention was immediately denounced by the Pope, who called it "horrible" and "execrable."

The ascent of Christianity into temporal power was accompanied in parallel by the decline in secular education. By the mid fifth century secular learning was completely extinguished. When Charlemagne (743-814) set up a school at Aachen in 789, he also forced the bishops and monks open other schools. Unfortunately as soon as he died, the bishops and monks closed the schools again. As a result of this, by the year 1100, 99 percent of Christian Europe was illiterate.

As recently as 1846, we find the English statesman, Richard Cobden (1804-1865) complaining, in a letter to a friend, that he faced extreme resistance from clergymen of all denominations in his quest for mass education. Indeed the attitude of the Catholic Church was no different from the English Protestant ones. The historian Thomas MacCaulay (1800-1859), in his book History of England (1845) has this to say about the Catholic Church's attitude towards education and intellectualism:

…during the last three centuries to stunt the growth of the human mind was her chief object. Throughout Christendom, whatever advance had been made in knowledge, in freedom, in wealth, and in the arts of life, had been made in spite of her, and has everywhere been in inverse proportions to her power. The loveliest and most fertile provinces of Europe have, under her rule, been sunk in poverty, in political servitude and in intellectual torpor.

Source:http://www.geocities.com/paulntobin/education.html (Abridged)

Green Valley Christian School, an example of how the CORRUPTION of young minds can be orchestrated. From their website (abridged)

We exist to honour God by: (Revelation 4:11) by
*Bringing children to Jesus Christ (Matthew 18:1-6; 10-11) *’Discipling? to Christ-like maturity in character and intelligence (Matthew 28:16-20) *equipping for life long Christian service by honouring individual giftedness (Mark 10:45; Ephesians 2:10)

Green Valley Christian School offers the following programs:

*Preschool, Ages 2 to 5years, *Primary, Grades K-3, *Intermediate, Grades 4-6,*Upper Class, Grades 7-8, *Extended Care, Grades K-8, *Home School Program K-12

Objectives and Goals

Green Valley Christian School has been established to provide children, during their formative years in life, with a strong Christ-centred education.  We take seriously our responsibility to train and meet the needs of each child entrusted to our care academically, spiritually, physically, and socially.  We believe in quality education based on sound discipling and meaningful learning approaches in the classroom.

Philosophy of Education

The concepts of Green Valley Christian School's Philosophy of Education are derived from the Bible and we believe that education is the process of directing human development toward Godliness in character and action. Education prepares students to view life from God's point of view and becomes the communication of life from the living to the living. In this process, the Christian school is an extension of the Christian home. Effective Christian education requires a Christ-like teacher and a receptive student. Christian education prepares a student for a life of Christian commitment and service.

Staff Teachers at Green Valley Christian School are faithful, dedicated and loving Christian teachers. They bring a rich blend of competence, inspiration, and expertise to the classroom. Because they are called to teach, they seek to challenge and stimulate each student to develop to the full potential God has created him/her to be.

Our Vision  *Character  *Competence  *Community

1.    GVCS seeks to graduate students of character. We train our students for productive and purposeful lives. We renew our efforts to be even more effective in the formation of character that is rooted in Jesus Christ.

2.    GVCS seeks to become individuals of wisdom and competence. We invest in academic excellence. We affirm the life of the mind. We insist that good and informed thinking is vital to our future as Christians. We support a scholarship that is relevant and helpful to the needs of our world. We seek to shine the light of the gospel to those we encounter during our day.

3.    GVCS seeks to model a grace-filled community. We must be intentional about treating others with kindness, civility, and respect. We conduct our ministry with good manners. We learn again and again how to understand failure and risk forgiveness. Interconnectedness is critical. It is our Christian joy and responsibility to honour the diversity of gifts that each student and staff member brings to our campus and to honour as well the cultural and ethnic diversity of all God's children.

Green Valley Christian School admits students of any race, colour, national or ethnic origin to all rights, privileges, programs and activities made available to students in the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, national or ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, administration policies, scholarship programs, or in any other school-administered programs. (It all sounds so wonderful? - rist)

(I read in an article by a Baptist minister that stated 'if children don’t come to Christ by the age of fourteen it is unlikely they ever will'- rist)

Source: http://www.gvcs.org/ and other pages from their site

What is Sunday School?

A Functional Definition of Sunday School

Sunday School is an essential disciple-making strategy of the Church. As such, Sunday school has proven its effectiveness by teaching biblical principles and godly living to people at every age and stage of life. In order for Sunday School to remain effective in the 21st century, the Church must both reaffirm and retain the essential elements of this disciple-making strategy while also developing flexibility to address the diverse discipling challenges of our fast-paced, pluralistic culture. Therefore, the Division of Christian Education has written a functional definition of Sunday school. Any Christian Education initiative in the local church that includes all of the following features/characteristics will be considered functionally comparable to Sunday school: 

The primary purpose is obedient response to the Great Commission: Making disciples who will fulfil the threefold mission of the church — evangelism, worship and discipleship. (HELP - rist) 

The primary strategy is the intentional, systematic, development of leaders who can carry on the work of the ministry in the local church. 

The primary curriculum is the Bible supported by appropriate teaching resources. 

The primary process is regular (preferably weekly), systematic teaching of Bible content and doctrine. 

The primary dynamic is the building of relationships that involve mutual commitment and accountability. 

The primary structure includes a full range of groups, developed with sensitivity to culture, needs, interests, and/or life stages. 

The primary oversight is the responsibility of the pastoral staff and church lay leaders in the local church. 

Source: http://sundayschool.ag.org/00Top/functional_definition.cfm

 And

We have many activities for children (Missionettes, BGMC, Royal Rangers, and several others). How do we explain to parents the special place of Sunday school?

Sunday school does have a special, and truly unique and essential place. Other activities provide opportunities to form Christian friendships. They give children pleasant experiences associated with church and the Bible. They help children develop gifts and talents and discover the joys of Christian service.

A good Sunday school does what its name implies. It "schools" the child, in the true sense of the word. It gives serious, steady, consistent attention to biblical content. Its major purpose is to follow God’s instructions to intentionally "train up a child" and perpetuate the divine plan through generations. Sunday school can create ways for the family to study the Bible together and stimulate discussion of biblical ideas in the home.

More than any other activity, the Sunday school focuses on teaching, one of the basic ministries for which the Church was founded. History has proved it a primary force in the perpetuation of Christian truth. 

How is teaching adults (andragogy) different from teaching children (pedagogy)?

Advocates of andragogy offer four assumptions about adults that distinguish them from children: As persons mature (1) their self-concept moves from being dependent personalities toward being self-directed, (2) they accumulate a reservoir of experiences that become a growing resource for learning, (3) their readiness to learn becomes oriented more to the developmental tasks of their social roles, and (4) their time perspective changes from postponed to immediate application of knowledge.

The teacher of adults must take these into consideration by recognizing that:

               Adults are more self-directed in their learning.
In childhood education, the teacher decides what, when, and how the child will learn. But adults see themselves as self-directed and expect others to view them that way also. Adults want to decide for themselves what they will learn, when they will learn it, and how they will go about it. The teacher and adult student see each other as equals in a mutually helpful relationship.

               Adult learning goals are specific and more immediate.
Children go to school to gain a broad understanding of subjects that will help them later in life. They are told, "Someday you’ll need to know that." Adults have a much different perspective. They read a book or enrol in a course looking for answers to specific problems and they want to make immediate applications. We could say the child’s learning is subject-centred; the adult’s is problem-centred.

               An adult’s life experience is an important aid in learning.
In childhood education, the teacher’s experience is the primary resource for learning. This makes the child dependent on the teacher, and the learning situation is characterized more by one-way communication.

In adult education, everyone’s experience and knowledge are valued. As adults share their knowledge everyone’s learning is enriched; the teacher is not the sole contributor. Adults are more interdependent in their learning with multidirectional communication.

Adults group themselves for learning on the basis of interest more than on the basis of age-level.

For children’s classes, decisions about grouping and curriculum are based on age. Certain subjects are deemed appropriate at a certain age. Adults are not as concerned about age; they gravitate toward those with similar concerns and interests.

Source http://www.radiantlife.org/

Another example of a 'nasty' curriculum from 'Radiant Life' 

Baby (0-12 months)

1. Sense that God is someone who loves them.
2. Develop an appreciation of His body.
3. Feel love and care.
4. Begin to appreciate the wonder of God’s creation.
5. Begin to realize the importance of family.

(HOW DO THEY DO THIS ??????)

Toddlers & Twos (12 months to 2 years)

1. Sense that God’s house is a good place to be.
2. Develop an appreciation for the family of God.
3. Learn basic Bible stories about God, Jesus, Elijah, Peter, and Zaccheus.
4. Express appreciation for who they are, their families and God’s care for them.
5. Gain a greater appreciation for the world God created.

Preschool (3 to 4 years)

Expand learning about Old and New Testament characters.

Early Elementary

1. To teach one age-level Bible story each Sunday.
2. To help each child learn a lesson-related Bible verse each Sunday.
3. To help children learn how to apply each Bible lesson to their lives.
4. To provide teachers with practical, usable, hands-on lessons.
5. To encourage teachers to lead children to Christ.
6. To encourage children to live for Christ

All have sinned by disobeying God
God loves everyone, but sin must be punished
Jesus died for our sins
Only Jesus can forgive sin

Upper Elementary

1. To lead students to accept Christ as Saviour.
2. To teach Bible principles for daily living.
3. To provide appropriate doctrinal emphases.
4. To guide life application of Bible lessons through questions, role-play, open-ended stories, activities, and puzzles.
5. To present God’s Word in ways that are visually appealing and appropriate for the abilities of the age level.
6. To enhance memorization of God’s Word through games and other interesting activities.
7. To encourage daily Bible study and prayer.
8. To challenge students to lead a Spirit-filled life.

God’s Word, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is true and trustworthy
Basic Bible teaching and doctrine

Youth

1.       To lead students to accept Christ as Saviour.
2.       To teach and encourage students to understand the doctrines of the Bible.
3.       To challenge students to seek and receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit and to explore the gifts and fruit of the Spirit.
4.       To help teens learn to apply biblical principles to contemporary issues.
5.       To teach familiar Bible stories in new ways to expose teens to a deeper and broader selection of biblical teachings.
6.       To encourage personal and daily Bible study and prayer.
7.       To help teens develop a biblical faith and encourage them to share their faith with others.
8.       To present God’s truths as exciting and relevant for today.
9.       To disciple teens to lives of holiness and commitment to God.
10.   To communicate God’s changeless truths in contemporary words, styles, and designs so God’s Word will not be perceived as something just for older people or little kids.
11.   To challenge teens to practice biblical stewardship and effective Christian service.

The Holy Spirit comes to live in believers at salvation
The infilling of the Holy Spirit is evidenced by speaking in tongues (Acts 2:4)
The Baptism results in increased power to live and work for Jesus (Acts 1:8)
The Church includes all believers
Each believer should serve Jesus and help through the local church to do God’s work at home and around the world

This organization even gives a guide to the Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual Social and Emotional development at each age of the children and how the ‘teacher?can maximise their effectiveness buy understanding (playing on) the child’s desires.

Source http://www.radiantlife.org/ and linked pages

Again... Why is Caliibre Necessary?  

To stop the above typically narrow, one view religious maniacs from indoctrinating, through force feeding the minds of unsuspecting innocents, who are too young to decide what is reality.