REFLECTIVE RESPONSE:TEACHING FOR GOD

Teaching for God: how can we teach in a Christ-like manner?

Kevin Koppert
Redeemer University College

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There is nothing more important as an educator than taking what you do seriously. A
hard-working, caring, and self-giving educator will go much further than someone who lacks
those qualities. For Christian educators, taking education seriously means more than just trying
hard and giving of oneself. There is no doubt that the aforementioned qualities are important, but
what needs to follow is Christian teaching, or teaching in a Christ-like way. God demands it,
parents expect it, and it is conducive to fostering a generation of lights in this dark world.
Talk of how to teach in a Christian manner, or a kind of Theology of Teaching could
fill millions of pages of text. As in every other aspect of life, our Christ-likeness should be
present in every form of teaching, every method of teaching, and basically every interaction in
teaching. There are many subjects to teach, there are countless methods for teaching, and there
will always be a wealth of students with differing needs. Moreover, the application of a Christian
worldview to teaching these various students in many ways is the tough part, and it often
requires boatloads of Christian fortitude to be successful. A great reminder of this comes by way
of the Bible, where it repeats that we are both to do everything to the glory and honour of God,
and to try our best in everything we do (Ecclesiastes 9, Colossians 3, I Corinthians 10). As
teachers, our ability to do everything properly should always leave us dependent on God, not
ourselves or our students.
Beside the general command for people and educators alike to do everything to the best
of their ability, as well as to the glory of God, the Bible provides a wealth of guidance for more
specific educational problems. Dean of Education at Trinity Western, Haro VanBrummelen,
sheds light on a number of ways in which the Bible can help educators. For the purpose of this
essay we will encompass all six of his methods into four broad categories. VanBrummelen first
shows that the Bible can be used as educational content; the exegesis of Biblical content is an

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amazing learning opportunity. Secondly, he points out the Biblical value can provide a
framework for the teachers action; taking to heart Biblical teachings can create kind, patient,
humble, and loving educators. The third way educators can use the Bible in teaching is following
the principles laid out in the Bible; applying Biblical ideas to the classroom can make the
learning environment so much more meaningful. Finally, VanBrummelen points to what
theologian Walter Bruggemann first came up with, where he argues that the Bible suggests
different learning strategies that educators should do their best to follow. His point in saying this
is essentially this: as educators we need to be aware of the fact that there is more than one way to
teach, the Bible itself uses at least three waysdirect instruction, discussion, and inquiry.
(Vanbrummelen, 2009). Each of the ways whereby educators can use the Bible in teaching could
extrapolated. However, the goal here is simply to show that the Bible not only holds a wealth of
resources for teachers, but it also leaves much up for use in the classroom. Really, it would be
hard for an educator to go wrong in using the Bible as teaching resource.
It is true the Bible provides educators with a valuable resource, but what do Biblical
principles in front of the classroom? Trevor Cooling, an expert educator provides us with a
fantastic starting point when he says, the most important thing an educator can possess is
theological curiosity (Cooling, 2005). On an introductory level, he means that in order for the
students to express interest in a theological education, the teacher must express an undying
interest and enthusiasm for learning tied in with Biblical principles. From there Cooling further
extrapolates on what he means by theological curiosity. Intriguingly, he argues that in history,
Christian educators had wrongly provided students with interpretations Biblical truth as it should
be applied in the real world, whereas Cooling would rather see teachers today focus, not on
giving students all the answers, but rather on instilling them with their own tools. In this way he

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correctly assumes that students receive the opportunity to develop their own curiosity in how
the Bible can be applied to life. Essentially, Cooling wants teachers to guide students into taking
ownership of their own learning, particularly when it comes to Biblical exegesis.
It is only because I continually see the former way of teaching occurring every day in my
placement at a Catholic school, that I bring the topic of Christian teaching up. In the two
Catholic schools I have taught at, there was consistent occurrence of educators spoon-feeding
religious concepts to the students without providing ample opportunity for them to interpret the
knowledge themselves. For example, in my placement at St. Joachim Catholic School the two
grade eight teachers would simply create power-points directly from the textbook. When it came
to presenting the material, the teachers just read their slides and added a few comments here or
there. Anything the teachers said were mostly black and white factual statements like: You
should attend mass, or you should treat homosexuals with love. Unless the student asked they
never explained why or why not, but just kept pushing through the lecture. Instances such as
these, and there are more, show a selfish desire to get through the material, rather than
expressing actual concern as to whether or not the students understand.

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References
Cooling, T. (2005). Curiosity: Vice or Virtue for the Christian Teacher? Promoting faithfulness
to Scripture in teacher formation. Journal Of Education & Christian Belief, 9(2), 87-103.
VanBrummelen, H. (2009). Walking With God in the Classroom: Christian Approaches to
Teaching and Learning. 3rd Ed. Colorado Springs: Purposeful Design Publications.