One of the things that makes teaching so enjoyable is the fact that I get to know so many different students, each with different likes, dislikes, aspirations, and talents. With such a variety in the souls that we teachers have the privilege of teaching, there’s a potential problem: how is it possible to teach all our students individually in a way that assists parents in raising them up in the discipline and instruction in the Lord? The world would say (and I have been taught in some educational classes) that different students need different types of education depending on their likes, personality, ability, and so on. If this were true, teachers would be laden with an impossible task: give every student an education based on his individuality, so that he can grow up to be what he personally aspires to be someday. This would not only be impossible; it would also miss the point of a Christian education.
While it is useful (and fun!) to teach slightly differently depending on the student, that mindset of individualization needs to be kept in check by the more important reality of Christian vocation. We often use the term “vocation” (vocāre = to call) to refer to the occupation into which God has placed us; we sometimes refer to our job as our “calling.” But the one thing God has actually called us Christians to be is just that: Christians. That’s because God has quite literally called us His, using words, in our Baptism. As an extension of that through the Ten Commandments, we also know that our call to being Christian includes being sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, hearers, and everything else listed in the Table of Duties.
That means that although job preparation can be valuable, it is not the main focus of a Christian education. Instead, a Christian education is an education in the vocation of being Christian. First and foremost, that means children hearing the Gospel and receiving the Lord’s Supper in church. It means an education in the Word of God, including things like our Small Catechism that are faithful expositions of Scripture. It also means learning to live with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ in His forgiveness. Christians, whether young or old, learn to be Christians by listening to Jesus.
Along with catechesis, on which all Christian education should be built, other things are edifying for a Christian student to learn, regardless of what God gives him as an occupation later in life. Part of being made in God’s image means we have a unique ability to speak, so learning to speak and write well is of great benefit to any human being. Learning ancient languages (most especially Latin and Greek) helps Christians speak even better; those languages also let us listen in on the writings of fellow Christians who have gone before us. Learning the history of the West helps Christians see the benefits of Christian virtue, or the consequences from a lack thereof. Learning science helps Christians know how to rightly explore God’s creation. Learning mathematics helps Christians use their imaginations to see the world in ways useful to the neighbor.
All these studies can very well be job specific, and when taught well they do benefit children when they eventually find an occupation. But more importantly, each of these studies benefits children in their vocation of being Christian. The purpose of a Christian education is for students to learn what it means to be a Christian. We and our children have such a blessing at Mount Hope and Trinity, where the Gospel is faithfully proclaimed and the Sacrament rightly administered. Our students also have a great blessing in our school, where that Gospel permeates the entire school day. Finally, our students are blessed to leave school for Christian homes, where they continue to grow in their vocation of life in Christ.
In Christ,
Mr. Hahn
