At Mount Hope, Christ is at the center of all learning and of the interactions we have with each other. To say that we integrate a Christian worldview in the classroom would be an understatement. A Christian worldview is not some varnish that is spread across the various subjects or an idea only mentioned during religion class. Christian truth is the substance of what is taught, and it is the reason why an education is valuable in the first place. Like spokes of a wheel anchored together in a hub, each subject taught at Mount Hope centers around God’s Word, and each one explores an area connected to the Christian life.
Even from the beginning of a student’s education, a Christian worldview clearly is the reason behind the subjects that are taught. For example, learning the alphabet seems to be a fairly commonplace task, but since God chooses to reveal Himself in language, learning to recognize letters is the marvelous first step in a life-long study of God’s Word. Other subjects like grammar and phonics may seem to carry no inherent theological connection, but since they are key parts of learning to read and understand language, they are taught for the wonderful purpose of preparing students to study Scripture.
The same idea applies to all the subjects at Mount Hope. When studying science, students know that God made the world and that man is the crown of creation, and their continued studies in science are always grounded by that truth. When studying history, students learn how God works in the lives of men and how good and evil are respectively rewarded or punished. When teaching music, students learn more than trivial ditties, but the praises of God. Even the stories read in leisure time at school are opportunities for holding up the actions of characters against the standard of God’s Word. There is not one subject in a day that does not somehow serve the goal of teaching students about Christ.
In addition to the Christian worldview completely permeating the content of each subject, it also is the guide for all the other aspects of a school day. Each day begins with chapel and ends with prayer, because it is the great joy of a Christian to hear God’s Word and pray to God. Throughout the day, students respect teachers in keeping with God’s command to honor authorities, classmates love one another because they are brothers and sisters in Christ, and sins are confessed and forgiven because Christ has forgiven us. All interactions, whether in chapel, in the classroom, or on the playground, are shaped by God’s Word.
A Christian worldview is not simply integrated into Mount Hope’s curriculum through a few lessons on Christian topics, but God’s Word informs the whole life of the school. It is a joy to teach and to learn, not purely on account of the interesting knowledge that may be gained, but because this knowledge can give us a greater appreciation of the One who gave it.
In Christ,
Miss Engwall
