MVCS Philosophy of Education
The philosophy of the Mid Vermont Christian School has at its core the belief that God is central to all knowledge and learning. The apostle Paul said, “in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3).
From this foundational truth spring several distinctive features of our educational philosophy. The goal of a Christian education is to guide children into a lifelong relationship of knowledge, service, and love for God through spiritual, intellectual, physical, and social training. Using God’s Word, the Bible, as our preeminent textbook, we expose children to every facet of human knowledge and experience through this authoritative filter. Each discipline is examined through the framework of our Christian beliefs and values.
The Word of God clearly states that parents are responsible for the education of their children. Christian parents who desire to fulfill their Biblical responsibility of bringing up their children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4) may do so at MVCS. The school views its role as an extension of, and not a replacement for, the home.
Parents wishing to enroll their child(ren) at MVCS must affirm that at least one of the student’s parents is a born-again, Bible-believing Christian. The parents must be in full agreement with the doctrinal and philosophical positions of the school (found on the back of the application form). The family must regularly attend a Bible believing church.
Each student is privileged to learn under a born-again, Bible-believing, Christian teacher who attempts to model Christ-like behavior. As students grow and develop, each of these “models” of Christ enables them to understand the way in which the Christian life is to be lived. Whether through activity, lecture, or discovery, students learn in a context that is thoroughly Christian.
Finally, the Word of God instructs us to “do all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Col. 3:17) and to “do it heartily” (Col. 3:23). Therefore, our goal is to provide academic excellence in every facet of the program. Whether it is Reading, Literature, Science, or Math, we strive for the very best instructional strategies, materials, and curriculum. This emphasis on quality extends to all areas of academic life.
A Return to Classical Education
Over the last 40 years, many Christian parents and educators have recognized the erosion of our historical and Christian intellectual tradition—both in secular education and in much Christian education. This realization has led to a flourishing movement of retrieving the Christian intellectual tradition. At MVCS, we have come to believe that the best education has certain elements consistent with this rich historical tradition.
- The ultimate goal of Christian education is the formation of the human person—a wise and virtuous person, a person conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- To reach this aim, we will continue to educate the whole person—body, mind, soul.
- Christian education serves to pass on a distinctly Christian way of life, a Christian culture. This enculturation takes place not only in Bible classes, chapels, and the teaching of spiritual disciplines (prayer, Scripture reading and memorization) but also across the curriculum.
- Immersing students in Truth, Beauty, and Goodness in all aspects of their education teaches them to rightly order their affections, that is, to love things in their proper order and in the right way.
- The best curriculum for our educational aims centers on the seven liberal arts as defined by ancient and medieval scholars. This curriculum places significant emphasis on the Great Books in middle and high school, with quality literature across the curriculum laying the foundation in the elementary school.
- We will emphasize habits of body and mind so that students develop virtues such as orderliness, respect, self-restraint, intellectual courage, honesty, etc.
This form of education is known as classical Christian education. Classical Christian education is that which “aims to cultivate virtue and wisdom in students so they will live for the glory of God, flourishing as human beings and loving both God and neighbor. It pursues these goals through an ordered exploration of the True, the Good, and the Beautiful that is grounded in the liberal arts tradition and that forms students’ affections and the habits of lifelong learning” (Society for Classical Learning).
Next year, MVCS will begin transitioning to a classical model, incrementally and thoughtfully over an expected five-year period. Teachers will receive professional development in classical philosophy, content, and methods. Small changes will be made next year: carrying the Abeka phonics and language arts curriculum into second grade and using a classically-aligned cursive curriculum in elementary school. We’ll work on habit formation and begin using words such as formation, wisdom, virtue, and habit to describe our education.
Along the way, all aspects of the school will be evaluated to make sure they align with this clarified philosophy, but some things are already on solid footing. We hire only committed Christians who teach from a biblical worldview, and our teachers are not steeped in secular progressive philosophy. We have already improved our phonics instruction, and our current literature curriculum includes good books such as The Chronicles of Narnia, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, and quality picture books in elementary grades and some significant works of the Western tradition in middle and high school from authors such as Plato, Augustine, Shakespeare, Milton, Hawthorne, and Tennyson. We look forward to expanding our study of the Great Books, those works which, spanning disciplines, have stood the test of time because they ask significant questions about life and speak to universal themes.
Classical education is not a return to a specific moment in the past. Rather, it is a return to the permanent things—truth, beauty, goodness, virtue, wisdom, love, truth. Our society has forgotten or even purposely suppressed these things, but as Christians we know they are eternal and provide the best path to forming the soul of the student.