Shannon Forest Students as People of Godly Character

“Train up a child in the way he should go, [so that] even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6 (NAS)

At Shannon Forest we are not only concerned with what a student knows but what kind of person they become.  Many people operate as if the environment where one learns math, science, history, and English makes no difference as long as these subjects are taught well.  The prevalent worldview is that we are simply biological, thinking beings, which leads to an understanding of teaching as nothing more than the dissemination of information.  James Smith, professor of Philosophy at Calvin College and author of Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation, argues that hearts are trained not by ideas but by practices.  In other words, the cultural practices behind the ideas are what really determine who we are.  Dr. David Naugle, a prominent authority on the importance of worldview, has this to say: 

“But we must remember that a crucial battleground where this issue about truth and morality is contested is in our schools from kindergarten to Ph.D. programs. 

In the opening chapter of The Abolition of Man, [C.S.] Lewis asserts that the purpose of education is to teach genuine truth and virtue to students, and to reinforce such teachings by the cultivation of the appropriate affects that would shape genuine human character and simultaneously protect young people from banality and corruption.  Modern education, however, was bent upon debunking objective truth and virtue and the emotions that fortified them.”

“The Christian Mind and the Crisis of Culture,” a talk given by Dr. David Naugle to The Wilberforce Forum in September 2004.

The teachers and administration at Shannon Forest believe that education should be formative.  In other words, the educational experience ought to shape our students.  It is through this process that character is formed – thus formative education.  Again, shaping not just what they know but who they are and will become.  The conventional wisdom for education runs like this – go to a good school, get good grades so that you can go to a good college and then get a good job that pays good money.  Don’t we want more than that for our children?  Covertly and overtly we are teaching them that the end goal of life is to make money.  Of course none of us would state it so starkly but that really is the message we are giving.  Our desire at Shannon Forest is to be a part of transforming students into people of deep character, the kind described in Galatians 5:22-23:  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” 

Of course, the $64,000 question is how.  Before I attempt to answer that, let me briefly say how not to do it.  You cannot form people of character simply by mandating behavior.  This lesson is demonstrated repeatedly in the history of Israel and was a constant source of conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders of his day.  Nevertheless, this is the first card played by parents and often, in our context, by school administrators.  It does not work.  I am by no means saying that there is no need for rules; there is, but character is a heart issue.  So then, back to the question of how.  The short answer is that everything we say and do will form the character of our students, the ‘ethos’ of the place.  Ethos is the Greek word for character, morals, and principles.  What I am saying is that the sum total of the character of Shannon Forest Christian School will be what shapes and molds the students here.  If this place is characterized (notice this variation of the word) by the fruit of the Spirit, so will our students.   If this is a place where students can see, hear, and experience the Gospel, then they will become people shaped by the Gospel.  Lest this monumental task overwhelm us, let us remember that it is God who changes hearts, so that with Paul we can say “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:5-7)

If you are interested in reading more about these topics:

Theologian Dr. N.T. Wright speaks on character development and virtue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSFHyrUlqus

C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man

James Smith, Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation