Principal Points - "The Case For Christian Textbooks"

Past Principal Points

Maintaining Our Heritage

(The Case For Christian Textbooks)

All organizations and institutions have a built in tendency to decay. Very few are constructed with any kind of built-in renewal system. Without continued (e.g. annual) review of the goals and purposes of the organization, there is a tendency to move away from them in an effort to respond to the day to day needs that press in. We need to be reminded that not only is the urgent seldom important, but the important is seldom urgent. Thus, the slipping away from original ideals consists of many small decisions and compromises which were all "necessary" at the time. It is only over the long haul that the distance between present reality and the original intentions can be clearly seen.

Unfortunately, by that time it is often too late to rectify the situation. Policies and procedures which were developed to solve immediate problems come to have a life of their own and tend to dictate the solutions to new problems. Furthermore, they tend to form the value system and "institutional world-view" of newcomers to the organization, so that further compromises become easier. Those who can clearly recall the organization's original goals come to form a minority, and their original vision comes to hold less and less weight.

It should be noted that compromise, when it comes, never begins at the level of philosophy but always at the level of practice. Only after the practice has departed from the philosophy for a period of years is the philosophy then revised. Revisions to the philosophy are then seen as matter of moral integrity and intellectual honesty. It is argued that, since a certain approach is no longer used, it is time to revise the policy manual to reflect reality.

This tendency is also present in Christian organizations in spite of their commitment to a set of fundamental precepts which are unchanging. In part this is because the Adversary has such a tremendous desire to defeat them. In part it is due to a failure to accurately transmit the organizational philosophy to the next generation of leaders. However, I believe that it is also due to a failure to develop fundamental cornerstone policies that cannot be changed by any future board which may not clearly understand or accept the original vision. What then are the cornerstone policies? Cornerstone policies are those which directly impact students, teachers, and curriculum: admissions, hiring, and textbook selection.

While most schools have given considerable thought to admissions and hiring, too little attention is given to the matter of which textbooks will be used. This is true in spite of the fact that it is universally recognized that, next to the teacher, the textbook is the single greatest influence on what is to be learned. I feel that this is one of those "little decisions" (often made under financial or political pressure) which compromises the integrity of the school.

Christian schools face tremendous pressures to compromise. These pressures come from the Department of Education, from parents, and even from the staff and Board. These pressures can only be combated by a solid understanding of, and radical commitment to Biblical education. The Department of Education will always bring pressure to force a school to conform to their programs, their materials, and their methods. Parents, who are often ill-informed about the implications of these changes, will also bring pressures to conform. Teachers and Boards exert the same pressure. Teachers often feel ill at ease using materials or techniques which are no longer in fashion. They adopt the Department's views because they have been trained in secular institutions by professors who hold to them also. Boards often take their cue from the teachers or from the local public schools.

The prevailing belief is that although the textbooks may be humanistic, having Christian teachers will ensure that the program is Christ-centered. I suggest that this is simply not true. While Christian teachers are very good at modeling Christian behavior (something taught in our homes and churches); however, they are often weak at integrating a Biblical perspective into their courses (something that virtually none have been trained to do). To substantiate this perception I have for some years repeatedly made the observation--at staff meetings and conventions, to both teachers and administrators--that Biblical integration is the last thing that happens in a teacher's lesson planning. I have never been contradicted. I have then observed that, all too often, Biblical integration does not take place at all. Again, there are nearly universal nods of agreement. Why is this?

There are several reasons. First, few teachers have ever been taught how to integrate Scripture into their daily lessons. Second, teachers in Christian schools often face tremendous work loads teaching in split and multi-grade classrooms; they simply don't have time to do it. Finally, their training has often been in secular institutions and their world-view often affected by that training so that they do not perceive those instances where Biblical integration could or should occur. Certainly teachers differ in their ability to provide Biblical integration. Some, no doubt, do a good job of it, but far too many do not. Leaving this critical task solely to the teacher guarantees that the presentation of a Christian world-view will be a variable that changes significantly with the staffing. It will not only change from classroom to classroom, but also from year to year due to staff turnover.

Surely, if there is to be one constant in our classrooms day in and day out from one year to the next, it is that every subject will be taught from a Christian perspective. In reality, continued reliance upon secular materials and secular curricula inevitably will lead to an increasingly secular program. If secular texts are to be used at all, they should only be used as support material or for courses where there is no acceptable Christian alternative. In these cases, secular materials should be used for a limited and specified time period during which they should be appropriately revised, adapted, or replaced.

The revision of secular materials takes time and thought and will probably not happen during the normal course of the year. It will require professional days or time during the summer, but it must be done if the vision is to remain true and strong over the decades. The goal of developing a Christian world-view in children is too important to be left to chance. Everything about the school should lend itself to the accomplishment of this purpose. Teachers rely (correctly) upon the textbook to guide them in teaching their courses. In terms of the content of what is taught, texts are probably more important than the teacher. It would be foolish, therefore, to neglect the assistance offered by Christian texts. Teachers, generally, are better equipped to overcome academic deficiencies than theological ones. Therefore, it would seem wiser to use Christian materials and remediate any academic deficiencies rather than use secular ones and attempt to counteract their theological deficiencies.

For these reasons AKCS has always sought out quality textbooks from Christian publishers. Where these have not been suitable for use in Alberta, we have taken secular textbooks and "baptized" them by writing in the Scriptures which were needed to bring a Christian perspective to the subject. We have devoted several days every fall and summer since the founding of the school specifically to this task. In some cases, the newly integrated texts are even superior in their Christian perspective to those available from Christian publishers. It is a difficult and time consuming task, but one which must be done if we are to maintain our heritage.

Brian Hazeltine, B.Ed., M.A.
Principal, Airdrie Koinonia Christian School