How does one prepare for an ever-changing world? How does a parent decide how best to educate the children God has given to them? These and similar questions shape the endeavors of Study, Practice, Teach. SPT’s teaching philosophy is built on Ezra 7.10:
For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.
It is a worldview shaped by God’s Word, seeking to support parents’ work of training their children for faithful Christian living by equipping students with the academic tools useful for such a life.
STUDY: The student will learn from influential works of Western Civilization. This begins with the Scriptures. As we embark on the school year and advance through the units, God’s Word will guide the discussions, remaining the lens through which we read these texts. Over the four-year sequence of these Integrated Humanities courses (stay tuned for upcoming video posts about this sequence), the student will read and study almost every book of the Bible.
PRACTICE: As we identify the key themes from the readings, the live classroom time will primarily involve Socratic discussions based on these themes. Here, each member of the class will learn how to make connections from the past to our present day circumstances. Practicing through a variety of exercises, all will advance from mere accumulation of information to using biblical wisdom in developing informed opinions and drawing appropriate conclusions.
TEACH: Working together to engage with these key texts, each individual student will eventually articulate a biblical worldview regarding a theme/topic from the year’s work. Here the student grows in wisdom: living in the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 1.7). By recognizing God’s ways and learning how to live accordingly – in thought, word and deed – the student refines the tools of sharing, or teaching, these truths with others.
Study, Practice, Teach is designed for parents who take seriously their role in training their children in the ways of God. It is hoped that these courses will spur on and broaden conversations already happening at the dinner table; they are not to replace them. They are also built to challenge the student to learn in light of service for others. The goal is not simply increased acquisition of information; rather, it is to consider, through the lens of Scripture, how to think well. This leads to a faithful appreciation of the good, true and beautiful… a discussion I’ll save for a future post.
As always, reach out with any thoughts/questions! I hope to hear from you.