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Brynn Greenway
Professor Sjoerdsma
Educ 302-303
February 22, 2016
Christian Perspective
Having a Christian perspective affects who I am as a teacher because it is a huge part of
who I am as a person. Teachers should incorporate a part of who they are into their teaching in
order to connect with students. According to Van Brummelen this is the only way to be sincere
and get students to think about what is right and wrong. (2002). Whether I teach in a Christian
school or a public school, I want to be a servant to God and let His light shine in whatever I do.
My view on who we are as humans will affect the way I teach my students. I believe that
humans are created in Gods image and because of this we have the ability to think, reflect, and
feel emotion. We should use these abilities and exercise them in order to reach the potential that
God has given each of us. We have all been given the freedom to use our abilities, but according
to Maple we are also affected totally by sin and stand in need of redemption and restoration.
(2014). Sin is a big part of being human, but by recognizing that we as humans are sinful and we
live in a world tainted by sin, we can also take comfort in the fact that we have restoration
through Christ. I think that this should also motivate us to spread Gods love and promise of
redemption to others in whatever way we can. Everyone has their own role in the world that God
has given them, but we all share the common purpose of fulfilling Gods plan. We each have our
own strengths and weaknesses because God uses everyone in a different way. Humans have been
made to be in fellowship with God and each other. We can improve these relationships by
learning more about God and His creation.
We can improve our relationships with God and each other by gaining more knowledge.
Knowledge does not have to be facts out of a book. Knowledge can be about anything in Gods
creation including moral, spiritual, and emotional knowledge. Everything in Gods creation is
worth knowing because it gives us a better insight on who God is and how awesome his creation

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is. It also shows us how powerful and mysterious God is because we see how much knowledge
we do not have. God made so much that humans do not have the capabilities to obtain and
understand all the knowledge in the world. We come to know all this knowledge in many
different ways. In order to know, God must reveal it to us and we must accept it. He reveals
knowledge in many different ways like through the Bible and His creation. God also uses other
people, like teachers for example, to give us knowledge. One of the purposes of gaining
knowledge is so that we can better understand God and learn how to serve Him. It is also
important for humans to learn to be participating members of society, but this goes along with
Gods plan as well because we must find our calling that He has given us and use that calling to
serve Him.
The best conditions to facilitate this learning is in an environment that is open to new
ideas and questions. By talking to other people about new ideas and thoughts we are challenging
each other to think deeper. This could be in a classroom setting in a class discussion or outside of
the classroom among friends. Either way it is important to be open-minded to others thoughts
and avoid being judgmental. I think that its perfectly fine to state your own opinion, but its
wrong to try and push that opinion on someone else. We were made to be in community with one
another and to challenge each other in our thoughts and questions. Hearing others opinions can
give a person a larger worldview and broaden their perspective; however, this can only be
possible if students feel comfortable sharing. Teachers should do their best to be open to any
questions that students may have and answer them honestly while not pushing their own values
onto the student. The student should have room to form their own opinion based on their own
value system. I took a religion class in my senior year of high school, and the teacher taught
about Christian Reformed theology, but not everyone in my class was Christian Reformed. He
opened up the class to debate on a lot of topics so that students from other denominations could

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state what they believed on the matter. On the tests, he would ask students what the Christian
Reformed denomination believed and did not force them to write down something they did not
agree with for the sake of a grade. Students can challenge each other as well as the teacher, and
in this occurred in this situation. God made each student to think differently and students should
work in an environment where they can share their individual thoughts and opinions with one
another.
In a classroom setting, I would hope to incorporate these beliefs as much as possible. I
would want to have a classroom that is open to discuss anything that students may be curious
about in order to help them shape their own beliefs and values. The content that I would teach in
my classroom would always be related to God and how we can use the content in order to serve
Him. I would want to use lots of class discussions as well as reflective assignments. An example
is the difference between creationism and evolutionism. This is a very controversial topic in the
school systems, but I think it is important for students to understand both theories. Overall, my
goal as a teacher is to broaden students worldview and create an environment where they feel
comfortable in exploring new ideas and ways of thinking.

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Sources Cited
Maple, G. (2014). Children and adolescents. In K. Goodlet & J. Collier (Eds.), Teaching well:
insights for educators in Christian schools (p. 13-24). Barton, Australia: Barton Books.
Van Brummelen, H. (2002). Steppingstones to curriculum (second ed., pp. 5-25). Colorado
Springs, CO: purposeful design.