Not long ago, I witnessed the trial of a first-time juvenile offender. Furious with his mom for refusing to drive him to his girlfriend’s house, this fifteen year old young man demolished the back window of her truck. His frustrated parents pressed charges, and he soon found himself in front of a judge and a jury on the witness stand. Regrettably, this in itself is not unusual in our culture; however what I found most astonishing and disturbing was the manner in which this young man communicated with his interlocutors: grunts!

Single word grunts issued from his scowling lips. He was extremely disrespectful towards the judge and showed no indication of repentance or remorse. The judge had to ask the young man to respond in complete sentences! But the real shocker came when the jury was dismissed to deliberate: both parents began an eloquent conversation with the court officials. Clearly, his parents were well-educated and effective communicators. How did this young man end up with such a deficiency in communication skills? Do we run the same risk as these parents? Is it possible that our children, when faced with unexpected situations, will find themselves answering in one word replies? Do we take effective communication skills for granted?

Christians are called to more than grunts! We seek to glorify God in every word and deed. Colossians 3:17 succinctly summarizes our responsibility as Christians:

And whatever you do, in word and deed, do everything in the name of Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

What does it mean to speak every word in the name of Jesus? Let’s look at the term “word” in Scripture. The Gospel of John refers to Jesus as the Word of the Father, and the Old Testament prophets regularly delivered the “Word” of Yahweh to the King. The Creator reaches out to the creature and communicates, through spoken words like those delivered to the prophets, through invisible encounters as in the apostle Paul’s conversion story, through the written word of the canon of Scripture, and finally through the incarnation of Jesus. The Word of the Lord is of utmost importance because it is through that Word that the Living God reveals who He is for the sake of a full relationship with us. Communication is vital to our relationship with Him and with others, so we, as little “Christ-bearers,” recognize that our words, whether written or spoken, are also meant for relationship with others, and as such, they have the power to change lives. We speak in Jesus’ name as He would speak…in truth, in love, and with a mind toward advancing His Kingdom.

As classical home schooling parents, we have a deed to do: train our children in effective communication skills. They may have a true desire to speak every word in Jesus’ name, but if they don’t have the tools, their efforts may not reach full potential. All that we have done in teaching the classical trivium comes to fruition in step 3, “Communicating Well.” In order to effectively influence others, our children must marshal the language, seek out the best arguments, and organize ideas with compelling style and captivating delivery. Equipped with the necessary skills, our eloquent children will respond to difficult questions with thoughtful, persuasive words that, unlike base grunts, have the power to change the world!

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Next up for step 3 of the classical trivium, “Communicating Well,” is an introduction to classical rhetoric and the three kinds of classical discourse.

Tags: arguments, classical discourse, Classical Home Schooling, classical rhetoric, classical trivium, communicating effectively, Communicating Well, Jesus, language, organize ideas, words

The third stage of the historical trivium is rhetoric…as classical Christian home school parents we want to teach our children to effectively communicate in writing and speaking. But learning the skills of effective communication alone is not enough. We need to also teach the kids to communicate meaning. Meaningless essays, speeches, or conversations might help build skills in the early years, but over time, we desire that our children will be people of influence, communicating that which is ultimately meaningful to their King.

Before your child can communicate effectively in writing or speaking, they must first understand the topic. Acquiring knowledge is the first step, and as they mature, that knowledge should become understanding and eventually (we pray) wisdom. Certainly, we want them to communicate when all they have is knowledge because they are building critical rhetorical skills, but a classical scholar strives for deeper meaning, and when he or she understands the topic, written and oral communication can be extremely powerful and life-changing. Consider this example for learning and communicating about a topic that should be meaningful to Christians.

A Meaningful Idea

In 1982, a worldwide prayer movement for the unreached people groups of the world was launched, and since its beginnings over 25 years ago, the Global Prayer Digest has helped fuel over 9400 days of prayer for an estimated 10,000 unreached people groups. What is an unreached people group?

According to the Joshua Project, there are 16,256 distinct ethnic or “people” groups in the world. Of those, 6877 people groups are considered “unreached” which means they have the least exposure to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the least Christian presence in their midst. Just to put this in perspective, of the 6.6 billion global population, the Joshua Project estimates that 2.7 billion or 41% of the world’s population are unreached! Of course, the driving purpose behind accumulating information on unreached people groups like the Najdi Bedoin people of Iraq is to ultimately assess the effectiveness of the completion of Jesus’ Great Commission to His Church (”Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations“) so that missionaries, lay persons, and resources can be mobilized for people with the greatest need for a life-changing relationship with the Living God.

Embracing The Meaningful Idea

There are many ways to research ideas - you can read, watch an instructional DVD, interview involved people, or experience the idea yourself. In my personal opinion, I think books, DVDs, or interviews function best as appetizers to the main course. In other words, researching the meaningful idea through these methods is critical, but real understanding and wisdom only come when the meaningful idea is experienced. The most passionate communicators in the world are those who have “lived” their passion!

The first step is learning about the meaningful idea. In this case, you can find books and internet sources to inform and instruct in the basic elements of the idea. For example, I mentioned the Global Prayer Digest and Joshua Project websites above which both provide lots of informative data and perspective on the big picture of unreached people groups. Books like Operation World and You Can Change The World can illuminate on specific unreached people groups. Many local churches support missionaries to unreached people groups; an email interview or free skype internet call to the missionary can add a different dimension to your child’s knowledge base. If the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course is offered in your area (over 200 U.S. locations), your high school senior could enroll in this semester course, earn dual college credit, and learn more about the people groups movement.

But don’t stop at acquiring knowledge about the topic…get involved! Once the child or youth begins to learn about the topic, have him or her experience the topic firsthand. In this particular scenario, you can participate in reaching these ethnic groups by regularly praying as a family for the needs of the people. Another idea that also teaches the concept of tithing is to pay your children for some special projects around the house then have them tithe to their people group out of their earnings. Service in the form of collecting resources for foreign missionaries or organizing prayer chains in youth group force hands-on involvement. You might even be called to travel overseas and visit your adopted unreached people group!

How Our Family Embraces The Meaningful Idea

Throughout the years, my family has “adopted” various unreached people groups. When David was teaching in India a few years ago, the kids and I chose 12 Indian people groups to pray for while he was gone. We chose people groups in the geographical area of the country that he would be visiting. We read about each group and prayed for a different one each day. At other times (like the Muslim holiday of Ramadan), we prayed nightly using the facts on a website like Frontiers or a prayer guide like the one published by Global Prayer Digest (daily email guide is free.) Each day we read a little bit about the culture of the unreached people group and included them in our nightly family prayers.

When the kids were doing elementary level work, we read a great book by Jill Johnstone called You Can Change The World. Now that the kids are older, we frequently consult a terrific reference book that I believe every Christian family should have in their library called Operation World when we want to learn more about specific people groups like the percentages of Christians by denomination, number of missionaries, and the top 10 prayer needs for effective evangelism.

Currently, we partner with missionaries in three unreached people groups in Southwest Asia, South America, and Central Africa (represented by the mission agencies: Frontiers, Wycliffe, and International Leadership Institute, respectively) through monthly financial support. Of course, we pray for those people all the time because we hear first hand through regular emails what’s going on with the communities so we can pray as immediate needs arise.

In addition to our family giving, the kids each select a people group to support with their personal tithe. Meredith has been sending her tithe to Lebanese orphan girls through Partners International for several years; in fact, one year she got so involved with her adopted little sisters that she asked her local friends to give the money that they would have spent on her birthday present to the orphanage. At her birthday party, they created a card that they all signed to send to Lebanon. Now that is experiencing the meaningful idea!

Communicating the Meaningful Idea

Once your child has acquired knowledge about the meaningful idea, it is time to incorporate written and oral communication. You might start with assigning an essay or short expository speech with visual aids. Younger kids can give their speech to family members or “publish” the essay by posting it to the refrigerator for all to read! For an older teen, you might arrange some public speaking engagements like the local retirement home or youth group where your child can practice persuasion skills and field questions from the audience. If you have immersed the kids in knowledge and given them a chance to personally experience the meaningful idea then it is very likely that they will have generated some true passion, understanding, and maybe even wisdom that will certainly be conveyed when they write or speak about the subject!

Take the Plunge

You can apply these concepts to any meaningful idea. As classical scholars, we should be encouraging our kids to do more than simply memorize useless facts to parrot back on true/false quizzes. Take them deeper, and explore real meaning. Start with ideas that you and your husband are passionate about then move on to ideas you as a family want to learn more about. Each of your children has a significant calling on their lives, or you wouldn’t be investing such time and energy into raising classical scholars who can communicate effectively as they influence their culture. Recognize that calling, and do all that you can to help them get ready. The rewards of such preparation will yield profound results now and for generations to come!

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Do you have examples to share about how your family has explored or communicated meaningful ideas? Your stories are welcome!

Tags: Christian missions, classical Christian home school, classical scholar, essays, Jesus, knowledge, meaning, meaningful ideas, public speaking, Rhetoric, Speech, speeches, trivium, unreached people groups, Writing, written communication

Dear Classical Scholar,
What is a Christian home education?                  -Just Wondering

Dear ‘Just Wondering‘,

In contemporary Western culture, education is defined as the objective transfer of knowledge from an expert to a novice. Using various tools, techniques, and skills, the trained classroom teacher delivers “neutral” content, and the student is expected to master these facts. Public schools, private Christian schools, and even some Sunday Schools typically follow this educational paradigm which assumes that knowledge is simply a vast ocean of objective data which needs to be acquired by the student like the commercial fisherman catches a net full of fish. Consider three commonly accepted “neutral” fact families:

• multiplication tables
• punctuation rules
• chemical elements

Students are taught unrelated facts by cool, clinical technicians as if they had no interrelated deeper meaning or greater purpose than to be regurgitated on a test at the end of the semester. However, Christians know that knowledge is not neutral, and all data can be interpreted in light of God’s nature. Suddenly, multiplication tables have profound meaning as the careful observer sees the concept at work in the multiplication of plant and animal cells. Punctuation rules become significant for clear and effective communication and exposition of truth. The Periodic Table takes on new meaning as the student discovers the differing atomic weights and chemical properties of the elements. In short, observations about our world become opportunities to express decidedly passionate responses as we stand in awe of the greatness and infinite goodness of the Living God!

So what is a Christian home education? If you break down the term to its simplest interpretation, Christian home education would be “learning about Christ at home.” In fact, Proverbs 1:7 says that:

“the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

According to this verse, we cannot even begin to acquire knowledge without first fearing , or respecting, the LORD from whom all truth originates. Instruction in truth comes from a relationship with the LORD.

Jesus didn’t send his disciples off to a trained technician who would teach them unrelated data from textbooks in a classroom with their peers. His educational system was rooted in a lifestyle of 24/7 community. He lived with his students. Where ever they were together was home. He taught and they imitated. Learning was not just about repetition of unrelated facts but about behavior and action. He didn’t artificially separate knowledge into categories or stand-alone subjects. Torah was His primary text. Loving God and loving neighbor was something they did…not just something they thought or read about. Interestingly, knowledge as Jesus gave it was certainly not objective - He was not in the least interested in transferring neutral data about life. His teaching was profoundly subjective, life-changing knowledge that created outrageous loyalty and love for God and men.

So what’s the first thing YOU need to do in order to give your kids a Christian education? You need to get to know Jesus personally. Spend time with Him, and let Him instruct you in His character, His passions, and His purposes. The better you know Him…the better disciple you will be; your relationship and knowledge of Him will directly impact the education of your children. You want to raise little image-bearers who reflect His glory everywhere they go and through everything they do. At the end of the home schooling journey, the Lord will not judge you on how much book knowledge you were able to impart to the kids. He’s concerned about how much your kids learned about Him through the home education they received.

Make time in your day to spend quiet time being discipled by your Lord; your own personal “Christian education” is crucial to the successful home education of your children. Don’t be a fool and despise His instruction. He wants to spend time with you today!

Just give me Jesus,

Diane

 

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If these posts are valuable to you, tell a friend about this blog. We all need encouragement in this home schooling endeavor, and you can actively show your love by sending the link to this post about Christian education.

Tags: Christian, classical scholar, disciples, education, home education, home schooling, Jesus, knowledge, teacher, the Lord