Bible at RiverTree

One of the phrases that Charlotte Mason brought to prominence was "living books." These are books that contain vital ideas with which a person can thoughtfully engage. They spark interest and fuel the imagination. And for Miss Mason, no book was more lively than the Bible.

Her approach to biblical instruction is truly refreshing. She believed, as I do, that the Bible is the word of God to children as much as to adults. A teacher in a classroom has no right to set herself up as an intermediary between God and the child. Rather, a teacher should be a guide leading a child to scripture, but otherwise should be quiet so that the child can hear God's voice.

One of the common mistakes teachers often make is to conclude every Bible lesson with a "moral": some predigested little tidbit that he or she wants the child to take away . But really, how dare we? Who are we to decide what God is or is not trying to tell a particular child? It is much better to let the mind of a child reflect on the story or psalm in all its beauty and complexity. Sometimes we might find that God uses his word in ways that we would not have expected. Our talky nature can oftentimes be astumbling block to children when what they really need is time to think and reflect on the Word of God.

At RiverTree our approach to the Bible will be very simple: We will daily present children with the Word. There will not be workbooks, or fill-in-the-blank-pages, or word finds, or crosswords, but simply the Word itself. At the beginning of the day a teacher will read a selected passage and then ask the children to narrate it back, or perhaps she will work on a memory portion with her students and then let the scriptures sink into the hearts and minds of the children. But we will not put ourselves in the place of authoritative interpreters of scripture. We dare not risk so being a hindrance to children.

Merely Christian

One of the most important elements of RiverTree that I have not written about much is its Christian character. Perhaps one of the reasons I have not is that when I think about how to do education, Christian belief is the only context in which I think about it. You see, I am fully and solely committed to Christian education because I believe it to be the only true education. If I claim that Christian belief is a universal truth system, how could I possibly think to educate children outside of that system? So, Christian belief then, becomes the context in which I work out my thoughts and ideas about education. As such, it is not always at the forefront of my discussions about how RiverTree is different and how best to describe it. Nevertheless, Christianity is one of the key distinctive elements of a RiverTree education.

That said, it is worth spending some time on the particular nature of RiverTree's Christian character. RiverTree School's approach could rightly be called merely Christian. That is, there is a core of Christian orthodoxy to which all ascribe. This core is usually summed up in the ancient Christian creeds, specifically the Apostle's and Nicene Creeds. These two creeds will more or less form the boundary of RiverTree's statement of faith. To be sure, there are other important elements of Christian doctrine. However, many of those topics are ones on which Christians of good will disagree. RiverTree will not, for example, take a doctinal position on the nature of Baptism, or the Eucharist, the precise nature of scriptural authority relative to church authority. These important questions will be left to parents to work out with their children and their home church as they see fit.

While we are unequivocally Christian, we are not directly associated with any particular church or denomination. In fact, from the first, it has been a priority that RiverTree school be equally welcoming to all Christians. Our goal is to provide a Christian eduation without excluding any particular denomination. Whether your home church is Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, Reformed, independent or none of the above we want you to be very comfortable with RiverTree's open arms approach.

On the other hand, while we want RiverTree to be doctrinally inclusive, we certainly do not want it to be without character. In this regard RiverTree will be rooted in tradition and history. It is a good thing for children to grow up with a sense of the flow of history and their place in it. This is nowhere more true than in their Christian faith. By making use of the great Christian traditions we communicate to children that their faith is not a mere whim or a triffle, but something grounded upon which they can stand firm. Therefore, we will make use of the old things like hymns, liturgy, the Christian calendar, and study of the lives of saints who have gone before us. All this so that a child's spiritual life may be rich, full and grounded in history and truth.

There is much more to say on the subject, of course, but I hope this gives you some idea of where we are coming from. I will try to write more soon. In particular, I want to talk about Charlotte Mason's approach to Biblical instruction. But that will have to wait.

Update

It has been a while (quite a while) since I last updated this blog so, let me get you caught up on what is happening with RiverTree. Most importantly, I am glad to announce two new additions to the RiverTree board of directors. Dr. Dennis Morrow and Dr. Michael Mignard have both agreed to serve as members of the initial board. Both Mike and Denny bring a lifetime of experience in education and school administration. I am deeply grateful that they agreed to serve and RiverTree will be much stronger for their guidance.

I have also recently completed RiverTree's application for tax-exempt status. Any of you who have gone through this application process with the IRS know that it is very involved and thought provoking. It took a lot of time, but I think we did everything correctly. Now it is a matter of waiting. Please pray that the process goes quickly and that RiverTree receives approval from the IRS as soon as possible.

I am also busily at work on a marketing strategy for the school. RiverTree has retained an excellent firm, SWP agency, which is guiding us through the process. We are very close to unveiling our official school logo. Then, sometime in September, we will launch the new website and this blog will move to one of the back pages.

On a personal note, I am back from vacation and blogging should resume a more regular pace. Thanks for your patience with me.