Introducing Cornerstone Classical Christian Academy's First Grade Class

From left to right: Gorilla, Georgia, Curious [George], Missy, Flower, Madeline, George Washington, and Earrings. I decided to let them choose their own pseudonyms (although I didn't tell them the purpose). I think they chose their names very well--they all fit their personalities.

performing

I think my husband is making a nerd out of me. Well, I guess I should say he's making a bigger nerd out me. After just a little over four months of marriage, he's got me occasionally watching the news (my dad would be proud), weekly anticipating the Saturday arrival of our Time magazine, reading Ann Coulter on Thursdays (don't tell), and just this week I've caught myself listening to NPR news during the two minute drive from our house to church/school. And to make certain I've a good lense through which to view these clashing worldviews, every evening while I'm ironing I've made a habit of listening to the Al Mohler radioshow podcast I downloaded the last time my laptop came across a signal. Have I told you that I love Al Mohler?

Yesterday in the 2 minute drive home from school, NPR news interviewed some educators with different views on software-based curriculum in public schools. One teacher said something about "...students are performing better..." and I asked aloud, "WHAT?" I've heard this phrase many times in my life as a student and a teacher, but yesterday I was wearing my CWV hearing aid (in case you don't know, that's Christian World View). That one phrase tells much about the purpose of the school system, its methods, and its assessments: performance. Is there a drama? A play? Have the students learned their lines and are now doing a better job of spitting them out at the right time? I thought education was supposed to be about.... education.

I know I performed well in my public school days. I crammed the study guide answers into my brain the night before my tests. I always made As. I was salutatorian of my senior class. Ashamedly, I've since learned that this is nothing to brag about. I was very poorly educated.

When I decided I wanted to be a teacher I thought a great deal about the purpose and goal of what I'd be doing. I found that the goal of education must be that students learn and love truth, gain the ability to reason and distinguish truth from falsehood, and attain the skills necessary and a passion to persuade others of truth. I believe, for this reason, that all subjects should be unified under the Lordship of Christ and comprehensively seen through the lenses of the Word of God and the glory of Christ.

I know the secularists in the public school system will never be about God's glory or use God's Word, but maybe they will at least learn to teach students--as our deistic and polytheistic forefathers were taught--to read and think, and not to perform.

For now, Ben Robinson and Al Mohler with their sagacious worldviews are making up for my lost days in public school. They make me want to read and watch and listen to the world, think, and develop my own good worldview. They are my good educators.

I wonder what he's been reading. Lewis? Piper, maybe?

Random comment from a first-grader today:

"Only God can brag. He can say, 'Look at me! Look at me! I'm so good!'"

[Edited to twenty-two words for Abraham's "people".]

Some people worship cows

Here's one of the funniest happenings of my career, back when I was called "Miss Dodd." I put it on my Facebook when it happened, but I thought it was worth re-posting here.

While memorizing Philippians 2 with my 6 year olds, one of them violently stabbed her hand into the air, crying out "E.. e....e.. ex-cuse m..me, Missddodd. Missdodd. Missdodd"

"Yes, Twila*" I answer.

"J..Jesus died on the cross, n..not at McDonald's," she matter-of-factly stutters.

"Well..hmm...that's true, Twila*." I quickly resume hiding Philippians 2 in their hearts to keep myself from laughing out loud and making her cry.

Later on the playground I call her to me and ask what she meant by that. I'm thinking that maybe her parents have been teaching her some good theology about suffering and how the Christian life is not just "cokes and jokes." Her answer: "Misssdodd. Some people worship cows."Ohhh.

*To protect the privacy of the student and her parents, I've changed her name to Twila.

Seven-year-olds on THE SECRET

Tuesday evening, Ben brought home a copy of Dr. Al Mohler's March 27th article about the New York Times number one best-seller, The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne. I was flabbergasted, and immediately decided I would read portions of her book to my first grade class and see what they had to say.

Wednesday morning, after a brief preface about the book, I read to them:
"Thoughts are magnetic and thoughts have a frequency. As you think, those thoughts are sent out into the Universe, and they magnetically attract all like things that are on the same frequency. Everything sent out returns to its source. And the source is you."

"You are the most powerful magnet in the Universe! You contain a magnetic power within you that is more powerful than anything in this world, and this unfathomable magnetic power is emitted through your thoughts."

"Every negative thought, feeling, or emotion is blocking your good from coming to you, and that includes money."

"You are God in a physical body. You are spirit in the flesh. You are Eternal Life expressing itself as You. You are a cosmic being. You are all power. You are all wisdom. You are all intelligence. You are perfection. You are magnificence. You are the creator, and you are creating the creation of You on this planet."

"The earth turns on its orbit for You. The oceans ebb and flow for You. The birds sing for You. The sun rises and it sets for You. The stars come out for You. Every beautiful thing you see, every wondrous thing you experience, is all there for You. Take a look around. None of it can exist, without You. No matter who you thought you were, now you know the Truth of Who You Really Are. You are the master of the Universe. You are the heir to the kingdom. You are the perfection of Life. And now you know The Secret."

I read each sentence and then paused to let them respond. The room was filled with horrified gasps and mocking giggles. A few of the students even timidly used the s word--"That lady is...stupid!" As I read on, the students began to answer every sentence with a loud "No!" In response to her, they remembered some of the verses we've memorized this year: that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God," that "from Him and through Him and to Him are all things," and that "the heavens are telling of the glory of God." I was thrilled! Then Hannah raised her hand and said, "She needs to read Psalm 100: "It is He who has made us and not we ourselves" (which just happened to be her assigned section of the Psalm we've been practicing).

Another child mumbled that "She's going to have to pay for this."

"What?" I asked.

She sadly replied, "She's going to be put to death."

"Who will put her to death?"

"God will."

So again, a seven-year-old has reminded me that the proper Christian response is one of compassion. I took the opportunity to remind them that God is true to His word: that sin deserves death and that if Mrs. Byrne never hears the gospel, never believes, repents, or gives her whole life to Jesus, she will pay for her sins by eternal death in hell. I encouraged them to pray for her, that someone would share the right Gospel with her and that she would believe and repent. I encouraged them to pray for all the people who read her book, that they would know that it is full of nonsense and not be deceived by her words. Sam raised his hand and asked if he could pray.

I am really thankful for the opportunity God has given me with this book and Dr. Mohler's article to assess the worldview of my first grade class. I'm so excited that my 7-year-olds have grasped some basic Biblical truths about God and his world and can recognize error when they hear it. This has to be the heart of true Christian education, and at moments like these--boy, am I glad to be an educator!

Elbow Pits

Here's a story to jump start my blog and give you a glimpse into my life.

As a first grade teacher, I spend a good deal of time on the floor surrounded by a circle of book-holding 7-year-olds. A couple of weeks ago Abigail violently sneezed, splattering Ross' face with droplets of infectious disease. Ross whines, Abigail cries, and I decide we'll put down the books and have a few minutes of sneeze-etiquitte lessons. I explain that before a sneeze, they should try to grab a kleenex in which to make their messes. "If not," I explained, "sneeze in your elbow-pit." Laughter erupts and everyone pretends to sneeze in this new-found body part. We regain self-control and read for about 15 more minutes when I hear a strange sniffling noise coming from my left. I look over and see snot rolling down Hannah's arm. "What are you doing?!?" She decided to BLOW her snotty nose in her elbow pit.