Christian Educators Journal April 2022 Vol. 61 No. 4
Resource Reviews Young Adult Books You Should Read Mock Caldecott and Newbery Awards 2022 Mr. Lincoln’s Way Teaching Students about Residential Schools Creating a Culture of Belonging
Future Issues October 2022—Science in the Christian Community When we think about faith and science, it’s easy to think about the clash of ideas. But science is also made up of daily practices of working together in disciplined forms of inquiry. Christian faith brings to the task of science not just ideas, but also a commitment to certain ways of being together with others, a set of relational practices. How might those practices inform the way we learn and do science? In this issue we will explore how a focus on Christian community can shape specific practices and how those practices might be relevant to the science classroom and the laboratory. We will also share results from a research study examining the practical implications of intentional team practices for how Christians approach science. This issue is guest edited by David Smith et al. and is not accepting submissions. December 2022—Engaging Communities, Loving Neighbors No school exists in isolation; each is part of a broader community with its own assets and challenges. What are the different ways that schools can work in and with the communities that they inhabit to form partnerships, enhance their mission, and work for the kingdom of God in their specific place? Articles may explore curricular connections, partner organizations, service opportunities, unique ways that schools celebrate the identity or history of their place, or other practices that Christian teachers and schools use to engage their broader neighborhoods and communities. The most helpful articles will present models that other educators can adapt to their own contexts. Proposals are due August 29. Articles are due September 26. February 2023—This Is Our Father’s World Because the first instruction God gives his people is to care for his creation, that task is part of our mission as Christian educational institutions. How do classroom teachers teach environmental stewardship at different grade levels and in different subjects? What building practices and procedures do schools use to conserve resources and model care for God’s world? How is the glory of God’s creation celebrated in school activities, student activities, and curricula? We’re looking for articles from classroom teachers, administrators, custodians, architects, cafeteria managers, student environmental clubs, and community garden tenders about the way they’re having a positive environmental impact on God’s world. Proposals are due October 10. Articles are due November 14. April 2023—Resource Review Each year we highlight the best books, films, websites, teaching tools, and other resources for Christian school teachers. We publish reviews of student-facing material (like which books to stock in your classroom library), as well as materials relevant to school staff (like curricula or books about teaching). Proposals are due January 2. Articles are due January 30.
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Editorial STEVE TUIT AND ABBY ZWART
Six Amazing Young Adult Books You Should Read BILL BOERMAN-CORNELL
A School Tradition: Mock Caldecott and Newbery Awards 2022 LOIS BOERMAN
Does Mr. Lincoln’s Way Look Like God’s Way? LUCIANO CID
Faith Journey: A Classroom Tool for Remembering and Forgetting KENT EZELL
Speaking Our Truth: A Text for Teaching Students about Residential Schools EDITH van der BOOM
How Ungrading Can Change Your Classroom DANIELLE DAUJATAS AND ARON REPPMANN
The Resource I Wish I Had as a New Teacher TYLER HARMS
Creating a Culture of Belonging in Christian Schools TYLER HARMS
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Christian Educators Journal Vol. 61 No. 4, April 2022 cejonline.com Co-editors Steve Tuit and Abby Zwart cejeditor@gmail.com The Christian Educators Journal (CEJ) encourages letters to the editor in response to articles presented in the CEJ. Letters must be accompanied by the author’s name and email address. The CEJ reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Where a letter addresses issues raised by the author of an article, the CEJ reserves the right to invite the article author to respond to the letter. Subscriptions Klaas Wolterstorff 2474 Westboro Dr NE Grand Rapids, MI 49506 business@cejonline.com Subscription Price (US dollars) US: $25.00 (one year, print) Canada: $30.00 (one year, print) Digital: $25.00 (one year) Beginning September 2021, all subscriptions outside the US and Canada are digital only. Please visit www.cejonline for subscription information. US Postal Information Nonprofit Organization Postage paid in Grand Rapids, MI Permit No. 657 Return postage guaranteed to: Christian Educators Journal 2474 Westboro Dr NE Grand Rapids, MI 49506 Address Correction Requested Canadian Postal Information Registered under Publications Mail Agreement: No. 40022165 at Norwich, ON Return postage guaranteed to: Christian Educators Journal PO Box 39 Norwich, ON N0J 1P0 Indexed in Christian Periodicals Index Copyrighted 2000 CEJ. All rights reserved. Christian Educators Journal (130630) is published quarterly by Christian Educators Journal Association. Scripture All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
Statement of Purpose The Christian Educators Journal Association publishes the Journal as a channel of communication for all educators committed to the idea of Christian day school at the elementary, secondary, and college levels. The views expressed are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the association. Reprint Policy We allow free reprinting or photocopying of individual articles that have appeared in our journal, as long as the copied articles are used within the context of schooling and the source is acknowledged. Co-editors Steve Tuit and Abby Zwart Copyeditor Bethany Murphy Design Editor Klaas Wolterstorff Business Manager Klaas Wolterstorff Web Shepherd Heather Altena Board of Trustees Dr. Henry Algera Heather Birch Justin Cook Dan Diephouse (Secretary) Albert Kok (Chair) Gayle Monsma Ed Noot Jim Rooks Sean Schat Christine Scholma Tricia Stobbe Edith Van Der Boom Heather VanDyke Christine Webb Supporting Institutions Calvin University Edvance Christian Schools Association Institute for Christian Studies The King’s University Redeemer University Trinity Christian College Tyndale University Subscribing Organizations Christian Educators Association Christian Educators of British Columbia Prairie Centre for Christian Education Printed back issues (if available) can be purchased for $7.50 per copy (cost of shipping to be added to total). Some back issues may be available in digital format.
Editorial
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f there’s one thing teachers across disciplines, grade levels, and dispositions can agree on, it’s that reading is essential to the success of our students. (Okay, okay—we can also probably agree that February is too long, even if it’s the “shortest month.”) Whether it’s a word problem about pizza and fractions, a set of instructions for a chemistry lab, a news article about upcoming elections, or a novel set in the American South, students need their reading, comprehension, and interpretation skills in every subject. Reading promotes empathy, identity formation, and community. It encourages higher level thinking, calms our nervous systems, and promotes sharpness of mind as we age. This isn’t news to most of us. But . . . many of us busy teachers might not be able to bring to mind the last book you read for personal pleasure or edification. There’s always something else to be done—a parent to email, a child to parent, a paper to grade, a meeting to attend. Many of us don’t cultivate a habit for reading, and so it falls by the wayside. We shouldn’t be surprised, then, when our students also show reticence to read. In our annual resource review issue, we hope to provide you with a smattering of books and other tools you can use in your classroom. This month, we’ve got picture books and young adult novels and nonfiction about reconciliation for your students, and we’ve got a book about grading, a devotional, and a useful app for you. And, of course, we’ve got our own personal recommendations, below. We wish you a blessed and energetic end to the school year and a restorative and story-filled summer ahead. —Abby and Steve Our review issue this year is full of books, so I thought I would bring you two movie recommendations to balance out your spring plate. Both are a favorite genre of mine (and, I suspect, of many teachers): the coming of age story. First, check out Licorice Pizza, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Two young adults form a close and quirky bond as they grow up one summer in Southern California, and any high school teacher will laugh out loud at their awkward exchanges and harebrained get-rich-quick schemes. The second film is C’mon C’mon, directed by Mike Mills. The star here is the relationship between Joaquin Phoenix’s character and his sweet and hyperactive nineyear-old nephew, who is feeling his way through some big and very adult emotions. The beautiful black and white cinematography matches the tone, which teeters between anxious and nostalgic, perfectly. —Abby Zwart Christian Educators Journal
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I actually can remember the last book I read for pleasure. Over January, I managed to read A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles, which takes place almost entirely in one hotel in Moscow. It begins in 1922, when the title character, Count Rostov, is sentenced to house arrest by a commissariat rather than being executed for being an aristocrat. The novel spans thirty-two years of his life as he reinvents himself, spars with Bolsheviks, and raises a young woman almost as his daughter. It started slowly for me, but I grew to admire the old Count. Apparently, it will soon be made into a “major television series,” but I encourage you to read the book first. —Steve Tuit
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Six Amazing Young Adult Books You Should Read BILL BOERMAN-CORNELL
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he world of young adult literature continues to turn out some amazing novels and non-fiction with every new year. The following books are the best ones I have read in this past academic year. All are recent, though they span the last five years or so. While there continues to be a flood of good literature, like other media (movies, YouTube, television shows, and social media), vulgar language is becoming more commonplace, as are frank discussions of sexuality and increasing depictions of gender diversity. This is not surprising because one of the things literature has always done is try to accurately represent the world we live in. The following books all have strong themes worthy of discussion in your classroom. In each review, I will include information about content in the book that might result in parental challenges, depending on the school and community you serve.
1.Illegal, by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, illustrated by Giovanni Rigano (Jabberwocky, 2018)
Opening lines: “Now. Seahawk inflatable rubber dinghy. Maximum safe load, six people. Currently carrying 14 passengers.” Genre and format: Realistic fiction graphic novel Which academic disciplines could use this book? English and history Quick Summary: Ebo’s brother, Kwame, left during the night. He is traveling on a dangerous journey from the refugee camp where they live to Europe, where he hopes to find their sister, Sisi, and bring her back. Ebo decides to go after him. To do so, he will have to cross the Sahara, evade bandits, and earn enough money to pay for bus rides and boat passage. And all Ebo has going for him is his ability to sing and his dedication to finding his family. Why should I read this book? This graphic novel highlights the plight of illegal immigrants and refugees as they try to find those they have been separated from and a safe place to live. It does this by bringing us inside the lives, minds, and hearts of two brothers, and the story is both captivating and moving. The art is beautiful, but more importantly, it draws you so deeply into the story that you don’t notice its beauty as you get lost in Ebo’s world. If there is a story that would cause those who dismiss all immigrants as criminals and freeloaders looking for a handout to think again, this is that Christian Educators Journal
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book. It shows Ebo and his siblings as deeply human and in need of help. Colfer brings a storytelling ability honed on writing the Artemis Fowl books to bear on an important issue of compassion and justice and shows that he can tell that story with seriousness and insight. Who is this book best for? The short answer to this question is “everybody,” but I would say sixth grade and up could probably handle it best. This would fit well with language arts or social studies units focused on global issues. It would also be a great addition to a classroom or school library. Is it likely to be challenged? I don’t think so, unless a particular parent would see the story as too political. It seems to me, however, that this is the sort of story that Christians need to read.
2. Torpedoed: The True Story of the World War II Sinking of “The Children’s Ship,” by Deborah Heiligman (Henry Holt, 2019)
Opening lines: “September 17, 1940. Nighttime. In the mid-Atlantic Ocean, a German war submarine has an ocean liner in its sights. The U-boat commander and his crew have been following the ship all day. They are waiting for the right moment.” Genre: Historical nonfiction Which academic disciplines could use this book? History, English Short summary: During World War II, when London was suffering the effects of Hitler’s blitzkrieg, one strategy to get children safely away from the danger was to send them to Canada in passenger liners. The SS City of Benares left England on a September day in 1940, escorted by British warships. They did not know they were being followed by a German submarine. When the escort ships left, the German U-boat torpedoed them, not knowing there were a hundred children aboard. The children and their caregivers soon found themselves in lifeboats and clinging to bits of refuge in the freezing North Atlantic water. The crew managed to get a distress signal sent. From that point on, it was a matter of survival for the children and a race against time for the rescuers. Why should I read this book? The story is gripping. The research is strong. And besides humanizing the war, the book helps readers understand some of the difficulties that Britain was facing. The aerial bombing made staying put unsafe, but the submarines made escape an uncertain thing as well. There is heroism in this story, and plenty to grab a student’s attention—but there is also a fair amount of description of Heiligman’s research process, which might energize some students to be excited about historical inquiry. Who is this book best for? Sixth through twelfth graders—anyone who is interested in history, World War II, the evacuation of London, or learning 6
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to write a narrative. This would be great for a classroom or school library. It could also be a valuable supplementary reading to a WWII history unit. Is it likely to be challenged? No.
3. Just Like That, by Gary D. Schmidt (Clarion, 2021)
Opening lines: “In June, the June before Meryl Lee Kowalski’s eighth grade year, she watched the news reports from the Vietnam War: 23 American soldiers in a CH46A Sea Knight had helicoptered in to evacuate marines not far from Khe Sahn, South Vietnam. Their helicopter was hit by enemy fire and went down. Half the men were killed.” Genre: Realistic fiction Which academic disciplines could use this book? Primarily English. It could perhaps be used for a history class focusing on the 1960s, since the background of the story reflects what was happening in history at the time, but that is not its primary interest. Short summary: Meryl Lee and Matt are both lost. Meryl Lee’s best friend died in an accident, and in an attempt to get her away from all the memories in her community, her parents have sent her to a boarding school where she feels very much out of place and without a home. Matt has been on the run for most of his life. Stolen away from his parents at a young age and forced to work for a criminal gang, Matt only had one friend in the world. When that friend was killed by the leader of the gang, Matt stole a cache of money from the gang leader and has been on the run ever since. Every time he settles down and begins to feel part of a community, the gang leader’s men find him, and Matt knows that those he loves are in danger. Both Meryl Lee and Matt are taken under the wing of the quirky headmistress of the school, along with her friend (and aging suitor), a fishing boat captain. Meryl Lee is trying to fit in, find her purpose in life, and deal with the fact that her parents are separating. Matt can feel the danger from the gang getting closer. But both of them have found in each other a reason for staying put and fighting back. Why should I read this book?: Gary Schmidt consistently delivers spellbinding stories that explore interesting themes. This book looks at how individuals contribute to and are blessed by communities, how a family can be a different thing for different people, and, at its root, what each person’s moral responsibility to change the world involves. It’s easy to sympathize with the characters, the story is consistently gripping, and the writing is brilliant and intriguing. This book has joy and sadness and hope and grief and vision in it. Who is this book best for? While I think strong middle school readers would enjoy it, Just Like That seems best for high school students. This book has enough going on in it that it could easily be the focus of a whole class unit or Christian Educators Journal
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A School Tradition: Mock Caldecott and Newbery Awards 2022 LOIS BOERMAN
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very year, the Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), announces which literary works of the previous year have earned one of their many awards. Two of those awards, the Randolph Caldecott Medal and the John Newbery Medal, are the oldest of all of the awards granted by the ALSC. This year marks the one-hundredth anniversary for the Newbery Medal, and the Caldecott Medal is right behind it with eighty-four years and counting. Each fall, our school library invites the first- through fourth-grade students to hear and see picture books that have the potential to win the Caldecott Medal. Meanwhile, our middle school students are invited to join grade-level book clubs to read and discuss works that could win the Newbery Medal. In preparation for the upcoming awards, we read some of the best children’s literature published in the current year and vote on our own winners. We call these our Mock Caldecott and Mock Newbery awards. This is nothing new. Countless libraries, schools, and classrooms create their own lists and run programs in ways that work for them. If you haven’t tried it, you might want to consider making an attempt. When we start the Mock Caldecott program in the fall, I am careful to let the students know that “mock” as an adjective means that we know it’s not real, but it’s a lot like the original (like mock apple pie). We are not using the word “mock” as a verb, because we would never make fun of these books or the Caldecott and Newbery medals. The following books are highlights of our 2022 mock events.
Mock Caldecott Titles for Read Aloud and Art Lessons I do not consider myself knowledgeable when it comes to art, so it has always been difficult to discuss the artwork of our Mock Caldecott titles with the students. This year, I was able to find a variety of online videos in which the artists talk about their work and demonstrate their craft. This has been a game changer for the students, as they see how the book’s illustrations are created and why certain choices are made regarding line, shape, form, value, space, color, and texture. Two of our 2021 videos could easily lead into art lessons. Using the descriptions, you should be able to easily find them through a Google search. Let’s start with those.
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Wonder Walkers, written and illustrated by Micha Archer (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2021)
“I wonder” is the theme of this romp through nature. In a video interview with the Fort Worth Public Library, author and illustrator Micha Archer does an incredible job demonstrating her technique of creating paper collage art. Before she can illustrate a book, she has to generate patterned papers, which she then tears, cuts, glues, and draws on to create the illustrations. We read the book after watching the video and were astonished to find over one hundred individually cut blades of grass on one page alone. Knowing that she had painted the paper that was then cut only added to our awe and amazement. Whether or not students make their own paper as part of the process, paper collage is something you may already do in your classroom. If not, you will be eager to try it after watching this video. It is over forty-three minutes long, so you will want to choose specific clips to share.
Have You Ever Seen a Flower? written and illustrated by Shawn Harris (Chronicle Books, 2021)
This is another book that is contemplative at a young child’s level. Washington, DC–based bookstore Politics and Prose hosts this interview with author and illustrator Shawn Harris. After reading the book, Harris gives a lesson on how to make a stencil and ways to fill it using a variety of colored pencils. It’s overwhelming to read the book after watching the video. We tried to imagine all of the stencil techniques that Harris used and how it led to the power of the negative white space. The students were so intrigued by this that many of them tried it at home and brought me samples of their work.
More Mock Caldecott Illustrator Videos The following videos demonstrate the illustrator’s craft but may not be easy to replicate in the classroom.
Hurricane, written and illustrated by John Rocco (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2021)
What happens when a hurricane rips through a town? Hurricane exemplifies a community coming together after a horrific storm. There are a number of good video interviews with author/illustrator John Rocco. We chose one posted on Vimeo by publisher Little, Brown. In the nine-minute interview, Rocco explains how he used what he learned working in the animation and film industry and translated that to picture books. This is Rocco’s latest addition to his other books Blackout (a Caldecott honor book) and Blizzard.
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The Lost Package, written by Richard Ho, illustrated by Jessica Lanan (Roaring Brook Press, 2021)
This book takes us on the adventure of a carefully wrapped package that falls out of a USPS truck. How will it get from New York to San Francisco? MacKids Books put out a video of Jessica Lanan demonstrating her watercolor technique. It’s mesmerizing to watch her paint and shade bringing a mail truck to life.
Wolfboy, written and illustrated by Andy Harkness (Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2021)
For fans of illustrator Barbara Reid, Andy Harkness brings us a book about the irritation that comes with being hangry. A video posted by the publisher Bloomsbury gives a two-minute synopsis of Harkness’s work using polymer clay and Photoshop. It was not what I expected.
Books We Read for the Mock Newbery Club For our fifth- to eighth-grade Mock Newbery clubs, every grade level was assigned five books to read, giving us a total of twenty titles. Each month, from September to January, the clubs met in the library to discuss their books. Members were also encouraged to read the books being read by the other grade levels. The following five titles were read by our fifth-grade students.
A Place to Hang the Moon, by Kate Albus (Margaret Ferguson Books, 2021)
It is 1940 and siblings William (12), Edmund (11), and Anna (9) are without parents and grandparents. They need a guardian, but World War II is making it unsafe to live in London, and the family lawyer thinks that evacuating to the countryside might be the answer to the current problems. All three are evacuated to rural England, along with many other children. The siblings keep their situation a secret as they move from home to home and wonder if they’ll ever find a forever family. The village librarian is extremely kind to them, but the rest of the town shuns her. What do the townspeople know that the children don’t? A Place to Hang the Moon is a story about the importance of family, and it gives a nod to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It’s a good read for those who aren’t quite ready for The War That Saved My Life, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. We have a summer staff book club that reads middle-grade chapter books. This was a title that the teachers loved and were sure the students would as well. When discussing this book with the fifth graders, some loved it more than others.
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Faith Journey: A Classroom Tool for Remembering and Forgetting KENT EZELL
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I was reminded of how many times in the Bible God asked his leaders to make memorials so that people would not forget.
early two-thirds of U.S. 18–29-year-olds who grew up in church tell Barna they have withdrawn from church involvement as an adult after having been active as a child or teen” (Kinnaman). This quote from Barna scared me. It did not surprise me, though. I have seen many of my former students who were passionate about Jesus in my middle school classroom drop away from the faith. I think there are several reasons why youth who grew up in Christian homes are leaving the faith in alarming numbers. One of the reasons is that they are forgetting God’s goodness to them. Over the past few years, I’ve been able to talk with many people about this fact. One of those people was Sid Hielema. At the time, he was head of Faith Formation Ministries within the CRC denomination. We were discussing how I believe Satan uses forgetting as one of his tools. Sid reminded me of how many times in the Bible God asked his leaders to make memorials so that people would not forget. Joshua 4:4–7 says, So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israel ites, one from each tribe, and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”
Faith Journey exists to aid Christian schools, churches, and parents in raising children to become fully devoted followers of Jesus through documenting and reflecting on their faith journey.
God asked Joshua to put twelve stones together as a way of remembering. Remembering is why my wife and I believe God asked us to build Faith Journey. Faith Journey exists to aid Christian schools, churches, and parents in raising children to become fully devoted followers of Jesus through documenting and reflecting on their faith journey. Sid said, “The Psalmist declares over and over that remembering the Lord’s faithfulness in the past has sustained them through many dark and challenging times. Living as we do today in a culture of short-term memory, our children and teens need all the faith-memory aid they can get. The Faith Journey app provides that: a rich, contemporary means to live out these ancient Psalms.” At Faith Journey, we call these stones faith footprints. As people pour faith into students, it is recorded in students’ private, digital, individualized albums. What a blessing that our students have so many people contributing 24
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to their faith development: parents, youth pastors, Christian school teachers, and the students themselves. They can also reflect on the faith footprints. Reflection is an important part of pedagogy and is often skipped. A friend of mine called making reflections in the classroom “adding stickiness to the lessons.” In their book Learning and Leading with Habits of the Mind, Arthur L. Costa and Bena Kallick explain the value of reflection: “Reflection has many facets. For example, reflecting on work enhances its meaning. Reflecting on experiences encourages insight and complex learning. We foster our own growth when we control our learning, so some reflection is best done alone. Reflection is also enhanced, however, when we ponder our learning with others” (221). The chief responsibility of every parent is to grow their children to be fully devoted followers of Jesus, and they ask the Christian school to aid them with this task. At the Christian school, it is accomplished through teachers bringing faith into their lessons. The teachers are training the students to “look for God in all things.” In other words, we want our students to be 24/7 Christians. We don’t want them to be Christians on Sundays or when it looks good for them. When faith intersections are done well, students develop a Christ-centered worldview that will impact all areas of their lives today and in the future. My wife and I had the option to send our children to the local public schools or charter schools. Many of the teachers who work for those schools are wonderful Christians who love Jesus. But we chose a Christian school because they have teachers who are intentional about intersecting their faith into their lessons and all areas of school life. Often, we did this with much financial sacrifice. As my children are nearing the end of their high school years, my wife and I are pleased that they have developed an authentic, strong, Christ-centered worldview. We wanted to help encourage that kind of faith development in other students. Faith Journey gives Christian schools a tool to measure the effectiveness of how the teachers are integrating their faith into the lessons. It does this by providing evidence of faith integration to the school’s leaders and to the parents. Because of the use of technology, Faith Journey is able to collect and organize the faith footprints for all students efficiently and quickly. The leaders of the school are able to look at the faith footprints that are produced by the faith intersections and then make decisions based on evidence about how they are fulfilling their promise to the parents. More broadly, the school leaders can use Faith Journey as a barometer to measure or provide evidence of how the school is fulfilling its mission. Because of how Faith Journey is built, the leader will be able to see how the mission is being fulfilled with every student—not just a few students. The school leaders can then work with the teachers so that every one is producing outcomes that align with the school’s mission. For example, a student outcome that shows faith integration into the lessons could come from the book The Hiding Place. The book is about two sisters who hid Jews and then eventually were captured and brought to a concentration camp to work. There is a part in the book where Betsy tells Corrie to thank God for the fleas. Corrie protests. The reader finds out later that it was the fleas that kept the Nazi guards out of the barracks. In the barracks, Betsy and Corrie lead many people to know Jesus. The Christ-centered outcome will look different depending on the grade level (developmental). Christian Educators Journal
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The chief responsibility of every parent is to grow their children to be fully devoted followers of Jesus, and they ask the Christian school to aid them with this task.
Because of how Faith Journey is built, the leader will be able to see how the mission is being fulfilled with every student.