Issuu

Christian Educators Journal April 2023 Vol. 62 No. 4

Resource Review Teaching Shūsaku Endō’s Silence Disability in Children’s Literature Found Families Hi, My Name Is . . . Making Sense of Science and Religion You’re Only Human Education for Hope

Future Issues Each April, we announce the themes for the next volume of Christian Educators Journal and invite all readers to consider submitting an article. Please email Abby at cejeditor@gmail.com with questions or to propose a piece. October 2023 (guest edited by David Smith et al.) The Civic Hospitality Project How should Christian education prepare students to take part in civic processes in a society marked by deep disagreements and resentments? Christian faith requires more than tolerance of those with whom we disagree—Scripture calls us to love our enemies and exercise hospitality to strangers. What happens when we connect these themes to civic engagement and think specifically about civic hospitality? How can we help students to learn the dispositions that might enable them to love their neighbor in civic spaces amid tensions and differences? In this issue we will explore how a focus on Christian hospitality can shape education for civic virtue. This issue is guest edited and is not accepting submissions. December 2023—Parent Partnerships Connecting and communicating with parents is one of the most important yet challenging aspects of education in the twenty-first century. While the media is filled with negative labels like “helicopter” or “snowplow” parents and political leaders have weaponized parent-run school boards, parents are actually vital and valuable agents in their students’ academic and spiritual education. So: how does your school work with them? What are the best practices for communication at various grade levels? How do you encourage appropriate levels of involvement from parents? What do parent-teacher conferences look like at your school? Do you get parents into the building for career chats, field trips, or volunteering? What assignments do you give in class that encourage students to engage with their parents? We want to hear the success story of how you reassured parents about a touchy curriculum choice or enticed parents of high schoolers to attend a college fair. Proposals (informal—just email us your idea!) are due September 1. Articles are due October 2. February 2024—Inclusive Education Christian schools have long been known as welcoming communities for students with a variety of learning needs. It has been more than a decade since CEJ has focused on inclusive education, and we are eager to hear how schools have found creative ways to include and support students with disabilities in the body of Christ. Ideally, this issue will include students with physical disabilities (e.g., Spina bifida, limited mobility, or visual impairments), cognitive impairments or emotional disabilities (e.g., Down Syndrome, emotional impairment), or neurodivergences (e.g., autism, ADHD). What are the best practices for serving these students in the general education classroom? What unique programs does your school offer to enrich these students and those around them (sports, clubs, tutoring partnerships)? How do you train aides, parapros, and faculty alike? What physical spaces and adaptations do you offer? We’re hoping to hear from classroom teachers, support staff, inclusion coordinators, parents, and even students themselves. Proposals (informal—just email us your idea!) are due October 13. Articles are due November 13. April 2024—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 books to stock in your classroom library) as well as materials relevant to school staff (like curricula or books about teaching). Articles may focus on one text or may be written in a list style featuring multiple texts on a particular theme. Proposals (informal—just email us your idea!) are due December 29. Articles are due January 29.

Contents

3 Editorial 5 The Overwhelming, Never-Ending

Silence of God: Teaching Shūsaku Endō’s Silence in a Christian School ANTHONY BIGORNIA

9 Disability in Children’s Literature: Eight Books You Should Have in Your Classroom Library

CHRISTINE SCHOLMA AND BILL BOERMAN-C ORNELL

19 Found Families: An Idea for

Blending Whole-Class Novels and Student Choice in Middle School and High School English Classrooms ABBY DE GROOT

31 Hi, My Name Is . . . SEAN ENGLERT

37 Calling All Boundary Pioneers:

Making Sense of Science and Religion ANDREW KIRK

43 The Tortoise Wins: You’re Only Human B. J. CONDREY

47 Three Nesting Dolls: A History of

Reformed Christian Education in Canada ROBERT BRUINSMA

Christian Educators Journal

April 2023

material we want to share with friends. See the inside cover of this issue for more information about next year’s themes as well as how to propose a piece. We’d love to have you! Happy reading. —Abby Zwart

The Overwhelming, Never-Ending Silence of God: Teaching Shūsaku Endō’s Silence in a Christian School ANTHONY BIGORNIA

n our modern North American churches, we often sing of the “overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God” to remind us of how powerful and far-reaching God’s love is. This theme of the grandiosity of God’s love is predominant in today’s liturgy, and often writers seem to incorporate the vastness of creation to parallel the vastness of God’s goodness. Take, for example, the children’s worship song “Every Move I Make” that talks of “waves of mercy, waves of grace.” In this song, there is a connection between water and God’s goodness. In another example, the song “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail),” by Hillsong United, which held a ubiquitous presence in many worship ensembles’ repertoire of songs a few years ago, includes imagery of the ocean that inspires a sense of awe and wonder that we are invited to step into. In all of this, God’s love washes over us like the ocean. Yet, in many of life’s experiences, we do not necessarily feel the sense of God’s love, but rather a sense of God’s silence. In times where we feel God is silent, the waters and ocean might not symbolize the breadth of God’s love as we’ve come to romanticize in our modern worship songs. But rather, the ocean symbolizes something dreadful, mystifying, and rather lonely. If I were to wordsmith the aforementioned Bethel song to contemplate this revelation, the chorus would become “Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending silence of God.” This symbolism of the ocean as a terrifying and silent place that is evocative of God’s silence is what the Japanese author Shūsaku Endō accomplishes in his critically acclaimed novel Silence. This conception of the ocean is starkly different from the visions of the ocean that we hold in our modern liturgy. Silence, a novel originally written in Japanese, is hailed as one of the best novels of the twentieth century and has been turned into a film adaptation by Martin Scorsese, released in 2016. It is a historical novel based on the real-life figure of Cristóvão Ferreira, a Jesuit missionary who renounced his faith after being captured in anti-Christian purges in early seventeenth- century Japan. In the novel, the fictional character Rodrigues journeys to Japan to discover what has happened to Ferreira, who was his mentor, and to serve as a missionary to the people there, alongside his missionary partner Fransisco Garrpe. This takes place at the start of the Sakoku (“closed country”) period in seventeenth-century Japan, where Christian persecution was implemented and institutionalized. The Sakoku period (1633–1853) was a time in Japanese history where all foreigners (save for the occasional traders) were banned. It was implemented in order to remove the growing influences of European powers, and this included the Catholic Christian missionary orders who had been operating in the archipelago for decades. At the time, Christian Educators Journal

April 2023

Silence is a historical novel based on the real- life figure of Cristóvão Ferreira, who was a Jesuit missionary who renounced his faith after being captured in anti- Christian purges in early seventeenth-century Japan.

A post-colonial analysis is relevant and important for students in Chris-

students might see themselves reflected in the missionaries and observe the mistakes that are made in the priests’ approaches to discipleship. Hopefully this challenges students to think thoroughly about their own future involvement in whatever calling God has for them in furthering his kingdom.

tian schools to engage in.

Christ Did Not Die for the Good and Beautiful From a literary perspective, Endō’s masterpiece is a worthwhile inclusion into an English teacher’s rotation. However, given all that I have described about the silence of God and the folly of missionary colonial activities, is there anything redemptive from a faith formational standpoint in a novel that is so painful on so many levels? Despite Rodrigues’s flaws, his experiences teach him valuable revelations that inspire a beautiful truth. He remarks: But Christ did not die for the good and beautiful. It is easy enough to die for the good and beautiful; the hard thing is to die for the miserable and corrupt—this is the realization that came home to me acutely at that time. (47)

For us—twenty-first century Christians who have just celebrated the Easter season—the novel can serve as a powerful and reassuring reminder that “Christ did not die for the good and the beautiful,” but he came for the miserable and corrupt.

Throughout the story, Rodrigues describes the people he encounters, both officials and peasants, as corrupt and miserable. However, in his personal character development, Rodrigues finally comes to realize that he himself is corrupt and miserable and that all along he needed the love of Christ. At the end of the novel, amid all of his lingering doubts and uncertainties, he remarks, “But our Lord was not silent. Even if he had been silent, my life until this day would have spoken of Him” (91). Rodrigues’s stark realization gives insight into the experiences of those in seventeenth-century Japan and the historical events that Christians in that era went through. For us—twenty-first century Christians who have just celebrated the Easter season—the novel can serve as a powerful and reassuring reminder that “Christ did not die for the good and the beautiful,” but he came for the miserable and corrupt. So while we bore a quiet and somber witness on Good Friday, and although we continue to wrestle with whatever is going on in our lives that makes us corrupt and miserable, we continue to live with the hope that the story did not end on the skull-shaped hill of Golgotha. In his dying breath, Christ was not silent.

Works Cited Endō, Shūsaku. Silence. Translated by William Johnston, Picador, 2007. Hillsong United. “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail).” https://hillsong.com/ lyrics/oceans-where-feet-may-f ail/. Scorsese, Martin. Introduction. Silence, by Shūsaku Endō, Picador, 2007, pp. ix–x. Anthony Bigornia is a teacher and the Student Life Coordinator at White Rock Christian Academy in Surrey, BC. He currently teaches IB DP Language & Literature 11 and 12. In his spare time he enjoys playing electric guitar, a game of chess, or pick-up basketball. IG: @aye.bigs 8

April 2023

Christian Educators Journal

Disability in Children’s Literature: Eight Books You Should Have in Your Classroom Library CHRISTINE SCHOLMA AND BILL BOERMAN-C ORNELL

eachers face increasingly difficult challenges when they make choices about children’s and young adult texts to use within their curriculum and to place on the shelves of their classroom libraries. As educators strive to provide diverse representation in their classroom literature, they are also exposed to nation-wide challenges and banning of books in classrooms across the country. Teachers want to provide texts that will help students experience and consider how to navigate a complex world. The books we have reviewed in this article will provide a roadmap for discerning teachers to choose literature with positive portrayals of disability in children’s and young adult literature. The texts reviewed are part of a study we are conducting that focuses on the labels used to describe characters with disabilities and how the characters speak about themselves. As educators present literature to students including characters with disabilities, it is important to consider concepts such as the personal portrayal of the character, social interactions, and exemplary practices (Taylor and Prater). Although these books have been chosen as examples of a positive portrayal of disability in children’s and young adult literature, we believe that conversations with students will enhance the reading of the texts and provide context. For example, several of the texts use the R-word to refer to a person with a disability. It is our recommendation that any book containing the R-word be prefaced with a conversation about the social harm that the use of this term causes. However, many of the books deal with important social topics such as diversity, grief, foster care, and advocacy. Rich discussions that include students with different abilities will help to broaden student perspectives in meaningful ways. Rudine Sims-Bishop originally proposed a now widely known analogy for the way students interact with fiction (1). She suggested that children’s fiction books can act as mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. In the case of the books we are working with, they can be valuable for your classroom because they act as mirrors, allowing students with disabilities to see characters like themselves in the books. It would be a mistake, however, to think of books with characters who have disabilities as being only for readers who mirror them. Sims-Bishop also talks about the value of using a book as a window to look though (or even a door to step through) into someone else’s life. That is to say that a student who does not have a disability can learn a great deal from a book that allows the student to step into the shoes of a person with a disability, at least to some extent. So, we recommend the following books for your whole class either as a mirror, a window, a door, or all three. It is also important to remember, when reading any book in order to Christian Educators Journal

April 2023

As educators strive to provide diverse representation in their classroom literature, they are also exposed to nation-wide challenges and banning of books in classrooms across the country.

Children’s fiction books can act as mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors.

We encourage teachers to choose some of the books above to preview, and if they fit with the context of their classrooms, use them to engage students in useful discussions about disability. Doing so will help students understand that all people we encounter in the world are God’s children and each person deserves to be treated as a child of God.

Works Cited Sims-Bishop, Rudine. “Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors.” Perspectives, vol. 6, no. 3, Summer 1990, https://scenicregional.org/wp-content/ uploads/2017/08/Mirrors-Windows-and-Sliding-Glass-Doors.pdf. Taylor, T. M., and M. A. Prater. “Rating Scale for Quality Characterizations of Individuals with Developmental Disabilities in Children’s Literature.” Dolly Gray Children’s Literature Award, 2020, https://www.dollygray award.com/information-and-procedures/rating-scale. Christine Scholma, an assistant professor of special education at Trinity Christian College, pulls on her twelve years of experience teaching students with disabilities to prepare preservice teachers to have an impact on the field. Scholma also serves as the co-director of the Center for Special Education and as Presentation Chair of the Dolly Gray Children’s Literature Award. Bill Boerman-Cornell was an English teacher for ten years before becoming a professor of education at Trinity Christian College. He is the co-author of three books: Graphic Novels in High School and Middle School Classrooms, Using Graphic Novels in the English Language Arts Classroom, and Young Adult Literature and Spirituality. He loves to read.

April 2023

Christian Educators Journal

Found Families: An Idea for Blending Whole-Class Novels and Student Choice in Middle School and High School English Classrooms ABBY DE GROOT

he ideas in this article spring from three important identities I carry in my heart: reader, teacher, and child in the family of God. I have spent my career as a teacher, both in K–12 schools and higher education, thinking about how to best teach literature in a way that produces not only literate and knowledgeable students but also students who see and value God’s truth in stories. I have not always succeeded at reaching these worthwhile goals, but I am grateful to still be discovering and articulating ways to do so. Throughout the eleven years that I taught high school English, I mostly approached texts with my students in the same way I had been taught: as whole-class reads with a schedule, homework checks, discussions, and some sort of summative assessment (mostly papers or projects). I also included a variety of attempts at independent reading and book-club style group reading, inspired by reading workshop enthusiasts such as Nancie Atwell (In the Middle) and Donalyn Miller (The Book Whisperer). While students in my classroom learned and achieved a measure of success in reading with each of those instructional approaches, I never felt as if I was able to help students make authentic connections between their whole-class and independent reading. Those connections, as well as an instructional approach that would enable them, were on my mind as I designed an English Methods course for future middle school and high school English teachers a few years later. I have taught the college course twice, in the fall semesters of 2020 and 2022, and a significant part of the course includes exploring with future teachers how to structure literature units, how to effectively teach literacy skills, and how to choose and approach a variety of texts. One of the resources that has been essential to this part of our work together has been the book A Novel Approach: Whole-Class Novels, Student- Centered Teaching, and Choice by Kate Roberts. Roberts begins the book by outlining the “debate” between reading experts who advocate for whole- class texts and those who advocate for independent reading or reading workshops (4). Drawing on educational research, literacy experts, and her own experiences in the classroom, she clearly describes both approaches, including their advantages and shortcomings: • A whole-class text approach revolves around tough, widely read, complex texts chosen by teachers or schools. This approach, advocated for by literacy experts such as Tim Shanahan and Doug Lemov, ensures that students read a wide range of texts that they would not otherwise pick up on their own. Teachers can guide students in rigorous shared- learning experiences with difficult texts that can help prepare them for college. However, this approach is complicated by varying skill levels of Christian Educators Journal

April 2023

I never felt as if I was able to help students make authentic connections between their whole-class and independent reading.

Roberts begins the book by outlining the “debate” between reading experts who advocate for whole-class texts and those who advocate for independent reading or reading workshops.

students, a lack of diverse representation in the canon, and the time- consuming nature of the approach. • An independent reading or workshop approach revolves around reading strategies and skills taught by teachers that students then use to read books of their own choosing. Advocates of this approach, including the two authors mentioned above—Nancie Atwell and Donalyn Miller— as well as Kelly Gallagher and Penny Kittle, argue that students need to read a large volume of books in order to become fluent readers, and that choice motivates students to read in ways that teacher-chosen novels do not. However, this approach is less effective when students fail to choose increasingly difficult texts, and it limits students’ exposure to seminal texts. It is also difficult to manage and requires a significant investment in classroom libraries. Instead of choosing one of these approaches over the other, Roberts endorses them both and argues that teachers can strategically blend them together for students’ benefit.

How can we help students appreciate the beauty of a revealing symbol, a finely crafted sentence, or a universal theme, seeing them as God’s good gifts?

Instead of choosing one of these approaches over the other, Roberts endorses them both and argues that teachers can strategically blend them together for students’ benefit: “I am suggesting that by thoughtfully, intentionally taking some of the best of different teaching methodologies, while always holding onto some research-based, core beliefs, we can help our students flourish in ways that teaching only one way may not” (6). She spends the rest of the book outlining this approach in detail, describing how to organize a course around both whole-class and independent reading, united by the teaching of literacy skills as required in the Common Core Standards. Our English Methods class spends the first part of our semester reading Roberts’s book, responding to it, and trying out her curriculum design. I model read-alouds and mini-lessons, and then the class of future teachers designs their own and teaches them to each other. We look deeply at standards and discuss how and when they should be addressed. We think about relevant book choices, read together, and make recommendations. As a final assessment, future teachers design a literature unit that includes both a whole-class novel and an independent choice book. In their units, they scaffold the literacy skills they want students to learn by introducing the skills in the whole- class novel before asking students to practice those skills independently in a choice book. The two experiences—the whole-class read and the independent book—are united through studies of the author’s craft, theme, characterization, symbolism, or plot structure. The book choices are connected as well, as future teachers think about how to match choice books with whole-class novels using themes, authors, genres, time periods, or other touchpoints. Most importantly, we wrestle with what it means to teach literature as Christians: how can we invite students into stories that help them better understand God and his world while also teaching them the literacy skills they will need to be flourishing students, citizens, workers, family members, and disciples? How can we honor students as image-bearers who deserve autonomy and choice while also designing formative community reading experiences in which we learn from and with each other? How can we help students appreciate the beauty of a revealing symbol, a finely crafted sentence, or a universal theme, seeing them as God’s good gifts? One of the ways that we answered those questions together during the fall 2022 semester of English Methods included gathering book recommendations. We wanted a list of books for both whole-class and student choice 20

April 2023

Christian Educators Journal

novels that are beautiful and ripe with literary elements to study. We also wanted those books to unveil part of God’s creation, fall, redemption, and restoration narrative in a new way for students. One of the members of our class came up with the idea of uniting our list with a “found family” trope. Common in literature, TV, and movies, the idea of a found family—a group of unrelated characters who form tightly knit, familial bonds—is also a beautiful metaphor for the kingdom of God. Indeed, the apostle Paul eloquently lays out our place in God’s found family in Romans 8:14–17: For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Using “found families” as our uniting element, we read and reviewed a variety of books to share with each other and a wider audience of teachers. While many books commonly taught in classrooms employ this trope, our list offers lesser known but valuable titles that cross genre, difficulty, and grade level. Because we also wanted teachers to get a feel for the book and be able to envision how it might be used in their classrooms, our list includes a summary, review, and suggestion for classroom use with each entry. Our hope is that our reviews of these titles are useful for teachers as they design literacy instruction that helps students find their unique place in God’s family and equips them with the skills they need to flourish in it. Abby De Groot, EdD, Assistant Professor of Education, Dordt University

The Bridge Home, by Padma Venkatraman Reviewed by Lindsay Kuiper Suggested grade level: 5–8 Lexile: 680L Genre: Contemporary realistic fiction

Poignant excerpt: “We saw more people that one day than we’d seen our whole lives. But nobody noticed us. We were in plain sight. But we were invisible” (41). Summary: Padma Venkatraman brings us on a journey of two sisters who face homelessness, hunger, and hostility. Fleeing an abusive household, protagonists Viji and Rukku must survive on their own at just eleven and twelve years old. The younger sister, Viji, often feels compelled to sacrifice her own needs for the benefit of Rukku, who experiences developmental disabilities. Together, they find shelter with two other runaway boys on a dilapidated bridge. Having been betrayed before, Viji is initially wary of the two boys, Arul and Muthu. She comes to trust them in time, and the bunch ultimately learns how to care for each other as a family. The four children Christian Educators Journal

April 2023

Using “found families” as our uniting element, we read and reviewed a variety of books to share with each other and a wider audience of teachers.

The “found family” in this book is one formed out of tragedy and necessity, and students may find themselves wondering what they would do in similar circumstances.

Review: While this is a relatively easy book to decode, the mature nature of the content and realistic descriptions of war—and the atrocities the teenage characters endure—make Salt to the Sea appropriate in upper high school classes. The “found family” in this book is one formed out of tragedy and necessity, and students may find themselves wondering what they would do in similar circumstances as Joana, Florian, and Emilia daily make decisions that could cost them their survival (or their humanity). As they pick up several more refugees on their way to the port city, including a giant woman, a shoe poet, a blind girl, and an orphan boy, the characters choose connection, empathy, and compassion. The author also gives voice to Alfred, a teen himself serving in Hitler’s army, who has bought into the Nazi cause so completely that it has blinded him from any notion of right and wrong and cut him off from true human connection. The different first-person points of view, along with the sometimes haunting prose and vivid descriptions, make this book an obvious choice for studying the author’s craft. It would be interesting in a historical fiction book club, and it is bound to be a cult favorite for independent reading. It could also be used as a whole-class text because of its readable Lexile level yet complex themes. However, in addition to war, there are hard issues such as rape and teen pregnancy in the novel that teachers will want to thoughtfully approach with students. Overall, Salt to the Sea expertly tells the stories of characters who represent an entire group of forgotten casualties in World War II. In her author’s note at the end of the book, Ruta Sepatys offers this recommendation for bearing witness to this story: “History divided us, but through reading we can be united in story, study, and remembrance. Books join us together as a global reading community, but more importantly, a global human community striving to learn from the past” (383).

Works Cited Atwell, Nancie. In the Middle: New Understandings about Writing, Reading, and Learning. 2nd ed., Heinemann, 1998. Backman, Fredrik. A Man Called Ove. Washington Square, 2015. Jones, Diana Wynne. Howl’s Moving Castle. 1986. Harper Trophy, 2001. Miller, Donalyn. The Book Whisperer. Jossey-Bass, 2009. Reynolds, Jason. Ghost. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2016. Roberts, Kate. A Novel Approach: Whole-Class Novels, Student-Centered Teaching, and Choice. Heinemann, 2018. Sepatys, Ruta. Salt to the Sea. Philomel Books, 2016. Shaffer, Mary Ann, and Annie Barrows. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Dial, 2008. Sloan, Holly Goldberg. Counting by 7s. Dial, 2013. Ventkatraman, Padma. The Bridge Home. Puffin Books, 2019. This article was written by the members of Education 354: Methods of Teaching Middle School and High School English at Dordt University, Fall 2022. Collectively, they enjoy thinking, reading, writing, teaching, and 8 AM field trips for coffee and muffins. 30

April 2023

Christian Educators Journal

Hi, My Name Is . . . SEAN ENGLERT

e have all been there before. One hand in your pocket, the other hand holding a beverage while you engage in small talk with a complete stranger. A Hi-my-name-is sticker with your name scribbled across the blank space is stuck on your chest like a mini-billboard. If you’re an introvert, you’re glancing at the nearest clock every chance you get, hoping it is much later than the current time. If you’re an extrovert, you’re soaking up the moment, dreading the inevitable return to your silent office cubicle. As someone who is more comfortable in quiet moments with a few of my closest people, I personally do not get too excited for social networking events. My feelings aside, I do find it fascinating how some of life’s biggest questions get asked and answered in rapid succession at these occasions. A common interaction between two people usually follows this formula: “Hi, I’m Paul. What’s your name? “Hey, I’m Sean.” “Well, it’s good to meet you. What do you do?” “I’m in education.” “Oh nice. Where do you work?”

What’s your name? What do you do? Where do you work? While these questions get tossed around flippantly at networking events, they are also woven into the hearts of humanity as we search for identity and purpose. Thankfully, our loving Creator gives answers to these questions in the first two chapters of his Word. We have a name—an identity—as image bearers of God (Gen. 1:26–27). We have been tasked with taking the raw materials of the earth and cultivating and reproducing them so that God’s glory is revealed across creation (Gen. 1:26–28). And finally, we have been given a place (Gen. 2:15), our own gardens (metaphorical or literal) to work and keep so we see the fruit of God’s goodness come to light. Whether we know it or not, by God’s design, we are all searching for answers to these questions, answers that, prior to sin entering the world, were clearly laid out for us. But now, most people—including our students—are still searching for fulfillment to their souls’ inquiries. After spending years of working with junior and senior high school students and hearing them ask in their own words similar questions to the ones above, I put together a year-long course that attempts to give understanding to three driving questions. Each question is accompanied by a book that assists with building a foundation for future decisions—decisions I pray will be made centered around God’s Word and his plans for their life. The three driving questions for this course are: Who am I? What do I Christian Educators Journal

April 2023

What would a master’s degree do for you? Help you take the next step in your career. A master’s degree can take you to the next level—personally and professionally. If you want an affordable, flexible, Christ-centered program, you’ve come to the right place. Learn more. Earn more. Be more. Get your Master of Education or Master of Special Education degree at Dordt.

Master of Education: Administration • School Leadership • Administrative License • Sport Leadership

Curriculum and Instruction • Developmental Reading • Early Childhood Education • Educational Technology • Instructional Coach • Teacher Leadership

Master of Special Education: • Mild/Moderate • Behavior Disorders/Learning Disabilities • Behavior Disorders/Learning Disabilities plus initial teaching license • ABAI-verified course sequence for educators pursuing BCBA certification

The master’s programs at Dordt University are: • Christ-centered • 100% online • Designed with collaborative coursework

• Flexible for working educators • Among the most affordable options available

Don’t wait. Visit dordt.edu/masters for more info.

Calling All Boundary Pioneers: Making Sense of Science and Religion ANDREW KIRK

Making Sense of Science and Religion: Strategies for the Classroom and Beyond, by Joseph W. Shane, et al. (National Science Teaching Association, 2019)

Knowing how to navigate the relationship between science and religion has dogged teachers, administrators, and schools across North America. Many have found it challenging, especially with the difficult history of science and religion in schools—most notably, with evolution. Yet it is fair to say there are few topics that are more relevant, timely, or needed than science and religion in the science classroom. Many students come with myriad questions about ethics or a sense of wonder for creation; they often find these conversations meaningful and engaging. Teachers and schools alike long for wisdom, clarity, and guidance on how best to engage. In addition, as much as these concerns are philosophical and moral questions, they represent issues of equity and justice in the classroom (Shane et al. 144–47). We need teachers and administrators who will serve as mentors and guides into the unfamiliar territory of science and religion in the science classroom. Drawing upon a phrase from sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund, the authors of Making Sense of Science and Religion: Strategies for the Classroom and Beyond set out to inspire a generation of educators to be “boundary pioneers” (Ecklund 45–50; Shane et al. 7–8).

Whom Is This Book For? The text is co-authored by four educators—Joseph W. Shane, Lee Meadows, Ronald S. Hermann, and Ian C. Binns—together with a broad group of educational collaborators. Most notably, this book on science and religion is published by the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA), with contributions from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The publication of the book alone signals the importance of this issue to NSTA and its guiding principles—the pursuit of learning, championing of science, inclusion of all, fostering of passion, and building of community. It is also a notable publication by an organization that typically does not directly address religion. This book is written for all science education professionals, not just those who teach within religious educational settings. In their preface, the authors identify the primary audience as “our fellow science educators” (viii), which includes those from elementary to post-secondary, as well as Christian Educators Journal

April 2023

This book is written for all science education professionals, not just those who teach within religious educational settings.

Kapic invites Christians to meditate on the truth that God is near, for only

on process as opposed to quick results—“the race is not always to the swift” (Eccl. 9:11 MSG)—and why belonging to a local church is vital for human flourishing and God’s purposes being realized in and through us (remember Aesop’s lesson). He then concludes the book in chapter 10 by answering the question: “How do we faithfully live within our finitude?” Some seasons in life allow for more while others allow for less. Ignoring or denying this fact causes us to set expectations that were never possible in the first place, which leads to “frustration and resentment” rather than “a life of gratitude and joy” (197). Drawing from his own experience, Kapic is ruthlessly honest, sharing how he has struggled to accept limitations in both his personal life and professional career and how others—especially his family—have helped him find freedom. He invites Christians to meditate on the truth that God is near, for only the person that believes this in their deep heart can give themselves permission to stop, rest, worship, and delight.

the person that believes this in their deep heart can give themselves permission to stop, rest, worship, and delight.

Critique and Conclusion While Kapic’s book is impressive, I have two concerns. First, I think that the book could have been improved with a greater emphasis on the fact that there are times when one ought to work hard to overcome certain limitations. Whether learning a language, trying to improve one’s resume, working through marital conflict, earning a promotion, trying to find a cure for cancer, or overturning unjust laws, there are times for not praising God for limitations but doing everything one can to overcome them. While I have no doubt that Kapic would agree with this point, I do believe that it needed more attention to provide a balanced perspective. Second, while Kapic stresses the point that it is of the utmost importance to view our limitations apart from sin, he could have spent more time addressing the fact that many of our limitations are the result of sin, albeit indirectly. While it may be true that a person’s limitations are often not due to any specific sin that they committed, it was the sin committed by the first human beings that opened the door to so many limitations that we would not otherwise experience (bodily disease, mental illness, feelings of emptiness and meaninglessness, fear, insecurity, grief, etc.). Therefore, while Kapic’s severing of human limitation from sin is important and helpful for accepting our limitations with grace, more needed to be said about limitations that are the result of sin in one way or another. In conclusion, Kelly Kapic’s You’re Only Human is an interesting and thought-provoking read, with great potential to both comfort and empower Christians. As God’s sole image-bearers on the earth, viewing our limitations as a gift from God is vital if we are to be people that can recognize and respond to God’s presence with us (132). We are not God, and the good news is that God doesn’t expect us to be. Dr. B. J. Condrey is the Bible Faculty Chair and Curriculum Specialist at Enlightium Academy. He also teaches an introduction to philosophy, ethics, and logic at Hutchinson Community College and is the author of a number of books and articles. 46

April 2023

Christian Educators Journal

Three Nesting Dolls: A History of Reformed Christian Education in Canada ROBERT BRUINSMA

Education for Hope: A Course Correction, by John E. Hull (Friesen, 2022)

Dr. John Hull is a Christian educator and scholar born in the United States with a long history of teaching in Christian schools in Canada and as part of the education faculty of The King’s University in Edmonton, Alberta. Who is this book for? In Hull’s own words: I wrote this book for multiple audiences. Anyone who has been, is currently, or will one day be involved with the Dutch Neo-Calvinist tradition of alternative education has vested interests in the stories and issues that appear in this book. The narrative not only provides them with an overview of their legacy, but also points to a way forward. I also believe educators and supporters who have been, are currently, or will be involved in other faith-based traditions of education can learn much from the strengths and weaknesses of this tradition. (xiii)

So, CEJ readers, this book is for you! Hull’s book is a gift to the Reformed Christian education movement. The gift is a little like those Russian dolls—matryoshka—that one can take apart only to discover yet more dolls inside. The first “doll” is the core of the book and provides a fascinating history of the neo-Calvinist tradition of education in Canada. American readers of this review might think that this section will be irrelevant to them. Not so. The section begins with a history of the movement in nineteenth-century Holland and its migration to, and early development in, the United States. It then moves to post-WWI Dutch immigration to Canada and the subsequent development of Reformed Christian schools there. In telling this fascinating history, Hull demonstrates his deep understanding of curriculum theory and practice as he sketches the competing views of various Christian school leaders as they attempt to develop (more or less successfully) a uniquely Christian approach to curriculum development and pedagogy. In order not to weigh down the narrative with too much philosophical and theological discourse, Hull provides brief notes directing the interested reader to the second “doll” of the book called “Digging Deeper.” In my view, the digging deeper excursions are worth the price of the book alone and provide a mini-textbook for anyone interested in knowing more about curriculum theory and practice. In the third “doll” of the book, “Memoir of an Educator,” Hull provides us with his personal journey of becoming an educator: his early days in Christian Educators Journal

April 2023