Thoughts on Christian Education

Reflections on narration, historical narrative, and the formation of conviction through Mary E. Bamford’s  The Bible Makes Us Baptists. by Heather A. Ross, Christian educator & curriculum writer About the Author Before modern education became dominated by tests, worksheets, and information delivery, many Christian schools followed a very different pattern of learning. Students read stories, narrated what they had read in their own words, and were gradually guided to see the ideas shaping the events before them. This older approach did more than convey knowledge—it often also quietly formed conviction. Sometimes, modern Christian education can be reduced to the accumulation of information. In some settings, students read in order to answer questions. They memorize in order to pass tests. Knowledge is gathered, but it does not always settle deeply enough to shape belief or character. Earlier generations of Christian educators understood learning very differently. They saw educati...

by Heather A. Ross, Christian educator & curriculum writer About the Author Most of what shapes a person does not happen in moments that feel important. It happens in the ordinary hours—at the desk where a child erases and rewrites a sentence, at the piano bench where a scale is repeated one more time, in the quiet decision to return to work that is not yet finished. These moments rarely announce themselves. They leave no immediate proof that anything lasting has occurred. And yet, they are doing more than filling time. Education does not shape people all at once. It shapes them quietly—through what is asked of them each day, through what is corrected and what is allowed to pass, through the work they return to again and again until it begins to leave its mark. And through education, formation is unavoidable. Over time, attention is trained. Judgment is formed. Desire is bent toward certain ends. When Paul prays for the believers in Philippi, he prays that love itself would grow by...

by Heather A. Ross, Christian educator & curriculum writer About the Author After over twenty years as a classroom teacher, I have had my share of moments when I pondered, "Is what I'm doing really making a difference?" The fact is, we live and teach in moments of time. We see today’s effort, today’s challenge, today’s unfinished work. And sometimes, we measure progress by what is visible now, often wondering whether character is truly taking shape beneath the surface. However, Scripture invites us to see beyond the moment. God reveals Himself as the  I AM —the self-existent One, unbound by time. He is the God of yesterday, today, and tomorrow, who sees the end from the beginning. While we walk with children through the daily work of formation, God holds the whole of a life in view at once. This difference in perspective reshapes how we understand character. According to Scripture, character is rarely taught into existence in a single moment. It is formed patiently, p...

by Heather A. Ross, Christian educator & curriculum writer About the Author The hardest thing to do when we care deeply about growth is to wait. From the beginning, God has been a Teacher who gives space. He does not rush growth or force understanding all at once. Instead, He teaches through pattern, repetition, example, and time—inviting His children to watch, to remember, to return, and to grow. Scripture gives us clear instruction and direct teaching, and it also gives us stories—lives unfolded across pages, choices made in real time, faith tested and revealed. As we read, we are invited to weigh those lives in the light of God’s truth, to discern what is good, and to learn how faith takes shape over time. In this gracious pattern, we see that some of the deepest learning happens not through explanation alone, but through watching truth lived out and quietly taking root . God is the Master Teacher, and His ways are worth our careful attention. Throughout Scripture, He gives His...

  Teaching Diligence to Children Through Story By Heather A. Ross · Christian educator & curriculum writer About the Author Why story shapes faithful effort more deeply than instruction alone Have you ever noticed how deeply you want children to learn diligence—not simply how to finish a task, but how to stay with it?  Often, that desire surfaces in quiet moments—not when work is completed quickly, but when effort must be sustained. It is the longing to see children work faithfully when the reward feels distant, the effort unseen, and the work itself ordinary. We can explain diligence. We can define it, model it, and remind children of its importance. And yet, instruction alone rarely reaches the heart. Children may hear our words, but understanding takes root more slowly—through imagination , example, and time . This is where story becomes such a powerful teacher. Why Teaching Diligence to Children Resists Simple Instruction Diligence is not a flashy virtue. It rarely p...

So Shakespeare sounds daunting to you? You can’t seem to get into Romeo and Juliet, King Lear , or Hamlet ? I know: that Elizabethan language is just too much to handle, right? If you’ve ever had a hard time enjoying Shakespeare, why not try a few of these hints?  First, read a narrative of the play in Charles and Mary Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare . The Lambs retold Shakespeare’s tales in forms of stories back in the 1800s. Their children’s classic can assist you in getting an overview of the play you study before you delve into it headlong.  Second, check out an audio recording. Elizabethan English varies greatly from American English of the twenty-first century, but when you hear professional actors reading lines that look daunting on paper, it’s much easier to understand what the Old Bard meant. Remember: Shakespeare’s plays were intended to be performed by actors, not to be “waded through” as some type of boring matter in a literature book. An audio recording br...