Children living in poverty have the same God-given potential as children in wealthier communities, but on average they achieve at significantly lower levels. Kids who both live in poverty and read below grade level by third grade are three times as likely not to graduate from high school as students who have never been poor. By the time children in low-income communities are in fourth grade, they're already three grade levels behind their peers in wealthier communities. More than half won't graduate from high school--and many that do graduate only perform at an eighth-grade level. Only one in ten will go on to graduate from college. These students have severely diminished opportunities for personal prosperity and professional success. It is clear that America's public schools do not provide a high quality public education for the sixteen million children growing up in poverty. Education expert Nicole Baker Fulgham explores what Christians can--and should--do to champion urgently needed reform and help improve our public schools. The book provides concrete action steps for working to ensure that all of God's children get the quality public education they deserve. It also features personal narratives from the author and other Christian public school teachers that demonstrate how the achievement gap in public education can be solved.
Children's Christian Education: 12 Essentials for Effective Church Ministry to Children and Their Families fills the need for a fresh and comprehensive resource of twelve essentials for providing quality Christian education for school-age children during their first- through sixth-grade years. Each chapter addresses one of the essentials needed for the most effective Bible teaching ministry for this age group and also gives strong focus to working with the families of children-single-parent families or families with both parents in the home. Children's Christian Education: 12 Essentials for Effective Church Ministry to Children and Their Families addresses the need for an all-age Bible teaching ministry following or prior to Sunday worship. It also addresses outreach to young families and quality teaching and ministry. It gives help for getting the support of the pastor, staff, and congregation for this age group. The resource emphasizes that all are called-lay teachers and workers as well as the pastor and staff. As servant leaders, the pastor and staff have the unique call and roles to equip laypeople for their call to minister within the congregation and beyond. This book is part of a series that provides the essentials for effective church ministry to all age groups, as follows: Preschool Christian Education; Children's Christian Education; Youth/Collegiate Christian Education; and Adult Christian Education.
Newspapers are filled with stories about poorly educated children, ineffective teachers, and cash-strapped school districts. In this greatly expanded treatment of a topic he first dealt with in Rediscovering the Lost Tools of Learning, Douglas Wilson proposes an alternative to government-operated school by advocating a return to classical Christian education with its discipline, hard work, and learning geared to child development stages. As an educator, Wilson is well-equipped to diagnose the cause of America's deteriorating school system and to propose remedies for those committed to their children's best interests in education. He maintains that education is essentially religious because it deals with the basic questions about life that require spiritual answers-reading and writing are simply the tools. Offering a review of classical education and the history of this movement, Wilson also reflects on his own involvement in the process of creating educational institutions that embrace that style of learning. He details elements needed in a useful curriculum, including a list of literary classics. Readers will see that classical education offers the best opportunity for academic achievement, character growth, and spiritual education, and that such quality cannot be duplicated in a religiously-neutral environment.
Literary habits naturally give way to literary affections. Once upon a time, a carpenter entered a forest and happened upon a wolf wearing a feathered cap. Quick -- whose side are you on? If you don't know, we suggest reading a hearty round of fairytales. Stories provide a roadmap for life. This is because stories are life. But oftentimes it's easiest to understand where we are when we can look through other eyes -- from the perspective of someone else, living somewhere else, somewhen else. For those beginning to read for the first time or those beginning to read again, The Book Tree will drop golden apples in your lap, until you can climb high enough to pick for yourself.
In this little book, Douglas Wilson presents the case for providing a faithful, Christian education for all Christian kids, and explains why we even have to make that case to begin with.
Now available in paper, this resource provides church workers with information on teaching approaches, program administration, and childhood development related to teaching children up to age twelve. Topics cover age-group characteristics, discipline, learning styles, summer ministries, and more. After exploring the biblical and historical perspectives on why the church is called to minister to children, the authors provide suggestions for developing primary goals and objectives for children's programs. Entries are arranged alphabetically for easy reference and include detailed information on children's ministry resources. The book is a companion volume to The Christian Educator's Handbook on Teaching, The Christian Educator's Handbook on Adult Education, and other books in the series.
Two dozen Christian higher education professionals thoroughly explore the question of the faith's place on the university campus, whether in administrative matters, the broader academic world, or in student life.
"The education and training of the youth is an important andsolemn work. The great object to be secured should be theproper development of character, that the individual may befitted to rightly discharge the duties of the present life, andto enter at last upon the future, immortal life. Eternity willreveal the manner in which the work has been performed."The book is not only for teachers, but also for parents, whoshould be prepared to direct intelligently the education oftheir children. The whole subject of Christian education istreated from the broadest standpoint, with valuableprinciples and suggestions applicable to every stage of childdevelopment. This little work will prove a blessing, both in aricher personal experience and in an increased ability forservice, to every one who will read it thoughtfully.
Description: This pacesetting text considers a wide variety of topics related to the spiritual development of children. The chapters grew out of presentations at the first major conference to consider these important topics from a distinctly Christian perspective. The first section considers the important task of defining spirituality and summarizes some views of the spirituality of children, as reflected in history, theology and the Bible. Social influences on children's spirituality are considered, as well as how brain activity relates to spiritual experiences. The second major section highlights children's spirituality in the home. Here the development of the concept of God is considered, as well as how parents and children work together to construct understandings of spirituality. A third section reflects upon the spirituality of children in the church, including alternative perspectives of how spiritual growth and experience are best encouraged in that setting. The distinctive aspects of African American children and Latino children's spirituality are given careful attention. Schools and other settings are examined in the fourth section of the book, with an emphasis upon moral learning, encouraging faith development with preschoolers, how spirituality helps children cope with serious medical conditions and the stresses related to being children of missionaries, and best practices in reaching inner city children. The book concludes with a chapter that examines how Christians' views of children's spirituality are changing, and anticipates a follow up conference in the near future. Endorsements: ""Here are essays on young people that tell of their various ways of seeking God's presence in their ongoing lives--an aspect of faith observed and discussed with intelligence and sensitivity. Here is a book many of us will greatly value--its wisdom an important presence in our effort to understand children."" --Dr. Robert Coles, Professor of Psychiatry and Medical Humanities at Harvard Medical School, and author of The Spiritual Life of Children ""This extraordinary book is a must read for all who teach and practice religious education. It gathers, with breadth and depth, the best current research from an exploding renewal in the study of the spirituality and religious development of children. Teachers, students, and scholars dedicated to understanding and nurturing our children's growth in faith will find this rich volume indispensable."" --James W. Fowler, author of Stages of Faith and C.H. Candler Professor of Theology and Human Development Director, The Center for Ethics, Emory University ""Written in the best of the Evangelical tradition, Children's Spirituality is a must read for all those interested in children, the spiritual life, and Christian formation. Descriptive phrases include: well conceived and edited, clearly written and well documented, thorough and all-encompassing, academically sound and popular, combining research and practical application."" --The Rev. Dr. John Westerhoff, formerly Professor of Theology and Christian Nurture at Duke University, he is Theologian-in-Residence at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Atlanta, Georgia About the Contributor(s): Donald Ratcliff is Professor of Psychology at Vanguard University. He received his Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of Georgia. He has studied children's spiritual development for more than 25 years and has edited several books related to this topic, including the 'Handbook of Children's Religious Education' and the 'Handbook of Preschool Religious Education.' He is also the editor or coauthor of six other books and more than two dozen journal articles and book chapters.
