I Choose to Live

The duties of motherhood overuse the multitasking part of my brain. Thinking cells grow numb by constant decisions. Once in awhile, they need to awake. My husband happily sends me to education conferences to recharge and add to my notebook collection.

For years, I rattled nonstop to Julie upon my return. This year, the teachings happened the same time as Julie’s visit.

I cannot recall all the challenging ideas in one post, but one question echoes in my conscious.

Does this bring life?

The question does not appear anywhere in my notes, but it was asked while Miss Katherine Dang discussed The Will of God Concerning Men. She simply reasoned through Scripture. The theme of life resounds from the creation of man:

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7)

To the words of Jesus:

I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)

Miss Dang frequently prints verses on one side of the paper with empty lines on the other. The empty spaces on those particular pages remain mostly empty. My brain reached for the practical applications.

It’s something I have pondered. I want our lessons to be full of life, nurturing and purposeful. It took me six months to come up with my blog title, but it is taking years to fully understand the meaning. Education is about all of life; nothing is excluded.

I still tend to think of school as only academics. But life is so much more: thoughts, actions, relationships. Am I giving life or breeding death?

• Does the food I eat bring life to my body?
• Do I feed my soul the nourishing bread of the Word?
• Do my words give strength to the hearer?

Dusty clay was brought to life with a puff of love. The breath of God created with a purpose, to give a gift. A gift,

Abundant -plentiful; in great quantity; fully sufficient; as an abundant supply. In scripture, abounding; having in great quantity; overflowing with. (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary)

Life abundant, overflowing, in great supply. The choice is up to me.

The breath of Heaven still blows on dusty hearts.

What’s Wrong with Multiple-Choice?

In The Madness of Multiple-Choice Andrew Pudewa discusses why multiple-choice questions do not encourage reasoning. He states,

There is no room for different answers, unique responses, or independent views. The emphasis is always on what the child does not know, not on helping him clarify and express what he does know.

Do we really want to focus on what our child doesn’t know? It seems to me this just serves to discourage and frustrate. Students are conditioned to pass the test but end up feeling inferior. Then the game of comparing scores continues all the way through college and into the work place.

As home educators we don’t have to prepare for standardized tests. Our emphasis can be on teaching our children to think. If we challenge them to labor over ideas, they will receive the reward of knowing that they understand. They will be much better “fit for usefulness in their future stations” since in life you are rarely given the answers. (from Webster’s 1828 definition of education)

Albion Christian College

While taking classes at The College of Southern Idaho, my husband and I attended a weekly Bible study led by Pastor Randy Davis. He started by teaching us logic; A cannot equal non A. We soaked it up!

I had been a Christian most of my life, but was not prepared for listening to Allen Ginsberg quote beatnik lyrics about smoking dope, or grappling with the noble savage concept in Cultural Anthropology class. I began to cling to my faith based on my experiences. If Christianity was true I needed a stronger foundation than feelings from church camp. Graciously and consistently Pastor Randy reasoned with us. I struggled to renew my mind as we learned about apologetics, evangelism, government, relationships, religions, and revival.

Then I began to observe the students at Liberty Christian Academy, the Principle Approach school started by Pastor Davis and his wife Diane. Those young people knew more Bible history than I did. They knew God as Providence in the founding of America. I wanted to understand what those kids were learning! My husband and I asked Pastor Randy to train us to be teachers. He replied, “I wish I could but I don’t have time right now. Consider going to Youth with a Mission.” He wanted to start a college to train teachers then. That was over ten years ago.

Now the vision of a college has been revived. Albion Christian College is beginning with the desire to impart truth to a generation raised in relativism. The reasoning needed to apply Biblical principles in this world requires diligent study. The opportunity to do that at college is incredible!

Please pray that God will bless the founding of this college in Southern Idaho. May solid foundations be laid for future generations.