By Amanda Mailer
Article 1
1. Command of Fundamental Process:
Much of our school day is spent in teaching certain fundamental processes such as reading, writing, arithmetic, language, spelling, and speaking. This is as it should be, because all future learning is built on these fundamentals.
2. Health:
That health needs cannot be neglected is very evident, at both the elementary and secondary levels. Today’s school should provide health instruction, build health habits, have a good program of physical activities, and cooperate with the home and community in safeguarding and promoting health interests.
3. Worthy Home Membership:
With the modern trend in families spending less and less time together as a group, this principle can well be stressed. Developing those qualities that make the individual a worthy member of a family, both contributing to and deriving benefit from family membership, surely are worthwhile objectives to include in those we set up for our schools.
4. Vocational Efficiency:
Through vocational education we attempt to equip the individual to secure a livelihood for himself and those dependent upon him. We try toteach him to serve society through his vocation, to maintain the right relationships toward his fellow workers and society and as far as possible, to find in that vocation success and a feeling of accomplishing something worthwhile.
5. Citizenship:
This implies teaching the child to accept community, neighborhood, state, and national responsibilities. Accepting what the community has to offer us is not enough, as we must be willing to contribute, both in the way in which we live and what we do.
6. Worthy use of leisure:
Education should help the individual to secure in his leisure time recreation of both mind and body. This would include knowing how to get enjoyment from art, music, literature, sports, and many other things similar in nature. Our modern trend of a shorter working week, resulting in more leisure time, emphasizes the need for this type of education, along with other things.
7. Ethical Character:
Probably the hardest thing to teach is the value and benefits of good character. This objective should be spread throughout all our teaching. This can be done through the wise selection of content and methods of instruction, and through the pupil interaction with other pupils, teachers and the people of the community. Promoting the growth of personal responsibility and initiative, fostering the spirit of service, and practicing the principles of true democracy throughout the entire school system are important in developing ethical character in pupils.
(The above material was taken from the educational philosophy of the Mingo County, WV, Schools. This material appeared in an October 1990 issue of the Journal of Christian Education.)
JUST A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT!
By: Rev. Jerry Jones
Article 2
It is 8:30 on the night of April 14, 1865. A black carriage comes to a halt in front of John Ford’s Theatre on 10th Street in Washington. A footman jumps down from the box, opens the door, and out steps the President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. A small crowd gathered outside begins to applaud and cheer the President, and he smiles and nods at them. The President leads his wife and a young couple honored with a presidential invitation to a night at the theatre through the arched doorways of the brick building.
President Lincoln is only 56 years old, but four years of the agony he has suffered during the Civil War’s rising tide of blood and one of the most vicious campaigns of vilification ever mounted against a sitting President has taken its toll: He looks fifteen years older; his face worn and haggard; his frame thin and gaunt.
His slow tread carries him up the steps toward the presidential box. When he is briefly exposed to the crowd below, the play already started comes to a stop and the crowd rises to its feet in an ovation. The President smiles, nods, bows slightly in acknowledgement, and takes his seat in a low rocking chair. He leans back in the shadows of the curtains that drape the outside of the box. There, in the company of his wife, he begins to enjoy the play.
A few minutes after 10 o’clock, an intruder quietly enters the box, aims a small brass derringer at the lower left side of the President’s head, and pulls the trigger. The bullet penetrates the President’s skull, traverses the brain, and lodges be hind the right eye. Nine hours later, Abraham Lincoln will take his last breath in a small boarding house bedroom across the street, and someone will say, “Now, he belongs to the ages.”
The President’s clothes were cut off him during the struggle to save his life. Later someone went through the pockets of the President’s suit, and the contents were placed in a small blue tin box and deposited with the rarities saved at the Library of Congress. The box rested there for many years until finally someone remembered it. It was opened, and the contents were examined.
The night he died, Abraham Lincoln was carrying in his pockets:
1. A handkerchief, embroidered A. Lincoln.
2. A cheap country boy’s pocket knife.
3. A spectacles’ case that had been repaired with a piece of string.
4. A small purse that contained a Confederate five dollar bill.
5. Some old, worn newspaper clippings.
As much as we wonder what Abraham Lincoln was doing with a Confederate five dollar bill in his pocket, the most interesting of the items were the newspaper clippings. The clippings were obviously read many times, folded, refolded, and put away in the President’s pocket. The clippings all described the great deeds of Abraham Lincoln. In fact, one of them was an account of a speech given in the British Parliament by John Bright in which he describes Abraham Lincoln as one of the greatest men of all time.
As Chuck Swindol points out in his latest book, it is tremendously sad to think about the President of the United States – one who most historians agree was the greatest man to ever serve in the White House
–
sitting alone in his office late at night in the light of a flickering candle, pulling out these newspaper articles he had carefully clipped from some newspaper, and reading about the great works he was doing. It is important to remember that as great as Lincoln is considered today, he was vilified in the day that he served. Probably no President of the United States has ever been the target of such an intensive smear campaign by the American news media. Day after day, President Lincoln read that he was an ape, a baboon, a failure, a fraud, a tyrant, a despot, a backwoods, uncouth, almost illiterate mistake sitting in the White House.
He was called a murder, a butcher, a man who loved blood. It was said that he once called for a ribald tune to be sung as he toured the grisly battlefield at Antietam, something wholly untrue. Lincoln was deeply wounded by what was said of him. And so it is very sad to think of him having to draw comfort and courage from the newspaper articles that recognized his good work.
And it is sad to think that the night he was assassinated, the only real assurance he had of his secure place in history and that which he had chosen to do was worthwhile was those worn-out newspaper clippings that he carried to Ford’s Theatre in his pocket.
All of us, regardless of who we are or how “successful” we may be in the eyes of the world, have something deep down inside that needs to be reminded, “You’re doing a good job. What you are doing is important. Take courage. Someone realized the need of your contribution.” Isn’t it sad that sometimes kind words, words of appreciation and encouragement are never said, and men toil alone in the night doing what they feel is right but never knowing for sure. I’ve made up my mind that I am going to offer those words of encouragement. Somehow I am going to look for
the opportunity to shake a hand, to make a phone call, to send a note or a letter and say simply, “You’re doing a good job. Stay with it”
That Saturday morning when the word spread that the President was dead, the bells began to toll all over Washington. Telegraph wires began to chatter the news, and bells began to toll all over America. As the funeral train began its month-long winding journey from city to city toward the final resting place in Springfield, Illinois, someone has said that never before nor since in the history of America has there been such a spontaneous outpouring of grief by common, everyday people. Carl Sandburg said, “He died and never knew how much they loved him.”
At Gettysburg, Lincoln said, “The world will little note nor long remember what we say here.” How wrong he was, but he was only wrong because no one ever told him any different.
(The above material appeared in a November 1990 issue of the Journal of Christian Education.)
THE SCHOOL BOARD – A PASTOR’S FRIEND!
Article 3
There are a number of serious reasons why every pastor of a church that sponsors a Christian school should consider forming a school board. Let me name just a few:
* The pastor must be the general over-seer of the entire church work, but if he does not have a school board to help him deal with the specific needs of the Christian school ministry, his time can be taken up with the many concerns of the Christian school, and neglect the overall work of the local church.
* The pastor needs a “buffer” between him and the problems of the Christian school. If he has to deal with the various problems of the school himself, he deals with it as the Pastor, and the consequences are much more final and lasting, than if the Pastor had a school board to deal with the general problems.
If the school board makes a decision concerning, for example, a – family that is not current on their tuition, the Pastor can still be the friend and minister to that family even though the decision may have upset the family, but if the Pastor has to make the decision about the financial problem, the family often looks at the Pastor as being against them, and the Pastor almost always is the loser!
* The school that has a school board is much more acceptable to the general public than one that does not have a school board. This tends to project a feeling that the school is being operated in a real “businesslike” manner, which, of course, can mean a lot of different things to different people.
* In case of decisions the school board has had to make, the Pastor becomes a “final appeal” for the problem. When there is no school board between the Pastor and the problem, there is no “final appeal” process for the problem.
* Let’s face it! The Pastor doesn’t know all the answers about Christian education, and needs some advice and help once in a while. It is certainly comforting to the Pastor to have a group of individuals he can go to in order to “kick a few ideas around.”
* The church membership and school parents can have a much stronger input into the church’s Christian education program, for they can be personally involved on the school board. The term of office can be arranged so that a five member board, for example, can have one or two new members each year, and thus involve a lot of people and “fresh ideas” into the Christian education program.
* The school board can be responsible for the budget of the school, making sure that the “income” is never exceeded by the “outgo”. This financial responsibility is taken off the Pastor, and put on the shoulders of a group.
* The salaries of the staff can be negotiated by the Board, and the Pastor doesn’t have to be personally, involved.
* The school board will have the responsibility to assure that the children are receiving the best education they can from the curriculum, the staff, and the facilities. When the school’s administrator or principal sees a need to “upgrade” things, he or she can take the proposal to the school board, and not have to take all the responsibility upon them selves alone.
* Of course, the Pastor should be the official chairman of the board!
* The Christian school will be required to have a school board in order to enter into the ACTS Accreditation program.
(The above material appeared in a December 1990 issue of the Journal of Christian Education.)
THE WHAT AND WHY OF NAEIR
Article 4
The National Association for the Exchange of Industrial Resources (NAEIR, rhymes with “share”), is a non-profit association which matches new, useful products to the needs of educational and charitable service organizations.
NAEIR members pay $555 annual dues and fully participating members receive, on the average, $6,000 worth of new supplies and equipment. They request needed items from NAEIR’s 500+ page quarterly gift catalogs, paying only shipping and handling on the products they receive. The items themselves are free.
Typical materials distributed to members include office supplies, computer accessories, books, clothing, arts and crafts materials, hardware, laboratory equipment, maintenance supplies, electrical and plumbing fixtures, appliances, electronics, heaters and air conditioners, hand and power tools, lubricants, telephones, sporting goods, fabrics, paper, electric motors, and hundreds of other products. A recent catalog had over 6,000 types of items to choose from with a total value of $20 million.
Membership is open to any nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization in the United States. NAEIR’s 7,500 members include universities, colleges, school districts, parochial schools, hospitals, nursing homes, church groups of all denominations, camps, senior citizen centers, rehabilitation centers, Salvation Army and YMCA chapters, and a host of other nonprofit groups.
Donor corporations receive an above cost federal tax deduction for their contributions of merchandise. NAEIR provides the documentation the donor needs for their tax forms, and the donation service is free to the corporation.
Corporate donors to NAEIR include such well-known companies as Reader’s Digest, Reebok, Rand McNally, Corning, Gillette, Fuller Brush, Vermont American, Zebco division of Brunswick, and hundreds of other manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers throughout the United States.
NAEIR was founded in January 1977 by Norbert C. Smith, chairman of the board and CEO. A former aircraft parts manufacturer, he had also served as a charitable gifts consultant for several major corporations. As a consultant, he learned that business and industry had billions of dollars worth of new, useful merchandise just sitting on shelves. Often that material was sold to liquidators at a fraction of its worth or was simply scrapped at a loss. Smith saw the need for an organization which would collect those products from industry then distribute them to
schools and non-profit agencies.
NAEIR’s first warehouse was a one-story, 12,000 square foot structure in Lemont, IL, south of Chicago. Driving a forklift truck or doing whatever else was necessary during the day, Smith took care of the paperwork at night on his kitchen table.
The biggest factor in the Association’s growth was a 1979 clarification of Section 170 (e)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, which allowed donors to deduct up to 100 percent above their material cost of donated items.
As membership grew, so did the need for more space to store the increased volume of material that poured in. The Lemont warehouse was soon replaced by a 75,000 square foot structure in Chicago, then by another with a 125,000 square foot capacity. Early in 1985, NAEIR moved to a 325,000 square foot multi-story warehouse. In April, 1986, NAEIR moved into its permanent National Distribution Center, a 450,000 square foot building in Galesburg, Illinois, which combines both administration and warehouse operations. That one story building was donated to NAEIR by its former occupant, Outboard Marine Corporation.
Smith admits that one of NAEIR’s biggest problems – in the past and present – is credibility. All new members are offered this money back guarantee: “As a new, first year member of NAEIR, your organization will be granted a second year’s membership free or a full refund of your first year’s membership year you have not received twice the amount of your membership dues in merchandise, based on NAEIR’S published catalog values.”
If your Christian school and/or church would like to become a member of NAEIR, or would simply like more information, you are invited to write to ACTS – NAEIR, P.0. Box 2602, Dearborn, Michigan 48123. We will see to it that your questions are answered, and an application form is delivered to your school or church.
It’s time that members of the ACTS association took advantage of the millions of dollars worth of valuable materials that are presently available to other groups. Let’s be sure to get our share of naeir! Write to us today.
(The above material appeared in an October 1990 issue of the Journal of Christian Education.)
ACTS ESTABLISHES THE STUDENT HONOR SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL
Article 5
The Association is now making available to member schools entry into the Student Honor Society International. The SHS is designed to recognize excellence in four areas of the students life, and to help each student develop and grow in “wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man.” Romans 13:7 is the basic principle followed.
Each local SHS Chapter can be entered by Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors in an ACTS member school, by achieving excellence in the following four areas:
A – Academics (A 3.5 GPA or better required and maintained by the student through each grading period.) Prov. 2:1-2; II Tim. 2:15
C – Character (Three letters of recommendation, plus one from their Pastor. Must have excellent record in the school.) I Tim. 4: 12
T – Testimony (Must have had a personal experience with Jesus Christ, and produce a paper explaining same.) II Cor. 1:12; Rev.12:10-11.
S – Service (Must have a documentable record of service to others.) Gal. 5:13.
In addition to Student Honor Society data on permanent records, the student shall receive an annual Student Honor Society Certificate, and shall be awarded the HONORS PIN. The Honors Pin is a gold pin engraved with the words HONORS and the letters ACTS. Both the Certificate and the Honors Pin are available through the Association.
Details are available to school Principals and pastors concerning how an ACTS member school can become part of the Student Honor Society International, and details about how students can earn the right to be inducted into the Student Honor Society.
Student Honor Society is a “service” organization for your Christian School, and will be an excellent addition to your overall school program. Students who earn the right to be in the SHS, will have a special induction service into the Student Honor Society. The SHS will elect officers for each year, and can have special projects and activities of service an/or fund raising for the SHS program. It is suggested that the SHS Chapter be the sponsor of the Student of Distinction Awards given out by the school. The SHS Chapter could raise all the funds necessary for the certificates and award pins.
Plan on your school having a Chapter of the Student Honor Society NOW for end-of-year activities. Enrollment forms are available from the Association. A one-time charge of $35.00 is required to establish a SHS in your high school.
This fee enrolls the school and provides basic materials needed to establish the SHS, which includes a manual, by-laws, silk-screened logo sign, and details about making an SHS Chapter work in the local school. All supplies are being stocked by the Association, and will be available for order from each SHS Chapter.
We believe that it is very important to emphasize the positive aspects of education in your school. In a day when so much of the “negative” is shown, and during a time when so many “drop outs” and failures are spotlighted in education, we believe it is high time to turn the spotlight on success, and let the world know that Christian Schools can and do produce excellence in education as well as in all areas of development of the student.
The SHS Membership Pledge is as follows: As a member of the Student Honor Society, it is my desire and intention to honor God, my parents, and my school. I shall work to improve my academics, develop my Christian Character, maintain and strengthen my Christian Testimony, and seek ways to serve God and man. I shall cooperate with the rules of the Student Honor Society International, and work together with my Chapter in harmony and integrity, as God gives me the strength, the understanding, and the wisdom.”
If your school has a high school program, we urge you to consider establishing a Student Honor Society as a service club in your school. Contact ACTS for more details.
(The above material appeared in an October 1990 issue of the Journal of
Christian Education.)
GOVERNMENT SURPLUS PROPERTY AND THE TAX-EXEMPT PRIVATE SCHOOL
Article 6
Nonprofit tax-exempt private schools across the United States are eligible to receive federal and state personal property, which has been declared surplus, from the State Agency for Surplus Property of your state’s Department of General Services. For very nominal service charges, eligible private schools have acquired such items as desks, chairs, filing cabinets, laboratory equipment, paper, marking pens, cooking utensils and many other types and categories of movable and usable property which can contribute substantially to the total school operation.
From time to time, agencies and departments of the federal and state governments find that they own more personal property than they require. Such situations may occur because of a change in their program requirements, a physical move, or a reduction in operations. When it is determined that there is no governmental need for the property, the property is declared surplus and becomes available for distribution by the State Agency for Surplus Property to eligible recipients, including private nonprofit tax-exempt schools. In this way, the government is able to dispose of its surplus, surplus properties contribute to the public good of education, and eligible schools are able to enhance their operations at extremely modest costs.
To become eligible as a recipient of governmental surplus properties, it is necessary that a private school submit an application for eligibility. This application form, along with instructions, can be obtained by writing or calling the State Agency for Surplus Property in your particular State Capital.
In its application for eligibility, the private school must provide evidence of its tax-exempt status. In addition, the school needs to provide evidence of accreditation. If the school does not hold
accreditation by a recognized accrediting association, the following information may be accepted in lieu thereof:
1. A letter from its public school district stating that the private school meets the instructional or academic standards prescribed for public schools OR that the students from the private school would be accepted for transfer into public schools at the same level; OR…
2. three letters from accredited schools to the effect that students from the applicant private school have been and are accepted as if coming from an accredited school.
If the school is not accredited, it should provide a brief statement which describes its curriculum, the number of days it operates during the school year and the number and qualifications of the faculty or staff.
With its application for eligibility, the private school also is asked to complete some assurances with respect to compliance with surplus property program regulations and nondiscrimination. The applicant private school is required to name those employees who it (the private school) authorizes to acquire surplus property from the State Agency for Surplus Property on behalf on the private school, subject to terms and conditions of the program.
After the State Agency for Surplus Property receives a private school’s application and finds the private school eligible, approved copies of the private school’s application forms are returned to it and the private school can then begin to acquire surplus properties. Following the determination of eligibility, private schools, either in writing, by telephone, or through personal contact, should make known their needs for surplus property. (Often there are several warehouse locations around the state.) Items which might not be immediately available may become surplus at a future date.
At that time they may be picked up from a government agency by the StateAgency for Surplus Property and made available to a private school which has indicated a need. The State Agency for Surplus Property can provide private schools with “Surplus Property Request Form” cards on which the school can advise the Agency of major items the school needs.
Occasionally the State Agency for Surplus Property notifies eligible schools of representative surplus items that are plentiful.
To benefit from the surplus property program to the fullest extent, private schools should establish and maintain a close working relationship with the State Agency for Surplus Property and should visit the Agency’s Distribution Centers at intervals. There they can inspect available items, select items or make their requirements known for property which is needed by the school.
Increasingly, the State Agency for Surplus Property is facilitating the transfer of large items directly from the donating governmental unit to the recipient private school, and encouraging school representatives (to whom they provide a “Screener’s Identification Card”) to screen, or preview, a surplus item at various government sites. This process results in a savings in warehousing costs and the savings is passed on to the private school in the form of reduced service and handling charges. For example, the private school may need a bus or large van, which the State Agency for Surplus Property may find available at an Air Force base. Rather than bring the bus to an Agency warehouse for inspection, arrangements can be made for school personnel to inspect the bus, and other surplus items, on the air base itself.
A visit to a Distribution Center by a team from the private school is usually more productive that a visit by one person. The art teacher discovers metallic tape and copper wire that can be used in a craft class. The kindergarten teacher spots a parachute that might be a great awning for the outdoor patio at snack time. The librarian sees display racks that would be perfect for the resource center. The custodian finds tools and supplies that can be used right away for necessary school maintenance. The principal discovers a pair of visitors’ chairs for the conference room. Creativity in team shopping for surplus property pays off.
(The above material appeared in an Aug./Sept. 1990 issue of the Journal of Christian Education.)
THE PURPOSE, PAIN, AND POSITIVE ASPECTS OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
By: Joe. E. Pearce
Article 7
Christian Education, whether it is elementary, secondary, or collegiate, is an extremely important aspect of the ministry of Christ. Because of its importance, one should study it carefully. The purpose, pain, and positive aspects of Christian Education will be explored in this essay. Consequently, its basics will be briefly but carefully studied.
THE PURPOSE
The purpose of general education is to provide students with academic information and the ability to think and behave properly. Being informed will enable students to operate soundly in their society. Being able to think and behave properly causes students to communicate with others and achieve an inner satisfaction.
Another ideal in general education is that of physical fitness. When students receive instruction in this area, they will feel better about themselves and their future.
The Apostle Paul shows in II Thessalonians 5:23 that three segments make up the human being: the spirit, the soul, and the body. The spirit can be regarded as the spiritual segment of mankind; it is the candle of the Lord (Proverbs 20:27). The soul is generally thought to be the mental aspects of humanity. And the body is the physical segment of the being. One can see that general education emphasizes the latter two aspects of the individual, but for the most part ignores the spirit. This is tragic because the spirit is the most important part of humanity.
Christian education’s first goal must be to properly mold the spirit of students. If young people are exclusively mentally educated, they will grow to depend on their mentality, not on God. The result of this kind of dependence is self-centeredness and pride, which is the basic problem of our generation. Sending young men and women to a church a few times each week cannot counter-act this emphasis on mentality. Only a correct emphasis on spirituality, which is accomplished when one is daily educated according to spiritual concepts, will combat the total mental emphasis.
The purpose of Christian education is to first attend to the student’s spiritual needs, and then to the mental and physical needs. The goal of every Christian educator ought to be to produce mature individuals who have been spiritually educated according to the Will of Christ, mentally educated in the appropriate disciplines, and physically educated with regard to physical growth.
THE PAIN
Christian education is certainly not free of pain. The first pain that is apparent is with regard to spiritual warfare. When one determines to educate a young person’s spirit, the evil dimension is alarmed. This dimension knows that the basis of evangelism is in educating the spirit. Satan and his workers will utilize every weapon possible to war against the individual who is a Christian educator. This is true because Christian education is a danger to their to their total anti-Christian plan.
The second pain involved in Christian education is a financial one. Many churches that operate a Christian school never see the school stand on its own feet financially. The financial strain that a school can place upon a church is unbearable at times.
A third pain is an organizational one. Trying to organize a school that will meet spiritual, mental, and physical needs can be extremely frustrating; especially when one has been threatened by a governmental authority for various legal reasons. If one decides to operate a Christian elementary or secondary school, one must be ready for some possible legal struggles.
These are certainly not all the pains involved in Christian education. The point is that one should not enter this aspect of the ministry expecting it to be free from pain. One ought to realize, however, that if one makes a true commitment to Christian education, many positive results will happen that help overshadow the pains. works with limited resources. Many private Christian schools can not compete with secular schools from the standpoint of equipment, building space, staff, and other such areas. At the same time, they have an obligation to provide better education without making tuition unbearable.
A fourth pain in this ministry is a legal one. Many private Christian schools have been threatened by a governmental authority to operate a Christian elementary or secondary school, one must be ready for some possible legal struggles.
These are certainly not all the pains involved in Christian education. The point is that one should not from pain. One ought to realize, however, that if one makes a true commitment to Christian education, many positive results will happen that help overshadow the pains.
POSITIVE ASPECTS
Many of the positive aspects of Christian education are with regard to evangelism. When one develops a young person’s spirit, two things happen: he develops into a real Christian, and he is capable of leading others to Christ.
Proverbs 22:6 states that one should “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” It does not say that when he is old, after submitting to a life of sin, he will return to God. Solomon shows that the child will not depart from the proper way. If one will educate a person’s spirit, he will be evangelizing a life that can be a great asset to God’s Kingdom.
This present generation is extremely self-centered. This is due to many things, but especially to an influx of a self-centered philosophy that has dominated the thinking of our nation. This domination began to be evident in the mid-18th century, and is evident in this present age. If one is born again when he is a teenager or adult, an intense struggle against this self-centered thinking exists, and this thinking exists, and this thinking is established through secular education. If spiritual education can be started when a child is young, and if that child is educated in the way he should specifically go, this secular tendency will not exist nearly as much. Moreover, those who have been taught to rely on God can help to combat self-centeredness in others.
Christian education is a concept built deeply into scripture. Although phases of Christian education may be faddish, it is generally an invaluable aspect of the ministry of the Church. It’s purpose, pain, and positive aspects have been discussed and are, hopeful, clear. Christian educators ought not to be weary in well doing, for in due season, they shall reap if they faint not!
(The above material appeared in an Aug./Sept. issue of the Journal of Christian Education.)
Christian Information Network
