About Us
Statement of Educational Philosophy
The Bethesda Christian Academy philosophy of education is distinctive. Its uniqueness lies in its core convictions about the nature of God and the nature of man. This uniqueness determines the distinctive aspects of the Christian education offered to each student. Our philosophy is prayerfully designed and undertaken, in dependence on the Holy Spirit, to accomplish these primary things: to inform the student's mind and to affect the student's heart.
The student whose mind is informed by the Scriptures and whose heart is affected with a love for Christ will be equipped to live obediently, with wise and courageous effectiveness. That student will carry the banner of God's truth into his world.
The two core convictions of our Philosophy of Education are as follows:
First, there is one true God. He has revealed Himself in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the eternal, all-powerful, Creator-God.
Second, each student--although created to live in intimacy with God--is born with a sinful nature. This fallen nature affects every aspect of his or her being, resulting in rebellion against God's authority and truth. The student, therefore, seeks to live in self-sufficiency and independence of Him. Although deeply fallen, he or she is greatly loved and highly valued by God, as demonstrated in the saving work of Jesus Christ.
These two core convictions have implications for every area of both the content and atmosphere of this school, and are visible in four distinctive aspects of our Philosophy of Education:
The first distinctive lies in our commitment to ground each student in a Biblical World View.
Each student will be prepared by this grounding to understand, evaluate and--in a wise and influential way--relate to the world in which he or she lives. The goal is for the student to think like Christ as he or she faces the issues of life. The world in which the students are called to live will be increasingly hostile to Christian truth and character. It will continue to advocate secularism, humanism and anti-Christian values as it attempts to find solutions to complex social, political and moral issues. In a world where Christian truth no longer holds prominent influence, students will find a Biblical World View essential to their being able to articulate their faith in a compelling and effective way, and thus will bring Christian influence to this world.
The second distinctive is a commitment to academic excellence.
Our commitment to excellence goes beyond the traditional approach of memorizing factual information. This commitment encourages such things as understanding, insight, wisdom, critical thinking and decision-making skills. This emphasis will be applied to every subject and every issue studied by the student as we instruct and prepare our students with a college preparatory style education. This quick-paced technique will include adequate homework, projects, oral presentations, as well as formal evaluation.
Our goal is to expose students to such a depth and breadth of knowledge that those who are so equipped will gain the ability to think innovatively and independently, while understanding a broad range of subjects. The result will be a student with a Biblically-informed world view who can think critically, and can understand, evaluate and apply sound judgment to the issues in a wise, constructive and Christ-honoring way.
A commitment to partnership - both with the parents of the student and with the family's local church-makes up the third distinctive, springing from the conviction that the student will not develop to his or her full potential without the complete co-operative involvement of all three influences: Parents, Church, and School. There is no question: parent and church participation are essential to every student's whole education.
Bethesda Christian Academy, therefore, encourages parents to be involved in both the school's ministry and in their child's education. And to enable real involvement, one ministry of the Academy will be to equip parents to understand both the material taught and the methodology of the instruction. Information will also be shared and emphasis placed on Christian child development, in order to give parents support in their primary responsibility of instructing and nurturing their children.
The fourth point of distinction is our commitment to establish an atmosphere--and demonstrate a sense--of genuine love, acceptance, and concern for each student.
This atmosphere of acceptance will create the context within which each student will feel secure and loved, and within which the Holy Spirit can minister to each child. Recognizing that each child is unique, and has been gifted differently, this nurturing atmosphere will enable each student to identify and develop his or her gifts. Also....teachers, aides, administrative staff, other students and parents will be encouraged to model and promote a personal, saving relationship with Jesus Christ as the foundation for a godly life.
Out of the nurturing, encouraging atmosphere will come students who not only know Jesus Christ as Savior, but who are also motivated with a love for learning, a willingness to assume personal responsibility for their behavior and a respect for God-ordained authority.
The student whose mind is informed by the Scriptures and whose heart is affected with a love for Christ will be equipped to live obediently, with wise and courageous effectiveness. That student will carry the banner of God's truth into his world.
The two core convictions of our Philosophy of Education are as follows:
First, there is one true God. He has revealed Himself in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the eternal, all-powerful, Creator-God.
Second, each student--although created to live in intimacy with God--is born with a sinful nature. This fallen nature affects every aspect of his or her being, resulting in rebellion against God's authority and truth. The student, therefore, seeks to live in self-sufficiency and independence of Him. Although deeply fallen, he or she is greatly loved and highly valued by God, as demonstrated in the saving work of Jesus Christ.
These two core convictions have implications for every area of both the content and atmosphere of this school, and are visible in four distinctive aspects of our Philosophy of Education:
The first distinctive lies in our commitment to ground each student in a Biblical World View.
Each student will be prepared by this grounding to understand, evaluate and--in a wise and influential way--relate to the world in which he or she lives. The goal is for the student to think like Christ as he or she faces the issues of life. The world in which the students are called to live will be increasingly hostile to Christian truth and character. It will continue to advocate secularism, humanism and anti-Christian values as it attempts to find solutions to complex social, political and moral issues. In a world where Christian truth no longer holds prominent influence, students will find a Biblical World View essential to their being able to articulate their faith in a compelling and effective way, and thus will bring Christian influence to this world.
The second distinctive is a commitment to academic excellence.
Our commitment to excellence goes beyond the traditional approach of memorizing factual information. This commitment encourages such things as understanding, insight, wisdom, critical thinking and decision-making skills. This emphasis will be applied to every subject and every issue studied by the student as we instruct and prepare our students with a college preparatory style education. This quick-paced technique will include adequate homework, projects, oral presentations, as well as formal evaluation.
Our goal is to expose students to such a depth and breadth of knowledge that those who are so equipped will gain the ability to think innovatively and independently, while understanding a broad range of subjects. The result will be a student with a Biblically-informed world view who can think critically, and can understand, evaluate and apply sound judgment to the issues in a wise, constructive and Christ-honoring way.
A commitment to partnership - both with the parents of the student and with the family's local church-makes up the third distinctive, springing from the conviction that the student will not develop to his or her full potential without the complete co-operative involvement of all three influences: Parents, Church, and School. There is no question: parent and church participation are essential to every student's whole education.
Bethesda Christian Academy, therefore, encourages parents to be involved in both the school's ministry and in their child's education. And to enable real involvement, one ministry of the Academy will be to equip parents to understand both the material taught and the methodology of the instruction. Information will also be shared and emphasis placed on Christian child development, in order to give parents support in their primary responsibility of instructing and nurturing their children.
The fourth point of distinction is our commitment to establish an atmosphere--and demonstrate a sense--of genuine love, acceptance, and concern for each student.
This atmosphere of acceptance will create the context within which each student will feel secure and loved, and within which the Holy Spirit can minister to each child. Recognizing that each child is unique, and has been gifted differently, this nurturing atmosphere will enable each student to identify and develop his or her gifts. Also....teachers, aides, administrative staff, other students and parents will be encouraged to model and promote a personal, saving relationship with Jesus Christ as the foundation for a godly life.
Out of the nurturing, encouraging atmosphere will come students who not only know Jesus Christ as Savior, but who are also motivated with a love for learning, a willingness to assume personal responsibility for their behavior and a respect for God-ordained authority.
