The Elijah School

All I Want for Christmas is Pantheism?!

There are, no doubt, serious concerns about the health of our planet’s ecosystem.  From ongoing pollution to global warming (the scientific kind, not the alarmist kind) we struggle with being good steward’s of God’s creation.  And all too often – paraphrasing Joni Mitchell – we don’t know what we’ve got til it’s gone.  But we are always thankful to God for His creation and its many blessings and its pure beauty, even if we don’t always treat it as we should. 

Lately, though, with events in Copenhagen, “Climategate” e-mails, and even movies like “Avatar”, we see a disturbing trend towards people worshiping creation rather than the Creator.  This is pantheism, the idea that God and nature are one, a spiritual movement that calls us into communion with the universe.  This has been a popular idea for years, especially the ‘pantheism lite’ of Hollywood in which spirituality is really nothing more than political correctness and leftist enviro-orthodoxy without any real commitments.  Personal obligations regarding holiness, morality, and ethics are set aside in favor of groupthink about our planet. 

I would like to argue that all Christians are responsible for the care and stewardship of our planet – with the understanding that reasonable people may differ on how best to carry them out – precisely because God loves us and His Creation.  But we must never confuse the object of our worhip – Christ the King and the Trinity – with earth.  We should be getting to work now on transforming the world and our culture with and through the power of the Holy Spirit before Christ comes again and ushers in His new creation.  “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down from Heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” (Rev 21:1-2)

Ross Douthat has an excellent column on “Avatar” and Hollywood’s pantheism in the New York Times, of all places:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/opinion/21douthat1.html?_r=3

Teaching Aspergers Kids the Ways of the World

Asperger Syndrome covers so many different things that it can be hard to describe exactly; it is often described as an autism spectrum disorder and Uta Frith, in her book Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome, described AS individuals as “having a dash of Autism”.  Some Asperger reserarchers consider AS as the same as High Functioning Autism, while others feel that it is better described as a Nonverbal Learning Disability.  In any case, there is much we can do to help AS students not just learn academics, but learn their place in the world.  In his book Freaks, Geeks, & Aspergers Syndrome, Luke Jackson suggests

1. Give your child clear and specific instructions about what you want your child to do.
2. Avoid using similes and paryicularly letaphors unless you can explain them accurately.
3. Don’t ever presume that your child can pick up the rights and wrongs of certian behaviors along the course of his or her life.
4. All things need to be spelled out clearly to any child, but a child on the autistic spectrum needs things spelled out to them more than most.
5. Teach them about the value of money and the rights and wrongs of taking other people’s things.  Explain clearly that this is a rule.
6. Explain things in a way that is very clear and use comparisons that your own child is likely to understand.  Analogies from their specialist subject will capture their attention.
7. Keep checking with your AS kid to make sure they have understood.

Great advice from a 13-year old with Asperger Syndrome.  For Elijah School, I think the greatest of these is #1: give the child clear and specific instructions.  This has really helped us communicate more effectively with our students.

Is Technology Corrosive?

At Elijah School our mission of hands-on learning for non-traditional students includes teaching about values, choices, and God’s Biblical demands.  We strive to help young minds think through the logical outworkings of decisions: a small step down one path may eventually lead to ruin – or great success.  And we teach them above all that God doesn’t just love them, He values them: they have worth, and purpose, and abilities all their own. 

I am very concerned about the amount of time young people spend immersed in technology without interacting with real, live, warm bodies.  There’s nothing funamentally wrong with You Tube or Facebook, for example, but there’s lots of ugly, dark, and corrosive materials on both sites.  Sexual content is among the most pervasive.

One of the more worrisome aspects of all this is that it becomes very commonplace and hence young minds can see it and watch it without even really noticing anymore.  Here is an excerpt from a column of David Brooks in the New York Times:

“Across the centuries the moral systems from medieval chivalry to Bruce Springsteen love anthems have worked the same basic way. They take immediate selfish interests and enmesh them within transcendent, spiritual meanings. Love becomes a holy cause, an act of self-sacrifice and selfless commitment.

But texting and the utilitarian mind-set are naturally corrosive toward poetry and imagination. A coat of ironic detachment is required for anyone who hopes to withstand the brutal feedback of the marketplace. In today’s world, the choice of a Prius can be a more sanctified act that the choice of an erotic partner.

This does not mean that young people today are worse or shallower than young people in the past. It does mean they get less help. People once lived within a pattern of being, which educated the emotions, guided the temporary toward the permanent and linked everyday urges to higher things. The accumulated wisdom of the community steered couples as they tried to earn each other’s commitment.

Today there are fewer norms that guide in that way. Today’s technology seems to threaten the sort of recurring and stable reciprocity that is the building block of trust.”

“…they get less help”  really resonates with me.  As parents, educators, and Christians it is our job to helping young minds make proper decisions and to see things for what they really are; it’s very easy to romanticize or think idyllic certain situations which are bound to have destructive effects on a young life.  We need to be there with the Truth for our society – who else will?

Education – Do You Have What it Takes?

If we don’t mold our children’s character and give them the foundation for a healthy spiritual life, haven’t we failed them?

As part of my preparation to teach essay-writing, I have been reading essays – lots of real essays written by real people for real people (as opposed to essays written by students, to be read by test graders, because they have to do well on their SAT’s).  In “On the Transmission of Christianity”, by C.S. Lewis (from God in the Dock), the author discusses the failure of Christianity to be transmitted to the younger generation.  He proposes that the younger generation had not accepted Christianity because it had never been explained to them.  The onus is placed firmly back on the previous generation.  He states, “None can give to another what he does not possess himself.”

He goes on to say:

                                “We are often told that education is a key position.  That is very false in one sense and               very true in another.  If it means that you can do any great thing by interfering with existing              schools, altering curricula, and the like, it is very false.  As the teachers are, so they will teach.       Your ‘reform’ may incommode and overwork them, but it will not radically alter the total effect   of their teaching.  Planning has no magic whereby it can elicit figs from thistles or choke-pears       from vines.  The rich, sappy, fruit-laden tree will bear sweetness and strength and spiritual      health:  the dry, prickly, withered tree will teach hate, jealousy, suspicion, and inferiority complex – whatever you tell it to teach.  They will do it unknowingly and all day long.  But if we                 mean that to make adult Christians now and even beyond that circle, to spread the immediately   sub-Christian perceptions and virtues, the rich Platonic or Virgilian penumbra of the Faith, and    thus to alter the type who will be teachers in the future – if we mean that to do this is to perform          the greatest of all services for our descendants, then it is very true.”

While Lewis was speaking about the institution of education, I believe that the principle is true on the personal level.   If we are not being  “fed” spiritually, we will have nothing to pass on to our children.  If we are not allowing God to discipline us and build our character, how can we build the character of our child?

Are you spending time in the Word?  Are you spending time in prayer?  In fellowship with other believers?  In corporate worship and teaching?  Do you have people in your life who will hold you accountable to God’s standards?  If not, how will you be equipped to pass these things to your children?

A friend recently asked me if I had thought about what kind of grandmother I would like to be (first grandchild coming in March).  Of course I have.  I want to spend time with this and future grandchildren.  To have fun and learn and make memories.  Most importantly of all, I want to pass on a legacy of faith, which I must first possess.   How about you?  

by Marilyn Groop

Teaching Self-Control

In a culture that seems to value feelings over anything else, I fear many people are losing the ability to control themselves.  When we turn on the TV or radio, how often are we confronted with angry outbursts, snarky or snotty commentary, and emotional “vomiting”?  Many seem to think that “speaking your mind” is always a good thing in and of itself, but I would argue that while it is sometimes good to speak your mind, it can also be cruel and needlessly hurtful.  It can actually damage our relationships with others if they think we are only concerned with unloading what is on our hearts or minds without regard for their feelings or needs. 

At Elijah School we spend a good deal of time teaching self-monitoring skills.  Not only are they necessary for good and healthy relationships, but research suggests that these skills are very good predictors of both academic and social success in life. 

In Ephesians 4:15 Paul told us “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.”  We need to be honest with each other, but also with ourselves.  We ask our students – BEFORE they speak – to ask themselves: Is it true?  Is it kind?  Is it necessary?  If you can answer “yes” to all three statements, they should go ahead.  We don’t want to limit their thinking or their fruitful speech, just provide appropriate outlets and guidelines. 

In this interview, Laura Berk suggests some ways to help teach our children critical skills in self-discipline, handling intense emotions, and impulse control.

http://www.bamradionetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=148:teaching-your-child-self-control-&catid=35:educators-channel&Itemid=89

What Will They Learn?

The American Council of announced the launching of a new website for parents and students, WhatWillTheyLearn.com, which will evaluate colleges and universities based on their general education curricula. The site gives to each college or university a grade of “A” to “F” based on how many of the following seven core subjects it requires: Composition, Mathematics, Science, Economics, Foreign Language, Literature, and American Government or History. Kudos, ACTA, for providing this sorely lacking resource and great boost to restoring higher education.

At Elijah School, we pride ourselves on teaching core subjects that every student and every American ought to know.  We just do it with more hands-on and multi-sensory experiences.

Raising Kids with a Sense of Purpose

“I can’t think of any way to bring up a less socially adept child, than to think that the whole world revolves around them and they don’t really have to give anything back.“

Dr. Alvin Rosenfeld – In Pursuit of the Perfect Child

One of the things we strive to do at Elijah School is reinforce the obligations we have to serve, encourage, and be kind to our brothers and sisters.  It’s why we believe that service projects of all kinds are valuable: the scope of the project can be very small, but it might touch someone in a very important way.  We’re all members of the body of Christ and it’s important for us to know that we have not just a place, but unique gifts and abilities, too.  So much of our culture actually encourages self-centeredness, as if that’s the way to happiness or self-fulfillment.  But that will always lead to shallow materialsim or narcissim; serving God and others isn’t just wise, it’s our Biblical mandate.  Passing that on to the next generation is one of our key responsibilities.

Autism, Asperger’s & School Choice

Every student is different: their brains “see” things differently, they have different learning styles, and different interests.  No school will ever be able to serve every student population adequately.  Elijah School is dedicated to serving non-traditional learners in a hands-on, multi-sensory environment.  But we believe parents of children with learning differences are best-equipped to determine what is right. 

Like these authors, we believe people all across the political spectrum can agree that we need to do what’s in the best long-term interests of children.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/08/column-kids-with-autism-deserve-better-.html

ADHD Awareness Week

As teachers of an educational community dedicated to ADHD and non-traditional learners, we are always looking for new ideas and new resources to reach young minds.  It’s important to recognize that the non-diagnosed, non-treated person with ADHD has a much tougher road ahead than the average.  There’s a lot we can do to help students get on track and stay there, but it begins with recognizing the problem and then taking positive steps towards engaging their minds with multi-sensory curricula and hands-on activities.

You might find a recent survey from CHADD interesting:

http://www.chadd.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&Template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=12293

Valuing Mistakes

“We have to teach children that mistakes are part of learning and we have to show them that we value mistakes. We have been mistrained to think that effortless perfection is the end all and be all and our children have been harmed by that idea.”

Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D. – The Dangers of Inappropriate Praise

I think there’s a lot of truth to this statement, regardless of age – the idea that any of us can get through life without making mistakes (including some doozies) is completely at odds with what we believe as Christians.  We need to help young people to LEARN from their inevitable mistakes and not repeat them.   Just ask any businessman or parent if they’ve made mistakes, and the answer will be “yes” – but chances are they took the time to learn something valauble from the experience.

Part of our goal at Elijah School is to get students thinking and talking.  So many students with learning differences or disabilities are afraid to try new things for fear they’ll fail – we are encouraging them to proceed boldly, that failure is part of learning.   Praise needs to be honest in order to build lasting self-esteem and self-confidence.  ALL of our young people have gifts and unique abilities – having learning differences or requiring a more hands-on curriculum doesn’t change that.