Educational Philosophy

As you, therefore, have received Christ Jesus as Lord, so walk ye in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding therein with Thanksgiving.  Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain receipt, after the traditions of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.  For in Him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in Him. Colossians 2:6-10

The Samuel School ministers from a philosophy of Christian education derived from the Word of God and subject to His sovereign and Providential purpose of bringing every child to full stature through the redemptive work of Christ. Luke 2:49-5

The foundation stone of American Christian education is faith in a sovereign Creator and Governor of the universe who gives liberty to those who accept Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord.  The internalization and application of Biblical principles for the government of home, school, and nation frame the proper response of man to his Maker. II Corinthians 3:17

The Biblical philosophy of education challenges the individual student to address how he governs himself, his habits of work and scholarship, his knowledge of God’s hand and his own place in history, and his character development in light of his commitment of faith in Christ.  This challenge affects every area of life and learning as he develops spiritually, morally, socially, and academically. Philippians 1:6, II Timothy 2:15

The system of education governed by a Biblical philosophy results in the school’s cooperation with the Holy Spirit in cultivating the student’s unique individuality so that, in fellowship with the Lord, he is marked by Christian character, applies Biblical reasoning to all of life, conforms his conscience to the eternal truth of the Bible, and fills his heart with love and obedience to Christ. Philippians 1:9-10

The God-given ultimate authority of the education of the child belongs to the parents who authorize teachers to inspire, cultivate, consecrate, and instruct the student.  The teacher who serves in a Biblical philosophy of education is a person gifted and called to exemplify those qualities of character and scholarship worthy of a wholehearted commitment of Christ.  The teachers must represent the spirit and discipline of their calling and embody the very goals they teach their students. Deuteronomy 4:8-10 and 6:6-7, Ephesians 6:4

The Christian methodology of education includes a series of instruction and discipline intended to enlighten the understanding, correct the temperament, form the habits and manners, and prepare the student for useful service.  Christian education in America has a unique heritage traced from a Bible-educated people under the leadership of pastors who know that education was useless without the Bible and that made the Bible central to all learning.  At The Samuel School, we endeavor to research, reason, relate and record every subject from its Biblical purpose and expression. II Timothy 3:16-17, Proverbs 22:20-2

The American Christian experience produced a curriculum of education resulting in a Biblical world-view (a system of presuppositions consistent with absolute Biblical truth) from which to discern right action and thinking and from which to exercise a proper role in the family, in the body of Christ, and as a citizen of a Christian constitutional republic. II Timothy 2:2

From this philosophy the following goals and objectives are derived:

For the SPIRITUAL GROWTH of the student the school purposes:
1. To impart to the student by the power of the Holy Spirit the full knowledge of God for a compelling awareness of the majesty, the goodness, and the love of God, and of the fallen state of man, so that the student will be drawn to surrender his heart and submit his life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

2. To instruct the student in the Word of God, to teach the tenets of its doctrines and the principles and leading ideas of scripture, to edify the student unto full spiritual stature, and to equip the student for a life of service.

3. To encourage the spiritual disciplines of worship, prayer, Bible study, fasting, and obedience to the practice of spiritual warfare for victorious Christian living.

4. To teach the student the stewardship of his most sacred possessions, his conscience, and character.

For the student’s PERSONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT the school purposes:
1. To encourage the student’s personal relationship with the Lord as the dynamic of all his relationships as he grows towards adult roles in marriage and the family, in the church, and in the community and the nation.

2. To give the student a vision for his unique purposes, for which he has been endowed with a unique individuality made in the image of God, and to lead him to affirm and accept his peers and relations with the same value.

3. To inspire the student to set excellent standards for the development of his abilities and talents, for accountability of personal resources of time, opportunities, health and energies, and for interpersonal relationships.

4. To equip the student to share his faith effectively, to make a reasonable defense of the faith, and to inspire him to bring the light of the Gospel to all men everywhere.

For the student’s ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE the school purposes:
1. To teach the learner while successfully respecting his unique individuality, and by realizing that teaching is not complete until learning is achieved.

2. To instill a Biblical world-view by laying a foundation of presuppositions based on Biblical absolutes in the thinking of every student through a curriculum framed by Biblical principles and leading ideas.

3. To develop careful study skills and habits of inquiry and research, patterns of Biblical reasoning, and methods of recording and presenting ideas and understanding.

4. To give students the appreciation of all areas of knowledge as God-given, and experiences in every academic discipline and the arts, so that they can identify their areas of strength and interest for future choices and positions.

5. To build a sense of history and its Providential links and purposes so that the student recognizes both his heritage and place in “His Story” and is ready too take responsibility for his place in his generation.

6. To give students the technical and communication skills needed to prepare for further education and vocation choices.