| |
The curriculum of RCS has a definite and clear Christian framework, embracing and affirming that Christ, indeed, is sovereign over all of creation, knowledge, history, and relationships. We take seriously the role of "developing responsible, responsive citizens of Christ's Kingdom," and so that goal defines our curriculum.
Our curriculum is driven by 3 main questions:
-
Purpose and Identity: Who am I within Christ's Kingdom? What purpose has God given me? What is this world all about? Where did it come from? What is God's purpose for the particular area of creation or culture we are studying? What did God intend?
-
Effects of Fall: What has gone wrong? Where do pain and hurt originate? How has this purpose been distorted by the effects of human disobedience/sin?
-
Restoration: How has God brought about restoration or wants us to bring restoration? What is the way out of the problems and pain that exist? Where do we find answers and what can we do? What does the future hold? Where do we find our hope? How does God want us to respond? Are there ways in which we can, through Christ's work of redemption, restore, at least in part, the love, righteousness, and justice God intends for the world? How can we help our students develop a deeper understanding of, experience in, and commitment to a Christian way of life?
(based on "Worldview Questions for Curriculum," Society of Christian Schools in BC, 1998)
From this framework, the curriculum of RCS differs greatly from most other schools, particularly because most others are child centered, beginning study with the child himself as the reference point: "Who am I, my autonomous self?" Ours places the child in the midst of Christ's Kingdom: "Jesus loves me; this I know for the Bible tells me so."
Certainly, the New York State standards are included in our curriculum, but they serve as reference points for specific knowledge and skills, which is as far as they realistically can go. They cannot ask "Why?" and "How?"
Our curriculum includes the common areas of study of mathematics, language arts, science, and social studies throughout our kindergarten through 8th grade program. The curriculum also includes art, music, physical education, and computer in all of these grades with specialized teachers. Spanish is taught formally in grades 6-8 but is also included informally in much of the elementary. Further, the students have daily Bible classes, learning from Bible stories in the younger grades and then increasingly learning how to read the Bible and how to be agents of His reconciliation today and in the future.
RCS strives for excellence in education, which is not measured by how our standardized test scores compare to other schools but rather by considering what each child is doing with the abilities God has given him. Standardized tests scores consistently show that our students as a whole perform very well, indicating that they are being responsible with their God-given abilities.
|
