A Helpful Co-op that Equips Parents to Educate Covenant Children
We are a Reformed homeschool co-op that affirms the Reformed Confessions, namely, the Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, and Canons of Dort (often called the “Three Forms of Unity”). From our Reformed convictions, we educate our covenant children, teaching them to “think God’s thoughts after Him.”
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Education is learning to think God’s thoughts after Him by interpreting all things according to God’s original interpretation, and by relating every fact of the cosmos to the plan of God
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The goal of education is enculturation into God’s story, so as to walk in single-minded devotion to Christ, with wisdom and virtue, to the glory of our Triune God.
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The student is made in the image of God, endowed with body, soul, faculties (e.g., cognition, emotions, behaviors), and relational abilities. Due to Adam’s rebellion, the pupil is a sinner and is prone to laziness and unrighteousness, desperately needing God’s saving grace in Christ. Nevertheless, if at least one of his parents is a Christian, then the pupil is a covenant child of God, with baptismal promises. The pupil was created to learn by being receptively reconstructive; that is, by reasoning within the boundaries of Scripture and discovering God’s meaning for all things. The pupil should be humble and eager to learn from the wise.
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The teacher is a wise, mature, role model and catechist. The teacher is more competent in the subject matter than the pupil, and so he wisely and creatively presents and instills the material into each student. The teacher is a defender of the faith, one who leads pupils through the “Great Conversation” with a view toward both the antithesis and common grace. The teacher not only instructs the intellect, but woos the heart and trains the hand to love and serve Christ. The atmosphere of the classroom is established and maintained through the teacher’s God-given, humble authority. In summary, the teacher maintains proper ethos, logos, and pathos.
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The curriculum is controlled and shaped, ultimately, by Scripture. Theology is the “first among equals,” and so it is given priority in the curriculum. Theology is not only a subject of its own, but also permeates and unifies every academic subject. The curriculum should focus on God (Scripture and theology), on God’s creation (math and science), and also on His providence (history and geography). There is also a biblical concern to interact with the “Great Conversation” throughout the ages (literature, philosophy, languages, and apologetics). In order for any fact of the universe to be seen properly, it must be seen within God’s story, or else it will be misunderstood to some degree.