Interact Curriculum Pages > Articles > Values & the Interact Curriculum
|
|
Values & the Interact Curriculum
by Julie Owen, Sydney, Australia
Much has been written over the past decade on the importance of values education. Indeed, one can go to the internet and, with a mere click of the mouse, download a multitude of documents, articles, resources and statements about the commitment of governments and educators toward teaching the values that underpin our society and lifestyle. Excellent, say the people. What our country needs today is people with values. If schools can get on with the task of teaching young people how to value themselves, how to value each other, and how to value the environment, the world would be a better place. To a certain extent, I guess they are right. Valuing ourselves, each other and the environment probably would solve some of the world's problems. Yet, somewhere within me, there is a deeper yearning for something more than a society of very moral and dare I say - righteous people. Someone with apparently similar cravings to me, said it this way: "Some values are ... like sugar on the doughnut - legitimate, desirable, but insufficient - apart from the doughnut itself. We need substance as well as frosting." Ralph Tyler Flewelling (1871-1960) Amen, Ralph. On their own, values lack substance. Values need a solid foundation. Without something to stand firm on, values change with the tide: they become relative to the situation and open to interpretation in the delivery. As Christian teachers, we need to be prepared to show the difference between adopting a moral set of values and embracing the gospel. Our foundation is Christ. As Paul said, "...I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.." Philippians 3:8 Bearing in mind the significance of the curriculum in delivering something more than the values education which, feasibly, one could expect from any respectable place of learning, you would assume that curriculum writing is the highest priority of every Christian school teacher. Unfortunately, our priorities and our realities do not always stand eye-to-eye. Lack of time, lack of confidence, limited support and resources often reduce Christian education to simply, "a Christian, educating." About twenty years ago, Helen Pearson prayerfully considered the need for her own school to deliver a Christian curriculum which would assist her students to know Christ, rather than merely a moral code. As the founding principal of KingsWay School, New Zealand, Helen began to develop a framework of learning that focused on different aspects of the character of God - and of the Christian's response to that understanding. The Interact Curriculum, as it later developed to become, is now implemented by approximately a third of the schools in the NZ Association of Christian Schools, many home schools, as well as schools in Africa, Indonesia and Kazakhstan. "The Interact Curriculum is about interaction," writes Helen. "Helping students to interact with God, with the world around them, with others, and with ideas. My desire, as I have developed the Interact Curriculum, has been to serve principals, teachers and homeschooling parents as they develop programmes that will point to God as the source of all we are, have and learn about. Teachers using the full Interact Curriculum have a balanced programme of topics in Devotions, Science, Social Sciences (including History, English, Geography, Government and Economics), Health, Art, Technology and English, for pupils in years one to eight." The programme consists of sixteen integrated thematic units of work - four terms over four years - which were written to meet the NZ Curriculum requirements. A series of devotional study books for teachers, written by Rod Thompson, accompany each term's theme. A report from the NZ Education review office states that, "This high-quality curriculum contextualises the learning areas of the national curriculum...It also provides teachers with a sound basis for developing detailed curriculum plans and learning programmes". Feedback from schools and classroom teachers is very positive - which is why, when Helen Pearson approached me towards the end of 2007 to assist in developing the Interact Curriculum for Christian schools in Australia, I was very enthusiastic. While still in its development phase, schools using the material have been extremely positive about its value. During 2007, as students in classrooms around the world focused their studies on the Olympic Games, the Interact Curriculum directed thinking toward the similarities between Christian living and Olympic events. The theme, "God is Holy and Pure: He wants us to be Holy and Pure", encourages students to consider that, like an Olympic event, the struggle towards holiness is one of discipline and determination, full of triumphs and struggles. While the Olympic motto of Faster! Stronger! Higher! will urge athletes toward the prize, the world will look on as those who have dedicated themselves to the preparation and discipline required to compete in the games, give it their all. Their efforts will be applauded; their achievements honoured. They will become our national heroes. What do Olympic fame and holiness have in common? They are both the aim and reward for those who make them their focus. For one, the result is a great sense of satisfaction and world acclaim. What reward awaits those who dedicate themselves to the battle to "be holy in all you do"? (1 Peter 1 15) "You welcome him with rich blessings and place a crown of pure gold on his head." (Psalm 21:3) Students will be encouraged, through the Integrated Learning Path developed for the Interact Curriculum, to Recall, Raise questions, Research, Reason, Reflect, Respond, Review, and finally to Rejoice! A wide range of learning concepts, learning activity suggestions, and indicators are suggested Examples include:
|