Biblical Integration

As we begin a new school year, it’s of great value to focus on our foundation – the mission that informs our actions throughout the year. We use the phrase “Christ-centered education” to describe our overarching educational approach. A Christ-centered approach is committed to high-quality academics paired with the integration of an authentic Biblical worldview.  

 

To this end, we’ve deliberately focused on professional development with our faculty, and a key component in that training is the discipline of Biblical integration. Below you will find answers to questions that you may have about this element of our mission – and we always welcome further discussion! It is our commitment to you as we partner together to bring alive our mission of “academic excellence, spiritual growth, and lifelong love and desire for learning.” 

 

 

Blessings!

Dr. Jim Cianca 

Head of School

 

 

As a concept, it’s simply the approach that defines the worldview from which a curriculum will be taught. Instead of teaching from a secular worldview, MBCA approaches all subjects from an understanding that we are seekers after God’s truth, and we seek to discover that truth which is already embedded in the subject matter. This is what we refer to as a “Christ-centered” education. The terms “Biblical Integration” and “Christ Centered Instruction” are synonyms that describe a philosophical approach to classroom instruction that recognizes the authority of scripture and our seeking after God’s objective truth. 

 

No. This is a reflection of the philosophy that MBCA was built upon, as explained in the Founding Principles Document shown on our website. 

 

Every teacher at every school will teach from some worldview, and here at MBCA, we are committed to teaching from a Biblical worldview. We are not looking to “add” or “remove” elements from our existing curriculum, rather we seek to “uncover” God’s truth in what we are already addressing in the curriculum – looking at it through a Biblical lens. The following document explains the essential elements of a Biblical worldview: Biblical Worldview Essentials Summary 

 

Two years ago, we contracted with Transformed PD, a Christian professional development organization that is guiding us through a comprehensive training program. This includes coaching, training, materials, teaching tools, and techniques to ensure that we are who we say we are as a Christ-centered school. In addition, there has also been a significant emphasis on pedagogical (teaching) skills through this training, and our teachers have deepened their expertise in the classroom as a result.

 

We do not seek to indoctrinate children or simply teach our students what to think. At MBCA, and in partnership with our partners at Transformed PD, we deliberately seek to have students learn how to think. We encourage students to question, to explore, to be honest, to express doubts, and explore answers. We want students to own their own learning, and own their own faith. For a deeper understanding of this philosophy in action, see the following document: Bloom’s Taxonomy & Christ-centered Education. 

 

Faith and learning are compatible, and we want students to pursue both academic excellence AND spiritual growth. The secular world paints this as a mutually-exclusive dichotomy, but we know that God created us as spiritual beings as well as intellectual, and an education that does not rigorously explore both is not a complete education.

The entire professional development program, including coaching, training, materials, and more has been fully funded by a generous donor who is passionate about MBCA’s Christ-centered mission.  

 

We are happy to continue this conversation with you!  You may wish to talk to your child’s teacher for specifics about what this looks like at your child’s level, to your division head or our academic dean for program-wide questions or details about its implementation, or the head of school for any aspect of this approach.  We value partnering with our parents and enjoy an open dialog and continued discussion on these important educational topics.