Our Philosophy of Education

Hastings Christian School utilizes  the Trivium (grammar, logic, and rhetoric) to cultivate deep learning. Rather than merely focusing on information, we are primarily focused on formation. Students will move from concrete knowledge (grammar) to puzzling towards truth (logic) to wisdom pouring out (rhetoric) in the various subjects and topics they study. In the primary years, our desire is to cultivate wonder and curiosity so that children seek  truth as they interrogate the world around them. In the secondary years, we want students to deeply ponder and wrestle towards truth while studying a variety of engaging  thoughts, ideas, and philosophies. Our ultimate academic aim is mastery, whereby students become deeply proficient in each field of study, so that they can apply masterful  understanding to their future endeavors and ultimately discern the right from the almost right.

Bible

The Bible is the written revelation of God’s truth and holds authority for all of life. Scripture will therefore be infused throughout all that we study, with a targeted survey focus at the beginning of Humanities. During chapel we will work together on catechism, laying anchor points for doctrine. We will look at Scripture through an historical church lens and teach interpretation from a *grammatico-historical exegesis. Students will be trained to interrogate Scripture as they gain a working understanding of biblical theology. Our aim is that students see the beautiful and complex story of redemption, that is cohesive throughout all of Scripture, so that it forms their lives.

Literature

At Hastings Christian School, students will read literature for the purpose of knowing and discerning truth, goodness, and beauty. Students will encounter literature steeped in the transcendentals, and be challenged by literature that reveals what is a lie, what is wrong, and what is ugly. Literature that reveals evil as evil affords students the opportunity to face what is ungodly from an innocent, though  not naïve, vantage. This trains students in discernment of good and evil by allowing them to face “giants” through the pages they read and the discussions that follow, without ever being in the arena of danger.

History

History reveals the sovereign orchestration of God and affords students the opportunity to understand their place in the world. We want students to interrogate history with questions of “why” so they see God’s story unfolding. We teach history through well-told stories and original source material, while giving anchor points on a visual timeline. Students will learn how to engage with history by deeply studying historical events and people, rather than simply memorizing facts or dates.Understanding history in correlation and context will lay the foundation for seeing God’s sovereign providence and point us towards His glory revealed. 

Science is the investigation of God’s creative expression, as “the heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). We will equip students to keenly observe God’s creation and develop a holy curiosity about the world around them - a curiosity that aims at divine truth. Students will be taught concrete skills of observation within the context of how God spoke the world into existence and holds all things together (Colossians 1:17). At the secondary level, students will wrestle through the varying orthodox views of creation while engaging with secular interpretations of data. Students will be encouraged to enjoy, rather than fear, scientific discovery as they see the cohesion between Scripture and science.

Math is the language of God’s created order, and is therefore a creative endeavor that Christians should engage in throughout life. Math is not something to simply “get through,” but something that we should master. The language of math, coupled with the skill of problem solving, equips students for faithful living and stewardship. Because of this, we will train students through a mastery approach that builds resilience as students aim at finding absolute truth. “God Himself has a numerical nature,” and math is a reflection of that nature. To understand math well is to understand more of the nature of our Creator. (For further reflection: https://frame-poythress.org/a-biblical-view-of-mathematics/)

Latin is a very ordered language with clear grammatical rules that cognitively equips for language as well as other fields of study.   Latin is the source for much of our technical vocabulary, and the study of Latin reinforces English grammar skills and affords students the opportunity to hone these skills within the context of another language.  To study Latin is to understand, more deeply, the Roman world in which Jesus was born. Latin is also the foundation of  the Romantic languages, laying an important foundation to further foreign language study, and proficiency in Latin can equip a reader to navigate historical Christian text. Our aim at Hastings Christian  will be to hone the skill of language and provide a deeper understanding of linguistic context. 

The evidence of what is beautiful is interwoven throughout creation.  Truth, goodness, and beauty are objective because God offers these standards throughout Scripture and we see His reflective beauty in creation.  As image bearers of the Living God we are “sub-creators” and our art should reflect God’s creation.  Art reveals culture as much as it helps form culture, as Christians we should be producers of good art and not just consumers of the world’s art. Therefore we hold recognizing beautiful art as well as the skill of creating beautiful art in high regard.  We understand art's transformative nature and the need to discern true beauty as integral to a Christian Liberal Arts foundation. 

The Creator gave Christians a timeless song book, the Psalms, with 150 different songs to sing and praise His name, as well as songs scattered throughout the Old and New Testaments. Both vocal and instrumental music are to be used by man to point back to God. Music is not just a subject that we should teach, it is a way to express the goodness of God and the joy we have in living in His presence. Therefore, we not only teach students the basic knowledge and related benefits of music, but also how to distinguish good music from mediocre music. We want them to recognize that though we limit their exposure in truth, beauty and goodness in music, good music is not bound by a period of time or by a particular style, but that good and beautiful music is a gift from God to man throughout all ages.