The document describes a teacher training course called "The Essential Christian Teacher" offered through the Christian Schools Trust. The goal of the course is to help teachers define what it means to be a Christian practitioner in a Christian school. Over the course of two years, it addresses topics like the purpose of education, understanding students and families, developing a biblical worldview, the role of the teacher, classroom management, developing curriculum from a biblical foundation, and leadership skills. The training incorporates both classroom instruction and opportunities for observation and application. It is intended to equip both new and experienced teachers to effectively teach from a Christian perspective.

1. Teacher Training through the Christian Schools Trust
The Essential Christian Teacher
We have called the course The Essential Christian Teacher, aiming to help you define what it
means to be a genuinely Christian practitioner in the community of a christian school of the
type that are members of the Christian Schools’ Trust.
It serves teachers new to teaching or to working in our schools. It would also be helpful to
established teachers who want to sharpen their practice.
This is a brand new course which incorporates wisdom invested in our schools; tried, trusted
and developed over the past thirty years; it also seeks to address the needs of schools and the
students they work with now, in the second decade of the twenty first century. In this sense if
you join the course in its first year in the South of the UK, you are helping us pioneer again and
take the task of taking Christ-centred education forwards with this current generation of
students and their families.
The course takes into account what it takes to work well in a small school and seek to address
the issues that are associated with teaching today's Christian families and the types of people
who seek to come to our schools.
 Block release 1 day each half term.
 Running with a minimum of 7 students and no more than 12, this course will be centred
around you and your needs as a developing teacher. Many of the starting points will
either be you and your journey through education or the staring point of your classroom.
 Based in a school community with an opportunity to observe classroom practice and
talk to other teachers.
 Students to be hosted by a family and need to arrive Thursday evening; departing at
the end of the school day Friday
 There is written work is involved but a suggested reading list and a suggested task list

2. applying what has been taught to the teacher's own classroom teaching.
 Students to be accountable to their own school leadership for what they learn.
 To start September 2014.
Thursday
Meal 06:30:00
Session 1 7:30 – 8:30
Friday
Devotional time 08:45:00
Session 1 09:15:00
Session 2 10:15:00
Break 11:15:00
Session 3 11:35:00
Lunch 12:35:00
Session 4 01:20:00
Session 5 02:20:00
End of day 03:30:00
Year 1 The Essential Christian Teacher
[5 teaching days]
1. The purpose of education.
2. The child and their family.
3. Why worldview is crucial.
4. The teacher.
5. The classroom.
Year 2 The Essential Christian Teacher
[5 teaching days]
1. Biblical foundations for curriculum
2. Developing curriculum material [in the context of building a Christian learning
community]

3. 3. Contributing to a team, serving a vision
4. 'One thing you lack'... personal development
5. Aspiring to leadership
Course Content: The Essential Christian Teacher.
1. The purpose of education
• Introduction: My Journey through education: What God has invested in me.
◦ An opportunity to reflect on your journey through education.
◦ An opportunity to consider the influences that have shaped you thus far.
◦ An opportunity to consider a sense of calling that you may or may not be able to
articulate at this point in time.
◦ An opportunity to identify key people who have assisted you or who still assist in
your development.
◦ An opportunity to consider your significance as someone God has invested in for
the sake of his kingdom.
◦ This activity will be based around creating a personal timeline based on the model
developed in The Making of a Leader by Robert Clinton.
Session 1: Recognising the influences that have shaped you as a teacher.
[or 'who taught the teacher and How the teacher teach?']
◦ Using Harro Van Brummelen's Four orientations towards education, teacher's seek
to identify the influences upon them in their own formative education.
◦ The Academic Traditionalist Orientation
◦ The Technical Orientation
◦ The Deliberatist Orientation
◦ The Constructivist Orientation.
◦ Can teachers recognise this in their formative education?
◦ Can they recognise these orientations in government rhetoric?
◦ Is there a link between the orientations you have been shaped by and the way you
now teach?
◦ Van Brummelen “It is not enough to just adopt one or a combination of these
orientations to teach christianly”.
Session 2: Aims of education.
[Or 'How could the teacher teach?']
◦ What is the teacher's definition of the purpose of education.
◦ A biblical perspective: The Big Picture: Creation, Fall, Redemption

4. ◦ Generational transfer as proactive discipleship
◦ Moving towards a set of Christian aims in education.
Session 3: Outworking aims in the classroom.
◦ Using material form Harro Van Brummlen's Walking with God in the classroom
◦ Shaping a set of practical, workable aims for your classroom.
◦ A checklist to ensure that this can really be made to work on a day to day basis?
Five Criteria for the working practice of a school's aims. Devised by Al Greene 1984,
cited in Stepping Stones to Curriculum.
◦ Biblical wisdom in practice. See the story of the Queen of Sheba's visit to the court
of Solomon.
◦ Planning for change.
2. The Child and the family
Introduction: So you have Joe in your class!
◦ God has plans and purposes for every child in your class. Christian or non-
Christian, God has intervened in each child's life to place them with you. So how will
you cooperate with God as He performs those plans and purposes in each child's
life whilst thy are in your care?
◦ Do we understand the children we have in our schools?
◦ More importantly, do we understand the lives of the children we teach in our
schools?
◦ Does the education we provide for them fit them for their future?
◦ How well do we we co-operate with God's plans and purposes for each child's
future?
◦ Developing a prayer strategy for the students in your class.
Session 1: A biblical view of the child
◦ Considering the teacher's who have impacted your life as a child.
◦ Teaching out of relationship.
◦ Children, a scriptural profile.
◦ Training the heart in Foundational principles for a life of response to God: items on a
scriptural curriculum.
Session 2: Discipling children
◦ A session based on Psalm127 3 & 5 ‘Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the
children of ones youth….they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their
enemies at the gate.’

5. ◦ Spiritual warfare: Is there a conspiracy against youth
◦ Bring up a child in the way he should go and when he is older he shall not Proverbs
22 v 6 [A discipleship text] How we have tried to work it out.
◦ My key principles in working with young people
◦ Recommended reading: Toxic childhood by Sue Palmer
Session 3: Discipline as part of discipleship
◦ Scriptural principles: Hebrews 12: 11-1
◦ Discipline in school.
◦ Short term goals in discipline.
◦ Long term goals in discipline.
◦ The discipline circle.
Session 4: This is what is good about our school: what's good about yours?
◦ A session led by the Prefect body of our School, sharing from a student's point of
view what they value in their teachers and the approaches taken with them that they
don't appreciate.
Session 5: Child development
◦ Introducing the work of the Fabiano's
◦ Their current ministry can be found by googling Tsunamis Ministries
◦ The premise of the book.[Understanding human Development. Healing the past,
Releasing your future: Frank & Catherine Fabiano]
◦ Stages of Human Development.
3.Why worldview is crucial.
Session 1: Introduction to worldview?
• Exploring features of a world view through an aspect of popular culture.
• Why understanding worldview is crucial to the student.
• Identifying a worldview
• How worldviews are formed?
Session 2: Exploring worldview
• Characteristics of a worldview.
• Why understanding worldview is crucial to the teacher.
• A brief history of worldviews in western culture.

6. Session 3: Cultural Lies and Kingdom Truths
• What are the dominant cultural view about life, which when viewed against Biblical truth
can be see as lies.
• How can Biblical truth be used to counter cultural lies.
4.The teacher.
Session 1: Teaching Standards.
• What are the teaching standards promoted by the government? What is helpful, what is
missing?
Session 2: The Calling and Character of the Teacher.
• The ministry of teaching.
• Characteristics of a Christian Teacher.
• The craft of teaching.
• Cooperating with the Holy Spirit in teaching.
Session 3: What we can learn from Jesus the teacher.
• Why was Jesus an effective teacher?
• Using everyday parables in teaching.
• Creative use of questioning.
Session 4: One thing you lack...
• All good teachers have to overcome at least one major flaw in their character
to become an effective teacher.
• What is your nemesis and how are you
letting the Holy Spirit help you conquer
it?
5.The classroom.
Session 1:The classroom as a teaching space.

7. • Teachers share a variety of ways that you can adapt your classroom space to teach
lessons that e are events rather than occurrences.
Session 2: Classroom Management: Managing the environment.
• What environment do you want to create?
• The classroom where time is spent, is it safe and inviting?
• A place where children learn.
• A place where children encounter God.
Session 3: Classroom Management: Wisdom in discipline.
• The covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace.
• Practical classroom management of behaviour.
Course content Year 2:
Year 2 The Essential Christian Teacher [5 teaching days]
6. Biblical foundations for curriculum
• The Biblical narrative. Creation, Fall, Redemption [1]
• The creation mandate, The Great Commission, the Great Commandment & The Great
community. [See Van Brummelen] [2]
• Teaching in a Christian community [3]
• Learning in a Christian community [4]
• Learning styles and multiple intelligence's [5]
• Whatif learning.[6]
7. Developing curriculum material [in the context of building a Christian learning
community]
• Planning [1]
• Writing a scheme of work [2]
• Planning a lesson [3]
• Assessment [4]
8. Contributing to a team, serving a vision
• Serving vision [1]

8. • Working collegially [2]
• working within the whole school community [3]
9. 'One thing you lack'... personal development
• Your spiritual health [1]
• Personal vision [2]
• Your strengths [3]
• Addressing weaknesses[4]
• Self administration [5]
10.Aspiring to leadership
• Developing your 'talents' [1]
• Growth and the process of sanctification [2]
• Handling delegated responsibility 3]
• Responsibility and authority [4]
• Leadership [5]