Kim Essenburg, English 10 teacher at Christian Academy in Japan, reflects her assessment results:

It’s 8:20 on a Thursday morning, 10 minutes before class begins. Four 10th graders (an Indian, a Japanese, a Korean, and an American) are talking loudly. So loudly that I’m getting distracted from writing my lesson outline on the board. They are discussing (in Japanese) how to say “9:45 a.m.” (in Spanish). There must be a Spanish test today....

I love seeing these diverse students working together. It reminds me that God calls us to have right relationships with Him, others, ourselves, and creation.

Such “right” relationships, of course, don’t always happen. For example, my students sometimes fragment into groups based on language (English, Japanese, or Korean). To encourage my students to value and to have “right” relationships, I had them read Cry, the Beloved Country and focus on God’s peace (shalom). Here’s what they learned:

1. “From now on, I will be quick to forgive....”
2. “In Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country there are characters from all walks of life—rich, poor, important, and unknown. However, they each do what is in their power to help restore the brokenness around them, and this is a powerful message for us today.”
3. “Each person’s actions lay a brick in the bridge we’re trying to build, the bridge we call shalom.”
4. “God is the ultimate source of shalom and without Him, nothing can be restored.... Jesus was crucified…to restore shalom, and He is the first Restorer. After He ascended to heaven, who was going to carry on His mission to restore shalom?…Christians.”

Kim Essenburg serves with Christian Reformed World Missions by teaching English 10 at Christian Academy in Japan. Kim shares about a recent prompt and her student learning results.

The prompt? Compare/contrast how 2 characters from Alan Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country illuminate the Biblical concept of shalom and apply that to a current event or personal situation.

The student learning results?

1. Forgiveness is ceasing to feel resentment against those who deserve it….
2. One speech, one sentence, one word, can change the world. It can either corrupt or rebuild.
3. Scripture refers to this peace in an analogy—“The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat…for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord” (New Internatioal Version, Isa. 11.6, 9). Without complete shalom in the world presently, we as God’s creations are “subjected to frustration” and we “groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for…the redemption of our bodies” (Rom. 8.20, 23). In order for us to attain this ideal, we must “act justly,” “Love mercy,” and “walk humbly with [our] God” (Mic. 6.8). Shalom is peace in every aspect of creation, and it is the full restoration of God, so people have an obligation to join God to work towards this ultimate goal as God does so, too.
4. God has given everyone many different gifts and talents, and none of them is any more important than the others. As Paul says to the Romans, “we have different gifts, according to the grace given us…. If [one’s gift] is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously” (Romans 12.6-8). It is our duty as servants of God to work to build shalom into this world, to build unity and loving relationships through whatever gifts we have.
5. Once we comprehend what shalom is, we are all responsible for using our gifts to work toward it. This leaves two problems: first, that people may not know that the world is lacking shalom, and second, that they may not bother to make any difference. This is what is so necessary about stories like Cry, the Beloved Country: they help us understand shalom and show the results of either using your gift to help bring shalom to our world or just using it for yourself. How will you now live?
6. …although I did not generate gossip about this person myself, to my shame, I did not stand up against it. Regrettably, I even laughed along occasionally, graduating from tacit agreement to a deepening evil…. Whether this girl had heard the bad things said about her or not, churning rumors or gossip about anyone or secretly taking pleasure in someone else’s dismay, is against what God created us to do.
7. I have been challenged to think how I could bring shalom in my community. Contributing in bringing shalom is a very difficult thing to do, but I came up with a tiny action toward it. That is to help my mom wash dishes. Her fingers suffer from bone deformation. They can suddenly start hurting, and she often has a hard time washing dishes. By helping my mom, I would be able to bring shalom in my house because my mom will suffer less. In shalom, love sweeps away suffering and pain. I would be part of it if I could wash the dishes and make her suffer less.

Heidi Schaeffer, who teaches grade 5 at Christian Academy in Japan, reflects on a recent unit.

What are you excited about?
Heidi: I’m excited that my 5th grade science students can connect course content to Biblical teaching, resulting in them making healthy choices. In an essay at the end of a recent health unit, students wrote things like:

• “I learned that...if you're not spiritually healthy, it will affect your physical health.”
• “I have learned that you need to be with God. God will help you make decisions. If the answer doesn't come right away, you have to wait. He will help me.”
• “The first step in being healthy is to have a good relationship with God. I will put God first and trust Him that He can help me with my health.”

What were your students studying?
Heidi: They studied human growth and change in terms of 4 aspects of health: physical, mental, social, and spiritual. For physical health, students learned about family life, the respiratory system, and nutrition. For mental health, they studied about expressing their feelings appropriately. For social health, we learned about wise ways to respond to others. And for spiritual health, students studied how our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit and, consequently, how spiritual health is the foundation of all health.

What was the essay prompt?
Heidi: In a 4-paragraph essay, respond to the following question: How can I make healthy choices? Be sure to address each of the 4 aspects of health.

How did you prepare your students for writing the essay?
Heidi: After studying an aspect of health, we talked about good choices and bad choices. For example, for physical and spiritual health, we discussed how to have a healthy respiratory system and a healthy spiritual life. During the discussion, students referred to information from the text, including Biblical teaching on taking care of our bodies. They also looked up verses on being the temple of the Holy Spirit, like I Corinthians 3:16-17 and 6:19-20. Students then used being the temple of the Holy Spirit as the basis of decision-making.

For social health, students read about and discussed 3 ways they could handle emotions and respond to others. Then, they studied verses from Proverbs (11:13, 15:9, 17:9, 17:17, 21:33) regarding how to respond to others in specific situations—when others gossip, for example.
To further prepare to write the essay, my students reviewed each aspect of health, the impact it has on growth and change, and what types of choices they should make, given that they are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Then, I introduced the essay prompt. To get started on writing an organized essay, my students brainstormed content for each of the paragraphs—what they learned about a given aspect of health and how to connect the content to making a healthy choice. Students used their brainstorming to write their 4-paragraph essays.

What did you learn from teaching your unit on health?
Heidi: I learned that because my students are growing and changing, their views on health are also growing and changing. They are taking responsibility for themselves and their choices. I learned that students can connect course content and Biblical teaching, provided they are given frequent opportunities and time to make the connection. My students are familiar with Bible content, and giving them opportunities to connect it to a choice helps them deepen their understanding of how God wants them to live.

What modifications will you make to your unit?
Heidi: My students have different levels of Bible knowledge. Some are new to the Bible and making connections; some understand the Bible and readily make connections. Having these types of students work together, especially when brainstorming for the essay, would help.

Kim Essenburg serves with Christian Reformed World Missions by teaching English 10 at Christian Academy in Japan. Kim shares about how assessment helps students apply a Biblical perspective to what they study.

What student learning results are you excited about?

Kim: At the end of a recent short story unit, I had students apply a Biblical perspective to 1 of the short stories we studied. Here are 3 excerpts from student essays:

1. “The Guest” by Albert Camus: In contrast to what Camus and Daru experienced, there is inherent meaning and moral guidelines in life given by God—a conclusion based on a Biblical principle. Truth, which is God’s teaching, is apparent everywhere…(New International Version, Romans 1.20). In fact, the truth of the only God is accessible…(Acts 17.20). We must learn what God’s truth is and apply it to our lives because as Daru understood, human wisdom is faulty…. Humans must establish God’s truth as their anchor and base their decisions on his truth, which may not yield the obviously “good” consequences in this life, but are right because they are part of God’s perfect will.
   
   
2. “The Bucket Rider” by Franz Kafka: We…have…hope that Nihilism doesn’t know of: all our suffering is going to end. Revelation describes the coming of heaven in chapter 21, verse 3b and 4: “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tea from there eyes. There will be no more death or morning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” What a comforting thought!
   
   
3. “How Much Land Does a Man Need?” by Leo Tolstoy: The Bible is clear about what fostering such desires does to people. Jesus said in Luke 12.15 that people have the wrong idea about what it is to truly live when they look for fulfillment in things…. And Paul commands the rich to put their hopes in God, rather than in their wealth “so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life” (I Tim. 6.17-19). But what could be greater than having substantial wealth? Hebrews sheds some light on this question: “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’” (Hebrews 13.5).

What was the assessment prompt?

Kim: My students wrote a 500-word persuasive essay on the following: Identify the theme of a short story, analyze how the author uses literary conventions to communicate the theme, and evaluate the theme from a Biblical perspective.

• The main part of this essay will be about the theme.
  
• For your thesis and preview of points, state the theme and the main literary conventions the author uses to communicate the theme (setting, characterization, plot, imagery, symbol, irony, diction…).
  
• In the body paragraphs, use support from the story, including at least 3 quotations.
  
• For your conclusion, write a Biblical perspective paragraph. Pick 1 Biblical principle related to the theme and cite at least 3 Bible passages and 1 example from your own life/observation to support the Biblical principle.

What are you learning about helping students apply a Biblical perspective to what they study in class?

Kim: Assessment helps. The more Biblical perspective assessments I give, the better my students get at applying a Biblical perspective. The more practice I give them, the better they get. Repeatedly giving Biblical perspective assessments really does help my students apply a Biblical perspective!

Kim and Michael Essenburg, missionaries with Christian Reformed World Missions, serve at Christian Academy in Japan. Here they discuss students applying a Biblical perspective.

Michael: What are you excited about?

Kim: I’m excited that 1 of my English 10 students wrote, “I have no right to choose whether I should help or not; the day I chose to follow my consistent and loving God, I threw away the option of apathy.”

Michael: I can see why you’re excited. What were your students studying?

Kim: Elie Wiesel’s Night, a Holocaust memoir. During their study, they focused on 2 essential questions: “What’s wrong with the world?” and “Who is my neighbor?”

At the end of the 3-week unit, my students wrote essays. I’m excited that their writing is improving, and I’m excited that they applied a Biblical perspective to a theme of Night, the mistreatment of others.

Michael: What was the essay prompt?

Kim: My students wrote 750-word essays on the following: How significant a part of what’s wrong with the world is the tendency to disregard the human dignity of others, and how should a Christian respond? Illustrate your answer from literature, history, current events, and your own experience. Be sure to address the relevance of the Biblical concepts of the image of God and the second greatest commandment.

Michael: That’s a challenging essay prompt. How did you prepare your students for it?

Kim: Before they started reading Night, my students considered 2 essential questions (“What’s wrong with the world?” and “Who is my neighbor?”) and discussed “Justice in an Unjust World,” a 5-page article by Gary Haugen, president of International Justice Mission.

Then as they read Night, they discussed racism, discrimination, human dignity, and the basis of human dignity, being created in God’s image. They also increased their awareness of recent events by watching clips from Hotel Rwanda and jig-sawing 4 articles:

1. “Being Muslim in a Mad, Sad, World”—an August 3, 2005, editorial in The Yomiuri Shimbun (which was reposting the article from The Washington Post).
   
2. “Keep Crying Out”—a 1-page description of Darfur from the December 9, 2006, edition of The Economist.
   
3. “A Responsibility to Protect”—a 2-page article from the December 2006 edition of Sojourners that considers the question, “‘Is military intervention the only way?’”
   
4. “Alien Nation”—an article by Isaac Canales from the fall 2007 edition of Leadership that discusses illegal aliens in California.

After reading Night, they discussed Wiesel’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech, which asserts that apathy helps the oppressor. They also worked in groups of 4 to study Leviticus 19:18 (which talks about loving our neighbor) and the 7 Bible passages mentioned in the NIV study note. For each of the 8 passages, they identified the speaker, occasion, audience, and purpose.

Michael: Your students did significant preparation for the essay. Sounds like they learned a lot. What did you learn from teaching your Night unit?

Kim: Well, I have a deeper appreciation for the power of preparing students for an assessment before, during, and after the study of a piece of literature. And I realize that providing students with additional articles is helpful—last year they discussed 2 articles and this year they discussed 5. The additional articles helped my students get a better understanding of sin and its implications for how people treat each other.

Teaching can be discouraging at times, and reading essays in which students apply a Biblical perspective is encouraging! I was encouraged, for example, when I read, “Our voices can be heard. We just need to speak up loud enough for the world to hear; there are many ways to do this…[not] telling racist jokes is how I plan to do my part.”

Writing this essay helped my students more deeply connect what they study, their lives, and a Biblical perspective.

* Want to read additional reflections?

• Course: Use 9 questions to reflect on Biblical perspective in your course
• Subject: Use 8 questions to reflect on a subject area