Mission Statement

We exist as a school to provide children with a traditional education and morally pure examples, to present a pure Christian life as both desirable and attainable, and to urge trust in Christ’s gospel both for salvation and for life as a good testimony, no matter what the cost.

Basic Tenets of Belief

1.  Both the Old and the New Testaments were inspired by God, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  (Hebrews 13:8)  Therefore the entire Bible, studied in its own context and apart from preconceived doctrines of man, is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” (II Timothy 3:16) We do not believe in the sort of dispensationalism that arbitrarily dismisses whole sections of the Bible as pertaining to only one time or one people group.

2.  The King James Bible (A.D. 1611) is the Bible version we use.  It is definitely the most traditional English translation of the original manuscripts, and likely the purest.

3.  The Bible (especially the Creation account in Genesis) must be understood literally unless a passage announces itself or another to be figurative (see the parables of Jesus and Hebrews 9:6-14).

4.  There is only one God, eternally existent in three persons -- Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

5.  While fallen human individuals may not always perceive or understand Truth fully, absolute Truth (as opposed to situational ethics or relativism) eternally exists in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Truth is continually manifested in His laws, whether physical (e.g., the law of gravity, the laws of thermodynamics) or moral (e.g., the law of sowing and reaping).  (John 14:6)

6.  Jesus Christ is God.  He is also the only mediator between God and man.  (I Timothy 2:5)  He was born of a virgin and lived a sinless life.  He was the only One who could offer His body and blood in atoning death for mankind, and He did so when He was crucified.  After three days, He arose from the dead.  Forty days after His resurrection, He ascended into heaven, where He now sits at the right hand of the throne of God the Father. (Colossians 3:1, Hebrews 8:1, and Hebrews 12:2)

7.  Christ’s second coming will be personal, visible, physical, and glorious.  It will coincide with the resurrection of all believers and will happen before God’s wrath is poured in its entirety upon the earth, but at a time in the future which is known only to God the Father.  After Jesus’s feet touch upon the Mount of Olives, He will begin His reign on earth for one thousand years, after which there will be a second resurrection.  Finally, He will create a new heavens and a new earth.  (Revelation 19-21)

8.  Regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary for the salvation of the human soul (Romans 8:1-17).  The Holy Spirit indwells each believer and enables each believer to live a life that is pleasing to God. (John 1:12)

9.  Salvation is obtained by the grace of God, not by works, but through an individual’s personal faith in Him, which is always followed by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit (faithfulness) in his or her life.  (Ephesians 2:8-10)

10.  Saved individuals will be resurrected to eternal life, and lost individuals will be resurrected to eternal damnation (Matthew 24:31-46).

11.  Every believer is obligated to share his or her faith.  (Romans 10:9-11; Matthew 28:18-20)

12.  A child of God is not exempt from tribulation or trial; in fact, tribulation and trial are vital to the development of any Christian.  (John 16:33; Acts 14:21, 22)

Admissions Policy

Old Paths Christian Elementary School accepts students of any national or ethnic origin, provided they are prepared to handle the school’s academic program demands, to respect the school’s basic tenets of belief, and to abide by the school’s disciplinary standards.

Hiring/Firing Policy

The greatest distinguishing trait of Old Paths Christian Elementary School is the selection and quality of its teachers.  Old Paths Christian Elementary School is an educational experiment which seeks to illustrate the absolute truth of Proverbs 22:6: “Train up a child in the way he should go:  and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”  Although there are many determining factors in the training of any child, not the least of which is his or her home environment, as well as the child’s own free will, we believe that the main reason that nominally Christian youth are falling by the wayside is that their elders have failed to teach them by example as well as by creed.  At Old Paths Christian Elementary School, we strive for an unusual standard of dedication to Judeo-Christian principles among our faculty, in order to avoid sending the subtle but highly counterproductive message to students:  “Do as I say and not as I do (or at least not as I have done).”

The same hypocritical attitude prevalent among the religious leaders in Jesus’s time remains a problem within many administrations of churches and Christian schools in our time.  “Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:  All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works:  for they say, and do not” (Matthew 23:1-3).  Notice that Jesus did not say that the Pharisees were wrong for proclaiming a standard of excellence; however, He did condemn them for not living up to the same standard themselves.  “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves”  (Matthew 23:15). Because we believe that it is not possible for anyone who has not been sanctified by the Holy Spirit to adequately share the Gospel or to provide good spiritual training for children, we carefully examine both the moral backgrounds and the present lifestyles of our teachers before they are hired.

Our present American culture has severed so many ties with its Judeo-Christian heritage that many sins, including many forms of sexual immorality (i.e., fornication), are now being tolerated, if not fully accepted and even embraced, among those who call themselves Christians.  Since Christians have become increasingly careless in their moral behavior, it will be no wonder if successive generations do the same.  Although no sin is worse than any other, there are certain serious sins which, more than all others, are strikingly prevalent among today’s “Christian” ministers, and are having devastating effects on our nation’s “moral compass.”  Sins which used to be considered abominations (and still are, according to the Word of God) are being redefined as “alternative lifestyle choices” or at the least simply “mistakes” on a “slate” which can be “wiped clean” when forgiveness is asked.  Besides the fact that the image of a slate is never used in the Bible, many people seem to have forgotten that (1) all sins, even forgiven ones, result in irreparable earthly consequences (see II Samuel 12:13-14 for an example), and that (2) repentance (acknowledging the consequences of our sins, and continuing no more in them) is a prerequisite for forgiveness in the first place (Leviticus 26:40-42, I John 1:9, Acts 3:19, Acts 17:30-31, Revelation 2:19-22).  In order to guard against a current flippant attitude toward sin, which mocks the price of our deliverance from Satan, the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:26-31), and in order to return to the “old paths,” we must correct misconceptions by requiring high standards especially of leadership (Leviticus 21 coupled with I Timothy 3).

Teachers and board members of Old Paths Christian Elementary School must have no personal history of the following sins:

•    premarital sexual intercourse (Leviticus 21:13; I Peter 2:9; I Corinthians 6:16-20, Ephesians 5:1-7, Acts 15:19-29)
•    remarriage after divorce (Romans 7:2-3, Mark 10:11, 12)
•    homosexuality (Romans 1:26-32)

We believe that in light of the Bible passages cited above, the three requirements we have drawn from them are amazingly minimal.

Teachers and board members also must abstain from the following activities while involved with the school, in order not to be a stumbling-block for others:

•    drinking (Habakkuk 2:15, Proverbs 20:1)
•    drug abuse (Galatians 5:23)
•    smoking (I Corinthians 6:19-20)
•    dancing (I Corinthians 9:27)
•    occultic practices/piercing/tattooing (I Samuel 15:22,23; Leviticus 19:28)
•    pornography/perversions (I Thessalonians 4:1-8)
•    excessive television viewing (Psalm 101:3)
•    cinema movies (Psalm 101:3)
•    viewing of movies rated PG13 or beyond (Psalm 101:3)

While these activities are not all listed in the Bible and may not be considered sinful by some, the attitudes and actions that they may involve are considered sinful by others, or at the least doubtful.  Teachers and board members are asked to sacrifice certain “liberties” for the purpose of providing reasonably blameless examples for the children they are teaching (Romans 13:9-10, Romans 14:21, I Thessalonians 5:23, I Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:7, II Peter 3:14).  Lack of respect for this ideal will be grounds for immediate dismissal.

Since we have proclaimed such a standard of excellence for our teachers, it is almost certain that our teachers will be accused of Phariseeism from time to time, perhaps on an even more regular basis than usual, because they strive for perfection while remaining imperfect, fallen human beings themselves.  At such times, it will be important for each teacher to recognize the virtue of humility (being able to admit when one is wrong), but also it will be important for each teacher to be able to look at each situation objectively and to discern whether or not offense has been taken because of a teacher’s wrong attitude, or because of a negative reaction from a student, parent, or coworker to absolute Truth.  Truth is always offensive to those who do not desire to abide by it.  “Unto you therefore which believe he [Jesus] is precious:  but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient:  whereunto also they were appointed” (I Peter 2:7-8).  “If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you:  on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.  But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters” (I Peter 4:14-15).

When a complaint about a teacher is made, the administration will advise the person making the complaint to talk to the teacher about the matter.  If the teacher does not resolve the problem, the person making the complaint must call for a meeting with the teacher, the principal, and a third person to resolve the problem (according to the principle in Matthew 18:15-16) before any further action is taken.  Teachers should also feel comfortable in approaching the principal with any concerns about public relations.  In the event of a threatening or obnoxious attitude toward a teacher, the administration will intervene to support and to protect the teacher.  It is the policy of the administration to support the teacher whenever conscientiously possible; since the school goes to great lengths to ascertain a teacher’s trustworthiness before hire, there should be no need for the administration either to apologize for a teacher or to harbor a suspicious attitude toward a teacher.

In the event that a teacher does overstep his or her boundaries in any mode of conduct (not otherwise specified) in front of the students, and is proven guilty in the judgment of the administration, the following disciplinary measures will be taken:

•    verbal warning (private but documented meeting with the principal and the teacher)
•    written warning
•    dismissal

General Philosophy of Education

Old Paths Christian Elementary School embraces a traditional philosophy of education, as opposed to the progressive philosophy of education prevalent in most public schools.  Traditional education centers on God, not on the individual student, and therefore is authoritative, not “child-centered.”  Instead of asking children, “What do you know, and what do you want to learn?” before letting them explore knowledge indiscriminately, teachers at Old Paths Christian Elementary School ask children, “What does God want you to know and learn?” before proceeding to show them what they should know and learn, according to God’s Word.  Instead of asking children, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” (a self-centered, “you can be anything you want to be,” positive-thinking approach), teachers at Old Paths Christian Elementary School ask children, “What does God want you to do with your life?” and then proceed to show them from God’s Word how to discern His will and how to seek and find His personal direction for their lives.  In other words, Old Paths Christian Elementary School puts the emphasis back where it belongs -- on Christ and His priorities, not on ours.

Our teachers integrate Biblical concepts with every subject area. To provide each child with Biblical reasons why he or she is studying each subject is absolutely necessary.  Children must see the Bible as relevant to their daily lives.  They must understand that their duties as a student are directly related to developing a fuller understanding of God and what He expects them to accomplish in the time that He has given them.

Instead of focusing on building a child’s self-esteem, traditional education emphasizes that each child is born a sinner.  However, traditional education also teaches that the sacrifice Christ has made offers redemption from sin to anyone who trusts Him for it.  Traditional education teaches that God longs for a personal relationship with each individual, and that He has made possible such a relationship by empowering each trusting individual with His Holy Spirit, incidentally for that individual’s physical and spiritual benefit, but primarily for God’s glory.  Traditional education teaches that God wishes to restore mankind to the original image of God, in which mankind was divinely created, for the purpose of serving God.  Therefore traditional education is diametrically opposed to progressive education, which through teaching the theory of evolution reduces children to highly-evolved beasts, with no purpose in life except to fulfill their own perceived needs and possibly to contribute to a constantly changing perception of what is socially acceptable.    

Traditional education also means that academic subjects are taught according to traditional methods, and not according to progressive methods.  For example, teachers not only use a comprehensive curriculum with definite objectives, but also test what they teach in measurable ways.  Since the minds of children in elementary school are expanding exponentially at this time in their lives, traditional education focuses on improving their knowledge base, as opposed to simply allowing them to express their rather uninformed sin natures as they “explore” subject areas.  Not only do students learn to use mnemonic tricks to improve their short-term memories, but also they learn to expand the potential of their long-term memories through rote drills (mathematical facts, lists, and statistics) and memorization of long passages, such as Scripture, poetry, and historical documents.  In all subjects, traditional education takes the spiral approach to learning, continually reviewing and building on former knowledge.  In addition, Old Paths Christian Elementary School teaches study skills and expects a minimal amount of homework to be completed, especially in the upper elementary grades.  

The philosophy of traditional education affects the way every academic subject is presented.  For example, early introduction of traditional, intensive phonics takes the guesswork out of reading and spelling and allows for more extensive study sooner, as opposed to the whole-language method which overwhelms the child by encouraging him to write extensively before he knows how to spell or even to read in some cases.  An intensive study of grammar thoroughly prepares children to learn another language later on, while progressive education minimizes grammar skills, thereby eliminating the pattern for coherent writing and ignoring a great tool for improving reading comprehension.

Old Paths Christian Elementary School seeks to inculcate a growth mindset in students, which is not really a new concept.  “Growth mindset” is a catch-phrase in the public schools at the time this handbook is being written, and is the brainchild of Carol Dweck, an American psychologist, professor at Stanford University, and the author of Mindset:  The New Psychology of Success, published by Random House in 2006.  Simply explained, a person who has a growth mindset realizes that anyone can learn anything, with effort and training, and that everyone continues to learn and grow and develop throughout his or her lifetime.  Many people may simply take these facts for granted; however, not everyone believes in a growth mindset.  Some people cling to the old idea of “intelligence quotient” (IQ) which states that everyone is born with a different IQ and there is not much anyone can do about that (Dweck claims that people who believe that IQ alone determines how much one learns have a fixed mindset, as opposed to a growth mindset).  Those who have a fixed mindset typically make statements such as, “I’m bad at math,” or “She’s really good at writing,” without acknowledging that there is still a possibility of either person mentioned improving significantly either in math or in writing.

“Growth mindset” and the concept of an “open mind” are not the same thing, although they may appear to be, at first glance.  People with a growth mindset simply realize that no one is inherently “smart” as a result of being born that way, and that a lifetime is not too long a time in which to realize one’s full potential.  In this way, a growth mindset is both a humbling and an empowering thing.  By recognizing that all people everywhere have the potential to learn anything at any time, one is kept from feeling superiority over others who have not learned as much, while at the same time spurred to keep learning more and more.  People with a growth mindset do not put down others’ intellect, and they do not put down their own intellect, either.  They keep learning and growing, their entire lives.  Does this mean they are “open” to all ideologies, to lies as well as truth, as having an entirely “open” mind would suggest? No, a growth mindset does not necessarily mean that one must be aggressively liberal and tolerant of every idea, because ideologies inevitably conflict.  Having an open mind, at any particular time, just means that one is open to hearing arguments for and against a particular case or ideology, without having made up one’s mind. Open minds are not good if they are kept open and never closed, because that indicates that no decision has been made.  Very little learning is ever done without commitment, either to a course of study, to a cause, or to a truth.

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”  (Philippians 4:13 KJV)

Neither is having a “fixed mindset” the same thing as having a “closed mind.”  People with a fixed mindset may feel trapped in one level of effort or learning, because they believe their IQ was given to them at birth and there is nothing they can do about it. People with a fixed mindset look down on others with supposedly lower IQs and tend to treat them as lesser individuals, while at the same time becoming very defensive about their own IQ.  People with a fixed mindset are often “afraid to fail” not because they are conscientious but because they feel they must preserve their image in order to preserve their worth as individuals.  Does that mean that all people with a fixed mindset have closed minds?  Perhaps they have closed minds in this one area, because they are firmly convinced of their supposed IQ, but that does not mean that they have closed minds in all areas.  They may be willing to grow and change in other areas if it helps them to preserve their image.  Again, a closed mind simply means that one has made up his or her mind, unequivocally, about a certain matter, and does not want to discuss or debate it any further.

Some people may have made very good decisions in their lives, and may have closed their minds to competing falsehoods and distractions.  At the same time, they may or may not have a growth mindset.  Similarly, some people may have very open minds and be willing to swallow lots of different and even conflicting concepts.  At the same time, they may or may not have a fixed mindset.

Teachers at Old Paths Christian Elementary School should be lifetime learners and desire to teach others to be lifetime learners.  In this way, teachers will be exemplars of the growth mindset.  However, both teachers and students should carefully measure each idea they encounter by the Word of God.  Teachable students nearly always have open minds as they consider all angles of an ideology, and this is good. Some people may say they have closed their minds, once they have made up their minds about which truths to believe, after careful study.  However, even if they have closed their minds to the temptations of the devil, that will not mean they have a fixed mindset, or stop learning, because all belief in truth inevitably leads to the discovery of more truth.  The continual attitude of possibility and discovery is what is meant by the growth mindset.

So is it, after all, wrong to fail?  People with a fixed mindset nearly always say “yes,” unequivocally.  This proves that they are defending their IQ and their individual worth, because since failure is wrong, those who fail must be wrong, and this makes it easy for them to stratify society and pigeonhole everyone, while distancing themselves from those unworthy ones.  A person with a growth mindset may say “no” to this question, but with the following qualification:   if, along with the failure, comes the opportunity to learn from the mistake and rectify it.  Obviously, in certain cases, it is wrong to fail.  If you fail to keep your temper, you may break something irreparably; if you fail to heed a stop sign, you may die in a car accident; if you fail to be faithful to a spouse, you will ruin your marriage.  But if you fail to score a goal in a soccer game, that should not be life-changing.  If you fail to remember your keys, you can go back to get them and decide on a system to help you remember them next time.  If you fail to use the leftovers in your refrigerator before they spoil, you can use the memory of the mold to remind you not to be wasteful the next time.  There are many stories in history of those whose struggles and apparent failures in the eyes of the world preceded their successes, among which are the stories of Fanny Crosby, Gladys Aylward, Emmanuel Yeboah, Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln, and Albert Einstein, to name a few.  While it is true that certain failures may lead to sins, which are definitely wrong, people who would make an individual feel permanently destroyed because of a single failure are just as wrong as those who would make an individual feel permanently exalted because of a single success.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  (I John 1:9  KJV)

Traditional education methods incorporate hands-on activities when possible, but not to the exclusion of the building of a solid knowledge base, without which no hands-on activity is meaningful.  Although a child may have a great time exploring, he needs guidance to make the experience worthwhile.  While there is value in learning the trial-and-error research method, the use of trial-and-error in every area obviates the value of (and need for) a teacher.  It also wastes time and hinders progress.  Proven knowledge ought to be passed down instead of hidden on purpose to be “discovered.”  If each generation had been forced to reinvent the wheel instead of building on previous accomplishments, no progress in technology would ever have been made.

Old Paths Christian Elementary School does recognize the existence of preferred learning styles; that is, we acknowledge that certain children learn best through a visual presentation, while others prefer an auditory, tactile, or kinesthetic approach. Because of this fact, every effort will be made to reach each child through his or her learning style.  This is not to say, however, that children cannot or should not learn to adapt to different learning styles.  In his book 7 Kinds of Smart, Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D., has indicated that multiple intelligences (aptitudes for certain fields of study, often determined by learning style) lie dormant in each person and must be deliberately cultivated.  His work is based on the theories of Dr. Howard Gardner, a highly respected researcher in both the public and private sectors.  

We also recognize the remarkable phenomenon of dyslexia in certain gifted individuals, which basically allows them to visualize in three dimensions but often makes deciphering two-dimensional letters and words a bit tricky.  However, we also maintain that many children have no doubt been labeled dyslexic because of various other difficulties (for example, phonics taught incorrectly); and that other behavioral issues, often linked to a diagnosis of dyslexia, have been mistakenly attributed to innumerable sorts of “learning disorders.”  Contrary to the belief that a growing percentage of the population is somehow inherently handicapped academically, we believe that most children have the capacity to learn if taught intelligently.  We believe that the exploding numbers of children with “learning disorders” is mainly the result of incompetent teaching coupled with an outrageous lack of self-discipline on the part of each of these students.

Old Paths Christian Elementary School is not opposed either to true science or to progress in any way, and makes as much use of helpful studies and technology as necessary.  It does, however, differ with most public schools on the definition of progress.  The traditional education a child receives at Old Paths Christian Elementary School may not equip him to compromise with certain goals of an evolving global economy, but it will equip him to be a God-honoring, contributing member of society as a whole.  It will encourage him in moral habits which have the best interests of society in mind, and in academic pursuits which will make possible further technological advancements, within ethical constraints.

Philosophy of Bible

Old Paths Christian Elementary School was founded as a badly needed institution to proclaim the whole counsel of God, as Paul did.  “Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.  For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27).  By “whole counsel” is meant both the Old and New Testaments, which explain each other and cannot be separated.  “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:  That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works”  (II Timothy 3:16, 17).  Jesus on the road to Emmaus explained His crucifixion to His disciples, by “beginning at Moses and all the prophets” (Luke 24:27).  I Corinthians 9 lists a number of Old Testament events, primarily from the neglected book of Numbers, and concludes in verse 11:  “Now all these things happened unto them for examples:  and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”

Paul wrote to Timothy that in the last days the time would come when “they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables”  (II Timothy 4:4).  Such is the time in which we are living today!  Instead of reading God’s Word, cover to cover, with their children, many Christians rely on Max Lucado, Veggie Tales, and Adventures in Odyssey to inform their children about the Bible.

Neither can a solid Biblical base be obtained solely from going to church religiously. Most sermons on Sunday mornings are from the New Testament, which is not wrong, except that preaching almost exclusively from the New Testament gives many people the idea that the Old Testament is somehow outdated and irrelevant, a source only for quaint children’s stories, which incidentally are often rendered in cartoonish instead of realistic art.  Since Christians have presented the Bible in this fashion for years, it should be no surprise that present generations are deciding that the Old Testament with its fantastic accounts of supernatural miracles is no different from a magical fairytale, and about as believable.  

Yet the Old Testament is a majestic description of a powerful, passionate, personal God, the same God of the New Testament.  The New does not supersede the Old in any way, and the Old does not supersede the New.  The New Testament more fully reveals the love of the wise and just Creator introduced in the Old Testament. Because the Old Testament is extensively quoted in the New Testament, a study of the New is not complete without a thorough understanding of the Old.

The main reason why teaching the whole counsel of God is so important at the present time is that many people now not only ignore sin but also do not even know what sin is.  The word itself has become very unpopular, in a modern society in which the so-called virtue of tolerance is paramount.  Some things should never be tolerated!  At Old Paths Christian Elementary School, we seek to inculcate a knowledge of Moses’ law, in order to provide an understanding of what God values and what He abhors.  It is all very well to tell people that God hates sin, but if we never tell them what sin is, how will they know what to avoid?  Once we realize that “sin is the transgression of the law” (I John 3:4), it becomes essential to know what the law of God says.  Found in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, the law given to Moses goes far beyond the Ten Commandments in teaching ethics for practical, everyday life.

We have come to the point in our Christian circles in which any reference to the law brings a cry of “Legalism!” However, legalism and lawful behavior are two different things.  Lawful behavior is something we expect from each other every day.  Legalism is holding to a rigid standard, especially a man-made standard, against common sense -- holding to a standard even when doing so defeats the purpose of the standard.  The Pharisees illustrated legalism when they were more concerned about the Sabbath being kept than a man’s body being healed.  Not only had they forgotten the spirit of the law in their zeal to keep the letter of the law, but they had also added many standards of their own to what God’s law actually said.  Perhaps in many Christians’ zealous efforts to avoid “legalism,” they have swung the pendulum to the opposite extreme, and have forgotten truly lawful behavior entirely.  And yet we have added so much to our idea of Christianity -- church attendance every time the doors are open, at least five minutes of “devotions” per day, suits and ties as the only respectable mode of dress for preachers, etc.

We fully understand that keeping the law does not lead to salvation.  It is impossible for any fallen human being to keep the law perfectly; failure in only one point would still bring damnation, and we know that all have sinned (James 2:10, Romans 3:23). Christ is the only One Who fulfilled the whole law in our stead (Matthew 5:17).  “For Christ is the end [culmination, fulfillment] of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 10:4).  It is abundantly clear even from the Old Testament (“the just shall live by his faith” Habakkuk 2:4) that even the Old Testament believers were not saved by keeping the law, but by looking beyond it to the Christ who fulfilled it, even as we look backward to this same Jesus.  “Therefore by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight:  for by the law is the knowledge of sin. . . . Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without [outside of, apart from] the deeds of the law. . . .  Do we then make void the law through faith?  God forbid:  yea, we establish the law” (Romans 3:20, 28, 31).

Having understood that we are not saved through keeping the law, we still have a responsibility after accepting Christ as Savior, to put into practice the power we have received as Christians (John 1:12).  We are told at baptism to “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).  We are also told to “work out” our salvation -- not to “work for” our salvation, but to “work out” what God “works in.” (“Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” Philippians 2:12, 13).  Christ, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrew 13:8) is the only One who can accomplish His will in us.  He certainly would not have us ignore the spirit of His own law!  “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets:  I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.  Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven:  but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:17-20).

The only way anyone can obtain the righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees is to ask the Holy Spirit of God into his or her life and then to yield to the will of God (learned by the law) in every one of life’s decisions. “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.  But after faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.  For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:24-27).  As we follow Christ, who keeps the law through us, our faith becomes real and active, “not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8, 9), but as an example of “His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained [in the law!] that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).  At Old Paths Christian Elementary School, we strive to communicate this foundational truth.

Having established that the law should be observed, we must here differentiate between ceremonial law (blood sacrifices, cleansings, etc.) and moral law.  We do not offer sacrifices any more because Christ is our sacrifice (Hebrews 10:1-14).  Acts 15:28, 29 gives the four essential areas of the law which must still be kept by Gentiles in the New Testament church:  “For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication:  from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well.  Fare ye well.”  Paul in a later epistle explains that it is not the meat itself, but the idea of the idol worship involved in the meat offering that is abominable to God, and points out that one’s motive for eating it is the important factor (I Corinthians 8).

The point of studying Old Testament law is not to return to bondage (Galatians 5:1-4), but to examine our motives in serving God, and Paul reiterated this message when dealing with circumcision, baptism, and other issues facing the early church.  Yet it was said of Paul himself, “thou thyself walkest orderly, and keepest the law” (Acts 21:24).  To ignore the law is to have a shallow concept of Christianity, just as much as clinging to the law for salvation is not to understand salvation at all.

Old Paths Christian Elementary School seeks to build up the old foundations (Nehemiah 2:17, 18) by illuminating the Old Testament stories for children and showing how the characters on the Old Testament stage either regarded God’s law or disregarded it.  We present Biblical accounts in a reverent, realistic way and seek to draw applications from them for our daily lives, tying the history of the Old to the gospel of the New and comparing scripture with scripture.  In this way we hope to strengthen the faith of future generations by assuring them that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob still lives, and that nothing is impossible to those who follow Him. By examining God’s laws and studying how our Old Testament “examples” (both bad and good) made decisions, we hope to encourage a reverence for God and a commitment to His principles for everyday life, in our modern-day society similar to Jeremiah’s Jerusalem.

Philosophy of Language Arts

Reading, spelling, penmanship, creative writing, poetry, and grammar comprise language arts.  They are taught in conjunction with each other, with an emphasis on reading, spelling, and penmanship in the lower elementary grades, and an emphasis on creative writing, poetry, and grammar in the upper elementary grades.  In the lower grades, it is said that children “learn to read” (a process that involves spelling and penmanship as well), and in the upper grades it is said that children “read to learn” (a process that involves grammar, poetry, and creative writing, which go hand-in-hand as children apply grammar in order to comprehend what they have read, and in order to coherently express themselves through what they write).

At Old Paths Christian Elementary School, reading is taught by the Abeka intensive phonics method.  Since over 80% of the English language is phonetic, children learning simple basic phonics should be able to read fairly fluently by the end of first grade.  First the letters of the alphabet are taught, along with their sounds.  Second, students are taught to blend initial consonants with each of the five vowels: ba, be, bi, bo, bu, etc.  After blending is mastered, another consonant is added to the end of the blend, and the one-vowel rule and the two-vowel rule are taught, so that children not only can read words like cap, dot, and hop, but also can read words like cape, dote, and hope.  With the addition of some high-frequency sight words like I, and, the, etc., children can “sound out” (not memorize) simple sentences and stories very early.  The last step in teaching phonics is teaching the “special sounds” (called blends, digraphs, and diphthongs in other phonics curriculums) like tw, fr, str, eau, igh.  

An important difference between the Abeka intensive phonics method and other more popular phonics methods is the second step.  In progressive phonics methods used by most public schools, the blending of an initial consonant with a vowel is replaced by a “rime” such as an (a vowel with a succeeding consonant) which is prefaced by an “onset,” a letter such as c, D, r, or p to form a “word family”  (can, Dan, ran, pan). Not only does the teaching of word families limit a child’s beginning vocabulary and make for very slow progress, but it also incidentally teaches the child to read unnaturally from right to left -- first to identify the learned rime on the right, and then to look to the left of the rime to find and sound out the correct onset.  The word family method thus encourages dyslexic symptoms (reversals in word-attack skills) in students who are not dyslexic.  The word family method also relies heavily on “sight words” which are really phonetic, and since not all children are especially visual in their learning style, not all children do equally well in learning their “sight words.”

Children at Old Paths Christian Elementary School do use “readers” instead of contemporary literature, but this is with the understanding that by fourth grade, the sky’s the limit as far as vocabulary goes, and that their readers are selected for subject matter and character-building stories they might not naturally pick, and not for the purpose of reinforcing word lists, for which there is no need by that time. Typically, children with a good phonics base will be voracious readers and will read plenty of contemporary literature on their own.  

Reading circles are employed, but the word “circle” does not imply “round robin.” Children are called upon in mixed order to read out loud.  They must keep their attention on the story being read or risk dropping the thread when called upon to read unexpectedly.  Although the requirement of reading out loud is antithetical to modern progressive methods because it is said to humiliate children who do not do as well as others, we believe that a judicious and gracious use of the method is invaluable both to the teacher and to the student.  Not only does it give the teacher necessary and immediate feedback about each child’s reading and comprehension skill levels (comprehension questions are asked by the teacher throughout the reading lesson, instead of just at the end, and are orally answered by targeted students), but it teaches each child to pay attention, to listen, and to learn the vital lesson that correct pronunciation and inflection add meaning and enjoyment to all communication.  Attention to punctuation, in order to read “with expression,” also reinforces grammar rules and will inevitably result in more coherent writing.

A selection to “speed read” silently, accompanied by a comprehension quiz (no looking back) is given each week to upper elementary students.  Like the reading circles, speed reading is not meant to be a pride-building competition.  It is an exercise in training the mind to quickly scan short passages for their essence, a daily-life task which is  increasingly needed (and increasingly ignored) in our fast-paced world.

Penmanship is taught in grades K-6 as just one more way of doing all things “decently and in order” (I Corinthians 14:40).  Sloppy writing does injustice to great thoughts.  “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10a).
 
Good spelling is a direct result of a knowledgeable application of phonics rules. Because students at Old Paths Christian Elementary School apply phonics to spelling from kindergarten, their classroom spelling skills should be far above grade level, by public school standards, by the time they are in the upper elementary grades. Students transferring to Old Paths Christian Elementary School after third grade should expect a struggle with spelling and should consider remedial phonics instruction, which is incidentally offered at the school, outside the regular classroom, for a minimal fee.

Analyzing sentences into parts of speech (noun, verb, pronoun, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection) is an important element of our early grammar curriculum.  Knowing the function of each part of speech in a particular sentence and its relation to every other word in that sentence is extremely helpful for intelligent, coherent communication, whether written or verbal.  Only after a thorough study of each grammar rule are children required to write their own examples of a rule correctly applied.  Incidentally, a thorough understanding of grammar simultaneously improves reading comprehension and the capacity for success in foreign language study.  The traditional drills and exercises offered by Old Paths Christian Elementary School offer a more intensive, precise method of study than the haphazard method of the whole-language system, in which children write profusely and randomly, and then face the task of editing what they have just written without a firm grasp of the rules they are only beginning to learn.

Poetry, an intrinsic part of the traditional language arts curriculum, allows children to enjoy the rhythm, patterns, and creativity of language without having to analyze anything!  By simply memorizing good poems, they unconsciously develop a fine taste for good writing which helps them in their personal selection of reading material.  In this way teachers inculcate an appreciation of poetic language in their students, in order that their students may understand the lovely nuances of the King James Version more fully.

In the upper elementary grades, children are expected to really begin synthesizing their knowledge of good examples of literature, their understanding of grammar and how to apply it, and the enjoyment of reading their own original work.  Because of their early drilling of the fundamentals, their writing can finally flow smoothly and prolifically, without the frustration of constant spelling and punctuation problems.  By the time children at Old Paths Christian Elementary School finish the sixth grade, they should be well able to comprehend any junior-high textbook and should be able also to express any original opinion in one or more fully coherent paragraphs with zero mistakes in spelling, grammar, or mechanics.

The main reason for teaching language arts is so that children can read God’s Word for themselves, develop a personal understanding of its principles, and communicate its truths to others.  They need to appreciate its linguistic roots, its poetic beauty, and its tremendous meaning.  They need to realize that the Bible is the guidebook for their entire life, and perhaps because of this fact alone, language arts may be the single most important academic subject in all the world.  They also need to realize their responsibility to share their faith with others, through clear oral and written communication.  Without language arts (reading, spelling, poetry, grammar, writing, and yes, even the careful penmanship of countless scribes down through the years), the Bible would never have been possible, and the faith of our fathers could never have been perpetuated as it has been.

Philosophy of Mathematics

It is a well-known fact that America’s public schools are emphasizing mathematics, as well as science which makes great use of mathematics, and rightly so.  Exponential technological growth, and the present drive toward a global economy, presently threaten America’s former dominance in economic affairs, which in turn threaten its sovereignty or at least its competition as a nation.  Ironically, however, while many public schools are trying to provide students a quick leg up, over a raised academic bar, some students are still tripping over major fundamental stepping-stones that have been neglected in the process.  Do not be fooled by a public school’s boast that their teachers are teaching algebra in elementary school.  Take a look at whether or not a given child in that elementary school is fluent in his or her math facts.  Learning higher math in high school is almost impossible unless a good foundation for it has been laid in elementary school.  At Old Paths Christian Elementary School, we focus on fundamental, traditional mathematics as one more foundation we intend to rebuild.

Some people may ask why a global economy or even a loss of national sovereignty is a thing to fear.  After all, why does America deserve to remain sovereign, in this multicultural age?  Why resist technological and economic change, or even a global government, which is surely the wave of the future?  Why not embrace a new dependence on the electronic, instantaneous, seemingly infinite wealth of knowledge on the Internet, along with the tremendous collaborative power of international networking?  Why frustrate, clutter, and isolate young minds by making individuals learn by heart the math facts, measurements, and conversions that they could glean in a second from a web-based tool?  Many public educators not only are demanding a paradigm shift away from the “imperialism” of the Industrial Age, with its “outdated” emphasis on individual achievement and accumulation of a personal knowledge base, but also are even declaring that participating in this “revolution” is an ethical obligation.  The age we are living in, they say, is the Information Age, a fundamentally different time, a time when “thinking outside the box” and “creative collaboration” in “conceptual” math matters more than mastering an accumulation of isolated math facts.  They predict that those who do not realize the difference and adjust accordingly will be economically destroyed in the very near future.  

Truly, we are living in a fundamentally different time, and truly, technological growth is sending us hurtling toward a global economy and a global government.  Christians should not deny this, because prophecies in both the Old Testament and the New Testament clearly affirm this.  “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end:  many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” (Daniel 12:4) “And he [a future global ruler called the Anti-Christ, or the Beast] causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:  And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”  (Revelation 13:16-17)

However, because this is a fundamentally different time, the Christian math student must trust in a God who sees the end from the beginning and is Sovereign over all of time.  “My times are in thy hand:  deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.”  (Psalm 31:15)  “Heaven and earth shall pass away:  but my words shall not pass away.  But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.  Take ye heed, watch and pray:  for ye know not when the time is.”  (Mark 13:31-33)  As prophecy unfolds unerringly, one might wonder whether or not America’s present deficiency in math and science is causing economic and political upheaval, or if economic and political upheaval [propaganda and agenda] is causing America’s present deficiency in math and science.  In spite of frantic drives to fund more math and science initiatives in public schools, in light of the times, it is the position of Old Paths Christian Elementary School that important mathematical foundations within those very schools are being overlooked, whether intentionally or unintentionally.  The Christian math student should use every tool within his or her power to excel in every level of math necessary for his or her job, whether at an individual or collaborative level.  But the Christian math student should never be willing to hand over individual responsibility for his or her education and achievement, either to a computer or to a peer group.

Calculators and instant access to mathematical conversions and formulas, via the Internet, cannot replace the functional value of a quick mathematical mind.  There is just as much frustration felt by a child who has not learned his math facts trying to struggle hurriedly through exercises with the help of a calculator, as there is in that same child having to recall each math fact mentally as he does the same exercises. Only a child who has already learned the basic facts well will recall them well or use a calculator capably, because number sense is the most fundamental of all mathematical skills.  Certainly calculators can help a student with math, but they are only tools in the hands of a skillful human. No technology ever invented can even come close to the computing power of the human brain.  A calculator can compute, but it cannot enter computations.  A child with no fluent number sense will not even know what to put into the calculator.

Not only does God still hold individuals responsible for how much they value knowledge and what they do with the knowledge that they have (Proverbs 1:17), but also God’s universe still functions on undisputed mathematical laws.  No amount of technological growth can change them.  Technology only erases misconceptions. The formula for the circumference of a circle, for example, is always the same.  Two plus two will always equal four in the material world, no matter how we might like to envision the answer to be something else.  The teaching of mathematics at Old Paths Christian Elementary School provides an opportunity to point out that there is always a right answer and a wrong answer; absolute Truth (God Himself) knows no middle ground.  Math is a reflection of God who invented math.  In what other academic subject can infinity be so uniquely represented?  How can the patterns of probability be explained other than that a God exists who even controls and plans what we call “chance”?

Students at Old Paths Christian Elementary School will begin learning basic math facts (i.e., math fact combinations) in kindergarten, and by the end of fourth grade should have thoroughly memorized addition and subtraction fact families 1-20 and multiplication and division fact families 1-12.  Even in the simple memorization of math fact families, however, the traditional methods of Old Paths Christian Elementary School offer a keen advantage over progressive methods.  For example, progressive philosophy in popular math textbooks presents each “fact family” (or set of “related facts”) as four ways to connect three numbers that are the same, as follows:

6 + 1 = 7        1 + 6 = 7        7 - 1 = 6        7 – 6 = 1

There is nothing inherently wrong with this.  But there are other ways to make seven.  In fact, there is an infinite number of fact families, made this way.  They are not grouped for easy learning, but for conceptual understanding only.  In contrast, traditional education introduces Fact Family 7 as follows:

0 + 7 = 7    (the “baby” of the family)
1 + 6 = 7    (“twin” to 6 + 1 = 7)
2 + 5 = 7    (“twin” to 5 + 2 = 7)
3 + 4 = 7    (“twin” to 4 + 3 = 7)
4 + 3 = 7
5 + 2 = 7
6 + 1 = 7

This fact family is adequate, manageable, complete, and fun to learn, because it is all about patterns.  Notice that the numbers in the first column go from 0-6 forward, and the numbers in the second column go from 7-1 backward.  Incidentally, the total (“last name”) for every member in the family is the same.  Really, there are only three facts here to learn -- 1 + 6, 2 + 5, and 3 + 4 -- because 0 + 7 and its twin are so easy to remember, and the other twins are easy to learn once the student realizes that reversing addends does not change a total.  Related subtraction facts are also easy to learn once the addition fact families have been learned, because they are simply the addition facts in reverse order.

It is interesting to note that because of just this one difference in traditional and progressive philosophy, most math fact flashcard sets sold in teacher supply stores do not include all the facts.  They only include representative facts from each family! Therefore, even if a student reviews one such flashcard set diligently, he or she will inevitably draw blanks when asked to produce from memory the answers to those missing facts.

At Old Paths Christian Elementary School, children will also memorize addition and subtraction fact families up through twenty, as Common Core standards demand (without giving teachers any indication that there is a difference between the old methods and the new actuality, in popular textbooks).  A correct, complete, traditional understanding of “fact families” promotes automaticity in mental computations involving two-digit numbers up to one hundred.  Students will also memorize multiplication and division fact families up to 12 x 12, and 144 divided by 12.  

Conceptual math, while not the be-all and end-all of mathematics mastery, is very important.  Children at Old Paths Christian Elementary School will utilize manipulatives (counters, Unifix cubes, geoboards, abacuses, fraction pieces, weights and balances, play money, etc.) only as a preliminary step in connecting actual operations to representative operations with numerals alone, or as practice or reinforcement of concepts already learned.  For success in algebra and higher math later, it is important for elementary children, who think concretely at this particular developmental stage, to develop a thorough understanding of what numerals and operations actually represent.  Students in upper elementary school must also gain some concrete understanding of formulas, also (why circumference  = pi x diameter, for example), before they are required to work such formulas.  However, it is necessary also that children studying math move as quickly as possible beyond the concrete level, because the use of manipulatives is far too bulky and laborious a process to allow students to proceed at an appropriate pace if they learn to depend upon manipulatives.  

Individual classroom teachers will be responsible for carefully evaluating each child’s understanding of operations with manipulatives.  They will move each student as quickly as possible into the more abstract process of dealing with numerals alone, but not so quickly that they miss any fundamental, critical aspects of math instruction.  Both concrete and abstract concepts for every mathematical operation should be carefully introduced, thoroughly explained, and continually reinforced.

Calculators may be used minimally in sixth grade, at each teacher’s discretion, but under no circumstances may calculators be used during instructional time or during independent skill practice (including homework) in grades 1-5.  This stipulation is made intentionally, with full knowledge of how technology has advanced in recent years!  The rationale for this limitation is to teach students how to use their brains and to provide them with a toolbox which a “system crash” will never touch.  The use of calculators for personal computation, along with computer programs or games which help drill facts, are encouraged in every grade.