The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.”
Galatians 5:22-23a (NIV)
Ask any child in Savannah Christian lower school and they should be able to recite this verse. Less shy students may even add the catchy tune they learned in music class.
Straight from the Bible, these words are just one example of students learning tools and speaking truth about the characteristics Christians should model.
“Christian character education is an essential part of our vision for our students,” said Lucy Brannen, SCPS Lower School Principal. “Our curriculum seeks to reinforce the core Christian values that are taught at home by our parents and to encourage our students to grow into men and women of character and integrity.”
Providing a superior education is of utmost importance at SCPS. However, providing an excellent education within the context of a Christian worldview sets Savannah Christian apart from many schools.
Shaped internally, subconsciously, by family and the surrounding society, a ‘worldview’ is the sum total or big picture of one’s beliefs about the world, values, and assumptions regarding truth. A ‘Christian worldview’ revolves around elements centered on God and core Christian beliefs.
“As we consider our Vision Statement and seek to ‘educate students as rigorous thinkers’, we want them to be aware of how their worldviews are being shaped. That they are being shaped! And that there are differing worldviews,” said Roger Yancey, SCPS Headmaster. “Why? So they will not be deluded by the persuasive arguments of the world that the Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, warns us about.”
Research shows that most people have formed their basic belief system by age or twelve or thirteen, establishing core values that subconsciously guide their decisions for the remainder of their lives.
“The word ‘character’ has many meanings,” Nancy Lee, Assistant Principal of SCPS’ Lower School. “The meaning most often thought of when referring to character education is having moral characteristics that lead to good behavior and excellence.”
By learning basic Biblical characteristics, studying men and women who exemplify these characteristics and understanding how to apply these characteristics in their own lives, students will have a solid foundation on which to stand when their faith is challenged and tested.
“We want to be intentional in teaching our students to be young men and women of character at an early age so that their worldview will be founded on the principles found in the Bible,” said Mrs. Brannen. “We are aware that we live in a culture that often tempts young people in critical areas that could affect their future development. By developing a strong, solid Christian character by middle school age, students will be better equipped to make decisions that are wise and Biblically-based rather than following the ways of the culture.”
Christian character education has been an important component of the SCPS experience since the school was founded as the Evangelical Bible Institute in 1951 with the motto, “The Bible first, then teaching students how to live and how to make a living.”
“Good character is about knowing the good, loving the good, and doing the good,” said Mrs. Lee. “We at SCPS believe that having good, moral, godly character is very important to God and this character is reflected in how we behave, how we treat others, what our attitude is, what we think, and what we say.”
According to Mrs. Brannen, the school incorporates a specific character focus each month into the overall curriculum. Through morning devotions in each classroom, chapel programs, and Scripture memorization, as well as through discipline and encouragement in accordance with specific behaviors, students learn the importance of their attitudes, words, and actions.
“This type of incidental learning has been shown to be a very effective teaching tool,” said Mrs. Brannen.
Each monthly focus is highlighted in the school calendar sent home with every student at the beginning of the school year, and parents receive reminders monthly to discuss each characteristic with their child and give examples of how they could exhibit it to a friend or teacher.
Teachers additionally emphasize monthly characteristics by regularly pointing out students who exhibit those characteristics. They also nominate students they see displaying the characteristic that month to receive the Barnabas Award. Students are recognized at a Chapel program, receive a certificate, a key chain medal, and get to have a pizza lunch with Mrs. Brannen or Mrs. Lee that includes ice cream sundaes. The award also appears on the student’s permanent record.
Whether scurrying to pick up another student’s dropped books, standing up for a friend when others are unkind, opening the door for a teacher whose arms are full, or comforting an upset friend, learning to put others before oneself exemplifies the heart of a person with Christian character.
“My most favorite examples are when a student does the right thing without having been told by an adult,” said Mrs. Brannen. “So much of this goes on every day that it seems almost as natural as breathing to some of our students.”
“When we see that, we know our curriculum is taking hold of their hearts and minds and souls to the glory of God.”
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