DMC Philosophy of Education

Will Weaver, Director of Spiritual Life

I can say with almost absolute certainty – if you were to poll DMC families asking them what they love most about being at our school, the answers will coalesce around one word: community. This community is not just felt in the classroom by our students and teachers; it is all around us as parents interact, as administrators make crucial decisions, as our facilities team keeps everything not just functioning, but allows us a place in which to thrive. We experience it in the hallways, at football games and volleyball matches, and at parent-teacher conferences. It’s everywhere, and it’s who we are. We’ll return to this idea of community in just a moment.

My prayer is that you will be blessed by reading this description of our approach to education at Des Moines Christian. Our mission is “to equip minds and nurture hearts to impact the world for Jesus Christ.” If our mission statement is our “what,” then our philosophy of education is our “how.” It is the fundamental statement of how we will accomplish our mission. And here’s where we come back to the topic of community. Our philosophy of education at DMC is called Christian Community Education and can only exist in an institution such as ours.
 
Des Moines Christian School is a community that cultivates the environment, relationships, instruction, experiences, policies, and procedures in which the Holy Spirit has the greatest freedom to nurture the soul of each student so that their minds and thoughts, as well as their passions and identity, are anchored in the truth and love of God and His word, equipping them to have a lifelong impact on the world for Christ as whole, fully-developed disciples.
 (Matthew 22:34-40; Mark 12:28-33; Luke 10:27-28)
 
Let’s dig into a few key phrases from this statement to understand what we mean by them and how they shape what we do at DMC.

“Anchored in the truth and love of God and his word…”

By what standard would we teach our students to judge truth? Why should we exist as a school if not to lead our students to God’s word as how he has chosen to reveal himself to us? Our students will be taught to filter and measure everything they learn and experience through the Bible as God’s inerrant word.

“In which the Holy Spirit has the greatest freedom...”

We must acknowledge this reality: we do not seek behavior modification in our students, but heart transformation, and we as human beings are not the ones who can change hearts. That is the work of God in their lives. Our calling is to get out of the way, to embody Christ in our classrooms and hallways, in order that God would have the most and best opportunities to change our kids.

“Their minds and thoughts…” 

We are not just concerned with what our students think (the content of our curriculum), but also with how our students think. We will train them to tether all their knowledge and experiences to the grand story that God is telling through human history. Creation (Genesis 1-2) teaches us who God is, who we are, and the way things ought to be. Brokenness (Genesis 3) teaches us what our fundamental problem is (sin), and how it impacts us and all of creation. Redemption (Ephesians 2:8-9) shows us the lengths to which God has gone to reconcile us to himself, and how we ought to live in light of that redemption found only in Jesus Christ. Restoration teaches us how God intends to set things to the way they ought to be, and the reality that he will be present with his people for eternity.

“Their passions and identity…”

It matters not just what our students love (about what are they passionate?), but also if they love those things in the right way, and in the proper order. Our love ought to be oriented first to our God and Creator, as worship to him, and then outwards to his creatures and his creation. Likewise, we will teach our students that their identity is grounded in who God is, who he has made them to be, and how much he loves them, rather than allowing them to suffer under the lie that they must determine that identity for themselves.

“To nurture the soul of each student…” “Whole, fully-developed disciples…” 

“A community that cultivates the environment, relationships, instruction, experiences, policies, and procedures…”

At this point you might note that this does not read like a traditional philosophy of education; but, it is distinctly DMC. It is not targeted solely at teachers. We acknowledge the reality that we undertake this daunting and noble task of fostering disciples as a community. This statement gives us a grid through which to filter our decisions, from Early Education through watching our students walk across the stage at graduation. The environment matters, which is why our facilities team works so tirelessly to steward an excellent space – for student transformation. Our finances matter, and so our accounting and development teams work tirelessly to steward our funds – for student transformation. Our administrators make crucial and sometimes difficult decisions as worship to their Creator – for student transformation. And of course, our teachers stand on the front lines in our classrooms, providing the arena in which their content material and their very presence gives the Holy Spirit the opportunity to work – for student transformation. We are blessed to come together, as a true community in Christ, to equip minds and nurture hearts to impact the world for Jesus Christ, and we welcome you to join us!