Bibleblog.net

This morning was very strange for me. It was the first time in 28 years that I did head off to school on the first day of school. Come to think of it, 28 years only covers my teaching career; prior to that I would have headed off to school on the first day of school as a student. So in reality I have been hurrying off on the first day of school since September 1961. I recall there was a year (it was 1968 and I was in seventh grade) that the New York City teachers went on strike and we didn’t go back to school until the end of November. But this morning was different, I was home by choice. Last week I began my sabbatical and today, the day that BCS students and teachers went back to the classroom, I read and wrote about the integration of faith and learning. More about that in a few minutes.

To be quite precise, I was not at home when school started. After driving Mark to jazz practice (7:10 am– I was on time this morning Ms. Reynolds!) I met a friend for breakfast. I have known Henrik since we moved to Washington in 1993, though our connections go beyond that (Westminster Theological Seminary, Westminster Security, Cornelius Van Til, John Frame…) I just thought about all of the connections between Henrik and I that I could describe, but that would take this blog even further off course than it already is. I’ll say just this, he is a kindred spirit, and an encourager on this doctoral journey I am on.

Last week as I tried to read I was distracted by the sound of roofers thumping over head. I’ll back up a bit. The summer of 2007 has been a busy one. Before school was even out in June we started a remodel project on our house. This project has been a long time coming. We took a space that used to be a attached garage and converted it into living space. Some of you will remember the road project on 228th street about five years in which we lost the use of the attached garage. Well, that area has now become a new bathroom, laundry room, and a study. In addition, we were able to enlarge our dining room and reclaim space in our kitchen and living room. All around it has been a very good project that has improved our home. At the same time it was a lot of work. The boys and I tore down the chimney and fireplace; I did all the electrical work for the project, as well as pour two concrete steps for our new back entry. A new roof for our house was installed just last week (thus the major distraction to my reading) and we are waiting for a contractor who will do some work on our hardwood floors.

Right now the living room is mostly in boxes with my books sitting around in semi-organized piles (really Laura, there is some organization). Chapter two of a dissertation is the literature review. My collection of books that address the integration of faith and learning includes works by Frank Gaebelein, Abraham Kuyper, Herman Bavinck, Herman Dooyeweerd, Cornelius Van Til, James Banks, Johann Sturm, Evan Runner, Arthur Holmes, Norman DeJong, David Engelsma, and others. You may have noticed a disproportionate number of Dutch names in that list. Many of these writers applied the thinking of the Reformation (John Calvin in particular) to the work of the politician, the educator, the journalist, the artist, the scientist, etc., etc. Kuyper, for example, sought to live out his belief in the sovereignty of God over all creation. He influenced politics, served as prime minister of Holland, edited two newspapers, founded a university, and described the theological and philosophical basis for Christian schools. Needless to say Kuyper is very important in my current work. Bavinck is another brilliant Dutch Calvinist who articulated a clear Christian philosophy. Though his theological writings are available, I have limited access to Bavinck’s educational writings in that his Philosophy of Education (PEDAGOGISCHE BEGINSELEN) has not been translated in its entirety into English. Anyone fluent in Dutch out there?

Before I end this entry, here is a sample from Herman Bavinck: Bavinck quotes Johannes Sturm, the establisher of a Gymnasium at Strassburg in 1537, “true piety organically united with sound knowledge and genuine culture, as the most comprehensive statement of [educational] objective.” Regarding the impact of one’s beliefs on education practice Bavinck says, “Philosophy, a set of beliefs, has a way of penetrating the whole of one’s life. it constitutes the framework of education.”

Prayer requests: 1) That the still unfinished details of the remodel would not consume too much of my time. 2) That I would be able to effectively organize and study for comprehensive exams. 3) That contacts and appointments with potential interviewees would go smoothly.

Readers please note: this entry is about the discussion forum, not my Blog. They are two different  programs with different purposes.  The Blog will remain open during my Sabbatical.

Students will have noticed that the discussion forum has been closed since the end of the school year. There are several reasons for that: 1) First, I just needed to take some time off from moderating the forum over the summer. A big trip that Laura and I took prevented me from having regular access to the forum, so I felt it was best to close it for a while. 2) Second, throughout the 2006-2007 school year the number of spam registrations had grown. Even with all our software guards in place we were getting 20-30 registrations requests from non-BCS people. These are individuals trying to promote their website by multiplying the number of places that their address showed up on the web. Since all registrations come through my in-box and are approved by me none of them were ever activated, but the task became burdensome. I feel that some downtime would make our forum less attractive to these groups. 3) Third, looking ahead, I felt I could not do that task while on sabbatical and I did not feel that my substitute should be asked to run and moderate the forum, so it would be best to keep it off until I returned.

The discussion forum has been a great tool for practicing the art of conversation and discussing issues that come up in my classes. Please be patient and stay tuned. The forum will reopen in the fall after I return from sabbatical. In the mean while, keep reading my blog and prayer for my work during my sabbatical.
See you in class,

Dan Ribera

Thank you for visiting my blog on bibleblog.net. Well, after a fantastic summer (including trip to Italy and completion of a home remodel–perhaps I will add an entry on these topics later) I am ready to begin my sabbatical. Sabbatical? As most teachers are preparing to begin a new school year, my fall will take me along a different path. Bellevue Christian School has been kind enough to grant my request for a sabbatical and in that way support my work toward a doctoral degree.

The word sabbatical is related to the word sabbath, the regular interval of rest that God modeled (Genesis 2) and commanded (Exodus 20) in the Pentateuch.

So let me share where I am in the doctoral process and what my plans are for the next few weeks. First, my work is being done through the school of education at Seattle Pacific University. I have completed all coursework and all that remains are my comprehensive exams and the dissertation process.
Sabbatical Tasks

1) Exams

SPU requires competency in three areas: a) curriculum and instruction, b) research and statistics, and c) my area of specialization. The first two exams consist of about thirty questions each covering every aspect of the discipline. On the day I sit for an exam three questions from the thirty will be chosen at random, and I will be given four hours to answer those questions. So preparation for the comps consists in being ready to answer all thirty (sixty for the two exams) questions with competency. The third exam will be in my area of specialization. Exams are offered once a month, so my first opportunity will be the middle of September. Stay tuned for more on this.
2) Research

The focus of my dissertation will be to demonstrate how teachers integrate their faith in their teaching. Research in this area will be qualitative rather than quantitative. I will interview teachers using a predetermined set of questions, while allowing room for follow-up and discussion. Using a model developed by Dr. James Banks of the University of Washington I hope to demonstrate a model of how teachers integrate faith in learning. Banks’s work involved multicultural education and though I will not go into details here he described four approaches to multicultural integration: a) contributions approach, b) additive approach, c) transformation approach, and d) decision-making or social action approach. Although it was not Bank’s intention, these four approaches are applicable to our discussion of how we in Christian education integration faith in learning. Through the interview process I hope to substantiate my theory that this model accurately describes what occurs in Christian schools and that this model is important in terms of thinking about depth and effectiveness of faith/learning integration. This model has potential as a training model for pre-service and in-service Christian school teachers. I will share more later about how I plan to select schools, and how I will choose teachers to interview.

3) Writing

My next sabbatical task will be writing. Dissertations have five chapters. I will share more about the structure of a dissertation in a later post. I am involved right now in writing the chapter in which I review the current Christian school literature. I have collected about two dozen books on Christian education. This literature review will investigate what authors mean when they speak about the integration of faith and learning. The idea of a literature review is that before one can contribute new knowledge to the field of education one needs to be thoroughly knowledgeable about what has already been written.

I don’t believe I will finish writing the dissertation. Further more, after the dissertation is written I will need to defend it before a panel of the doctoral faculty. I am fine knowing that I will not complete this process during a 9-10 week sabbatical. What I have planned to accomplish will be enough of a task and I will be thankful for whatever I can get done, as long as I am faithful with my time.

4) Sharpening the Saw

In Steven Covey’s celebrated book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, he describes a process he calls “sharpening the saw” as habit number seven. Covey teaches that in order to be effective in all other areas we need to spend time in self-renewal. My plan during my sabbatical will be to spend time daily focusing intentionally on spiritual and physical renewal. After all the original meaning of sabbatical was God resting from His labors, and the sabbath as described in Hebrews 4 is spiritual rest, that is, growth in experiencing grace and exercising faith.

In addition, regular entries in this web log will keep me accountable for my time, provide information for those who want to support me in prayer, and inform my colleagues and community what I am accomplishing. Thanks for reading. Stay in touch.

Dan Ribera

Although first semester was extended it is now almost over. I thought I would write down some highlights from our work together.

Church Visits: I have come to enjoy the church visits we make in Church History. We made visits this semester to St. Jude Catholic Church, St. Katherine Orhtodox Church, and St. Barnabus Anglican Church. Each experience was different. I think it is valuable for Christians to know how others worship. We could have long discussions about how we should worhip and what we should believe, but to share a worhip service with people who do it differntly can be enriching. In the Orthodox service, for example, there is nothing accidental. Everything the Orthodox do is intentional. Their worship involves all of the senses: sight, sound, taste, touch and smell. The worship service is intended to be a dramatization of God’s heavenly throne, the work of Christ, and His people approaching the throne of Grace. I would say for those of us who are in protestant traditions the Orthodox service was the most different. A church without pews, and standing for 90 minutes, is certainly a new experience. But these visits also generate discussions about beliefs and the doctrinal differences.
Temple Visits: When I take students to different Christian churches, I make a point of saying that we are not proselytizing. I don’t want student to change churches, just to appreciate the difference and perhaps understand their own better. But in Apologetics we start talking about world religions that are not Christian, so there is not even a fraternal relationship. We are dealing with those who are not Christian, and often anti-Christian. I tell student that I am willing, as my schedule permits, to go with them to houses of worship as they research their assigned religion. In the last year students and I have visted a Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall and a Sikh Temple. A few years ago I, along with about 25 Christian school teachers, visted a Muslim Mosque, a Hindu Temple, a Sikh Temple, and a Buddhist Temple. It was a fascinating and enriching experience. My hope is that the students this semester who visited the Sikh Temple and the new Hindu Temple in Bothell will remember the hosptiality they experienced, and appreciate the cultural differences, while seeing that as human beings we are not that different, yet finally understanding the truth of scripture and the miracle and grace of the work of Jesus Christ all the more.
Snow/Bad Weather Days: What can I say? In my 27 years as an educator I have never experienced a year with so many interruptions due to inclement weather. The only year that topped this was when I was in junior high school the New York City public school teachers went on strike and we missed more than a month of school.

Dead Sea Scrolls: This was certainly a highlight of the year. Having the opportunity to see these documents that
Ethics Presentations

Phil

Discussion Forum: The Bibleblog Discussion Forum continues to grow. We have over 450 registered users and close to 10,000 posted messages since the forum opened in September 2004.

I just wanted to provide a few links that relate to the Dead Sea Scrolls. Ten original scrolls are now on exhibit at the Pacific Science Center (PSC) in Seattle. We will be taking a field trip to see the scroll exhibit with all students at Bellevue Christian High School on Tuesday, November 28. You may find information about the PSC here. The Library of Congress has its own site featuring the Dead Sea Scrolls here. This site published by the Western Semitic Research Project proves a ton of information (click here). For those who want to try their skill at epigraphy, that is, the deciphering of ancient manuscripts and inscriptions, click here for a fragmentary text of chicken little. Can you reconstruct the original text? Here is a site that presents 25 Fascinating Facts about the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Have you heard the term Gnostic Gospels? These are texts that present a very different narrative of the life of Christ than do the four evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The move the DaVinci Code included supposed gnostic accounts of the life of Christ. The Gnostic Society Library is also interested in the findings at Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, and has a site that discusses the Dead Sea Scrolls here. Rikk Watts, who I heard at the teachcers’ convention this week has written this article responding to the Gospel of Judas.

This past week was a short one for students at Bellevue Christian School, but actually a full week for teachers. Wednesday our entire preschool through high school faculty met at Cedar Springs Christian Retreat at Sumas, WA. Sumas is about 2 hours north of Bellevue, just a little south of the Canadian border. I have found Cedar Springs to be a great location for “retreating” and building relationships with my colleagues. We spent some time talking about education (enduring understandings), we worshiped together, and as always, enjoyed the food prepared by Cedar Springs staff. After a day of meetings with just Bellevue Christian faculty we joined teachers from Washington and British Columbia for a two day convention hosted at Lynden Christian High School. The convention was attended by about 2000 teachers from the Christian Teachers Association of British Columbia and North West Christian Schools International.

The keynote speaker on Thursday and Friday was Dr. David Smith, director of the Kuyers Institute at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI. I found him insightful, engaging, and his two speeches were practical and challenging. “The Gift of the Stranger,” and “Learners as Spiritual and Moral Beings” were his two topics.

I led two workshops and attended an additional three workshops. I led one workshop on a topic that I have been considering for many years: Miracles, Mystery, and Magic in the Bible, in Literature, and in Life. I began thinking about this topic when I was an elementary principal, as I was often asked about the wisdom of allowing our children to get involved with popular culture: Pokémon, Star Wars, Harry Potter, etc. This presentation expresses my thoughts about what the bible says. The second workshop I led focused on our class website www.bibleblog.net. We talked about what teachers can do with web pages, discussion forums, and web logs.

I attended two sessions with Rikk Watts a professor from Australia who is currently teaching at Regent Collage in Vancouver. Again, these sessions proved to be filled with insight and wisdom.

Today was the first day of the 2006-2007 school year. In my classes every student received a copy of my syllabus. Students, please read this document. It contains important information about our work together this semester. In it I share my grading structure, as well as your reading assignments and major research/presentation projects.

One of the questions I asked in every class today was, why do we require/offer this class. Students in Philsophy of Education, Ethics, Church History and Apologetics thought about this question. It comes down to being able to ask the right questions in our work together. We are not looking for easy answers but here are some of the questions we came up with:

Philosophy of Education: How does what we believe affect the way we do every other subject at BCS? Does our belief in God make a difference in math, music, art, or PE?

Ethics: How do we decide what is right and wrong? Are there activities that Christians should not do? (remember, no easy answers) Can we decide what is right and worng by simply obeying what we have been taught, or by weighing the consequences, or by reading the bible, or by trusting our intuition? All these answers were suggested.

Church History: What is the church? What is the story of the church that has led us from the spread of the gospel in the New Testament to the Church in the 21st century? Why are there so many denominations? How do we decide who is In and who is Out?

Apologetics: How do we defend our faith? If I say that I beleive in God becuase the bible says he exists, how doe I know that the bible is true?  If I trust the bible becuase it is God’s word, doesn’t that become a circular argument?  Tough questions!

The conversation will continue.  Later this week we will talk about the forum and next week I’ll have a meeting for students who want to be forum moderators.

See you in class,

Dan Ribera

What did you do last summer? Here is a bit of what I did:

I finished writing a paper for my doctoral program. The title is The Implication of Epistemology for the Integration of Faith and Learning. That’s all I’ll say about that. If you are interested in more information, just ask.

I made a “Game Gadget.” (For copyright purposes, I won’t use the name of that famous television game show that gives contestants the answer and to which they have to state the question, but this Gadget allows us to play that game in class.) Using electrical relays, push buttons, and light bulbs this “gadget” will allow students to compete to click-in first with an answer. It has three hand-held buttons, just like the TV game show. Only one person can click-in first, the other two are shut out. It was fun to design and make and I hope it will be a hit with the students. We’ll use the Game Gadget to when reviewing material prior to a quiz or test.

I took a class that taught me how to use Adobe web development tools. It used to be called Macromedia, but it was bought by Adobe. So I learned how to use Flash, Fireworks, and Dreamweaver. Check out my new web site at http://www.bibleblog.net. I think the graphics and navigation features are pretty cool. Students, if you want to learn to create web sites, or help maintain Bibleblog.net using Dreamweaver, let me know. I am looking for students to collaborate on this project. This may be a good service project for students in the Technology Honor Society.

I read some books this summer including: The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco; The Plague by Albert Camus; Dynasty: The Stuarts 1560-1807 by John Macleod; The end of Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond which I started a while ago and never finished, and others.

I traveled to Pennsylvania to visit my family. My parents, who lived most of their lives in New York City, retired to Lancaster Pennsylvania. That’s where the Amish hang out. So you have to share the road with horses and buggies. It is tons of fun to see these people totally committed to this way of life.

I weeded my garden, tended my figs, blueberries, apples, grapes and kiwis. Our garden was very fruitful this summers.  Too bad the fig season is over by mid-august, students might have enjoyed seeing/tasting these delicious fruits.  Grapes and Kiwis are last to ripen. This is our first year to have kiwis on the vine.  There are tons of them.  They are small, smooth kiwis, not the larger fuzzy ones you see in the supermarket.  I take after my father and grand father in my love of growing fruits and vegetables.
Well, that’s all for now. It will be fun to see you all tomorrow and hear your stories from the summer.

See you in class,

Dan Ribera

We are in the middle of class presentations in Ethics, Church History and Apologetics. In Ethics students are presenting their research and thinking about ethics of cloning, homosexuality, church attendance, nuclear weapons, physician assisted suicide, suicide, gun control, animal rights, illegal immigration, music, alcohol…. OK, you get the idea. We get to talk about any topic important in our world today.

In Church History, students have visited a church outside their own tradition, and interviewed a pastor or a priest. The differences are sometimes fascinating and sometimes perplexing. Why, historically, do christians differ about the number of sacraments, the use of leaven or unleavened bread in communion, the modes of baptism, the use and wording of the creeds, the use of images, candles, incense, and music in worship, the ordination of women, and many, many more? What do we hold in common? Does the world look at us and see division, and disagreement, or does the world see Christ? It was both educational and enlightening to visit a local Catholic church and a local Orthodox church for their worhsip services this semester. On Sunday, June 4, a number of us will be worhipping at Mt Zion Baptist, a historically black congregation in Seattle.

In Apologetics, our final project is to research and present on a world religion or a cult. This semester these presentations will include: Jehovah’s Witnesses, Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, Christian Science, Mormonism, the Baha’i Faith, Scientology, and Zoroastrianism. One very interesting experience this semester was being able to join three students at a “lecture” at a local Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Whereas in Church History we learn about the differences within the family of christians, in Apologetics we find that without Christ we are not in the same family. We may be God’s creatures in creation, but there is not the same fellowship with those who are not in Christ. Always learning….

See you in class,

Dan Ribera