| | WESTMINSTER
ACADEMY
HEADMASTER'S MESSAGE
The Historic Standard
From the early Greek philosophers to the time of Jesus Christ, through the first two centuries of our own nation's history, the chief goal of education was seen to be not primarily the imparting of facts, but the development of character. Character development was seen as the primary goal of American education until recent developments misdirected the course of American schooling. Historically for Americans, the mutually embraced standard was the ethical system of the Judeo-Christian tradition contained in the teaching of the Old and New Testaments. It was not surprising that the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule, or the Beatitudes would be posted on the walls of a school, or that the Gideons would annually distribute copies of the Scriptures to all students at a school assembly.
The New "Toleration" Such is now forbidden in the present system of the government controlled schools. The spirit of the age sets forth "toleration" as the greatest of virtues, a type of toleration springing from Relativism and Individualism. Thus, to declare that something or some action is right or wrong, good or bad, is "intolerant," for to maintain that one is right is to imply that someone else is wrong. The one good thing that the new toleration cannot tolerate, the one situation that evokes a spirit of intolerance from the new toleration, is a person who claims that there is an absolute standard that applies to all. Likewise, any reference to a transcendent authority lying out beyond ourselves with ultimate power to govern our lives is forbidden. The most zealous application of this new toleration is found in the government schools of America. The United States Senate, for instance, may open each of its sessions with prayer for divine guidance, but prayer is forbidden at a high school football game or graduation exercise.
The question must be asked: is the seeming decline in educational performance a matter of how students are being taught or is it a matter of what they are being taught (or not being taught)? Could it possibly be the absence of learning godly virtue? |
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| | Spiritual Excellence: The Goal of Education
Westminster Academy exists becuase parents, faculty, administration and the governing Board believe that the only valid form of education worth of Christian children is education founded upon the teachings of Scripture. Other forms of schooling are illegitimate, empty forgeries of the the real thing. Ethical excellence, as defined by principles for life set forth in Scripture, is the essence of all being and doing.
God has stated in Scripture that the ultimate goal He has established for every Christian youth and every Christian adult is that of becoming in character like Jesus Christ in all our living and doing (Romans 8:28-29). All things schooling, marriage, vocation, circumstances, possessions, successes are intended to be instruments in God's hands to mold us into the likeness of His Son. |
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| | Twelve Biblical Principles
To help Westminster students see what those qualities of life look like that characterize Jesus, twelve principles for godly living have been selected and described.
God's Goal for Me: Christlikeness
(Roman's 8:28-30) |
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| | Ethical Excellence Leads To Academic Excellence
Students who have learned to establish these godly principles in their lives will perform at a higher level of excellence, within the context of their own God-given abilities and gifts, than children who are ignorant of God's ways. They will develop into better citizens, workers, spouses and parents. Above all, they will grow into a vibrant relationship with God through faith in Jesus. They will, as the Scriptures say, bring great joy to their parents. They will be in stark contrast to the other students being produced by a system that has abandoned its moral and ethical anchors. |
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| | Westminster's Spiritual Curriculum
Our curriculm is designed to achieve the following goals:
* To clearly set before students those internal decisions and external behaviors that characterize people who are growing more and more into the likeness of Jesus.
* To provide parents with materials that can be used in the instruction of their children in godly character.
* To establish a Biblical rationale for the expectations that the school sets for a student in attitudes, actions and speech.
* To demonstrate the inseparable connection between cause and effect, between internal decisions and the external behaviors that flow from them. All decisions have consequences; all behavior springs from a prior inward decision of the mind and heart. This is the Biblical principle of Sowing and Reaping.
* To reclaim basic principles promoting godly character that were at the heart of the instruction of children at home and at school for the first 300 years of America and that penetrated the moral and spiritual fiber of American Society. |
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