A Living Education
At Calvary Schools of Holland, we believe that every person is created by God and born to learn. The student’s mind is a spiritual organism, not an empty vessel to be filled with facts and information. Just as the physical body is nourished with food, the mind is nourished with ideas. Ideas inform our conscience and impact the choices that we make. The source of all truth is God Himself, whose truth is communicated to us through His Word, through other people, and through His creation.
Therefore, education should offer interaction and relationships with a vast number of ideas, people and things, inspiring a student to ask the question, “What does this tell me about God, man, myself, or the world around me?” Our aim is to train students to discover how to acquire knowledge for themselves and to fuel their God-given hunger for ideas.
Great ideas emerge primarily from “living books.” These books are choice works by original thinkers that convey vital ideas. They have not been simplified or interpreted for students.
Our teachers do not predigest the material and offer it to students in a tidy lecture. Instead, our students spend class time interacting with writers, scientists, artists and historians who were passionate about their work. They read excellently written books that have timeless stories, important facts, and life lessons connected to their guiding ideas. We incorporate textbooks strategically, particularly in subjects such as math, science, and grammar. After students have read a text, they practice narration.
Narration
Narration is the act of retelling, in the student’s own words, what has been heard or read. To narrate, the child’s mind must be focused and active. This simple technique requires students to summarize, order, remember, and attend to detail. By narrating orally, pictorially, or in writing, students internalize ideas and information that they have heard, read, or experienced. Our teachers help students move from merely repeating this information to higher levels of thinking, including application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
Narration spans a variety of subjects, which are carefully scheduled and arranged to create a “rhythm of the day.” This rhythm enables students to alternate between inspirational lessons, such as poetry or nature study, and disciplinary work, such as grammar and math.
Our teachers carefully prepare lessons to help the student’s mind move between subjects that encourage reflection and those that require focused skill. This mental movement is refreshing, as is time spent outdoors in physical activity and exploration.
No matter what the subject, we attempt to keep our lessons short and focused. We begin each class with a brief review of the previous day’s lesson. The teacher then introduces any new words or concepts and provides a single reading of the text. By reading a passage one time, the mind must learn to attend. We believe that students must develop habits and skills that are necessary for learning.
Habit Formation
These habits include attentiveness, imagination, neatness, and careful execution. Rather than developing students who are merely able to study for the next exam, we are interested in helping students develop a life of study. Habits extend beyond behavior to character development, which we emphasize through our interactions with one another, as well as through the compelling ideas that emerge from our readings. Students who are focused on learning are able to master skills needed for future study. Skill areas at Calvary include such subjects as phonics, composition, and memorization of math facts. These examples are a small portion of a generous curriculum.
Assessment
We assess student’s understanding of subject matter through a variety of means, including daily narration, skill tests, reports of growth, and standardized testing, as well as end-of-term exams for upper school students.
Despite the importance of assessment, our teachers attempt to keep students free from peer competition. They do not use grades or prizes as artificial incentives to motivate children. Learning for the sake of learning is the focus, not besting a classmate. Naturally competitive students enjoy surpassing their own previous ability and are encouraged to press beyond what they were capable of doing the day or week before.
Calvary teachers are expected to allow their students to struggle at times. We consider the struggle to be as essential to the learning process as the delight. Students must learn to labor with problems not yet grasped, to remain on task when uncertain of the outcome, to struggle to completion when mind and hand are tired, to experience the rewards and negative consequences of their actions. There will be no growth in character without the struggle.
Learning is an active pursuit, which requires great concentration and focus, but yields great rewards! At Calvary, we strive for excellence without overwhelming pressure, discipline without harshness, and order without legalism. We desire to be a school that is full of both grace and truth.
Education Fundamentals
Calvary’s curriculum is composed of carefully chosen literary texts and objects of study. In all disciplines, beginning in the very early grades, Calvary students are exposed to some of the best books, the greatest works of art, the most beautiful music, and the majesty of creation. A typical day at Calvary is both rigorous and inspiring, involving the work of the mind and the work of the hand, requiring individual effort and group cooperation. And, all is done under the watchful eye of a caring teacher who is as concerned with the forming of the heart as the informing of the mind.
Class size is kept small. This allows teachers and students to know each other well and to cultivate the kind of relationships necessary for optimal learning. Student work is assessed throughout the semester, based on oral responses and work product. After the completion of each term, parents receive a “Report of Growth” detailing subjects studied, student strengths, student weaknesses, and individualized comments. In addition, parents meet with their child’s teacher to discuss this “Report of Growth” and other areas specific to their child’s needs twice a year.
All Calvary students are exposed daily to the person and principles of Jesus Christ. Lower and middle grades begin each day with an assembly that includes prayer and the singing of a hymn. All students attend a weekly chapel service, and study the Old and New Testaments as part of the curriculum. All Calvary faculty and staff share a commitment to believe, follow, and obey Jesus.
Benefits
Not only do Calvary students become masters of art and ideas, learning to paint and to sing, to read with understanding and to write with clarity, to appreciate great literature, to wonder at the revealed mysteries of number and of science, to share in the glory and ignominy of human history; but they grow in healthy ways of relating to God, self, others, and work. In cultivating the habits proper to learning, Calvary students master all areas of study to the fullness of their God-given potential. In cultivating the habits proper to mature living, Calvary students master the skills necessary to live full and satisfying lives, rich in devotion to God, service to others, and continuing personal growth.
Areas of Study
A brief account follows of the specific disciplines of study and how they are expressed throughout the schools:
Art Formal instruction in technique and various media is introduced early and throughout the grades, providing experience, observation, and study.
Bible Readings are selected from the Old and New Testaments for instructing in the knowledge of God and the knowledge of man.
Citizenship Beginning in grade four, students read about men and women’s relationship to self and others. Classroom discussions engage moral choices of good and evil, principles of civic duty, and heroic service to society.
Composer Study The students are acquainted with two classical composers and several of their works in grades K-8, cultivating taste and appreciation for classical music.
Composition In the beginning years, students are solely acquainted with oral composition in the form of narration. Narration is continued daily throughout the grades as a method of assimilating information. Written composition is begun in grade three with work in description, and continues throughout the grades, resulting in formal reports and essays by the end of eighth grade.
Dictation Each week, students copy beautifully well-written text, noting spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Later they are called upon to write what has been copied, as it is dictated to them.
Froebel Manipulatives Froebel materials are used to help children recognize and understand the interconnectedness of creation and the world around them. Through disciplined exploration of each gift, students are led intentionally through a logical progression from the whole (unity) to the parts (complexity) and back again to the whole.
Geography Atlases are used throughout the day as a reference in areas of study, as geography is naturally integrated into the curriculum. Geography is taught formally in grades 5 and 6.
Grammar Students receive formal instruction in Grammar from 3rd grade until 8th grade. They are introduced to the rules and regulations of our language by way of formal instruction. They diagram sentences in all grades. In the later years, instruction is enhanced to address errors in writing and usage.
Handwork Each year Junior Kindergarten through 8th grade students learn two handwork skills, such as sewing, knitting, mosaics, and computer coding, taught by the classroom teacher or an artisan in the community.
Handwriting In the early years students master D’Nealian manuscript writing and then are introduced to Spencerian writing, practicing form, size, and style.
History An introduction to history begins in grades one and two. Beginning in grade three, the history of the United States and the world is taught each year through the eighth grade. Students in the third grade begin with exploration for United States history and the history of Egypt and Greece for world history. Studies are continued in both World and United States histories, covering all periods through the twentieth century.
Literature A variety of living books of different genres are selected each year, some to correlate with history and science, and others are chosen because they have stood the test of time.
Mathematics Beginning with arithmetic, students master the art of computation in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in the elementary grades. Pre-Algebra begins in 6th grade, with two years of Algebra in 7th and 8th. Higher mathematics courses are taught in high school grades, such as geometry and calculus.
Nature Study Lower and middle school students keep a nature journal in which weekly entries are added to include drawings and descriptions. The students become acquainted with their natural surroundings over their years at Calvary and are able to identify many specimens by name.
Phonics and Reading In grades K, one and two, students go through a formal program of sight and sound correspondence to develop skills in pronunciation and spelling. Phonics rules are introduced and learned for application. Beginning phonetic readers are used to reinforce these developing skills.
Picture Study Students are made familiar with two artists a year and six of their significant works. They also experience the style and technique of the artist through reproducing one of their works.
Poetry Two poets and their works are introduced to the students each year. The students are given a volume of their works and memorize poems individually and corporately for personal enjoyment and formal recitation.
Read-Aloud Teachers and students share in the delight of a book that is chosen for the sole reason that we would not want them to miss the opportunity of the joy of reading this book aloud.
Recitation This time is used to rehearse passages and verses from Scripture, poetry, or history that the students are responsible for keeping in their hearts and minds.
Science Nature Study is the foundation of science in the early years. In grade three, students are acquainted with animals and fossils through readings, drawings, and hands-on activities. Beginning in grade four through the middle grades, branches of physical, earth, and life sciences are taught each year. In upper school, students explore chemistry, biology, and forensic science. Through these varied branches, students are introduced to the principles of science, observation, and demonstration.
Singing and Music The students’ voices and ears are trained individually and collectively. The harmonies and melodies of classical and folk music are introduced to the students through song, dance, and instrument. All students, in choral groups, perform at school and in the community.
Tales and Fables / Myths and Legends In the early grades, tales and fables, as well as myths and legends are chosen from history and various countries, which are read aloud to warm the imagination and instruct the conscience.