Discerning the prominent worldview/theology of a curriculum

[Hope in God]

This question might expose my ignorance, ahem, but how would one go about discerning the more subtle theology of a curriculum? For example, I was just researching the 'Perspectives' course this morning and it seems to have a Reconstructionist bent.

 

I am wanting to do some worldview courses and some 'why am I a Christian' type courses but I am so reluctant to order anything because it is really hard to know what you are actually getting.

Any suggestions or experience would be greatly appreciated!

[Sebastian (a lady)]

This question might expose my ignorance, ahem, but how would one go about discerning the more subtle theology of a curriculum? For example, I was just researching the 'Perspectives' course this morning and it seems to have a Reconstructionist bent.

 

I am wanting to do some worldview courses and some 'why am I a Christian' type courses but I am so reluctant to order anything because it is really hard to know what you are actually getting.

Any suggestions or experience would be greatly appreciated!

 

Well, I think you can learn a lot by looking at the about us section of websites, looking at what churches are recommending a course, looking at links and articles on program websites and finding catalogs or finding providers that do match up with your viewpoint and using lots of their recommendations.

 

I think after a while you get a sense of where some publishers are coming from. I know that books from Emmanuel Books are going to have a theology that is compatable with Catholicism, while Veritas Press is going to have a Reformed bent. IVP is pretty general Evangelical (imho), but tends to publish from a wide range of viewpoints that some might find unacceptable.

 

And despite the disdain the idea aroused on the general board, I think there is a lot of utility in asking folks at church to recommend books or courses that touch on religious topics.

 

Our church in Hawaii promoted and held Perspectives courses (it was an unaffiliated Baptist church at the time, fwiw). I used to have a pretty good book exchange going with the worship pastor. Some of the older women at our first home church had great recommendations for meaty books on theology. And they often had a been there, done that experience and were less swayed with what was new and hip at the local Christian franchise bookstore. These were women who'd been teaching Sunday School and Bible Classes when I was in elementary school. It was pretty hard to surprise them. (Margaret J, I can't wait to get to heaven and chat about books again.)

[Candid]

I agree with Sebastian. Most groups don't want to trick you into buying their stuff, but some maybe naive about the wideness of their beliefs. If you aren't sure from their about pages and samples, ask (most have a contact us page as well).

 

You can also cultivate a questioning attitude in your children. If my oldest is bothered by something, he'll come to me. I can't read every thing in detail so developing this is a great help to me.

[Carol in Cal.]

One of the main ways is to ask here, LOL!

 

For me, though, I buy Christian curricula from two publishers that I know have all of their publications vetted by theologians of my own faith. These are Concordia Publishing House and Northwestern Publishing House. I trust them, by inclination and from experience. It is a real blessing to be able to be confident like that.

 

Their views are warm, Gospel-oriented, Biblically conservative, Lutheran.

[halfdozen]

I agree that visiting the publisher's website and reading through their "About Us" or "Mission Statement" is a good technique. It has stopped me from buying many books that would have taught things that are contrary to our faith (Catholic). I know there is a website called the Catholic Homeschooling Pit List, where other Catholic homeschoolers send in the titles of books and explain the problematic content. Is there an equivalent list for your faith?

I now try to buy all of my materials from only a few companies I know I can trust.

[Julie in MN]

Well, if you have a very specific denomination or deal-breaker topic, you can just ask very specifically, either of the company or around various homeschool boards.

 

Another method is to look at the authors they use or quote -- are there authors you love... or not?

 

But if you just want to know more general bents, you might try creating a list of questions or topics that you run into and feel might be significant to you. e.g. Martin Luther or providential American history. That's what I do when choosing a dictionary -- gradually build a list of words I am not satisfied with (couldn't find, lame definitions) and then go to the book store and specifically look up those words.

 

Maybe with Christian topics it won't be an easy yes/no, like it might be with a dictionary, but instead more of a conversation that includes how adaptable things are. However, it would give you something to talk about that isn't so wide and vague as "what is your worldview?" It would help a publisher or author to provide a clear answer and yet avoid being unnecessarily lengthy or even unintentionally hurtful, if they knew what you want to talk about, instead of leaving them floundering as they scan their memory banks for every possible Christian variation that you might be interested in knowing about.

 

Julie

[angela in ohio]

Repeating what others have said:

 

I have a list of "names" that I know I can count on. If I see those authors referenced or sold by the company, I know I can probably use their products.

 

I try to stick with companies I know are okay for us, because we are the same denomination, when it comes to worldview, Bible, or history curriculum.

 

I ask on homeschool boards. Someone always seems to have the scoop and is willing to post links to back it up. :001_smile:

 

Or ask the publisher/company. As a pp said, they aren't trying to trick you. I see a lot of talk about VP on the boards, like they are trying to "sneak" Reformed theology into their books. :lol: They are meeting a need - Reformed homeschoolers who want materials that aren't Baptist, Catholic, or secular (the three big choices) - and they are pretty up front about their plans. :D Seriously, you can just ask the author of most homeschool curriculum.

[Hope in God]

Thank-you for all the info! You all are much more experienced than myself. Sometimes I feel like a babe in the woods.:confused: Oh why couldn't I have found this forum YEARS ago?!

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Thank-you for all the info! You all are much more experienced than myself. Sometimes I feel like a babe in the woods.:confused: Oh why couldn't I have found this forum YEARS ago?!

 

We were all new once. Welcome to the scrum.

 

One other thought is that you probably want to group subjects in terms of how essential it is to you that they hew to your religious views.

 

For example, I personally am not looking for religious underpinings in math, writing or science. Some of these subjects because I don't think there is much cross over and one because of complicated failure to mesh with the views my religious peers tend to have toward science. I've had to agree to disagree and pass on the big name science curricula that many Christians use.

 

For history, I'm a little more sensitive to slant, both from what I think is putting unreasonable religious judgements on persons of the past who might have not had the same faith framework and on making politically correct judgements on people of the past (including those with faith motivations for their actions). There are a few that I will throw out wholesale (neither Zinn nor Wilson are going to be mainstays of our studies), but many others are just going to be books where we look for sets of presumptions and viewpoints.

 

For theology, I want to teach my kids the doctrines of our faith. At the same time, I want to make sure that they realize that our faith has been emphasized in different ways at different times. And I don't want them to scorn a truth just because it doesn't come in the exact right shade of denominational garb. (As an example, I found a couple books by Leslie Newbingen to be very challenging and rewarding, even though his involvement with a few organizations would have led me to ignore his writings. I'm glad I didn't.)

 

 

Maybe another way of putting it is for you to decide what is non-negotiable and what you can put into categories of minor or not something to determine this side of heaven. That process alone might help you discern when a product line is going to conflict with your family's goals.