The Student Newspaper of Westminster Christian Academy

The Wildcat Roar

The Student Newspaper of Westminster Christian Academy

The Wildcat Roar

The Student Newspaper of Westminster Christian Academy

The Wildcat Roar

Is it Enough?

Signing up for next year’s classes is a stressful time for most students. There are tons of decisions to make, from deciding whether to take an honors or regular class, or deciding which elective course to take. And, as some students looked over the options for classes, they noticed the significant lack of Bible courses.

“This is a Christian school. So why isn’t there at least a Bible elective? It seems a bit ridiculous, especially considering how many science courses there are,” said Juhyae Kim, sophomore.

There are three Bible classes available for upper school students. For rising juniors, there are 8 science classes. That’s only for juniors; for all upper school students, there are at least 10 science classes, and many more are being added with the STEM initiative. Science isn’t bad, but, as a Christian school, it’s hard not to wonder why there aren’t more Bible courses.

The obvious answer would be that Westminster’s Bible curriculum already covers everything students need to know.

But the current Bible classes at Westminster, though they are good classes, are not able to go in-depth with their studies. Giving students the ability to actually study and understand a part of the Bible will give them wisdom and knowledge they didn’t have before. There are thousands of topics relating to Christianity and faith that Westminster doesn’t teach; the possibilities for another Bible class are endless.

Take missions and sharing the gospel, for example. Everyone knows someone or has a friend who isn’t a Christian who they want to share the Gospel with. The problem is, when the opportunity to share the Gospel arises, we don’t know what to do or say. Sharing the Gospel is a vital component to our faith. Christ’s last words to his disciples were to “go and make disciples of all nations”. But it is difficult, particularly with modern culture’s rejection of Christianity, to know how to do this. Having a class that teaches how to talk to others about Christ would be indescribably helpful.

But this is one example of the numerous topics that could be taught. Another good possibility for an elective course is church history. It is a fascinating topic, and understanding the church’s history would help us understand the church’s identity today.

The class doesn’t have to cover such broad topics, though. It could be as simple as an in-depth, focused study and teaching of one book of the Bible. Talk to anyone who studies the Bible, and they will agree: the Bible is complicated and detailed, and every verse holds a lesson. It’s easy to spend a whole year teaching one book of the Bible, if the teaching is thorough enough. Truly understanding one book of the Bible would give not only wisdom, but it would also help teach the students how to study the Bible on their own.

Many people would say that Westminster does enough to encourage Christianity through chapel, crossroads, morning devotions, and integrating the Bible into the curriculum; in fact, some may feel it does too much and forces Christianity on students. But, as a Christian school, having more Bible classes couldn’t hurt. And it wouldn’t be forced Christianity, since the class would be an elective. Only students who wanted to take the class would sign up. However, since the topic would be specific and require base knowledge of the Bible, it would be available for upper school students. Freshmen and sophomores are required to take a lot of other classes and don’t have much time for a Bible elective in their schedule anyway. But if a senior would rather take a Bible elective along with Worldviews instead of study hall, he should be able to.

Westminster is a college preparatory school, so it makes sense that it will emphasize academics and focus on having students that will get them into college. And Bible classes don’t prepare students for college exams.  But, as a Christian school, Westminster should also prepare students to face the world with a Biblical worldview. The best way to do that is to teach the Bible. And, when it comes to teaching the Bible, it’s always better to err on the side of teaching too much rather than teaching too little.

 

Courses For Freshmen:

 

Bible: 1

 

Math: 2 (geometry and programming)

 

English: 1

 

Science: 4 (includes stem courses)

 

History: 1

 

Courses for Sophomores:
Bible: 1 (can be taken 10th or 11th
English: 1

 

Math: 1 New course

 

Science: 1 new course (other 3 same as freshmen)
History: 1
Course Juniors:

Bible: 0

 

Math: 4 new

 

English: 2 (1 elective; film as literature)

 

Science: 2 new (Bio and AP Chem)

 

History: 1

 

Courses for Seniors:

 

Bible: 1

 

Math: 3 new
Science: 2 new (Anatomy and AP Physics)

 

History: 2

 

English: 2 new (plus film as lit)

 

 

TOTAL:

Bible: 3

 

Math: 10

 

Science: 9

 

English: 6

 

History: 5

 

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Is it Enough?