Study Notes

Philosophy of Adventist Education

Handout Two

Education, ch. 1, Counsels to Parents and Teachers, ch. 6 and ch. 69

 

Questions – Be ready to answer on a quiz, and on the exam.

 

1. EGW writes that our scope in education must be broader and our aim higher. What does she mean?

2. In this chapter EGW makes reference to the following sources of knowledge:

Authority (of learned men of vast research)

Reason (reason discovering the mind of God as revealed in created things)

Empiricism (finding truth by research into the created world)

While validating each of them, she offers critiques of them as well. What weaknesses, according to her, plague these sources?

3.  What was God’s purpose in the creation of man? Be comprehensive rather than brief.

4.  In 14:2 Ellen White resolves, for Adventists, the metaphysical-epistemological dilemma. How does she do it?

5.  When Ellen White writes that we are to learn to be thinkers (and not mere reflectors of men’s thoughts), does she give encouragement to existentialism?  Postmodernism? Why or why not?

6.  What kind of researcher has a metaphysical advantage over his co-workers in the laboratory?

7.  Ethics, to the secular mind, is little more than a study of “the good life” and “what is best for everyone’s happiness.” What does this chapter have to say about happiness? About the source of joy? Are these legitimate ends in a Christian philosophy of education? (see 13:1, 15:1; CT 51:3)

8.  A theme of this chapter is “purpose” “meaning” “the object of education.” Why do naturalistic philosophers have difficulty with these words?

9. Describe the relationship between anthropology and theology in this chapter.

10. Examine 17:1. What kind of homework does it suggest true education should assign? How could such work be graded? Or should it be? Be prepared to defend (on paper) your answer.

11.  Is EGW’s philosophy of education holistic or academic?

12.  How did sin affect the three aspects of man’s nature? (15:2)

13.  How does Ellen White prove that love is the basis of true education?

14.  What does Ellen White mean by the term “educated weakling”?

15.  How is the ‘mind renewed and the soul recreated in the image of God’?

16.  Trivia Question: What is the most valuable gem according to Job and Solomon? What color is it? Was this color affected by the fall and sin?

17. What kind of fatal mistake has been made due to misconceptions of the true nature and object of education?

18.  What does CT 51:3 say about ethics in relation to the size of your class load?

19.  What does EGW say about history as a source of truth and information?

20.   “A reverent contemplation of such themes as these cannot fail to soften, purify, and ennoble the heart, and at the same time to inspire the mind with new strength and vigor.”  What themes does she refer to?

21.  According to CT 495, for what purpose did we establish schools?

22.  According to CT 496:2, how might a once-converted student become the ‘sport of Satan’s wiles’?

23.  According to CT 498:2, what are some duties of the teacher?

For the Word Doc, click here:B_Education_01_CPT_6,_69