EDUC 302/303

Naomi Hansen
Curriculum Planning Statement of Faith-based Teaching & Learning
Excel, being a public school means that my statement of faith will be slightly different
than it would be if I were in a Christian School. Although teachers can share about different
religions and worldviews in a public school, teachers cannot let it be known, verbally, what their
beliefs are. As someone who grew up in a public school for most of my life, excluding the first
two years of high school, I have been able to see how some of my Christian teachers
incorporated faith into the classroom. My worldview could be discussed for a long period of
time, but there are a few things that I would like to share pertaining to this particular unit of
Peter and the Wolf.
The first part of my worldview that I would like to share is the way in which music
connects to creation and the world around us. I believe that music is an incredible gift from God
that should be celebrated. I think that music was something that God intended to be perfect. It
can help us to get to a place of restoration. Music is all around us; it is a universal language. It is
something that no matter where we go we are exposed to. That being said, music can also be
symbolic or represent many different things. In the Peter and the Wolf story the different
instruments and themes represent animals. Students will discover that in this world many
different things can be symbolic and often certain sounds are associated with certain characters.
When we discover this we might be able to better understand Gods creation through music.
The second worldview that I wanted to share refers to Galatians 5: the fruits of the spirit.
Excel strives to implement good morals in their students and morals can definitely be incorporate
in this unit as well. The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23 New International Version). The students

will have to work on all of these virtues in the Peter and the Wolf unit because they have to
work with partners, work in larger groups, practice good listening skills, work on being
persistence to understand the content, and work on self-discipline to pay attention when the
teacher and/or other students are talking. This worldview can be applied to many different units
and subject areas, but this is particularly helpful for this music unit.
The final thing that I believe is that our main purpose in life is to bring glory to God. We
can do this in many different ways. I think one of the most important ways that we can glorify
God is by giving 100% in everything we do. Excel is also very clear about getting 100% effort
from all of the students; they encourage all of their students to try their best in all that they do. I
think that if students are persistent and do their best in everything people have a lot more respect
for them. This will also make a difference for the students later in life when they are searching
for jobs because employers are looking for honest people who give 100%. Of course I cannot ask
my students to give their all because it brings glory to God, but I can encourage all of my
students to do their best because it will benefit not only themselves, but also the people around
them. We owe so much to God, so using the bodies and the abilities that he has given to us, for
his glory, is the least that we can do.

Galatians. Bible Gateway. Biblica Incorporated, 2011. 18 April 2015.