NCS Education Philosophy

To Prospective and Current Families:

The education of children for God is the most important business done on earth. It is the one business for which the earth exists. To it all politics, all wars, all literature, all money-making, ought to be subordinated; and every parent especially ought to feel, every hour of the day, that, next to making his own calling and election sure, this is the end for which he is kept alive by God— this is his task on earth. -R.L. Dabney

At NCS, we believe that this is a great task and our distinctives are written to minister to families that have these same core values. We believe three things are very important in accomplishing our motto:"presenting every student complete in Christ."

Most importantly, we are a proclaiming Christian school.

To many people, the words "Christian school" call to mind a private school with decent academics, a safe environment, and Chapel every Thursday. But at New Covenant School, "Christian" means so much more. Grounded in the absolute authority of the Bible alone, NCS provides an education that bathes every subject in a Biblical worldview. Subjects such as Science, History, and Mathematics are all taught by teachers who passionately believe that this is God's world and should be explored from His perspective. History is the record of God’s involvement in time. We ask ourselves: Can it be righteous to study history as if God were not involved? Science is the study of the composition and patterns of the universe, created and held together by God himself. Is it righteous to study science as if God did not exist, or to even exclude him to any degree from an obvious position of importance in the study of science? Is it righteous to ignore God in the studies of language and literature, when the gifts of communication and creative expression are among the most precious gifts bestowed by our Creator? Is it righteous to study mathematics and the orderliness of numbers from a non-Christian perspective when the orderliness and logic of our minds is dependent in every way upon the absoluteness and orderliness of God Almighty? We believe this is God’s world and should be studied God’s way!

NCS not only provided a great learning environment and second family for me in high school, but it has been instrumental in my higher education experience so far. My teachers at NCS taught me to think for myself in a Biblical context, which has been very helpful and has put me a step ahead of a good many of my peers. -Claire Settle, Class of ‘07

Such a belief causes us to approach the privilege of educating young minds with excitement and vigor, as we seek to pass that excitement on to our students. "Christian" also means that we believe that apart from Christ, the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom will ultimately be fruitless and empty. For this reason, parents can expect that the Gospel of Jesus Christ will be preeminent and pervasive in every facet of our education.

Second, we are Covenantal School.

That we are a Covenantal School has many implications. But chief among them is this: Parents are the means God has chosen to perpetuate His gracious Covenant unto a thousand generations of those who love Him. Parents are to impress love for God upon their children. They are to teach them day and night, when sitting at home, when taking a walk or going for a drive, when putting children to bed and getting them up in the morning. Parents are to keep love for God constantly before their eyes.

George Herbert said "One father is more than a Hundred school Masters."

God’s covenant with Christian parents is a weighty responsibility – by God’s design, parents are the guardians of a biblical worldview for their children. They are to pass God’s view of the world on to their children. Since this is God’s world, and education is an inherently religious task, parents are responsible to see that education is accomplished in conformity with God’s word.

This biblical command is also seen in Psalm 78:1, 2

O my people hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old – what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from our children, we will tell to the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commandments.

Christian Education is uniquely and necessarily the responsibility of Christian parents.

Although we are first and foremost a Covenantal and Christian school, we are also classical by methodology and content.

Classical education seeks to produce knowledgeable, capable thinkers who are also effective and winsome communicators. Classical Education has to do with setting up solid foundations, with learning how to learn, with mental discipline and intellectual curiosity.

For many people, the concept of a classical school is new. Indeed, it is a fairly recent phenomenon as far as most people are concerned. Classical education is actually hundreds of years old, but in the last two decades it has experienced a resurgence. In the 1940’s, Dorothy Sayers wrote an essay that called attention to the declining state of education and called for a hypothetical reform. The model of education she presented was the same education that was responsible for producing the lawyers, doctors, and theologians of centuries past. It had proved itself time and time again to produce not merely informed students but students who were proficient at lifelong learning. That is why the call of today’s classical education is: "Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning."

NCS is unique because it doesn’t create the cookie-cutter Christian. It doesn’t tell you just the facts, but it tells you the "why." It tells you the "what now." NCS isn’t interested in the thinker, or the worrier, they are creating men and women of action. -Sam Martin, Class of ‘07

Classical education has a unique content. In addition to the common subjects that characterize contemporary-traditional education, classical education adds the subjects of Latin (begun in the 3rd grade), Logic (introduced in 8th grade), Rhetoric (introduced in 9th or 10th grade), and Theology (present throughout).

New Covenant School is a younger school, but in the years ahead it will be establishing a presence in the Anderson community. As we expand the school in the upcoming years, it will blossom into the fully-orbed classical model described above. As a part of a strong Christian testimony, this school will strive to be known for excellence in education. Come see for yourself. Ask a teacher, a board member, a current parent or our Director of Development. Find out how God is working through this ministry and how He can work in your child’s life.

Joey Thames
Headmaster, New Covenant School