Teaching that Transforms: Why Anabaptist-Mennonite Education Matters

by John D. Roth

Why send your child to a Christian school? Isn't any school good enough? John D. Roth says no; in a readable fashion, he frames key questions regarding the future of Christian education and makes the case for Christian schools,
offering clear directions while inviting dialogue and alternative perspectives. Along the way, Roth provides a theological foundation for education from a distinctly Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective, offering a useful framework for on-going conversations about the appropriate nurture of children and
young adults, pedagogical practices and goals, and future directions of Mennonite education from pre-kindergarten to seminary.

Genres: Education

236 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 2011

About the author

Department chair, Professor of History, Goshen College, Goshen, Indiana
Director, Mennonite Historical Library
Editor, Mennonite Quarterly Review

Education:
BA, Goshen College, 1981
MA, University of Chicago, 1983
PHD, University of Chicago, 1989

Reviews

[Norman Falk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good summary of the book from p. 212.
"Schools commitment to an Anabaptist-Mennonite understanding of the Christian faith will reflect the qualities of an incarnated gospel. They will be characterized by an ethos of worship, an attentiveness to tradition, and the cultivation of authentic community. Their teachers will model the dispositions of curiosity, reason, joy, patience, and love. The true test of our teaching will be evident in our students through their growing attentiveness to God’s presence in creation and in the full expression of all the bodily senses. An incarnational pedagogy will always resist forces that seek to divide spirit from matter, intellect from faith, or grace from works. Educators in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition will nurture in their students the capacity to recognize the healing hand of God in creation, the courage to participate with God in that restorative task, and the grace to recognize that we bear fruit only by remaining connected to the true Vine".

[Kaitlyn]

Actually really interesting... Again... another book for a research paper.

[Kelly-lynne · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first couple of chapters was an interesting read on the history and development of private Anabaptist-Mennonite education. However, I found the rest of the book, though a good overview of issues facing private Mennonite schools, that it lacked insight or interest.