The Bios Way

I read the other day a quote from an educational researcher by the name of Litky. He stated, in regards to educating students, the idea of “treating everyone alike, differently.” That is what we do. Everyday. Day in and day out. Bios is built around the concept that not only are all of our students able to learn, but they are expected to excel in every subject we instruct in.

How do we do it? Here again our differences make a difference. For one, we build from the basic skills in each subject. In math, facts are memorized, concepts are mastered, and previous skills are reviewed over and over to keep them fresh. Composition is built around several writing projects each quarter where students write for local, state, and national competitions. In addition to spelling, grammar, and word usage skills being applied in real life situations, students write for a different judging audience in each contest, in contrast to composing only for their English teacher.

Progress in some subjects such as math and Spanish hinge on passing scores with higher percentages than most schools. Daily assignments must be passed with at least 80% accuracy while Spanish tests and quizzes are 85% or higher for credit.

In all of our curriculum, from the kindergarten through twelfth grades, the daily goals and weekly lesson plans are already put together for all teachers in every subject. With clear daily goals and objectives, each teacher is able to know the progress of each student and when to make changes in their instruction if needed. The clear goals across the curriculum allows for the lower grades to consistently support the upper grades in higher level learning.

Speaking of curriculum, ours is handpicked by me. I continually search out the best and the brightest instructional tools that support us in the teaching of our students. Sometimes that may include a text from a national publisher, but usually not. The clearest written, most demanding programs are often the result of a frustrated homeschooling parent who attempts to use the curriculum available and says “I can do better than this” and does. Examples are the first four grades of Horizon’s math, Wiley’s junior high/high school science curriculum, and Easy Grammar. While none are perfect, all support Bios in each subject by giving our students skills in those areas.

Teachers bring it all together. Mature Christians, extremely intelligent, hard working, looking to draw the best out of each student, and in addition, they like people. Even with well laid out lesson plans and vigorous curriculum tools, without highly skilled and continuously trained teachers a Bios student would look the same as students from any place else. But with teachers possessing the aforementioned skills, Bios students excel. They excel not only in their personal academic skills, but in character and work ethic because of teachers who desire to support the parents in the training of their children.

Building from basic skills, higher individual expectations, organized K-12 objectives, exceptional curriculum, and outstanding teachers make for a school where we “treat everyone alike, differently” - all to the glory of God.