Recognizing Darwin’s Influence on Education

Sir Francis Galton was a well accomplished man who was also a cousin of Charles Darwin, the man who wrote the book The Origin of Species, which the reading by Galton is described in Wikipedia as “an event that changed Galton’s life.” Galton is well known for devising the first weather maps and a method for classifying fingerprints. He also established a subject of scientific inquiry which is still referred to and used in modern day educational journals, what he described as “natural gifts.” The concept of giftedness. He also advocated encouraging early marriages of people of high rank to provide a better class of offspring which would in turn improve society.

In his book Talent is Overrated, author and Fortune Magazine Editor, Geoff Colvin, discusses Galton’s idea of “eminence.” “Galton’s view was simple: Just as height and other physical traits tend to be inherited, so does “eminence.” He proved this theory, he said, by “showing how large is the number of instances in which men who are more or less illustrious have eminent kinsfolk.”

If you were to research “gifted children” on Google, a host of books, groups, and definitions abound. Articles include such titles as Preserving the True Self of the Gifted Child, Bright vs. Gifted: The Difference, and The True Story of a Gifted Child with Down Syndrome. The idea of the gifted child is a generally accepted fact in our culture.

As an academy, Bios Christian Academy, is designed to support our parents in the training of their children. We side with those who argue that the existence of talent is not supported by long term research. What is supported is the concept of hard work, great teachers, and supportive parents. The term “deliberate practice” is used to describe the idea that focus and hard work is the main method of how people succeed (and we would add God’s grace). The concept of “deliberate practice” replaces giftedness as an explanation of outstanding achievement.

Returning to “Talent is Overrated”, Mr. Colvin writes on the absence of innate talent. “In a study of outstanding American pianists, for example, no one could have predicted their eventual high level of achievement even after they’d been training intensively for six years, at that point most of them still weren’t standing out from their peers.” In other words, looking back the present day outstanding pianists showed nothing in their first six years of playing as musicians who were going to stand apart from their peers in the future.

Well, you might say, what about Mozart or Tiger? And the answer is both are great examples for the argument of “deliberate practice.” Both started their areas of expertise at a very early age, both had fathers who started their sons on very intense training programs early on, enjoyed teaching the prospective areas, and provided greater teachers than themselves when it was needed. Johann Bach was one of Mozart’s instructors. Both were very hard workers. Both Tiger and his dad, when asked to explain his success would give the same answer: hard work.

This “deliberate practice” idea is much more than stating “everyone is gifted” or “everyone is not gifted.” What I am saying is to forget the concept of giftedness. Consistently in broad studies over many years in areas as vastly different from each other as chess, violins, and football, the people who excel consistently work harder, more deliberately, longer, and with better teachers than everyone else. This is not a popular idea I think because it is much easier to say my child is gifted than my child had to work harder than everyone else to make their accomplishments.

Let me finish with a comment by K. Anders Ericsson, a researcher from Florida State University “the differences between expert performers and normal adults reflect a life-long period of deliberate effort to improve performance in a specified domain.” His statement and research over the years rejects the idea of “eminence” or the you’ve-got-it-because-you-were-born-with-it idea. He and others like him have helped explain the contradiction of years of research which shows “eminence” talent doesn’t exist and instead how the concept of “deliberate practice” explained earlier is demonstrated.

Bios Christian Academy works daily under many ideas. Those ideas include the Bible is inerrant, supporting parents in the training of their children, and “deliberate practice.”

Different and Differentiated

On a regular basis the largest association of Christian schools in the world, Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), of which we are a member and very soon to be accredited by, puts out a magazine called Christian School Education. In many issues including the most recent edition, articles discuss how Christian schools must look different than the public school model. The latest article on this subject, “The Tale of Two Furniture Stores” by Wayne Forsythe, uses a tale of two furniture stores as an example of the necessity for Christian schools to be different under the theme “We must be different. We must be better.” Five points of emphasis were (1) Bible-based Christian values, (2) academic excellence, (3) focus of school mission, (4) Christian in fact, not just in name, and (5) school environment. Here is how we excel within the expectations of the article.

At Bios, academic excellence means to provide a challenging learning environment which supports the individual student and their parents towards the goal of a skilled independent learner. Recently a parent met with me after observing our classes. Her first comment was how impressed she was to see a school developing independent learners instead of the “spoon-fed” approach of traditional schools. Students who graduate from Bios are confident to continue and succeed in their education because of the skills learned and their confidence as learners.

Focused is an accurate description of our education here at Bios. From kindergarten through advanced physics our learning program is designed within a framework based on over 25 years of working with differentiated instruction. That experience shows in the detailed educational goals for all of our academic subjects which we teach.

God has blessed us with committed staff of Christians. Everyone recognizes what an amazing God we serve and the mercy He shows to us through His Son. Our first purpose as a school is to witness to the unbelieving students and families and encourage those who are called Christians.

Bible-based Christian values permeate throughout our academics, sports, and outside activities. Things as simple as allowing only Christian music, or jazz or classical music without words on campus and at school activities; Christian authors and textbooks for junior high and high school science and history; Bible taught straight from the Bible in K-12 grades; setting boundaries for boy-girl relationships at school; and hiring Christians with a Christian worldview.

The school environment at Bios Christian Academy is one of a well-focused safe environment, drug and alcohol free (really) with teachers developing a mentoring relationship helping students focus on their studies. Sports, music, and drama are important but not allowed to take away from church and family. Practices are limited to only four days a week, for not more than two hours, with Wednesdays free for church attendance.

Bios is a unique Christian education focused on serving our families within a differentiated educational environment different from a traditional or public school model in many ways including Bible-based Christian values, academic excellence, focus of school mission, and Christian in fact and school environment.

For more information on Bios please visit our website at http://bioschristianacademy.com/.