The purpose of this study is to analyze and contemplate in detail the educational ideas of Ellen G. White, who was one of the pioneer leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and an educational philosopher in the 19th century in the United States o...
The purpose of this study is to analyze and contemplate in detail the educational ideas of Ellen G. White, who was one of the pioneer leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and an educational philosopher in the 19th century in the United States of America, by categorizing them as the definition, purpose, curriculum, and method. The study was also done to find out whether Ellen White's ideas for education are applicable in the modern educational reality by analyzing the Waldensian School, which is run according to her educational ideas.
White's educational ideas are based on the beliefs of Christianity, and this is confirmed by the fact that she defined education in the same way as redemption. The life here on earth is a preparation for entrance to the school in the life to come, and as a result, life from the cradle to the grave is a continuous education. Restoring the image of God through the conversion experience and development of character becomes the purpose and course of education.
White pursues the balanced development of the body, mind, and soul, the education of the whole person to achieve this purpose. These three aspects are all equally important parts of education which, without any one of these, the intention and meaning of education can not be complete. White suggests, more specifically, the curriculum for each category: labor for physical development; the Bible, history, language, and science for mental development; and the Bible, nature, prayer, and music for spiritual development. Also for these subjects to be taught efficiently, she presented methods, namely motivation, individual education, variety in teaching methods, simplicity in the way of delivering, and the teacher's example. The researcher conducted a study on the possibility of applying the educational ideas of White in modern education using the Waldensian School as a model, almost a century after she lived and taught And it was found that the school is examining this possibility by acting on her ideas.
The Waldensian School was established to provide the education that brings the balanced development of the body, mind, and soul as White said. The aim and vision of the school is to educate students to recognize and experience the purpose of education which is redemption through the restoration of God's image and to be missionary minded and to shine light in the dark world.
In following White's ideas as closely as possible, the Waldensian School is located in the peaceful countryside and maintains a small school. For the harmonious development of the whole person, it also runs a regular work program and not only basic knowledge for the middle and high school days, but also a realistic study program that helps students prepare for the exams, such as the state certificate examination and the college entrance exam, and also motivates the students for religious matters through not only Bible classes but also life itself and actual experiences and activities.
As a newly established school, the Waldensian School isn't able to offer discernible outcomes or contributions yet, but it has the potential to grow and result in successful contributions to the church, the local community, and the society at large. Firstly, the contributions and achievements of the students who are to graduate in the future will be a powerful and direct witness to the worth and result of the education of the school. And also, the potential of the school itself can be found in the plan to develop the school into an outpost, a place where it would carry out both education and mission work by running a school and a medical institution, which White said is ideal.
All these, however, may not be possible by the school alone. When there are active interactions and connections with similar schools and a supporting policy from the church administration, it could be expected that the idea and ideal of the education pursued at the Waldensian School will be constructively accomplished and achieved.