American education is experiencing a seismic shift. Since the pandemic, parents have been opting out of public schools by the millions and choosing alternatives like homeschooling, private schools, or hybrid models. Last year, the federal government’s Nation’s Report Card found that math and reading scores in the U.S. are at their lowest levels in decades. Entire school districts nationwide are described as “failing” and “drop-out factories,” and at some elite colleges, professors are reporting students unable to even read a book.

Teachers are also struggling, especially with student behavior. A recent survey conducted by the American Psychological Association, which included nearly 15,000 pre-K-12 teachers, administrators, school staff, and counselors, found that,

. . .33% of teachers reported at least one incident of verbal harassment or violence, while 18% of school psychologists, 15% of school administrators, and 22% of other school staff reported at least one violent incident by a student.

A central aspect of the Christian notion that humans are made in God’s image is how God structured human relationships. This makes sense because of who God has revealed Himself to be: an eternal relationship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In His image and therefore like Him, we do not merely do relationships; we are relational creatures. The Bible then describes how these relationships with God, with ourselves, with others, and with the rest of creation are broken by sin, and how they might be restored. Thus, a core problem to be addressed, in education or anything else human-related, is that our relationships, broken by the Fall, are in need of restoration.

This vision of humanity is far more accurate than others. In a naturalistic worldview, human beings are highly functioning animals. Thus, conflict resolution is more a matter of pragmatism, as if student behavior can be corrected through broad disciplinary policies in which no one is really “guilty.” Pragmatic approaches like these might work in the short term, especially given the propensity in the system to medicate toward acceptable behavior, but they do not address who human beings are at their core.

Broken relationships are a root cause of most of the behavior problems teachers face. Christian educators have a better framework to address underlying broken relationships, one which offers the reconciliation and restoration needed for lasting change. A central reason that reimagined secular modules are not delivering results is that they are based on a flawed understanding of the human person. As T.S. Eliot observed, every answer to the question, “What is education?” is based on the answer to a prior question, “What is man?”

Especially given the mass exodus of teachers from schools, Christians in education have an incredible opportunity to not only supply knowledge but to also form character and secure essential relationships for the next generation.

To support Christians in the high calling of education, the Colson Center has partnered with the Associate of Christian Schools International to offer the annual Rooted Educator’s summit in Dallas, TX. Rooted is focused on equipping and formation of teachers with the resources they need to cultivate classroom culture, answer tough questions, counter secular ideology, and adopt best practices around a clear and consistent application of the Christian worldview.

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