Ten Ways to Teach Worldview – High School Edition

I wrote earlier that you can teach worldview – you already are. The problem for us mommies is often confusion. We sit down at the kitchen table, look at our lesson plans, knock over the piles of texts and manuals, and get discouraged. Where is the lesson marked worldview? Where is the Learn Your Worldview in 100 Easy Lessons? 

Worldview isn’t a subject. It’s your point of view. Keep sharing it.

So, without further ado, here is a short list to get you started with your teen.

Ten Ways to Teach Worldview: High School Edition

1. Bible. Teach it. Systematically. Before graduation, a teen raised in a Christian home should know his Scripture, know his doctrine, know how to study and interpret the Word, and know how to apply it. My freshman is currently taking a self-directed Old Testament overview course to that end. Next year, he will be studying Bible doctrine.

2. Math. Love it. Seriously. By the time he hits high school, a Christian teen should be able to explain why the principles he has studied work, how creation demonstrates the logic and pattern of the Creator, and why advanced math is an important mental and occupational discipline. My freshman is wrestling through Saxon Algebra 1 and discussing daily life in terms of linear equations, changes of rate, and probability. High school math is hard, but we can help them see the purpose behind the pain.

3. History. Read it. Voraciously. High school is the time to start being serious about history study, giving the teen a firm foundation for future education. This is the time to openly question the text, scrutinize the heroes, discuss the consequences, and examine the viewpoints. My teen is enjoying reading primary resources, history text books, biographies, and historical fiction.

4. Literature. Vary it. Purposefully. Very soon – if not already – the young person will begin choosing the majority if not all his own reading material. This is our chance to instill discernment and taste into his character before marketing and liberal teachers have their say. Read classics and best-sellers, poems and novels, Christian and *gasp* pagan. Discuss the viewpoints, redeeming qualities, and fallacies. 

5. Writing. Critique it. Constantly. National Dynamics Institute got it right in those commercials years ago: people do judge you by the words you use. Our teens should practice and practice speaking and writing informative and persuasive papers. On varying subject matter. In varying styles. Because no matter what vocation they chose, young adults will be expressing in verbal and written form not only their work but also their beliefs.

6. Science. Explore it. Purposefully. Even those of us who are rather laid-back in science instruction for the early years realize that the language of our day is science. Now is the time to study the major disciplines and discuss the ethical and philosophical questions raised.

7. Philosophy. Discuss it. Candidly. Philosophy is man’s rational explanation for the difficult issues of his time, including life, death, truth, and relationships. It is another way of examining how beliefs affect actions. We are reading a couple of general philosophy guides along with our history and literature studies, examining the outworking of major philosophical beliefs.

8. Fine Arts. Enjoy them. Appreciatively. Art appreciation and music appreciation, I would argue, are just as important as literature study. It is through the fine arts of the time that we view the hopes, dreams, fears, and frustrations of a particular people during a particular time. Teens can read art appreciation books and composer biographies, view art prints and listen to classical recordings, tour galleries and attend performances.

9. Work and chores. Do it. Daily.  It is no secret that I am a huge fan of child labor. During the teen years, my enthusiasm increases. Teens learn work ethic, financial skills, compassion, and responsibility by earning their wages, paying for expenses, and giving to others. This is excellent preparation for the adulthood they crave.

10. Friendships. Encourage them. Sympathetically. Teens are, I am learning, incredibly social creatures, even the introverts. They also begin to understand the ramifications of relationships: their values, personality, convictions, and principles are demonstrated in relationships with those outside their family. They are learning how to respond to gossip, flirting, accusation, bullying, and manipulation. This is another motivation to keep an open relationship with our teens, to help them develop not only social skills but wisdom, graciousness, and empathy.

You ARE teaching your teen worldview. Keep it up. Pass it on.

Related articles

• You CAN Teach Worldview (whateverstateiam.com)