Learning is critical to faith development

I recently had the privilege of catching up with the Deputy Dean of Melbourne Graduate School of Education, Professor Larissa Maclean Davies, during a Principal’s forum at the University of Melbourne. A lovely twist is that ‘Mrs Davies’ was also my Year 9 English teacher. PVCC has produced some remarkable thinkers over the years.

We reminisced about our mutual experience of that time, including studying the lyrics of Midnight Oil songs, exploring The Outsiders, and even performing a class reading of Fawlty Towers scripts (the Lord knows how she had a copy of these in a pre-internet era).

Decades later, I reflect on how I was taught that a strong sense of social justice is one element of living a Christian life. I was never told what to think about politics, but I was shown that Christians are people who deeply care about making a difference in the world, especially for the disadvantaged.

Mrs (now Prof.) Davies was not alone in this ‘way’ of teaching. Other distinctive memories include a music teacher who was concerned that The Beatles were ‘satanic’; a Maths teacher who ran an Amnesty International group at lunch; a Biology teacher patiently explained how evolution was not anti-God; and an English teacher who shared how her faith in Christ strengthened her in overcoming a significant family tragedy. I didn’t have to agree with their beliefs or even respond to them, but I witnessed an authentic, open, and inclusive Christianity.

The most important thing I learned about Christian community as a teenager is that it isn’t important to have exactly ‘the right’ beliefs to be part of the community. Plenty Valley teachers modelled to me that what bound them together, Christ-centred living, was more important than peripheral matters of doctrine or variations of Christian expression. I learned that love is greater than fear and division. They modelled what it meant to be a continual learner, and to grow our faith. As the Apostle Paul says, we are to “work out our faith in fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12).

Consider how many scripture characters were humbled from a position of ‘rightness’ to a position of learning: Adam and Eve, Abraham, Jacob/Israel, David, Solomon, Jonah, the woman at the well, Mary and Martha, Peter… Are there any significant un-humbled Bible figures?

It seems that just when we think we have ‘all the answers’, the Creator of Existence taps us on the shoulder and reminds us that we are not and never will be ‘absolute knowers’. Even when we think we’ve got it right, we need to leave space for the reality that God is the only being who knows exactly where the bullseye is.

It’s our intention to model this to PVCC students today. We seek to be ‘open to learning’ in every aspect of our school to truly be a ‘learning community’. PVCC students are taught how to wrestle with their faith, not memorise doctrinal positions. We interrogate what Christians believe, in the safe space created by an expert teacher, rather than insist that students memorise and rehearse specific viewpoints.

We are committed to Christian education and Christian living in all aspects of our school. Christ was such a great provoker of thought, such a master and modeller of disruptive thinking, that he literally carved history in two.

We want our students to be life-long learners in all aspects of our lives, including their faith. Because of this posture, we look forward to seeing them doing great things for God’s kingdom.

Daniel Symons

Assistant Principal

Camp Australia

Term 4 & beyond!