What is a "21st Century Curriculum"? (Part 2 of 9)

The current tagline of Christian Heritage Academy is "A 21st Century Curriculum. An Eternal Perspective." This post continues a nine-part series explaining what we mean by the first half of that phrase.

2. Communication on a deeper level. As students increase the amount of digital communication, they will decrease the time and depth of conversations, while also narrowing the subject matter to “what,” “when,” “who” and “where” questions. We must provide them with vocabulary to ask “how” and “why” questions and the interpersonal skills to develop deep, personal relationships. We work hard in these areas already in devotions, prayer time; Bible class; on Eagle River, Washington D.C. and Springfield trips; through the Peace Makers program, and countless other ways. We begin in Preschool when we give students a reason to love each other and treat each other with courtesy and respect: Because God has made each one of them and wants them to treat each other the way He would treat them. This is far superior to the general educational model of behaving properly to avoid punishment (which leads to morally ambivalent adults focused on not being caught) or to gain a reward (which leads to narcissistic adults focused on only doing things for recognition or material gain). Events such as Senior History, Legacy Chapel and Lion’s Pride productions provide outstanding opportunities to experience deeper communication with individuals outside the students’ immediate peer group.