Students: The formation of students who display the attributes of the GPCC Graduate Profile.

In our mission Green Point Christian College seek the formation of students who display the attributes of the Graduate Profile. Before we look to unpack the Graduate Profile in coming weeks, I think it is important to first openly reflect on how we view students here at Green Point.

The educationalist Parker Palmer says, “The way we diagnose a students’ condition will determine the kind of remedy we offer.” The image any educator uses to imagine our students has a large impact on how we approach teaching them. For example, if we view them as static vessels, we will seek to “fill” them with knowledge.

Here at Green Point we intentionally speak about forming students. The images that are associated with this idea of formation are numerous and rich. Clay is formed by the craftsman and a vine is formed along the trellis in the vineyard. Both images speak to a creative and collaborative process where students bring something to the practice of learning. Students have agency and an invitation to engage, they are not simply recipients of a process but they also contribute to it.

Our faith also informs how we view our students. We firmly believe that each of us, being made in the image of God (Imago Dei), invited to be His people, and are holy and dearly loved. Our students are also human – just like us; born into this sinful world and are impacted by it just like we are.

In addition to being cherished and beloved children of God, there are three things that we believe are also helpful to remember about our students, and ourselves, as we seek to learn and navigate in this world.

Our students are Human (Imago Dei) – This is the most important thing and is the part that will outlast all others. Our students are human, created in the image of God and respected accordingly. God saw His creation and called it very good. That deep and beautiful pronouncement from God continues from generation to generation and is at the heart of the way we see our students.

Our students are Broken, (unconsciously impacted by the Fall) – just like this world is. We are all unconsciously impacted by the Fall, the world is not as it should be. Sin is pervasive. We see it across all spheres of life. It affects us all. We cannot reach perfection, we make mistakes, we break and use things, we miss the mark all the time. It is not reasonable to expect perfection of our students and each other in a broken world.

Our students are Fallen (consciously sinful) – when we as parents first lay our eyes on our beautiful newborns, we are wired to see their perfection. So often the experience of awe and overwhelming love overtakes us. As these beautiful babies grow, we realise that they are not perfection, indeed they can often be the exact opposite of that! This doesn’t change our overwhelming love, but it is critical to accurately recognise so we can love, guide and discipline them well through their mistakes. The Bible acknowledges that in the agency we have been given by God we are all not simply unconsciously impacted by the Fall (Broken) but we are also consciously sinful (Fallen). We recognise this for our students as well, not because we sit in judgement (we’re all fallen after all) but because accurately recognising this allows us as a community to love, guide and discipline one another well. As Parker Palmer says: “The way we diagnose a students’ condition will determine the kind of remedy we offer.”

Here at GPCC we believe that the ultimate remedy is found in the saving work of Jesus that we read about in the Gospels. The work of Jesus reaches into every part of His creation as he seeks to redeem all things, including our students and their learning back to himself.

Joel van Bentum