Completing the third way

It was 1978 in Chicago. Prof. Nicholas Wolterstorff of Calvin College gave the keynote speech at the 60th anniversary celebration of the National Union of Christian Schools (NUCS). We Canadians were impressed with those Americans reaching 60 years of united action, since the Ontario Alliance of Christian Schools (OACS) was barely 25 years old. “Our” schools in Canada were not even 20 years old. Some of the Chicagoland Christian schools were begun in the 1890s. That was back in Abraham Kuyper’s prime time!

One particular paragraph in that speech (entitled “Christ is Lord”) stood out for me: “The real issue confronting us is not whether we have the dedication to begin a Christian school movement. The question facing us is whether the movement we’ve inherited will be passed on in a better, stronger, more vigorous shape than it was received.” This challenge was discussed at the OACS Board in 1979 and was behind the official goals adopted in 1982.

The immigrants

The young, enthusiastic Canadian delegates were keen to expand upon this challenge. One of the few seminars given there by a Canadian, Kathryn Postumus, the OACS Board Secretary, was titled: What Americans need to Know about Canadians. It was daring for a bunch of immigrants fresh off the boat. Most Americans were not amused. Yet the cross-border cooperation between NUCS and the OACS continued in spite of tensions over Creationism in the Science Curriculum.

The Christian schools begun in the 1950s in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia were the result of both faith and moxy. Calvinism combined with the Dutch ‘can do’ spirit produced a daring array of churches, schools and Christian organizations across Canada. The majority were in Ontario. By 1970 it looked like they would indeed be building the Kingdom of God, one school at a time. God was smiling.

The fact that we were recent immigrants with little but enthusiasm and vision did not bother any of us. Both my wife Mary and I came to Canada after attending Christian schools in Holland. After attending teacher’s college and universities in Ontario, we were both teaching at these new Christian elementary and secondary schools in the 1970s. Our colleagues had widely varied backgrounds in different provinces, schools and colleges, but we were all reformed and we were poor together. Buying a new car was a futuristic luxury. Sacrifice was a noble ideal. Debate was a time-honored reformed ritual as we worked to implement the Kingdom vision.

Heated differences

The early 1970s were a very exciting period in the development of the Christian schools in Canada. The growth of the Association of Reformed Scientific Studies (ARSS) had created a demand for real Christian theories about education, as opposed to synthetic theories. The counterculture revolution of the 1960s had created a desire for cultural and political involvement among many reformed young people, although some radicals attacked Reformed customs and morals. At some conferences, reformed theology was challenged as non-Christian. Legalism was denounced as a tool of the devil. Literalism was for dummies. Personal authenticity was the alternative to rational principles.

At the same time, the Hall Dennis Report (1967) marked the end of the Judeo-Christian moral consensus in Ontario public education. The 1970s were marked by pitched battles between the traditional and progressive camps in all school systems across Canada. New organizations like the traditional Canadian Christian Education Foundation and the progressive Centre for Curriculum Development formed in Ontario to reinforce the different factions within the Dutch Reformed tradition. The sharpened philosophic and political differences led to many heated meetings of teachers and principals. Some schools became super progressive and sank. Others became reactionary and stagnated. The majority, under the leadership of the OACS, remained generously orthodox and grew.

Provincial funding wars

When I became Executive Director of the OACS in 1979, the Board gave me a clear mandate to reduce the heat around educational philosophy and to buy a new car. My first speech to the membership was based on Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” I had to fix other aggravations, like the re-assessments of parents by Revenue Canada. This tax problem had cost families a lot of money. Further, we needed a distinctively reformed curriculum for all the schools in Ontario. Many people were still upset about the financial discrimination suffered by faith-based schools. Our schools in British Columbia obtained government funding in 1977. Alberta had done it in 1967. Ontario was the tough hold-out.

Over the course of the 1980s and the 1990s as the schools grew, the provincial organizations in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia also grew. The professional quality of the schools was now on par with the other school systems. The salaries, pensions and insurances were still in need of improvement, as were the human resource policies, but they were credible. The curriculum was Reformed, creative and relevant. OACS students performed well above average on the provincial tests of the Education Quality and Accountability Office of Ontario. Even the school buildings were now meeting municipal codes.

The OACS changed its focus as it began the 1990s. The OACS membership approved major expansions of the curriculum writing programs, and authorized legal action (court cases) in order to achieve fair funding for all Christian schools. While the court challenges were not all successful, they did clear up legal questions. They certainly got “the Kingdom cause” political attention in Toronto and Ottawa.

It was during this decade that the OACS began to stress its identity as a third alternative to the Catholic separate and the secular public school systems. We were faith based and public, not private, elitist and exclusive. We wanted Christian schools to be accessible to middle class families from all Christian denominations. Communicating that unique focus was often difficult.

We haven’t finished

The political and legal campaigns of the 1990s were the most exciting forays into social justice activism. These are recorded in detail in my book, Creating a Third Way: the Ontario Alliance of Christian Schools. A History from 1952-2018. Alas, during the 1990s there were also more church schisms which impacted some of the Christian schools. At that time the issues in the North American culture wars were feminism, creationism, homophobia and New Age relativism. The OACS network survived and was able to help schools avoid civil war in most places.

The lessons deduced from those events are summarized in my book. In retrospect, one thing surprised me about the conflicts in the 70s and the 90s. How could a community that prided itself on understanding how false worldviews can undermine true worship, be confused about how to handle un-Christian lifestyles? Second, it is remarkable how similar the gestalt of the ideological conflicts was over the decades.

Dr. Wolterstorff finished that 1978 speech by defining a successful school as one which embodies “the vision of imaging God by pursuing culture for love’s sake.” That challenge is still inspirational.

The current public school systems provide an opportunity to re-establish Christian Education as a kingdom signpost in Canada. The Reformed heritage deserves to be remembered, improved and completed in Canada. After reflecting on the building of The Third Way in Canadian education over the past 70 years, here is my take-away: there are several different but truthful signposts along the road to God’s Kingdom. Follow them.