Integration of faith and learning
This unit is about the tiniest living organisms (viruses are not living organisms according the scientist-created classification system of living things, but for the sake of this unit, while noting that viruses are not considered living, they can be placed in the same general category) God created. These tiny living things are absolutely everywhere, even on and inside our bodies! We have about 10 times as many bacteria in and on our bodies as we have our own cells. Bacteria and viruses come in innumerous varieties, and since they are so small and reproduce so fast, there are new ones all the time. I find this to be amazing. A sense of awe at God’s creation is something that can be worked into every aspect of science, and the study of bacteria and viruses is by no means an exception. In this unit, I can take my view of every living thing, even the under-appreciated little bacteria, being an awe-inspiring part of God’s creation, and use that to encourage students to experience a sense of awe and wonder. Grand Rapids Christian High School being a Christian school, I can explicitly say that each of the billions upon trillions of bacteria was created by God, and explicitly tell the students that I find these under-appreciated organisms to be amazing parts of God’s creation, and a sign of his wonderful creativity in designing a symbiotic relationship between many bacteria and viruses. Excitement can be contagious, and integrating a sense of awe at God’s creation into my lessons can be contagious as well.
There is also a social justice component built into this unit. Students get to think through the big question of the unit: Are we too clean? A lot of times, people don’t realize that killing too many bacteria can be a bad thing. When we take antibiotics, or use cleaning products, they take out the good bacteria with the bad, which can be harmful, and also those things encourage the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which can also be quite harmful. I think that it is important to educate students about the importance as well as the dangers of being clean. It connects to being good stewards of God’s creation—by preserving biodiversity in our microbial little friends—as well as loving our neighbors—if students develop their own view about the use of antibiotics and antibacterial products, and really take ownership of that view, they are more likely to contribute to educating others.
To conclude, I would just like to say that this unit was created with the idea that God created in mind. He created each individual in the classroom, and so each student should be able to express creativity and opinions. Designing an experiment and forming an argument play into this. He created everything, living and nonliving, which causes me to want to instill a sense of awe and wonder into these students as they explore these intricate little creations. "Christians believe that the world around us is God's creation, whether or not people call it that. The world has a natural order that fills us with wonder and amazement because it is, to use a phrase of C.S. Lewis, like us, one of God's creatures" (Stronks & Stronks, 1999, p. 43).
There is also a social justice component built into this unit. Students get to think through the big question of the unit: Are we too clean? A lot of times, people don’t realize that killing too many bacteria can be a bad thing. When we take antibiotics, or use cleaning products, they take out the good bacteria with the bad, which can be harmful, and also those things encourage the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which can also be quite harmful. I think that it is important to educate students about the importance as well as the dangers of being clean. It connects to being good stewards of God’s creation—by preserving biodiversity in our microbial little friends—as well as loving our neighbors—if students develop their own view about the use of antibiotics and antibacterial products, and really take ownership of that view, they are more likely to contribute to educating others.
To conclude, I would just like to say that this unit was created with the idea that God created in mind. He created each individual in the classroom, and so each student should be able to express creativity and opinions. Designing an experiment and forming an argument play into this. He created everything, living and nonliving, which causes me to want to instill a sense of awe and wonder into these students as they explore these intricate little creations. "Christians believe that the world around us is God's creation, whether or not people call it that. The world has a natural order that fills us with wonder and amazement because it is, to use a phrase of C.S. Lewis, like us, one of God's creatures" (Stronks & Stronks, 1999, p. 43).