(42.) W is for Wildlife Refuge

(42.) W is for Wildlife Refuge

Many Christians believe that the perfect school is akin to a hothouse, a place where, protected by a bubble and nurtured by an ideal climate, young plants are nursed into a life of fruitfulness and prepared for the inevitable storms of life.

I believe this hothouse image is troublesome for many reasons: 1, the hothouse is an artificial world, removed from reality, with few problems to solve or choices to make; 2, a school graduate, transplanted to the real world, and surrounded by unexpectedly hostile elements, might be so accustomed to a protected environment that s/he couldn’t cope with the difficulties of normal life; 3, the world outside the hothouse might be viewed as something to fear, avoid, or judge, instead of to occupy, love and restore as God’s creation.

In many ways, the hothouse idea is a bad set-up, a standing invitation to become defensive for Jesus. If truth is on our side, what are we afraid of? Especially since “This is my Father’s world,” even the world outside of the hothouse.

Perhaps Christ-centered schools could entertain another model… a wildlife refuge: a sacred place where a student can be freed in the truth, not tamed in a tent or lost in the woods; where students have natural freedom within absolute boundaries, and reasonable safety within realistic exposure. In the refuge context, too, the teacher’s role is less insulated and defensive, and more like a pastor and caretaker, inspiring and instructing, loving and befriending, challenging and nurturing, correcting and guiding. Our young wildlife need a refuge, not a hothouse, in which to grow strong, to explore freely and safely, and to be prepared for life outside of school. Besides, what would you prefer, the fresh, real air of a refuge, or the stale, artificial air of a hothouse?