Raquel Werk - Biblical Classical Community

Meet Raquel Werk, one of the teachers at Biblical Classical Community. Her love for God shines through in each of her courses and her enthusiastic teaching style engages her students. Get to know her as she shares how God directed her path to becoming a Biblical Classical teacher.

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Aloha friends and homeschool colleagues!! I’m so happy to be a part of the Biblical Classical Community. I live in Maui, Hawaii and am happily married to my college sweetheart. We have two God-fearing, adult children, one Bible-loving son-in-law, and one beautiful grandchild.

Raquel’s Personal Testimony

Growing up in a Christian home, I was surrounded by Scripture, rich conversations, and a desire to serve. I got saved at age eight and started reading God’s word every day at age 14. God showed me He was a part of every area of my life and I began to grow closer to Him following Him in more and more areas of my life. In high school, God showed me He was a part of every subject and that He created me to be a teacher. It has been my passion ever since. I’ve spent the last 22 years teaching in my homeschool, private schools, public schools, and now my own hybrid homeschool program.

The Discovery of the Principle Approach®

I was introduced to the Principle Approach®(1) in 1993 through a one-year intensive teacher training program in Tyler, Texas taught by a man named Jim Kilkenny. As I studied America’s Christian history, Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, and the writings of Verna Hall and Rosalie Slater, I learned that education is not neutral. Every subject is rooted in the Word of God. All my public school training went out the door. I gained a revolutionary love for learning, an excitement for my future career as a teacher, and a passion for preserving America’s liberty, self-government, and independent spirit. God also led me to get my masters in education at Regent University where I was trained in Christian curriculum design under the tutelage of Elizabeth Youmans, PhD, author of The Noah Plan History and Geography Curriculum Guide: The Principle Approach® and founder of the AMO Program®.

Raquel’s Philosophy Today

I believe education is discipleship. Every child is made in the image of God and can reach his or her full potential if given a solid foundation in a biblical worldview. Even from a young age, children can reason from truth and learn to govern themselves in playing, learning, and serving others. I also believe school subjects are a great way to develop skills to think clearly, make good decisions, and pave a way toward a prosperous future. The best part of all this is that the Bible is at the center of it all. The Bible is the guide, model, and source for all things. Colossians 2:3 says that in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I am confident that an education in biblical principles is the path to train children to reason from God’s truth in every area of life.

What Raquel Loves to Teach And Why

There are a lot of subjects I have fallen in love with. I love teaching math. Math relates to our personal lives in such a profound way by teaching us to think logically and creatively. Just like we apply the right rule to go with the right problem in math, we are training our minds to apply the right reasoning to go with the right problem in our life. I also love teaching language arts. It’s such a science and similar to learning to play the piano. Certain moves lead to certain melodies that produce a beautiful cacophony of sounds. Language can be just as beautiful if done in the technical and creative way it was supposed to be done. Most people have no idea how technical it is and I love teaching parents simple ways to do it and why it’s important to start young. Furthermore, I love teaching history. I had no idea that what I was learning in public school was so disconnected and not meaningful. It didn’t matter that I have fond memories of dressing up in a homemade Indian costume or learning to sing “Oh Susanna” in second grade. Now, I love uncovering the hidden truths of America’s Christian history and finding meaningful ways to make memories for students that have meaning and purpose. It just makes so much sense when I compare it to what I know about the Bible and I want everyone to know the truth.

That’s just a few of my favorite things to teach. My goal is to help parents and children understand how the biblical principles in every subject are worth the effort of learning. A child who learns biblical principles in every subject is a child who learns to think biblically in every area of life. A parent who learns how to teach and model biblical principles in every area of life is a parent who cultivates a love for learning in their children.

Thanks for reading!!! I look forward to serving you toward this end on the Biblical Classical Community and on my website The Principled Teacher.