Literacy and Lenses: Can the New Michigan Merit Curriculum Support the Mission of Covenant Christian High School‘s English Department?

The need for curriculum restructuring as a solution for addressing the changing needs in Michigan‘s public schools has led to the creation and implementation of a new Michigan Merit Curriculum (MMC) based on the latest educational research into the needs of 21st century students. Covenant Christian High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is a private, parental school that is evaluating and revising its curriculum in anticipation of adding the ninth grade to the school next year. The question has been raised in the English department whether the MMC could be used to support the Reformed, biblical mission of the school, which exists because this is the parents‘ desire for their children‘s education. Research into the philosophical assumptions that provide both the underpinnings of the MMC and those of the private parental high school showed a serious conflict between the two worldviews and their implications for educational practice