Even at an early age, students begin to ask the legitimate question, “Why are we learning this?” By the time a student reaches high school, they have likely perfected asking this question.

For the final lesson I teach my eighth grade students at the end of each school year, I want it be something they will remember long after they leave my classroom. In the days leading up to this final lesson, I challenge them to ask the questions that will matter most as they navigate high school and life beyond like "What are wisdom and truth and where do they come from?" and "What am I consuming?" My final charge to them is to practice self-reflection as they progress in life and consider whether they are conforming or transforming. 

Back when I taught in a classroom, I was fond of telling my students, "Whenever you learn something that is true that you did not know before, you become more like God."

If God's mind is omniscient and He knows everything about everything, then learning is the process of having our minds formed to be more like His. Even a person who rejects God unwittingly reflects the imago Dei that an unbeliever retains when he learns something true. How does that work and what does it mean for education?