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San Jose Christian
School Faculty
Karen Wynbeek
Professional
Biography
I graduated from
Calvin College in 1965 with a major in Biology and minors
in Chemistry and Education. My first teaching job was
at Eastern Christian High School in New Jersey. I taught
Biology and Chemistry for seven years. As a result of
Sputnik, National Science Foundation provided generous
stipends for science teachers to take additional courses
on Saturdays and during the summers. I took advantage
of that program, and in 1973 I received a Master’s
Degree in Environmental Education from Montclair State
University. Later that same year, I moved to California
and worked in the Cardiovascular Lab at NASA for two years.
I was a stay-at-home mom until my two children were in
3rd and 4th grades, at which time I returned to teaching—this
time to teach middle school Math and Science at San Jose
Christian School.
Personal Biography
I was born in northwest Iowa, where
my dad was the principal of Western Christian High School.
When I was 10, my parents, my three sisters and I moved
to Grand Rapids, Michigan where my dad became Executive
Director of Christian Schools International. My sisters
and I attended Christian school from 1st grade through
college. I met my future husband one month after I began
teaching in New Jersey. We moved to California when he
took a job at Hewlett/Packard. Our son and daughter both
graduated from San Jose Christian School, Saint Francis
High School, and Calvin College. For vacations we love
to travel—by camper in the western USA (never missing
a national park), by bicycle in Europe, and on safari
in Africa and South America. We are members of Palo Alto
Christian Reformed Church.
Christian Philosophy of Education
I have always enjoyed the natural world,
beginning with trips to visit my grandparents in Montana.
This led me to focus my studies on the natural sciences
in school. I have also been serious about the study of
Scripture. I have come to realize that God speaks to humankind
through his creation as well as through the Bible. God’s
message in both is truthful, but human interpretations
can be faulty. This leads to an apparent disagreement
between the Bible and Science. I want my students to be
convinced that the sovereign God speaks with one voice,
and it is our job to discern God’s truthful message.
We can do this with the help of theologians, scientists
and other wise people.
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