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.