Quite a long time ago, I read the novel, Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It was not my usual type of book or author. This book was about a man called Tom Builder, set in the 1100's in England. Tom was a visionary craftsmen, a stone mason.
The story revolves around building something monumental—a cathedral, a structure that stands for generations, inspiring awe and serving as a sanctuary for all who enter.
As I have been reading it again, I can’t help but see the connections between Tom Builder, the stone mason and master craftsmen, to us as teachers, as designers and craftsmen of learning.
Our role as teachers is no less significant. Teachers are the architect, mason, and artisan of our students’ learning journeys, designing and constructing something just as profound: the foundation of their futures.
In the book, the cathedral isn’t built overnight. It requires vision, meticulous planning, and tireless effort over decades. Similarly, teaching isn’t about quick fixes or instant results. It’s about the long-term process of designing learning experiences that allow students to grow, layer by layer, year by year.
Each student, like a stone in the cathedral, is unique. Some are smooth and fit easily into place, while others require careful shaping to reveal their potential. As the builder of learning, you adjust your tools and techniques, ensuring every stone contributes to the strength and beauty of the whole structure. And how true is this when we consider Christ’s church. Each student, each teacher has a role to play, contributing to the body of Christ.
Just as Tom Builder and his team faced challenges—weathering storms, grappling with setbacks, and enduring doubt—teachers, students and parents also navigate obstacles. A student might struggle with self-belief, or an unexpected turn might challenge our carefully laid plans. Yet, like the characters in the novel, we persevere because we know that the work we’re doing matters deeply. We rest in the assurance that we are contributing to a grander narrative, a long lasting legacy that in our context, as Christians, resonates into eternity.
Moreover, the cathedral isn’t just about bricks and mortar. It’s infused with purpose, spirit, and artistry. Our teaching is the same. It’s not just about delivering content; it’s about inspiring creativity, fostering curiosity, and helping students see the beauty in learning. It is about students and teachers ascribing to those underlying beliefs and principles about our learning framework; that learning is learnable, that the mind is supple and that there are certain behaviours we can emulate and dispositions we can adopt in order to become more powerful as learners.
And when the cathedral stands complete, it serves as a testament to the collective effort and vision of those who built it. Similarly, when our students achieve their potential, it’s a reflection of the care, dedication, and expertise poured into their growth. It is the small day to day decisions teachers make in the classroom, the stance that they adopt when they talk about learning with their students, the way they design an assessment, the feedback and conversations they have with students about their learning, about who they are as people, about their capacities and purposes. All these things help to contribute to the detailed, intricate, perfectly formed stones that make up a strong cathedral, a strong learning environment.
I love learning about the critical importance of the different shaped stones in cathedral building. They all look different and each hold different tensions. Each are gently shaped differently, in order to serve their purpose. Some are made of certain materials that are stronger, or softer, but each are chosen to complement the greater design and achieve a purpose. We must think of our students in the same way. Some can tolerate greater pressure, some are stronger because of the support of others around them, some are needing to be sharpened and shaped drastically in order to fulfil their purpose. No matter the stone, no matter the student, all have a place, all need our attention and all contribute to the beauty and strength of who we are as a learning community that exists for the Glory of God.
A cathedral is like a building made of playing cards, each section leaning on others in some sort of equilibrium. This is a helpful illustration, because it is a reminder, that this cathedral holds up because of pressure being applied. Without the tension and pressure, it would collapse. Similarly, our students (and us as teachers) need to feel pressure and understand how we are all working together in equilibrium too. As time passed, you can see the architecture of these cathedrals change as they learnt new ways to design and build for longevity. The shape of the arches, the type of buttresses, all these changed over time to better strengthen the cathedral, all based on the knowledge and wisdom of the craftsmen who went before them. That is why shifts and changes in education don’t frighten me. If we see that we are building on the good knowledge and excellent work of those that have gone before us, is it not out responsibility to keep refining and improving what we do as we gain more information, tools, knowledges and resources? We don’t let go of the fundamentals or of the good foundations.
To carry the analogy even further, and to my hark back to my Geography uni days, it is important to even understand the types of rocks used in cathedral building. Just like it was critical for the masons to understand the properties and capacities of the stones they were working with, we need to know the capacities and intricacies of the students we are working with. Limestone was very commonly used to build many parts of a cathedral. It is a common sedimentary rock and because it is laid down as sediment, limestone has a generally horizontal grain. When the quarried and shaped stone is laid in a building with its grain parallel to the ground, it is very strong in compression. When the grain is posed (arranged) to be vertical, it is much weaker and liable to shatter.
The hardest limestone was used for the structure of the building: towers, buttressing, outer walls and pillars that will hold up the roof. Dense but fine-grained limestone that can be carved in great detail was used for the many statues. Softer and more porous limestone, and therefore light but strong, was used for the wide expanses of vaulting. The stone mason’s skill came from knowing the material they were working with, knowing its potential and the pressures it could withstand, and using it appropriately to create something strong, resilient and beautiful. So too do we need to know our students potential, know how they can best use their skills and how we can work with them to strengthen them.
Like the grand structures in The Pillars of the Earth, the learning we design is not just for today; it’s for the future. It’s a legacy of strength, resilience, and purpose that will endure, shaping lives and communities for years to come.
How thankful we are that we have God as our Master craftsman and Architect of our lives.
In the grand narrative of Scripture, God is repeatedly revealed as the ultimate Creator, Craftsman, and Architect. From the formation of the universe to the intricate design of human beings, His work is purposeful, detailed, and beautiful. As we reflect on this truth, we are reminded that our lives are not a series of random events. Instead, we are being lovingly shaped by the hands of the Master Builder. As we are reminded in Ephesians 2:10
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Just as an architect designs a building with intention and vision, God has a plan for each of our lives. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that His plans are to prosper us, not to harm us, to give us hope and a future. Every twist and turn in our journey is part of His divine blueprint, drawn with infinite wisdom and love. Even when we cannot see the full picture, we can trust that His design is good and for His glory.
Mrs Natalie Bluhdorn
Academic Head
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