These are excerpts from presentations given at the CESA Counselor Forum in Burbank, CA that was sponsored by CACE. Often times school counseling can be an exercise in contradiction. The very nature of counseling is that it is collaborative, encouraging, strategic and social. And yet counselors can find themselves isolated in some kind of in between place, juxtaposed between faculty … Read More
Praying for the Fullness of Time
But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law. (Galatians 4:4-5) One of the great illusions of our time is that we control time. We surround ourselves with clocks and calendars and second-measuring apps, but they mislead us into … Read More
Support and Experiences: The College Advantage
As a college counselor at a highly regarded academic institution, my students are consistently seeking for the best in collegiate education. However, the cultural pressure to attend a highly selective university often outweighs the benefits students may gain from other less notable possibilities. Frank Bruni has written recently in an Op-Ed about what is happening near me in Palo Alto … Read More
The Right People in the Right Seats
Jim Collins, in his book “Good to Great”, created several phrases that have become part of our institutional vocabulary. Expressions such as “The Hedgehog Concept”, “Turning the Flywheel”, and “Level 5 Leadership” have been used (and probably overused) in the last ten years. My personal favorite for schools, however, is “Getting the Right People on the Bus.” I like this … Read More
Marketing Research, Part 1: Price
This is the first in a 5 part series on the types of marketing research that prove to be most effective for Christian schools and how to think strategically about research. This blog series will explore the following elements of marketing research: Pricing Satisfaction Message testing Brand Positioning Brand Awareness & Perception Let’s start with pricing research – maybe the … Read More
Connecting Christian Education, CSI History, and Deeper Learning
(In the last two posts I wrote about a student engaged movement that is growing among Christian schools and how this type of education is gaining popularity; it seems to be more congruent with Biblical views of students as image-bearers. In the last post I mentioned several organizations that are offering professional development opportunities in this area of emphasis. I … Read More
Effective Christian Leadership: Seeing the Big Picture from God’s Point of View
I enjoy puzzles. I enjoy all kinds of puzzles—word puzzles, number puzzles, brain games, etc.—but in this instance I am specifically referring to jigsaw puzzles, the ones that are pictures cut into hundreds of little pieces that need to be assembled. And I have a preferred method of assembly: first turn all of the pieces face-up, setting aside those that … Read More