The dualistic mind, upon which most of us were taught to rely, is simply incapable of the task of creating unity. It automatically divides reality into binary opposites and does almost all its thinking inside of this highly limiting frame. It dares to call this choosing of sides “thinking” because that is all it knows how to do! “Really good” … Read More
Second Thoughts on Curiosity
One thing I am curious about is the heart. I wonder why your heart goes faster when you run. I am so curious about the heart that beats. –Bryannah, 2nd grade I’m curious about how a brain thinks. What does a cerebral cortex do? I want to learn more about people’s brains so I can read people’s minds. —Devon, 2nd … Read More
The Invitation to Learn
In my previous blog, “The Hook: What’s in a Name?” I promised to share some ideas about creating engaging invitations to learn. I’ve worked with many teachers designing deeper learning projects that invite students to do “real work for real people.” One challenge we always encounter is linking the service component of the project to the standards and skills that … Read More
The Hook: What’s in a Name?
The language we use has a real power to influence how we understand our world—and act in it. –Kristin Lin, Editor, The On Being Project My wife Joanna and I just finished facilitating two wonder-full institutes on Deeper Learning in Christian Schools and are planning a third in the Dominican Republic. David Smith has been with us (in spirit–see his … Read More
Is There Such a Thing as Teaching Christianly?
There is power in the naming of things. I imagine that when God gave Adam the task of naming the animals, Adam didn’t just think up sounds for what to call them. He connected with the genius of what God made each creature to be, and out of Adam’s discernment of “Christ in all things,” each name came forth from … Read More
Deeper Learning: From Hewlett Packard to Jesus Christ
Many of us have just returned from the 2nd annual Deeper Learning Conference at Legacy Christian Academy in Frisco, TX. I was one of over 200 people attending from Canada, the Dominican Republic, Australia, as well as the United States. We were especially inspired by a keynote address by Ron Berger from EL Education and a presentation by students from … Read More
You Are What You Teach
“Who you are speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you are saying.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson) “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” (Jesus Christ) I have just returned from spending ten days working with a school outside New Delhi. I had worked with them years ago on how to engage their students … Read More
Storytelling: Deeper Than Learning
The universe is made of stories, not atoms. –Muriel Rukeyser Aha! Sonya was a very mature kindergartner whose mother was concerned that she would be bored in my class because she already knew how to do everything in the curriculum. Mom was especially peeved that I would be spending two days on the letter M, when her daughter already knew … Read More
Developing and Incarnating Community Character Traits
In my last blog, I mentioned the importance of a school developing a list of the traits that describe the character of Jesus, and then practicing them together in every aspect of school life. At a workshop my wife and I facilitated on deeper learning last summer, teachers from The Niagara Association for Christian Education (NACE) came to a more … Read More
Schools That Change Lives
What does this diagram represent? What about this one? If you got the first one, you probably got the second one. I’m not sure where I first saw these diagrams, but they come to mind when I think about the power a school has to affect students’ lives. I have had the privilege over many years in education to … Read More