“This article originally appeared in the August 10, 2015 issue of Christian Courier, an independent Christian bi-weekly newspaper (christiancourier.ca).” Does hiring Christian teachers and administrators automatically yield a Christian education? Well-meaning and sincere Christians have taken very different approaches to Christian education and scholarship. What follows are six examples. The first approach is to proceed as if there is not … Read More
The Intersection of Lament and Hope
One of the great things about working in education is experiencing first hand the excitement of a new school year. Yes, I know not everyone is enthusiastic about summer’s end, but generally speaking, the buzz of a new year and a fresh start is invigorating. For some however, many events of this past summer cast a dim shadow on the … Read More
Finish Your Final Assessment Now: A Professional Thank You to Grant Wiggins
As an educator, I love the summers not only for the vacation time and opportunity to go to baseball games, but more so for the opportunity to reflect on the past year and prepare for the upcoming year. There are not many professions that afford such opportunities for significant reflection, revision, and development, but too often we find ourselves in … Read More
What is the Purpose of Education?
As you enjoy reading this summer, I would like to recommend the book, Desiring the Kingdom by James K.A. Smith (2009), Baker Publishing: Grand Rapids, MI. I would venture a guess that every philosophy of education class, at one point during the semester, asks the question, “What is the purpose of education?” The answer to this question will reveal a … Read More
Teaching Towards Shalom
As you enjoy reading this summer, I’d like to recommend a relatively recently published book, Teaching to Justice, Citizenship, and Virtue: The Character of a High School Through the Eyes of Faith by veteran Christian educators, Julia and Gloria Stronks, a mother-daughter team. The authors use a fictional cast of characters at Midland Christian High School to explore what shalom … Read More
Three Steps for Recruiting Talent
In my prior blog, “School Buses, Lord of the Flies, and The Right People”, I received comments and questions about my own experience riding school buses, how to develop exciting non-bus orientated analogies, and what dispositions I look for in candidates; however, the most significant interest and conversation revolved around the following comment: Recruit Talent: No offense to those that … Read More
Marketing Research, Part 3 : Message Testing
Do you know what’s important to your current and potential school families? It’s different from what you may call key distinctives or core values (why we do what we do and the words that best describe our deliverable). Key distinctives and core values may be important ways of talking and thinking about your school, but they aren’t necessarily important to … Read More
Do you have “PEP” as a School Leader?
As I have thought recently about effective leadership at the principal, superintendent, and head of school level in Christian schools, it occurs to me that there are at least three areas of focus that are critical to do the job effectively. I have identified these areas with the acronym PEP – Priorities, Entrepreneurialism, and People Centeredness. Priorities: The leader of … Read More
School Buses, Lord of the Flies, and “The Right People”
In his blog from April “The Right People in the Right Seats” Tim Van Soelen encourages Christian schools to attract talent into their school through the lens of Collins’ research on Good to Great businesses. This sparked a question from a number of friends who were in the midst of hiring for next school year, which was: How do we … Read More
Christian Schools Are Good News for Society at Large
**Richard Edlin, in his book, “The Cause of Christian Education” explores the reasons for and the distinctives of Christian education at the school and higher education levels. Edlin highlights foundational belief perspectives and shows how these apply in curriculum and related areas such as vision and mission, the place of the Bible, evaluation and assessment, the teacher as mentor, and … Read More