People sometimes ask me if student behavior today is worse than it was in the past. Given the impacts of technology, the media, and declining parent control–combined with the disappearance of corporal punishment–they kind of presume that kiddos must be a lot harder to manage nowadays. So are students getting worse? That’s a tough question, to be honest. My grandpa … Read More
Keeping the Mileage off Your Discipline Tools
My witty seventh grade teacher used to say, “Come on now, air out those armpits!” No, he wasn’t asking us to vent our stale areas–no junior high classroom needs more funky odors wafting about. What Mr. Vanden Berg wanted was participation, to see more hands in the air; and the statement worked because it was offbeat, unexpected. We all crave … Read More
Love & Logic and My Search for What Works
It was one of those years when spring gets trampled in the clash between winter and summer. Just after we emerged from five months in the deep freeze, May set off a heatblast that nearly scorched us. Still, something in me always demands fresh oxygen when school lets out. So after an hour of listening to the fluorescent lights buzz … Read More
Teaching the “Real” American Revolution
As we celebrate Independence Day and the political incarnation of the idea that is “America,” I think of all the teachers who have the opportunity to invite students into the story of the American Revolution. What guiding question will you use to spark curiosity and stimulate deeper investigation into this remarkable event? In a letter to H. Niles in 1818, … Read More
No More Crappy Homework
In his blog, “No More Crappy Homework,” David Mulder poses a question to his readers wondering if homework is worthwhile. He concludes: In some cases, yes. But in other cases…I would say it’s probably crappy homework, the kind I assigned to my middle school students 15 years ago. I am embarrassed of the quality of homework I used to assign, … Read More
Do Sweat the Small Stuff
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men… (Colossians 3:23) Thank God for singing cosmic rhythms into the steady beat of time! He fills our waiting hearts with hope-inspired imagination of how things might be different each new day, week, year. In schools we are invited into this hope as … Read More
For the Love of…
For the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Timothy 6:10) “If you want to build a ship, don’t herd people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work but rather, teach them to … Read More
Deeper Learning in Christian Schools
The phrase “Deeper Learning” was coined by the Hewlett Packard Foundation in 2010 to define what they saw as skills necessary for the “jobs of tomorrow.” They defined a set of competencies students would need to compete globally and to become engaged citizens at home in the 21st century. The impulse to create these competencies came from the realization that … Read More
God Is a Creator, Not a Manufacturer
By the time this blog is published, it’s probably too late. Students with new sneakers, shiny lunchboxes and sharpened pencils have bounced across sparkling hallways (thank you custodians, everywhere!) to your classroom door. They were greeted by posters that say “Welcome,” or “It’s a Great Day for Learning,” or maybe your favorite Bible verse. There might be an apple tree … Read More
Kingdom Assessment
Joanna (my wife and principal of New Covenant School in Arlington, MA) and I had the privilege of facilitating two institutes this summer on Deeper Learning in Christian Schools. The first was a week with 30 teachers and school leaders at a beautiful retreat center in North Andover, MA. The second was a three-day institute with teachers and administrators from … Read More