Love & Logic and My Search for What Works

Alan BandstraThe Teachers' LoungeLeave a Comment

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

Steven LevyThe Teachers' LoungeLeave a Comment

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

Dave MulderThe Teachers' Lounge

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

Steven LevyThe Teachers' Lounge

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…

Steven LevyThe Teachers' Lounge

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

Steven LevyThe Teachers' Lounge1 Comment

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

Steven LevyThe Teachers' LoungeLeave a Comment

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

Steven LevyThe Teachers' LoungeLeave a Comment

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

Peculiar in the Storm

Alan BandstraThe Teachers' Lounge4 Comments

You may have heard the big news from CACE this summer: we are partnering with the Prairie Centre for Christian Education on the Teaching for Transformation (TfT) Project! One of the primary goals of TfT is that Christian schools engage in the formation of a peculiar people, an idea taken from Dr. James K. Smith’s book Desiring the Kingdom. He … Read More

Celebrate Learning!

Steven LevyThe Teachers' LoungeLeave a Comment

In the 1960’s World of Inquiry School #58 opened as a progressive, inquiry-based school in the Rochester City School District, and for years parents lined up to put their children’s names on the waiting list. Yet over time the school began to lose its original identity. Parent involvement dwindled, discipline problems increased, student performance declined, and school culture suffered. In … Read More