In this second segment of his two-part essay, Matthew Beimers ponders whether the wider community would better know Christians by their love if greater diversity were fostered in Christian schools. Growing up in a tradition where children were baptized as infants, I never fully grasped the beauty and importance of the congregation speaking their covenantal, …
In part one of this two-part essay appearing on CACE this week, school principal Matthew Beimers makes the case that opening doors to strangers might make Christian education even more Christian, not less. “The primary goal of Christian education is the formation of a peculiar people, a people who desire the kingdom of God and …
I remember the phone call I made to my dissertation chair like it was yesterday. I hadn’t rehearsed it. In fact, I didn’t really think too long about the implications. After 2 years of research and study on the topic of Independent School leadership, this decision meant I would make a hard turn, about-face, and …
What is Innovation? When you think of the word “innovation,” what images or ideas come to mind? This is not a rhetorical question! Invoking the word “innovation” in education is a bit like challenging someone to a Rorschach test. When you look at the ink blot formed by the letters of that word, what do …
“MeTEOR stands for Methods, Tools, and Environments plus Relationships. It’s a true representation of our mission and vision to transform the learning experience.” – Bill Latham Introduction: Those who are familiar with my blogs and podcasts know that I am interested in the innovations that are happening throughout education, and I’ve had the opportunity to …
I recently had a conversation with Dave and Doug Sikkema, twin brothers, who are not only fun to talk with, but both of which have an abiding love for learning. I was intrigued at the combination of classical learning and digital innovation in their writing, work, and lives. Dave quotes, Hicks in his article “Playful …
As defined by the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASDC) School climate refers to the school’s effects on students, including teaching practices; diversity; and the relationships among administrators, teachers, parents, and students. My personal definition of school climate is the temperature of the school, “controlled” (think thermostat) by the structures that are in place, the …
Review of Prior Blogs: In April 2016, I started a blog series entitled Building an Engaged School because of the misery of educators in their work, lack of stability in school leadership, and the ensuing educator shortage (which is now upon us). The blogs I wrote were intended to help school boards, school leaders, and …
Introduction: As someone who espouses innovation in Education I’ve always been skeptical of the technocrats who push the cure-all that technology should be for Education. My qualms have always been twofold, first technology as the replacement for the relationship between teacher and student and second the lack of relationship between learners in a communal drive …
Introduction: In his recent Better Schools newsletter Chuck Evans shared data on the slight growth of the private school sector where he suggests that the economic downturn of 2008 may have been a good thing as it forced school leaders through a re-calibration of expectations and re-assessing of educational experiences. Therefore, I chose to reach …
