One of the great highlights for our family this summer was watching the World Cup. One article reported 3.4 billion people watched some portion of this year’s tournament, almost half of the world’s population. There were so many riveting games, beautiful goals, compelling storylines and examples of great leadership. Sports provide incredible lessons of leadership for us both in the … Read More
Making Way for Millennials in Leadership
Position Vacant: School Principal Qualifications: Wisdom of a sage, vision of a Chief Executive Officer, intellect of a scholar, leadership of a point guard, compassion of a counselor, moral strength of a nun, courage of a firefighter, craft knowledge of a surgeon, political savvy of a senator, toughness of a soldier, listening skills of a blind man, humility of a … Read More
What Do We Mean by Christian Deeper Learning? A Draft Document for Your Consideration
Tucked into my blog post report this past January on the first ever Christian Deeper Learning conference, I alluded to a small core group working on a definition and explication of what deeper learning looks like in the Christian school context. Out of honor to the small group that composed it and because I believe it deserves more than just … Read More
What If Assessment Was A Gift?
Each fall when I teach a graduate course in assessment, I begin by having my students engage with a powerful article by Elaine Brouwer called “Assessment as Gift: A Vision,” in which she posits that assessment should be a gift that honors our students as image bearers. My students and I wrestle with this idea throughout the course. It is … 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
College Prep: What Do We Mean?
This past weekend my oldest daughter graduated from high school. Graduation parties and family coming to town to celebrate made the weekend extra special. My wife displayed pictures from her first day of kindergarten up through her senior year and those memories are still vivid in my mind, as I have watched her grow, mature and ultimately walk across the … Read More
Your Board’s a Bad Board, and It’s Probably Your Fault: Conversation with Chuck Evans
Introduction and Podcast with Chuck Evans: I had the opportunity to have another conversation with Chuck Evans of Better Schools about his work with school boards, heads of schools, and his recent stint as an interim head of school. I’ve written many times about the lack of stability in leadership and the consternation that heads of schools consistently discuss … Read More
Transform Learning: Let Students Do the Planning
A courageous principal can have an amazing impact. Darren Spyksma, SCSBC Director of Learning, uses this TEDx presentation to share how one decision by his principal significantly increased the quality of learning in an intermediate classroom. While navigating risks and errors, Darren shares how learning focused on personalization, inquiry, and engagement, can lead to deep, authentic learning which also meets … Read More
Going Deeper into Rooftop Perspectives
In my preceding blog post I wrote a review of Eric Reender’s compelling book, Rooftop Perspectives. In this post, Eric responds to several questions related to the book. What prompted you to write the book? Moving to China and teaching in a Christian school there was a big change. I was an experienced teacher but my experience was all in public … Read More
Lessons from the Playground: School Climate and Structures
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 things that have an effect … Read More