In my career I have had the opportunity to work in both public and Christian education. We need Christian educators in both places and I have had opportunities to further God’s kingdom in both places. However, here are a dozen unique opportunities that Christian school educators enjoy: I wrote recently to a friend in ministry: “He could do it without … 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
Figuring Out What Really Matters in Curriculum Planning
I often joke in workshops that, as teachers, the day we return from spring break is when we kick in to “fast teaching” mode! We do this because while we were relaxed in November and February, and consequently added a few days to our favorite units, we are now faced with being behind on the content we feel responsible for … Read More
Celebrate Learning!
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
The Importance of Being Attentive
We long to see our students have hearts that are tuned to, and turned toward, God. In our world of loud, conflicting, insistent, constantly streaming voices it takes purposeful intent and a good measure of self-discipline, on a personal level, to attend to what is needful and that which results in a flourishing life that bears good fruits. Author David … Read More
Where Do the Subjects Come From?
I always scheduled a parent evening about 3 ½ weeks into the school year. Two things were happening by then. One, parents were thrilled that when they asked their children, “How was school today?” they didn’t get the usual, “Fine.” “OK.” The kids had all kinds of interesting stories to tell. Parents liked that. The second thing was that the … Read More
Reconciling Faith and Science
Christian teachers are called to be reconcilers. As ambassadors of Christ, they are given this ministry of reconciliation: pointing students to living in harmony with God, neighbor, creation, and self. In II Corinthians 5:16-21, the apostle Paul encourages the Corinthians that, being given this message of reconciliation, they are then called to share the sweetness of wholeness through Christ and … Read More
The Great “Stop-and-Drop-Shop” Fallacy
The other day, I was down at one of our local Christian schools collecting two of my grandchildren, to look after them at the end of the school day, whilst Sue, their mother, was busy running an after-school activity for parents. Actually, my grandson Brendon saw me in the school some time before the final bell when he was visiting … Read More
Do My Students Ask Essential Questions?
So, what makes a question essential? We identify essential questions with characteristics such as open-endedness, the question’s ability to call for higher order thinking, whether it raises additional questions, and how it requires support and justification. Essential questions are ones not answerable with finality in a single lesson or a brief sentence – and that is the point. This focus … Read More