With the rise of national standards and an increase of accountability in both the US and Canada, some began to wonder how much our identities as Christian schools were driven by the wrong outcomes. What was our hope for our graduates?
Celebrate and Imagine #8: Schools Embodying a Transforming Vision: Missional, Dynamic, Deeper, and Global, 2010-Present (Part 1)
It is a risk to try new things, to move in new directions, to love that deeply. But we have reached a time in history where by not innovating we are running a greater risk than staying our current course. Dan Beerens and Erik Ellefsen, MindShift: Catalyzing Change in Christian Education Since the financial crisis of 2007-2008, Christian schooling in … Read More
Celebrate and Imagine #6: Seeking a New Paradigm of Educating, 1990-2010 (Part 2)
In the mid 2000s it became clear that the long feared death of the “three-legged stool” (the educational partnership between home, Christian school, and the church) was very much becoming a reality.
Celebrate and Imagine #5: Seeking a New Paradigm of Educating, 1990 to 2010 (Part 1)
The time period from the mid-1980s through approximately 2010 saw Calvinist/Reformed Christian educators further define and apply their approach to educating Christianly in response to a changing world. During these years, movement leaders sought to define both what being Reformed means and the essence of Calvinist/Reformed day school education.
Celebrate and Imagine #3: Thought Leadership in the Boom Years, 1950 to 1990
In this post we will delve into the philosophical and curricular aspects of the movement, highlighting key individuals, particularly from the years leading up to the early 1990s. One could make an argument that these years were a key time in the Calvinist Christian day school movement in terms of articulating belief, uniting around a philosophical direction and identity, and at the same time assessing the effectiveness of the movement as leaders looked to the future.
Celebrate and Imagine #1: Introduction and Beginnings
In fall of 2021, CACE invited a group of 70+ educators to Washington, D.C. We met at the Museum of the Bible for a two-day conference on the history and ongoing impact of Reformed Calvinist K-12 day school education. It was a time of remembering, appreciating, and evaluating the history of this movement and considering how it may continue to impact Christian education in North America. Hence the title for this ten-part blog series comes from the conference title: “Celebrating the Past, Imagining the Future.”