This summer, the panel participants were asked to reflect on several questions related to preparing for a new school year. The following questions guided the discussion:

1. As you look ahead to a new school year, what are the upcoming challenges that give you the most concern? What are some things you will do to prepare yourself to meet these challenges successfully?
2. Do you set goals for yourself as you look ahead to a new school year? If so, what are some of these goals? And again, how do you prepare to meet these goals?
3. Do you have any hints for teachers who are looking to reinvigorate their teaching or to change things up a bit? What do you do when you feel it is time to make some significant changes in your teaching or classroom?

The response of each panelist is noted below.

Justin Cook:

Thanks for the intriguing prompt questions, John. Your first question asks about challenges and strategies. I think the largest challenge in education is the significant shift away from teaching content to “learning how to learn”—moving from information to formation. In Christian schools we add to that the beautiful and difficult challenge of sharing the biblical narrative and faith from one generation to the next. How do we do this in a way that is authentic and invitational rather than a form of indoctrination? So exciting! But so challenging . . .

Across North America there are numerous Christian professional learning events that are pursuing this shift. As I write this, we’re gearing up for the Ontario Christian Teacher Academy, our professional learning week in August. We use a project-based learning model that moves from a school’s core mission and identity in Christ to the specific designs of a project. (We’ve outlined our learning model in this document if anyone is interested in taking a look: <drive.google.com/file/d/0BwfT_e3s8h9nVWFPU2VJbkhmVWM/view>. In their Cardus review of Mark Shaw’s book Work Play Love, Darryl DeBoer and Matt Beimers describe this approach to learning as “real work that meets a real need for a real audience.” (You can read their great article here: <cardus.ca/comment/article/4404/work-play-love-and-learn> or elsewhere in this issue of CEJ.

By the time this is published in the CEJ, however, we will have already moved into the busy space of the actual school year. The challenge now is in creating dynamic structures where educators can get the ongoing support they need during the year. This means clearly articulating goals and professional learning targets, creating a work culture of shared leadership and a growth mind-set, and designing structures in which professionals can continue their learning and implementation with mutual support and time for growth—both within the school and at events like summer professional development and fall educators’ conventions.

We can tolerate that sense of busyness as long as the work feels meaningful. Mark Shaw’s book I mentioned above is helpful here too. How do we look at work and play and love not as separate competing commitments but as overlapping aspects in our lives that give us a beautiful sense of purpose? It seems simpler in the summer, but this is also my hope for all of us for the upcoming year.

Christian Altena:

The challenge for me as a history teacher is—as the Talking Heads put it—“the same as it ever was,” namely: relevance. Before Sputnik, history wasn’t necessarily more loved by students, but it didn’t need to be explained. This is what happened and it’s important because we say it is. Because America. Next chapter. Now that STEM has completed its takeover, we in the humanities have been scrambling to justify the time we take from the practical, clearly monetizable pursuits of math, science, and technology. So we’ve learned to emphasize reading, critical thinking, and writing (I’ve called my class an English course with lots of dates). Of course, these skills are the real deal; after all, the date of D-day is just a Google search away. Don’t get me wrong; I love STEM. And STEM teachers are lovely people. But STEM can’t explain the meaning behind Ferguson, Charleston, Baltimore, and New York. It can’t explain income inequality. It can’t explain the growing post-Christian nature of our society. It can’t explain why (at the time of this writing) Donald Trump leads Republican presidential contenders.

Justin, I was very excited to read your post. I think it’s just the tonic we need—not just poor, benighted history teachers, but all of us. I love the graphic for the Academy Model for Project-Based Learning: Christ in the center, surrounded by learning purpose, goals, and skills. With every discipline challenging students to ponder real-world issues and problems with meaningful work, as you say, we can all face the right direction.

In my own classroom, I’ve largely ditched the textbook and broken just enough away from chronology to put the emphasis on theme. My units have titles like: What Does it Mean to be an American?, Religion in America, War and Peace, and Freaks and Geeks. The transition hasn’t been entirely smooth, so I guess my advice to fellow teachers is to try to overcome the fear of failure when pondering a shift in their approach. I found my biggest challenges were the readings. I have no regrets leaving the textbook, but the work of finding appropriate reading material for the various ability levels was more daunting than I imagined.

I love the beginning of the school year. It’s a new opportunity to work with students, nudging their natural curiosity and helping them to develop an understanding that historical ideas and debates are important, and that thinking itself can be a form of worship.

Rebecca DeSmith:

Thanks for your posts, Justin and Christian! It’s great to hear about the ideas that shape your teaching and the kinds of learning your students will be doing.

I have always started the school year with goals for myself—usually centered around how to improve my teaching and how to encourage student learning. I am excited this year because my goal focuses on deliberately incorporating Christian faith into my teaching and my students’ learning experiences—not something new in my 30+ years of teaching. This year I am part of a small group of teachers at my school who will explore the Teaching for Transformation model.(Some of you may be very familiar with this.) This model provides a framework for developing authentic learning experiences that focus on our transformational Reformed worldview. It begins with a solid understanding of the way our curriculum fits into the big picture of the creation, fall, and redemption plan of God. I am excited to think about my curriculum in a slightly different way, to present material to my students within the framework of this model, and then to dialogue with colleagues on how it is working and how to improve it to make my teaching more effective.

I consider it a privilege to work in a school that encourages visionary teaching and learning focused on scripture and our work in God’s kingdom. I pray that God will bless the efforts in our school—and in all of our schools—as we strive to serve his covenant children with wisdom and in love.

Gayle Monsma:

In many ways the routine of setting goals for the new school year reminds me of New Year’s resolutions. They are made with some level of reflection and thought, with great intentions to go along with the visions of fuller, healthier, more spiritual, more balanced (chose your own adjective!) life. As a teacher, coming off several weeks of vacation with lots of energy and an understanding of what would enrich my teaching and learning, setting goals for the new year comes easily. But then . . .

• your boss tells you about the school/division priorities that may or may not align with your goals
• you are assigned a new course/grade that requires lots of study on your part to get up to speed
• your students arrive in your classroom and their needs, experiences, and personalities “get in the way” of your carefully articulated goals
• lesson plans have to be written
• assessments need to be planned and evaluated
• report cards and parent-teacher conferences are upon you
• your life outside of school needs attention

And then before you know it, the year is nearing its end and you find your “professional growth plan” at the bottom of a stack of papers on the corner of your desk. You take a quick look to remind yourself of what you wrote down in September and hope that what you actually did somehow relates to what you said you wanted to do.

Sorry, if I just got a little too personal, but the above describes my professional goal-setting history a little more accurately than I like to admit. So, what’s a person to do?

• Go through the process of self-reflection and goal setting anyway. This is always a valuable process.
• Write down your goals, and makes them as specific and realistic as possible. Chances are better that you will achieve a detailed and manageable goal than something vague and “pie-in-the-sky.”
• Find an accountability partner (or two) to check in with a couple of times through the course of the year. This reminds you of your goals and gives you a few times to reflect, readjust, and revise your goals.
• Post your goals somewhere obvious so that they don’t just get buried in your desk.
• Participate in the professional development opportunities offered to you—whether those be in school or offered by the wider education community. Even if they don’t relate directly to your personal goals, you will probably learn something!

John Walcott:

The panelists have pointed to what I believe are vital issues related to teaching and learning in Christian schools. As lifelong learners striving to meet the needs of our students and speak to contemporary society, we need to consider relevant and appropriate models for teaching and learning along with professional learning goals and strategies that will support our efforts. We also need to ensure that the goals we (individually and/or collectively) lay out in the summer do not get lost in the midst of the ongoing demands of work and life. I encourage our readers to reflect on the challenges discussed here and use the resources and strategies suggested to improve teaching and learning in our classrooms and to engage our students in the vibrant work of God’s kingdom.

The panel consists of:

Christian Altena, who teaches at Chicago Christian High School in Palos Heights, Illinois.

Justin Cook, who serves as the director of learning at the Ontario Alliance of Christian Schools in Ancaster, Ontario.

Rebecca De Smith, who is the Discovery Room coordinator and the curriculum coordinator at Sioux Center Christian School in Sioux Center, Iowa.

Gayle Monsma, who serves as principal at Covenant Christian School in Leduc, Alberta.

John Walcott, who is assistant professor in the education department at Calvin College.