Jan Kaarsvlam – CHRISTIAN EDUCATORS JOURNAL

Ask Not for Whom the Final Bell Tolls . . . ; or, This Is How It Ends—Not with a Bang but with a Principal’s Whimper

Posted on April 25, 2020April 26, 2020

Bedlam’s principal, Bentley VanderHaar, should have been relaxed. It was springtime, his favorite season. Trees were budding, flowers sprouting, and he was making arrangements for Bedlam’s graduation ceremonies. Apart from the incident with the black-footed ferrets and the peanut butter, there had been little mischief from the students. VanderHaar, however, was not relaxed. […]

The Metaphor in the Room, or Like Fodder for Elephants

Posted on October 1, 2019October 1, 2019

Shop teacher Gord Winkel, as usual, was the last one to slip into a seat in the back of theroom. He disliked staff meetings passionately, mostly because he usually had noidea what was going on in them and was always afraid that at some point hewould not speak up when he should and that the […]

She Reads to Conquer Or The Books U Give

Posted on April 12, 2019August 4, 2020

Christine Lopez stood outside the biology room, staring at Sam Toomer’s classroom door. It was Friday, the students had left, and after the weekend was over Monday would mark the start of book week. Sam’s door had on it the same bright green piece of paper she had hung on everyone’s door. The same piece […]

Confessions of a Bedlam Doughnut Eater Or Professional Development Comes for the Librarian

Posted on January 31, 2019August 4, 2020

Gord Winkle sighed with happiness. It was second period, his free period. The only other person to share his free period was Carrie Wellema, the choir teacher—and since the choir room was so far away from the staff lounge, she seldom made the trek. That meant that Gord was all alone with the five big […]

Portrait of the Student as a Young Atheist Or The Unbearable Weight of Being (Curious)

Posted on November 20, 2018August 4, 2020

Maxwell Prentiss-Hall, Bedlam’s counselor, entered the teachers’ lounge at break and slumped quietly into a seat. Resting his chin in his hand, he sighed deeply and then grimaced as he slapped his fist on the table. Bible teacher Cal Vandermeer looked at him with surprise, but it was gym teacher Rex Kane, working the crossword […]

Timid New World; or, Fear and Loathing in the Board Room; or, Childe Christina to the Dark Tower Came

Posted on February 3, 2018June 9, 2020

Bible teacher Cal VanderMeer was sipping coffee and perusing the newspaper when his colleague, English teacher Christina Lopez, dropped into the seat next to him with a sigh so heavy that it actually ruffled the newspaper in his hand. He glanced up to see an expression he would have described as forlorn, perplexed, and angry […]

Of Chapel Committees and Kings; Or, Cal and the Art of Automotive Maintenance

Posted on December 12, 2017August 4, 2020

Industrial arts teacher Gord Winkle gathered up his notebook, pen, and folder; stuck an emergency Snickers bar in his front pocket; and locked the door to the shop. It was third hour. Still two periods to go until lunch time, and now he had to walk to the other end of the building and climb […]

A Heartbreaking Lesson Plan of Staggering Imbecility, or How I Learned to Quit Worrying and Love the MMOG

Posted on April 13, 2017August 4, 2020

Gord Winkle was well into his third jelly doughnut, his mustache vibrant with strawberry jelly and a smattering of custard, when Janitor Ed McGonigal strode purposefully into the staff room. Everyone fell silent. Because Ed had been working at Bedlam for as long as anyone could remember, he had become almost a part of the […]

The Stain (It’s Plain) Lies Mainly On the Chapel Carpeting: Or, When in the Golf Course of Human Events

Posted on March 29, 2017August 4, 2020

“Well, I think it is stupid!” said Red Carpenter. “I mean, the golf team hasn’t had new polos for two years, I have been telling the school board for over a decade that we need to rubberize the track if we want to stay competitive, and we still have only two class sets of Chromebooks. […]

Slouching Toward Bedlam: Admission Impossible, or International Treasure

Posted on February 8, 2017August 4, 2020

The entire faculty gathered in the staff room immediately after school. It was rare for Bentley VanderHaar, the principal of Bedlam Christian, to call a meeting like this, and when he did it often involved news about misbehaving students being expelled or news about a parent or staff member going suddenly into the hospital or, […]