Article – CHRISTIAN EDUCATORS JOURNAL

Navigating the Pathways of Wellness: A Principal’s Perspectives on and Practices for Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds, and Healthy Relationships

Posted on November 27, 2020November 27, 2020

Calm, joy, and satisfaction are the overwhelming feelings that I experience while picking the fresh vegetables from our plentiful school garden. Touching and smelling their freshness is refreshing, mouthwatering, and inviting. In addition, walking down the hallways and watching students hop as they practice skip counting or observing teachers as they lead classroom yoga, mindfulness […]

Are Students Really Willing to Wait?: Sexual Risk Avoidance Education in Christian Schools

Posted on November 27, 2020November 27, 2020

“What is the first commandment? How would you answer that question?” Predictably, the twelve- to seventeen-year-old scholars who receive the Willing to Wait Sexual Risk Avoidance Program at various Christian schools will respond, “Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul with all your mind.” Certainly, that’s how Jesus […]

What Motivates You to Be Well? (and How to Motivate Your Students to Be Well)

Posted on November 27, 2020November 27, 2020

How often do you get that student in your class who just does not want to move? That student who has every excuse in the book for not wanting to participate in physical activity? That student who is not interested in being physically active and who does not care about being well? Being well requires […]

Bringing National School Lunch Programs to Christian Schools

Posted on November 27, 2020November 27, 2020

Note: This article primarily discusses the food service programs available in the United States. While individual provinces offer subsidized food programs on a limited basis, Canada is one of the few developed countries in the world that does not have a national school food program. Parliament pledged to begin a nationwide program last year, but […]

Physical Education during a Pandemic

Posted on November 27, 2020February 24, 2021

Head outdoors, individualize instruction, and use innovative ideas—three great features of an excellent physical education class. Covid-19 may now push us a little to even greater places. Try to focus less on what you cannot do in a pandemic environment and focus more on how you can enhance the educational experience for all students. As […]

I Belong, Body and Soul, to My Faithful Savior, Jesus Christ

Posted on November 27, 2020November 27, 2020

I had the privilege of teaching Bible class in a Reformed Christian school in Carman, Manitoba. One of the books I taught was 1 Corinthians. Every year I taught it, I came across 1 Corinthians 6:19–20: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, who you have received […]

A Truly New School Year: Emotional Wellness during a Pandemic

Posted on October 14, 2020October 15, 2020

If we think back to our childhood days, we probably remember getting something shiny and new for our birthday or Christmas and usually loving it. And sometimes we got a sweater or socks or a book, and maybe we didn’t love that gift so much. Some might say that 2020 has been that less-preferred gift. […]

The Trauma-Informed Educator: Helping Students and Caring for Yourself

Posted on October 14, 2020October 15, 2020

By Kylene Dalton-Koons and Brad VanDenend In schools these days, there is a lot of talk about trauma—and for good reason. According to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, “One out of every 4 children attending school has been exposed to a traumatic event” (4). Not only does this research support the idea that educators […]

Using a Multi-tiered Approach to Support the Social-Emotional Development of All Students

Posted on October 14, 2020October 15, 2020

One of my favorite courses to teach in my role as a school counselor educator is social-emotional development. It’s not that other areas of development (e.g., academic or career development) are less important when working with children and adolescents but that social-emotional development plays a central role in shaping how we approach living our lives […]

Using Christian Mindfulness to Support Student Thriving in a Pandemic Season

Posted on October 14, 2020October 15, 2020

Mindfulness has emerged as a leading intervention for dealing with stress in the school setting. But the term has become overused and watered down, and it can be difficult to sort through the clutter to understand what mindfulness is and how it fits with a Christian worldview. In fact, many Christians are wary of mindfulness […]