October 2011
Editorial
One of the things that distinguishes Christian schools is the opportunity that teachers have to openly address matters of faith. This can be done in classrooms, where a Christian worldview can very intentionally be integrated into the material that is taught, into the way the classroom is structured, into the way students and teachers interact […]
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Learning (by) Stories: A Future for Christian Education
This article was first presented as an address for the 100th Anniversary Celebration of Northern Michigan Christian School, in McBain, Michigan in May 2011. It is an honor to be able to join you as you celebrate one hundred years of Christian schooling here at Northern Michigan Christian School. I never cease to be amazed […]
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Faith Formation and Christian Schools: Trends and Suggestions
Times of intense change afford us positive opportunities to reshape institutions and operational patterns. As Christian educators, we should seize this opportunity to not only reshape our educational practices, but also to consider new information that has been emerging about the very nature of what we seek to do in Christian schools—educating for wisdom and […]
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Gardening Through the Holy Spirit
How do you function as a spiritual leader in your classroom? Are you a gardener? Scripture frequently describes our walk with God metaphorically, and its favorite source for metaphor is the garden. The Psalter begins with this beautiful assertion: the one who meditates on God’s law “is like a tree planted by streams of water, […]
Article
Teaching for Committed Openness
This article is based on a presentation made at the 2010 Ontario Christian School Teachers Association Convention. For an expanded version of this article, see “Teaching for Committed Openness,” in Cultivating Inquiry Across the Curriculum, ed. by Kim A. Winsor. Lexington, MA: Lexington Christian Academy, 2008, 159–85. If possible, I would change the title of […]
Article
Student-Led Worship and Faith Formation
The bell rings for lunch, and the students stream out of their classrooms. As I make my way from my office to the staff lunch room, I am stopped by a student who asks, “When can I be in chapel again?” I chat with the student for a while, and continue on. Ten steps later, […]
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Loves of Learning: Thoughts on Christian Education
Often a chance to look back on familiar territory from an unusual angle is the source of new insights. So it was for me when, on a recent mission trip to Africa to teach theology to church leaders, I had the unexpected opportunity to speak in a couple of school assemblies. It prodded me to […]
Article
Discipline to Discipleship: A New Path for School Discipline
Discipline Defined The word “discipline” has suffered negative connotations over the last several years, especially in educational circles. When they hear the word, many immediately think of punishment, yet nothing could be farther from the truth. Webster’s Dictionary defines discipline as both a noun and a verb. As a noun, it is “training to act […]