October 2013
Editorial
Most of us who are educators, probably wonder from time to time about why we do what we do, and whether the efforts we make on behalf of our students have any lasting impact. To illustrate, some years ago I attended the twenty-fifth anniversary class reunion of a group of students that I had taught […]
Feature
Top Ten Tips for New Teachers of English Language Learners
Whether or not you graduated from college with an emphasis in teaching English language learners, chances are you will have ELLs in your classroom. According to the National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition, from the decade ending with the 2008–9 school year, the population of English language learners attending public schools grew from 3.5 million […]
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Project Based Learning: The Perspectrum Project
The Motivation Paulo Freire, in his book The Pedagogy of the Oppressed, passionately challenges his audience to love one another actively and empower each other through dialogue and self-reflection to create and re-create with the purpose of being more fully human. If I do not love the world—if I do not love life—if I do […]
Feature
An Art Curriculum for the Elementary School
As schools everywhere try to economize, one of the areas that, regrettably, they decide they can no longer afford is the position of the art teacher. Why is art education so important for our children? Many teachers and parents think that the way students deepen their spiritual dimension is by increasingly learning and coming to […]
Article
Some of you may have the wrong impression. First you’ll notice there are no bold primary colors or catchy tunes in this article. Second, while I may sound like an old puppet in the balcony, this is not about conjunctions’ functions at any junction, nor is this article sponsored by a consonant. However, I do […]
Article
Service Learning: Developing a Lifestyle of Service
Service, community service, and service learning are buzzwords that describe the good work of lending a hand to meet the needs of others. For the church worker, youth leader, community activist, or educator, service should be a way of life or second nature. For the Christian, service to others is a model that was illustrated […]
Slouching Toward Bedlam
Something Wiki This Way Comes, or Muted Expectations
“I’ve just about had it up to here with that old barnacle-busting, antique, glutinously oblivious, ancient, parrot-faced gnome who runs this school!” proclaimed Rex Kane as he entered the staff room at Bedlam Christian School and dropped into a chair. “He wouldn’t recognize progress if it ran over his cat with a steamroller!” Cal VanderMeer […]