Linguist Deborah Tannen once wrote that male-female communication is like cross-cultural communication. She explained that boys and girls grow up in their same-sex groups communicating in ways that are fitting for their respective groups. However, when they venture out of these same-sex groups and attempt to communicate with someone of the opposite sex, they quickly […]
“So now we’re supposed to create a class website that gives daily updates on assignments, grades, and student behavior,” muttered math teacher Jane VanderAsch as she eyed the memo from Bedlam’s principal, Bentley VanderHaar, which contained exactly that directive. “And we are doing this on top of our electronic gradebook that is open to students […]
Words. Words have power. Words echo in our ears and sink into our hearts. It doesn’t matter how hard the outer shell is—words penetrate deeply and have the ability to lift us up or tear us down. Saying certain things out loud has never been easy. Now, with electronic communications—from email to Twitter—words can be […]
To contribute to the theme of this issue of CEJ, our panel decided to tackle the issue of teacher-teacher communication. We began with the following prompt: As Christian educators, we interact with our colleagues daily. At times these interactions include discussions and conversations about difficult yet important issues in the life of the school. Undoubtedly, […]
What Middle School Students Think I say to the middle school students, “So, what does the Bible say about language use?” “Don’t swear,” they say. “Where does it say that in the Bible?” “In the ten commandments.” “What is swearing?” I ask. “Using bad words.” “Hmm. What are bad words? Can you give me some […]
Among the teachers I remember gratefully is my history professor, Dr. Poland. No doubt I owe to him much of what I know about the French Revolution, but what remains with me as his most valuable teaching is his way of speaking. He gave every sentence full weight. He spoke with deliberation, a little more slowly […]
“They have healed the brokenness of my people superficially, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ but there is no peace.” Jeremiah 6:14 Have you ever avoided a person because of an uncomfortable conversation that you knew you needed to have? Have you ever told someone that things are OK when in fact they aren’t? Have you ever overreacted […]