Take one apprehensive student-teacher in 1963, bred and raised in the almost all-white, at the time, Christian day-school system in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Place him in the first public school that he had ever been in longer than the four quarters of a high school city league basketball game. Add the cultural unfamiliarity of a […]
CEJ Archives are available to on-line subscribers. No worries, just click the Register tab from the menu and register with a user name, email, and password. Already registered? Login from the menu above.
Teachers and administrators in Christian schools face any number of issues that make teaching very difficult. In my experience, one issue is the decision about when to expel a student. This decision poses unique difficulty for Christian educators for a number of reasons. Christian schools, in my experience, strive toward the goal of creating a […]
Bandstra, Alan. Beyond Control: Heart-Centered Classroom Climate and Discipline. Sioux Center, IA: Dordt College Press, 2014. “Finally, the spirit behind our actions and words is closely tied to our beliefs and hopes.” (Preface, iv) In Beyond Control, Alan Bandstra writes in a style that is similar to an engaging memoir. Rather than taking the textbook […]
“We will do anything to keep the wolves of insignificance from our door.” —Saul Bellow His name was Charlie. He was a fighter. He liked it, and he was good at it. But he never contended for a championship, unless you count the time he decked the reigning seventh-grade toughie, just outside of Mr. Clarke’s […]
I have benefitted from the writing and teaching Calvin education professor emerita Gloria Stronks for many years. She has written a number of books that have helped articulate what those of us involved in Christian education have been doing and ought to be doing. Her book A Vision with a Task, written with Doug Blomberg […]
If you ask someone why they became a teacher, it is doubtful that anyone would answer with: “I just love disciplining children.” Most go into the profession because they either want to make a difference in children’s lives or make a difference in society, or simply because they have a deep love for the subject […]
For our newer readers: “Slouching toward Bedlam” is a fictional column written by an imaginary columnist, Jan Karsvlaam. Bedlam Christian School is a lot like the school where you teach. The teachers you will find here are much like your own colleagues (and perhaps like you, too). To join in the fun, just read along. […]
May 14, 2010 Al Boerema raises the issue: As Christian schools continue to explore ways to become places of shalom and to find means for having a larger impact on how their students live, the idea of restorative justice is moving into greater prominence. Restorative justice can be seen as an approach to discipline that […]
Question 1 What do you do with a student in your class who is a disorganized mess, constantly distracted in class, and refuses to listen? Should you use class time to try to get the student on task? How can you get a distracted student to start paying attention in class? As I read your […]