I disagree - Parent involvement in education

I was reading my twitter feed earlier this week and I read this post:

I was startled by how strongly I disagree with this.

Over the past few weeks my son has come back from grade 3 with a social studies project in which he was to study trees near our home. This project needed our assistance in order to complete. (Actually my wife is the one who really spent most of the time with him!) Hours were spent outside doing tree bark rubbings, explaining what the project meant, helping find a library book, and more.

What a powerful learning experience! Parent and child working closely together to learn. What an example for our son to see mom and dad engaged and interested in his learning. How important it is for him to be engaged with his parents in education. The biggest role models he has working with him to learn.

Parents are the most powerful influence on their children. They should be closely involved with their child's education.

I would argue that some assignments should involve and even require parent involvement to understand and/or to complete.

Doing that wisely is another story.

Stump the Teacher

Welcome to my on-going series on Christian Perspective in the classroom.

Last time I shared one example of how I apply Christian Perspective in the classroom.

After doing that example with the students I challenge them to "Stump the teacher". They are to bring in any strange or unusual object they can find and I have to demonstrate how to apply Christian Perspective to it as part of my devotions. I put them all in a box and a few times a week I pull one out and do devotions on it.

To do so I use three themes.

Creation: What is good about this item? How does it show the awesomeness of God's world?

Fall: How is this item affected by sin? In what ways is this item used poorly?

Renewal: How can we, as Christians, work to use this item to serve God? How can we make the world a better place with this item?

The students have brought in all sorts of interesting items; toys, tools, food, feminine products... But I can always demonstrate at least one of the three themes and most of the time I can easily do all three.

I hope that by demonstrating this I can encourage students to see that our Christian Faith should influence all of our lives.

Of course, some of you will recognize that this is simply an adaptation of the classic Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration themes. I've simply modified them to fit more easily in an elementary classroom.

Next time curriculum connections and what the students should do with it.

A Christian Pencil

It's just a pencil right? Nothing special. We use them every day in math class. Not remarkable at all.

I disagree. I believe, that as a Christian, everything we do, have, and are should be influenced by our faith.

“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, "Mine!”
― Abraham Kuyper

So, what does a Christian pencil look like?

That pencil is a good gift of God's Creation. With it we can craft poetry, songs, stories, and essays that honour him. We can create beautiful art, learn about God's amazing creation by practicing math and so much more.

But the pencil too is affected by the Fall into sin. We can take it and stab our neighbour in the classroom, or write gossipy notes to pass around the class, or we can break it and throw it away without using it.

We are called to Renew the world and to try to show the way through God's grace. We can use our pencils to write thank you notes, use the eraser end to erase mistakes and do things right, and so much more.


This is an example of the kind of exercise I take my 12 year old students through on a regular basis.

Next time "Stump the Teacher"

Teaching Christian Perspective - What it's not Part 3

"And like a flower grows towards the sun so should we grow in our faith towards Jesus."

That's how one student's science fair project attempted to include Christian Perspective.

Now it is a beautiful allegory, and there is a place for allegories like this in the development of our faith, this is not a good example of Christian Perspective about science.

To often we fall into the trap of only using our subject matter as an allegory for our faith and we do not think about how our faith should also inform our understanding of the subject matter.

Do how do we do this? Especially in the elementary classrooms where I teach!

Next time - "Teaching Christian Perspective - A Christian Pencil"

Teaching Christian Perspective - What it's not Part 2

Let me tell you a story about a squirrel.



In the churches that I go to, just before the children leave for their Sunday school lessons we often have all of them gather at the front for a story, a song, or a blessing. 

One day the pastor had all the children gathered around him at the front and he was asking them to guess what he was describing, "It's small, climbs trees, has a bushy tail, and likes nuts."

A forest of hands sprung up as children eagerly clamored to be chosen. The young girl chosen to answer burst out, "It sounds like a squirrel to me, but this is church, so the answer is Jesus!"

...

Just because we put Jesus name in our work, or add the phrase, "and God made it", or "and God loves you", or any of a number of other platitudes doesn't mean we've really done a good job of Christian perspective. 

Next time - "Teaching Christian Perspective - What it's not Part 3"

Teaching Christian Perspective - What it's not Part 1

Being a Christian means far more than going to church on Sundays. God's call on our lives encompasses the whole of our lives, not just one part. How do we go about teaching this to our children?

This is a key part of the calling of our Christian Schools, and in the community I live and work in we call this teaching Christian Perspective.

But how is this done well? In this series of posts I hope to share with you some of my experiences and efforts in teaching Christian Perspective. But let's begin with what it is not.

1) Tack on a Bible verse.

• To some people Christian schooling just means that you have devotions, sing some songs, and teach a few morals. 

• A science project studying Tornadoes and they have the Bible verse from Psalms about God controlling the wind on their project.

• A speech that ends with a Bible verse even though none of the rest of it shows any understanding of Christian faith.

There are times and places that it is important to include Scripture in your work, but just because you have included Scripture doesn't mean that you have a rich understanding of Christian Perspective.

Next time "Teaching Christian Perspective - What it's not Part 2"

Courageous Feedback

Just the other day I googled myself. I was a little surprised to see ratemyteacher back on the top page. It meant that someone had posted a new comment. Which on that website is never a good thing. Here's what this unknown person had to say:

"With all the online teaching one wonders what happens during the day. Seems like someone doesn't like to make lesson plans" Check it out here.

 This post bothers me quite a bit for a number of reasons.

1. It is clearly not a student I have taught. It is a parent or possibly a fellow teacher. 
2. I work and live in a Christian community and yet this person is unwilling to come to me and speak to me directly. 
3. This person clearly has no idea what I do in the classroom and yet feels it necessary to anonymously post about my teaching.

Let me address this persons concerns.

About what goes on in my room:

You wonder what happens in my room? So, come visit my classroom! Or ask a student who has actually been in it. Or ask me about it. I am more than happy to help explain it. I even have a 20 minute video I'll share with you if you really want to understand it well.

About Lesson Plans:

I have spent more time creating lesson plans now than I ever did before. (And I did lots of lesson plans before!) Teaching the way I do requires that you know your curriculum inside out and upside down and have it planned days, weeks, and months ahead. You don't do less lesson planning, you do more!

I know that I am doing unusual and even, dare I say it, innovative things in my classroom. For many this can be scary. I also know that what I am doing is not perfect, that it has room for growth.

So, come give me some courageous feedback! I'd love to speak with you about it and put your fears to rest. For any other parents or teachers out there who wonder about what I'm doing, come talk to me. I won't bite, I promise!

Winding Up

The new school year is approaching!

I've had a very restful summer, perhaps one of the most restful I've had in years. I've only had one major project on the go at school, which is much less than I've had the last few years.

Now I turn my attention to the new year as it approaches.

One of the biggest questions I have is how can I continue on my journey of trying to create a classroom that is welcoming to all students and as flexible as possible.

Here are some of the key lessons that I learned over the last year:

• Going 100% paperless is not entirely viable, but 90% is awesome. The only worry I have for this year is whether there will be enough technology to support the way I teach.
• I love having a classroom in which the student chairs are highly mobile and the seating plan changes constantly.
• Using a tool like minecraft to inspire and connect with students can create superior work, but not the way I expected.
• Working with other classes remotely is rewarding and very challenging. Students know far less about communicating effectively than we think!

Now back to work while I dream of what next year may be like!

Winding Down - Not!

As a teacher I hear this phrase every year in May or June. Someone asks a question or makes a statement and assumes that things must be slowing down or wrapping up at school.

My experience is exactly the opposite. We wind up at the end of the year. I always run out of time, I have half a dozen great projects that I just can't get finished, curriculum topics I really wanted to teach, experiences I want the students to have. I end up packing as much into these last days as I possibly can.

It's like a runner pushing to the finish line who puts everything into the final sprint just to collapse once they're past it.

I also get those people who say, "You just watch videos in those last weeks anyway." The worst part is, that I am watching all kinds of videos!

We've watched John Wycliffe translate the scripture, John Hus burned at the stake for challenging the church, Michael Sattler executed for being an Anabaptist, learned about the controversy surrounding Michael Servetus' execution in Geneva under John Calvin, followed Tyndale being betrayed for translating scripture into English, and been inspired by the excellent movie Luther all to understand the Reformation.

In Bible class we've been contrasting video versions of scripture with the written text by watching VeggieTales as well as the Gospel of John. Then we've had students create their own video presentations to demonstrate their learning.

I can see the finish line just ahead, now for the final push!

Research into Christian Education

Not that long ago in our province there was quite the discussion about Faith Based education.

Since then I've read some interesting research about Faith in education. There's an article here that, at least to my amateur eye, has some solid research fundamentals and points out some of the positive results of Faith based education.

Even more encouraging are the results of the Cardus surveys. Here are both the American and Canadian editions.

I find the results of this research to be most encouraging. The schools that our grandparents and parents have spent so much time and effort on are clearly having an impact. Hooray,we have more kids! Job security for teachers like me! Seriously though we actually feel that we have more of an obligation to care for the environment than our public sector counterparts! And so many more.

Oh, there's room for improvement. What do you mean we don't vote more than our public school counterparts? We actually campaign for political parties less? Why not?

I look forward to these schools doing the same for my children and grandchildren, with a few improvements.

Go read the report!

Champions in Christian Education

My school is facing a challenge. The parents who choose to send their children here have been changing for some time now.

Half a century ago our school was a tight-knit community of Dutch immigrant families who were dedicated to the ideal of Christian Education. The fact that they stepped out in faith and built the foundation upon which our schools are laid is incredibly admirable. I look back on my parents and grandparents willingness to sacrifice with amazement. At the same time that tight-knit closeness had some unhealthy undertones as we looked down on outsiders and those Christians would not or could not send their children to our schools.

Our community is changing, much of it for the better. We now see so many different types of believers who come through our doors. This expansion of our Christian community is a joy to behold. 

At the same time it comes with a concern. How do we ensure that the deep Christian nature of our schools created by those founding fathers and mothers is not diluted or lost? Consider the example of the YMCA or places like Harvard, which all started as distinctly Christian institutions but now are not.

In order to address this issue, our school has chosen to keep attendance and membership in the governing body of the school separate. 

Attendance

All Christians are welcome to have their children attend our school, in fact we even have non-believers attending. Although those non-believers have to sign on to allowing us to indoctrinate their children in the faith. (Many of them don't quite realize how deeply our faith is woven into every corner of our school!) We have a chance to "Leak Christ" into many of these lives. These families are also a blessing to us bringing so much more diversity and opportunity into our school!

Membership

However, membership in our governing body is intended to be for those who are "Champions of Christian Education". We want to see those who are believers in Christian Education to be the decision makers and guardians of what God has given us.

In my mind there are two components that help identify these believers in Christian Education:

1. They are Christians in word and in deed. They are not perfect, as none of us is this side of glory, but they strive to live as Christ has called us to.
2. They are passionate about the cause of Christian Education. These are the people who meet night after night throughout the year on committees, who volunteer on Saturdays at school events, for whom  this endeavour is a calling. Not all Christians are called to this mission, nor should they be.

As we work through these governance issues it is my hope and prayer that the changes we have made will ensure that 50 years from now my grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be able to attend, work at, and volunteer in Christian schools like this one which are dedicated to the glory of God.

Dove Commercials - Not what I expected

So last night my wife called me over to the computer to show me a Dove commercial that was making the rounds of Facebook. This one.

At first I thought, "Wow, what a powerful message. I ought to use that in the Sex Ed unit I teach."

But then my wife sent me a link to this post the next morning while I was preparing for devotions in class.

Suddenly my opinion of the video was completely different.

Here's what bothers me most. I like to think of myself as an intelligent, perceptive, and critical thinking Christian, but I fell for the hidden messages in the video.

How are we to teach the discernment that we wish to see in our children when we don't always have it ourselves?

So, today, I threw my lesson plans for my Bible class out the window. Instead, we watched the video. Then we spent some time discussing it. The students had lots of praise for the video and pointed out the positive message that it was ostensibly aimed at. Then I had them go read the blog post rebuttal. After, we watched the video again. We spent some more time talking about it. The students had a very different reaction.

I hope that lessons about discernment of modern media sank in.

I did the best I could. I leave the rest in God's hands.

Who's with me?

"Perfection is not attainable but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence"

- Unknown Irish Coach

Last week, we had  a power flicker that took out our wireless network and with it went my lesson plan. So I went back to the old style of teaching. "Chalk and talk". I stood at the chalkboard for 30 minutes writing and speaking. The students sat there and wrote down what I put on the chalkboard. It was the first time in years that I've done that. It felt comfortable. It was easy to do.

How much did the students actually learn?

Last week, I was browsing Twitter and came across this blog post on "Weird Leadership"

One sentence in it struck me.

"Get off your butt and find a problem bigger than you."

I don't like "Chalk and talk", along with a whole bunch of other things we do in school.

God calls us to perfection. There has to be a better way.

I don't have answers, just a big target.

Who's with me?

I cried when I read it: Gaming, Grace, and God

I cried when I read it. You see, my  mom had cancer too.

I am a gamer.

Board games, card games, dice games, video games, and more. If it's a game I've probably tried it. I spend more hours than I care to admit playing games or thinking about games. We even had to raise the amount of insurance we have on our house to cover the value of the game collection I've been building since I was thirteen.

When I was updating my LinkedIn profile recently I asked for feedback from a number of people I respect. One of them said, "the hobbies or interest section of your linked-in profile mentioned about computer games a few times--you might consider cutting that back to 1 mention of that--especially if older people are looking at it.  They may view that a little negatively.  "

There's a negative view of gaming out there. Mind you, if you watch this video made from recordings of people playing games, you might understand why. I certainly find it a little disturbing. 

It's also certainly true that games can be a waste of time or a distraction. I know I've certainly spent enough time and money on them.

And yet there's an entire conversation happening around the gamification of education. You can find it on Twitter by searching for "#gamification #edchat". You can find it on blogs. There's even a website dedicated to it. I'm experimenting with it in my minecraft project that I've been reporting about here.

There's a lot of value in games. You  might even want to read the book that Kevin Schut, an old friend of mine, wrote entitled, Of Games and God. 

But what made me write this post is the story of a game being worked on now. I found it in a blog post on Facebook.

I cried when I read it.

This post.

The game is here. 

Clickety Clack - Students at work

All I hear right now is the sound of fingers on computer keys. My students are busily writing away like mad. Even the students who struggle to write anything are busy pounding out word after word.

The period before we just had the students participate in the next event in our minecraft story. The princess had been captured by bandits and they had to assault a castle to rescue her.

The Princess in her jail cell

Even before this event students have been writing far more than in any of my previous years of teaching how to write short stories.

An announcement that a short story would have to be a minimum of 750 words would be met with groans and complaints. Even before we began today's writing session the average length of story was over 1100 words.

Of course, the bigger question will be is the quality any better?

Watch this space for more details in the future.

The Death of Paper

"Wow! A hand-crafted thank you card arrived from a client for some art photography & web services I provided. Very thoughtful and I am so appreciative!"

This was one of my friends Facebook updates. I'm fascinated by the unintended impact of technology. Hand-written notes and letters have gained so much value due to the ease of digital versions.

Consider comparing one of those digital birthday cards with a real one.

Notice even the language I use, "a real one".

The death of paper has been predicted for years now, and it's wrong. The way we use the tools will change, but they will continue to exist.

Then of course there's the ad my wife shared with me on Facebook:

Short Stories - Minecraft Edition

So we've been hard at working learning about short stories in our Minecraft project. (For those of you who are members of the OACS I've been using the "Teaching Short Stories" section of the newly updated Choices and Decisions unit. I quite like what they've done with this part of the unit.)

We've been studying the structure of short stories using a plot graph like this one:

The first assignment asked them to create their character description and apply the lessons we learned in class.

This first assignment was to tie in with the introduction that I wrote and placed within the Minecraft world for them to find.

What I found most interesting is that despite the King's repeated warnings within the game and outside of the game, the students neglected to build the wall to defend the town.

Here you can see the tower I built to start the wall and the unfinished wall beside it.

The students were so busy building their own things that they ignored the story.

Which creates interesting consequences, because we are now arriving at the first crisis of the story, often called the Inciting Action.

The town is about to be attacked. Since the townsfolk neglected to build the wall their construction work will be damaged and the attackers will swarm throughout the town. If they had built the wall their buildings would be left intact and it would have been a battle to hold the attackers off of the wall.

I've taken the server off-line temporarily in order to prepare the next section of the story. Which includes building new elements in the game world, but also destroying some of what the students have done.

Here's a few pictures of some of the damage done:

The students were somewhat dismayed by the discovery that their work was under attack. I hope to have them share with you some of their thoughts on this discovery.

In the meantime the students are completing the second assignment. Tomorrow, those that have completed the second assignment will get the chance to participate in the defense of what's left of the town, as well as discover what the Inciting Event that reveals the main plot of the story is.

Those that haven't finished the assignment? They get to work on the assignment.

A view of the town with it's lights extinguished as the attackers sweep through the town and the villagers scramble to defend it in the chaos. The only light in the darkness is the King's Castle.

Don't be a Jerk - Minecraft Edition

It seems that when you give someone a computer and an internet connection that bad behaviour results.

As a Christian teacher I have often struggled to find a way to teach my students that their online behaviour should reflect Christ in the same way that the rest of their life should.

Last night my Minecraft project gave me a golden opportunity to illustrate this point.

In order to enter the world I've set up for them, students have to complete various assignments to unlock access. The first assignment was to write a character description of the protagonist of the story we're going to write centred around the Minecraft world.

Some students didn't finish their assignment on time, so they didn't get to play.

At the first location in the game I had placed some chests with supplies for the students to share.

There's only one rule I've implemented for this game. "Don't be a Jerk!"

Well, the first students who went online, promptly acted like jerks. Despite being told that the supplies were to be shared, they took everything.

At first I was very frustrated, but then in dawned on me. What a teaching opportunity!

So, when students get to school this morning, those students are going to discover that they have all been locked out of the game and their inventories stripped of items. Digital consequences for digital misbehaviour.

We'll see where this heads. 

What a fascinating journey!

Minecraft in my classroom

So this week I've just finished setting up a minecraft game server, running in Texas, for my class to use in English. I can already hear some of you say, "Gaming in English class? How does that work?"

One of the challenges I've had when teaching short story writing is getting all the students engaged in writing stories. Sure, there's always been a few students who are keen, mostly girls. I wanted to do something that would engage all of my students. I wanted to tap into something that many of them are excited about and interested in. A large number of my students enjoy playing minecraft and I had heard of other teachers who've been using minecraft in their classes. Check out one website here.

So how in the world does it work?

I'm going to use the game as inspiration for their writing.

Our story begins here:

This is the King's Throne room.

This is the King's Castle.

Here is the deserted island on which our settlers have just landed to build their new homes.

      "Wait a minute," you ask, "How does the King already have a castle if they just landed, who built the dock, and are those ruined buildings there amongst the trees?"

Well, I can't tell you those things because that's all part of the story we're going to tell in the game and my students will write about. You see, my students might read this blog and I don't want to give anything away just yet.

The first writing exercise my students do, will be to complete the character sketch of the character they will play in our story. This character sketch will then be included in the introduction they write about. Which they will then post on their blog for all to read.

Of course, the introduction has to end with an Inciting Action that reveals to the protagonist what the problem of the story is.

The King has summoned all of the townsfolk to the castle, a disaster has befallen the kingdom.......

The Pain of New Things

Today I had a conference with a concerned set of parents. Their child has been struggling in my math class.

The thing you have to keep in mind is that I've flipped my math class. All my instruction is done via pre-recorded video. This is only the second full year I've been doing this, with some dabbling in the previous years.

This young student has been falling further and further behind, Mom and Dad were quite concerned. My method of teaching was not working for this student. And here I am jumping off a cliff into the unknown with their child in tow.

I can't express my appreciation for these parents. We had an excellent discussion about their child and about what their child needs. They shared with me their concerns and we began to brainstorm solutions. I hope that they left our conference understanding that I am committed to finding the best educational opportunities for their child and every other child in the class. When I'm made aware of a problem I will act. I can't promise that what I do will work every time, but I can promise that they will see my best efforts.

When we try new things it isn't all going to be a bed of roses. There will be bumps and pain along the way. I appreciate the feedback these parents gave me as it will only lead to my classroom becoming more effective.

We can't let our fear of the pain of new things get in the way of trying.

Every Child Matters

Our school has a Mission Statement and a pile of Vision statements that the school has put a lot of thought and effort into over the years.

But to be honest, there's too much there for me to keep it all in my mind all the time.

So I've found myself gravitating to one of the statements in particular.

"Every Child Matters"

I do my best to live this out each day in my classroom as best as I am able.

What strikes me though, as we stand at a crossroads in Christian Education, is that I think that this statement is one of the fundamental ideas that should drive the way we teach.

I look at things like A School of One, Khanacademy, iTunes U, the Minerva Project, MOOCs, Coursera, Rocketship Schools, the Arrowsmith program, the Fast ForWord program, and so many more to see the possibilities that lie on the road ahead.

We can create schools where "Every Child Matters". As Christian Educators I think that it is our calling.

Even though I don't know what lies at the end of the road, I'm ready to start the journey.

Are you?

Crossroads

"Which way do we go?"

"Are we at a crossroads?"

"Do you feel we are at a crossroads?"

"Is Christian Education at a crossroads?"

These are some of the questions and conversations I've been having over the last couple of months with many different people.

I've felt for some years now that Christianity, Education, and the small subset of those two, Christian Education, is coming to a crossroads. (Feel free to replace crossroads with crisis or opportunity if you'd like.) I've often wondering if my perception has been accurate. I am a very passionate person and I often get carried away with things and go overboard. As I've had these conversations over the past month I've heard many others say similar things. I've become convinced that my perceptions match reality.

First, Christianity in North America is facing very different circumstances. Secular society, post-modernism, the incredible growth of the Church in Africa and elsewhere in the world, and so much more. There are others who have written and spoken about this far more eloquently than I.

Second, change in education continues to grow. The impact of technology, brain research, parental expectations and more sweep through the education field. Here in Ontario, Canada we've been relatively insulated from many of these changes due to the nature of education here. But when you look south of the border there are a multitude of approaches to education that are being explored.

Combine these two and we have some serious thinking to do about the place and role of Christian Education.

I don't think we can keep doing what we've always done. We stand at a crossroads.

"Which way do we go?"