Monday, October 25, 2010

Young minds full of promise ~ Teachers assume role as models

Sunday, October 24, 2010
Originally published in The Walton Tribune
By Pam Krumpach

Watching the leaves change provokes the dreamer in me. It reminds me of the swift passage of time and how, with each passing day, my students grow and change, developing into the men and women of quality and dignity that God intends for each to become.

In scripture, Jeremiah tells us God has a plan for each of these young people and these plans give all of us hope and a future.


Isn’t that what life is about? Think about it. What a gift life is, freely given with plans designed by the Creator and full of hope. What a privilege it is to be surrounded by the promise of optimism which springs from our students as they discover their own futures. 
It makes even more poignant the events of this past week.


Our family here at Covenant Christian Academy suffered the loss of an amazing man and a wonderful friend. He left a huge impact on everyone who knew him because of his loyalty and compassion. He was a role model for students — a man not afraid to visibly demonstrate his faith through words and actions. And even though he was not a teacher nor an administrator, he was an educator. As I think of this man, I am reminded of the priority of Christian education and our role as parents and educators in the lives of our children.

While the three Rs retain an important role in education, Christian education offers so much more. Christian education takes place in a community setting. Parents, teachers, administrators, staff and even the young people themselves bear the responsibility and privilege of creating an atmosphere in which each child can freely partake in the opportunities of learning and developing as students and as caring members of the “family.” Students have that chance to grow surrounded by love and support.


The Christian school setting provides a fertile ground for that change. Keep in mind that societal pressures have encouraged the disintegration of traditional families, and children now spend far more time in a school atmosphere where teachers assume a primary role as models for their students. David L. Roth said recently, “Christian school teachers must serve as role models. [Therefore] it is important that a teacher model the Christ-centered and Bible-centered mission of the Christian school.”


As members of our Christian family at Covenant Christian Academy, we are particularly mindful of how important that Christian family is and how we need to support, love, uphold and lead our young people, certainly through instruction, but more importantly through deed.


So as we find ourselves grieved, disappointed, angry, hurt or any of the other responses we have to the many stresses in our changing lives, we need only be reminded that even in the midst of the storm,
Jesus lived what He taught, that there is a future which God has destined for each us and that no matter what, there is hope. We must strive to live our lives as Christ did. After all, He is our ultimate role model.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

The Wisdom of Solomon ~ Applied to Facebook and other Social Media

We live in a digital world . . . that's reality! Our students are comfortable with and use many of the social media sites . . . and so do many of us. This article applies principles from the book of Proverbs to our "Facebook" lives. Please take a few minutes to read it . . .print it out . . . and keep it in a handy place!

The challenge ~ examine ourselves FIRST and make the necessary adjustments to our lives and our on-line behavior and then teach (and lead) our students to apply this wisdom to their lives . . . online or offline . . . that God would be honored in all we say, do . . . and type!


Solomon on Social Media
Tim Challies


There are many who doubt or downplay the relevance of the Old Testament to our times. Those people have probably never taken the time to read the book of Proverbs. I read from Proverbs almost every day and I am continually amazed at just how relevant this book is. It seems that wisdom is timeless. The lessons David taught Solomon speak to myself and my children as much as they did to the men and women of ancient Israel. The wisdom of God given to Solomon continues to ring loud and clear in my heart.

If Solomon were alive today and we were to ask him how we are to relate to one another in this digital world, if we were to ask him how we can honor God in our use of all these social media available to us today, here is how he might respond.

  • Count to ten before posting, sharing, sending, submitting.
  • Leave the fool to his folly.
  • Expose folly.
  • Know when to walk away.
  • Be careful what you read.
  • Avoid the gossiper.
  • Be humble.
  • Mind your own business.
  • Don’t be a troublemaker.
  • Examine why you write.
  • Be careful what you teach.
  • Walk with the Lord.

Let us know what you think . . . we'd love to hear from you!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Are you listening?

Nancy R. DeHaan
MACSA Executive Director

If I had a dime (or even a nickel) for every time I uttered (or even muttered) "Are you listening?"  to the students in my classroom (especially the preschoolers . . . OK, and the middle school math kids . . . OK, and the junior high Bible class) . . . I could have retired years ago as a rich (young) woman!

As teachers we spend the majority of our day talking . . . and hope that our students spend the majority of their day listening ~ to US!  The question is ~ are WE good listeners?

Here is an interesting review of three books designed to help adults become better listeners. They are written in the context of how to listen to a sermon and benefit from the ministry of the Word ~ making them applicable to ALL of us . . . teachers, administrators, parents . . . Christians!

The three books are:
  • Helping Johnny Listen by Thadeus Bergmeier
  • Expository Listening: A Handbook for Hearing and Doing God’s Word by Ken Ramey
  • Listen Up by Christopher Ash
They are reviewed by Tim Challies ~ Challies.com
As Christians we sit through a lot of sermons. The preaching ministry is one of God’s greatest means of grace to us, the means by which he teaches us truth, by which he calls us to pursue truth and to live out of it. And yet many of us are passive listeners, people who expect great preaching skill from the pastor but demand no listening skill from ourselves.

Lately I have come across a few resources dedicated to helping Christians be better listeners, to help them emphasize active listening. Here are three of them, each with a few words of description and an overview of the contents. If you have never read a book on how to listen to a sermon, I’d encourage you to do that. Take full advantage of the privilege you have of sitting under the ministry of the Word!


Click HERE to read the reviews.

Looking forward to your comments!