Ending Well?

Originally posted on Nurturing Faith (Christian Schools International)

It’s nearing the end of the school year and time for the annual award distributions. We hand out certificates, trophies, and compile lists of achievements in almost any and every category. Whether in the early grades or at graduation, we seek to point out accomplishments of students. I am guessing that if we could sit down and talk for a few minutes, dear reader, that we would share some mixed feelings about this end of year ritual.

This is an area of our school life that poses potentially large risks to our mission. It is an area that goes largely unexamined and one where we quickly adopt the practices of other schools. It is what we get excited about that speaks the loudest message to our students. I am concerned that sometimes what we do in awards assemblies may actually contradict the kinds of thoughtful work that we have done throughout many previous months and years.

I don’t have the answer to this, but am providing some questions below that might be useful in generating conversations within faculties.

Click here to read the list of questions and to leave a comment.  Please feel free to leave a comment on this blog, too.

Listen Slowly

Chuck Swindoll, chancellor of Dallas Theological Seminary, tells of a time when he had allowed the ‘busyness’ and demands of his life to interfere with his relationships with his wife and children.  All of their interaction was rushed, to the point where he was treating them rudely.  After yet another rushed meal one night, his young daughter blurted out that she had something important to tell him and she’d do it really fast.   Ashamed at her unintentional rebuke, Swindoll assured her that she didn’t have to rush - she could talk to him slowly.  ‘Then listen slowly,’ she replied.

As you approach the ‘busyness’ of the end of the year . . .

• Administrators . . . are you listening slowly to your teachers?
• Teachers . . . are you listening slowly to your students and parents? 
• All of us . . . are we listening slowly to God?

If not, try the following:

• practice being a good listener
• learn to hear the voice of God
• listen with your heart as well as your ears
• give God your full attention when you pray
• realize that your students feel valued when you  listen to them
• recognize the way God listens to you
• understand that hearing God requires obeying him as well

School/church/home partnering that encourages discipleship – a model that is working!

Originally posted on "Nurturing Faith" - a blog of Christian Schools International
Click here for the Nurturing Faith blog.

How to best partner with churches has been a true conundrum for CSI Christian schools in recent years.

Cultural changes and shifts in church membership,  coupled with students coming from a broadening number and variety of churches, have left schools confused about how to keep the home – school – church triangle intact, or even functioning at all. At the 2007 CSI membership convention we attempted to highlight the issue and make some progress on the issue of our common connection – the faith development of the students we share.

To read the rest of the article, click here . . .

Attention: Music Teachers ~ MACSA Music Day ~ Friday, April 30

It's NOT TOO LATE to register and attend.
Please FAX your registration form to Lehigh Christian Academy (610-776-1417) and bring your payment on the day of the event.

MACSA Music Day

Friday, April 30, 2010

8:45 am – 3:00 pm

This day is a GREAT day for Music Teachers, but is also VERY BENEFICIAL for Early Ed and Elem Ed Classroom teachers desiring to incorporate more music in the context of the regular classroom!  Consider attending!

Lehigh Christian Academy

1151 S. Cedar Crest Boulevard

Allentown, PA 18103

610-776-7301

$25 per person
includes lunch

Click HERE for Information Flyer and Registration Form (MACSA website)

8:45     Registration and Refreshments

9:15     Devotional for Music Teachers

9:30     Breakout Session I

·         Using Folk Dance to Have Fun and Build Musical Readiness

·         Starting Up a Piano Lab

10:35   Breakout Session II

·         Tiny Voices, Joyful Noises: Structure in your Early Childhood Music Class

·         A Director's Guide to the Elementary Choir Rehearsal

11:35   Lunch and Networking

1:00     Breakout Session III

·         Making Music Reading Fun in the Elementary Classroom

·         Music Education and the Special Needs Child, Adaptation and Modification

2:05     Breakout Session IV

·         Music Assessment

·         Maximizing the Time in your Middle or High School Choir Rehearsal

Presenters include:

Dr. David Shockey - Professor of Voice and Choral Conducting (PBU)
Dr. Debbie Lynn Wolf - Professor of Music Education (PBU)
Andrew Owens - Music Teacher
Paul F. Reese III - Teacher, Organist and Music Director
Abigail Peace - Board Certified Music Therapist
Kelly Leibensperger - Music Teacher

The BUZZ from the MACSA Spelling Bee

The MACSA Spelling Bee was held on Wednesday, March 24 at Ambassador Christian Academy (Glassboro, New Jersey).


Participating schools included:

Ambassador Christian Academy (Glassboro, NJ)

Cape Christian Academy (Cape May Courthouse, NJ)
Cornerstone Christian School (East Brunswick, NJ)
Shrewsbury Christian Academy (New Freedom, PA)
West Fallowfield Christian School (Atglen, PA)

Grade Level Winners
First Place
Second Place

5th Grade
Haily Becica - Cape Christian
Alexis Lake-German - Cornerstone

6th Grade
Lauren Cairns-West Fallowfield
Taylor Avery - Ambassador

7th Grade
Emma Millar - West Fallowfield
Camille Menns- Cornerstone

8th Grade
Madison Duncan-West Fallowfield
Alicia Jones - Cornerstone

Overall Winner

Madison Duncan from West Fallowfield

The Imperative of Christian Leadership

From Nurturing Faith

Christian Schools International

“What the leader focuses on gets done.” 

As I go about the continent speaking and doing accreditation site visits, I get to see many schools in action and gain a sense of how leadership happens in each place.  Since my job often focuses on helping others with change, I have been thinking about what motivates people to change and the role of leadership, formal or informal, in making change happen and as change relates to what makes Christian education distinctive.

I recently read Dan Pink’s newest book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. He describes management in the last 100 years as a version called Motivation 2.0, that relies heavily on control and extrinsic rewards. Pink contends that this style is out of sync with human nature itself, particularly in jobs of knowledge workers – the kinds of right-brain, creative, complex-thinking jobs that we see today. We are created to be curious and self-directed in our learning, but that somehow this desire gets “controlled” out of us – education being one culprit. Pink cites a Cornell study of 320 small businesses, in which half of the workers were granted autonomy and the other half relied on top-down direction, and states: “Businesses that offered autonomy grew at four times the rate of the control-oriented firms and had one-third the turnover.” Leaders lead out of their assumptions about the nature of human beings. Whether it is kids or teachers, if you assume the worst or the best about them, you will likely have people living up to those expectations. Do you as a leader bring out the best or the worst in your followers?

What Pink says about money and extrinsic motivation resonates with me as a Christian. In his proposed Motivation 3.0 model he sees purpose maximization as a key to long-term job satisfaction. We desire to work for higher purposes in life beyond ourselves.  Christian education is, in the end, not about the money, but the highest purpose of helping student to know and live for Jesus Christ.

In a recent survey (Gates Foundation/Scholastic) of more than 40,000 public school teachers, supportive leadership was once again shown to trump financial incentives, such as merit pay. In order to retain good teachers, 68% said supportive leadership was absolutely essential, while 71% said monetary rewards for teacher performance would have moderate or no impact on student achievement. Teachers also highly desired “relevant” professional development, clean and safe working conditions, and time to collaborate with access to high-quality curriculum.

My friend Mark Eckel recently completed his doctoral work on the implementation of faith-learning integration and discovered that the key variable in terms of effect was leadership. He reports that the variable of administrative encouragement around faith learning integration happening in the classroom caused the largest shift in the total score for how teachers were integrating faith and learning! He states: “Learning how one teaches all things from a biblical point of view is the cornerstone of what it means to teach in a Christian school.” Amen!

As a leader (whether you are an administrator or teacher) I leave you with these questions:

1.    How do you know that faith-learning integration is being practiced in your classroom(s)? What evidence could you show me?

2.    If teachers/students are dependent on you as a leader to emphasize this area, then what are you doing to strengthen faith-learning integration?

Christian Education: Investment, Sacrifice, or Obligation?

From Nurturing Faith
Christian Schools International

This is the time of year for budgets, annual parent meetings, and staff hiring.  A lot of time, energy, and discussion are put into financial matters related to the cost of Christian education. 

What is the language used in our discussions with parents, board, and each other? Let us consider some thoughts around the words investment, sacrifice, and obligation. If our language conveys our values and really matters, then we should choose our words wisely.

It’s wonderful to hear parents talk about investing into the lives of their kids by giving them a Christian education.

When I think of “investment”, I think of these phrases:

·         Seen as a good thing to do with money – ex. The parable of the talents

·         Are a plan for growth and the future

·         Don’t always turn out like we planned, but we still make them anyway

·         Potentially impact future generations

When I hear parents describe their choice for Christian education in a negative tone as a “sacrifice,” I think of these phrases:

·         Something I have to do

·         Sometimes grudging obedience rather than my heart’s desire

·         Something I am giving up, not always cheerfully, to maintain something else

·         Sense of loss rather than choice

·         Sometimes used in “guilting” – “I sacrificed so you can have this”

I realize that the attitude of the heart is what determines how these words are used. I can also be forced to make investments for good (taxes come to mind) and do so with a resentful attitude.  I can also make a joyful sacrifice – the kind that is pleasing to the Lord, such as the Abel offers, or one at the cost of my life, such as Samson. On the other hand if I view sacrifice as obligation it may be like the cheerless Pharisee who tossed into the collection plate in large measure and made sure it was publicly visible. In Jesus’ observation, the widow “sacrificed” but she did so with a grateful and joyful heart as an “investment” in the work of the kingdom.

How we and our staff approach our work is also key. Do we focus on our “sacrifice” to work at a lower salary or do we see our work as an opportunity to “invest” into the lives of the kids and into our community and world?

The language we use and allow others to use really surfaces our values and our level of commitment. The Bible says that “where your treasure is there will your heart be also,” and provides many very clear stories of biblical characters who ran into trouble confusing obedience and gratitude – investment, sacrifice, or obligation.

What attitude does our language convey about how we approach the opportunity for a Christian education that can equip our children to hear the redemptive call of God on their life in personal and corporate ways?