This site is devoted to fostering practical and creative dialog for promoting excellence in K-12 Christian schools.
Excellence in K-12 Christian Schools / Published by Dr. Barrett Mosbacker
t is hard to get people’s attention. Inboxes overflow with emails. Social media feeds compete for attention. Voice messages wait impatiently for a return call. Schedules are packed.
In all of the noise your emails can get lost or ignored. Here are a few simple things you can do to increase the odds of your emails being opened.
Read MoreA Good Idea at the Wrong Time
Have you ever been in the position where you've implemented a new idea, having done all the necessary research, feeling convinced that it's a sound and feasible move, only to discover that, after a short while, it proves to be the worst possible decision - a monstrous failure. It's happened to me, and here's the kicker. After the project was abandoned, I reintroduced it much later and this time it was a roaring success.
This got me thinking about the importance of timing. I have consistently found that a great idea at the wrong time is ALWAYS a bad idea. When performing our due diligence in researching a new project, we almost always concentrate primarily on the mechanics - can this thing operate effectively?But perhaps we should also be asking - is it the right time?
Read MoreSometimes we are our own worst enemy. We create battles we don’t need to fight.
I avoided an unnecessary skirmish recently after receiving a call from one of our elementary principals. She called about a clear violation of our dress code policy.
The problem had to do with the language of the policy prohibiting non-school pictures or logos on clothing except for small monograms. This created a problem for parents who wished to purchase, or who had already purchased, tops for younger children with flowers, animals or similar imprints. Several parents were complaining about the policy. The principal believed we should enforce the “letter of the law” because it was clearly written and to “protect” the school’s culture.
Read Mores school leaders, we have all been there. We receive an email something like this:
“Dear Dr. Mosbacker, I would like to request a meeting this Tuesday. This meeting is regarding a series of concerning events that have happened with “name.” I am now asking for your involvement because I believe “name’s” actions have created harm by ….. I will be sending details to you prior to this meeting for you to review … I would like to meet before sending a letter to the school board….”
Receiving emails of this sort is never pleasant. The prospect of meeting with a disgruntled and sometimes angry parent is stressful.
The good news is that such meetings can be a positive experience—if handled well. Over the years I have found the following practices to result in positive outcomes more often than not.
Read MoreThere are Three Powerful Reasons for Getting Off of Your Duff
I got a big surprise the other day! I am disciplined when it comes to my eating and exercise. In fact, I fast jog at a 13.5 degree incline for 50 minutes, 6 days a week most of the time. I thought I was covering my bases for good health.
I was wrong!
Read MoreWell, here we are. Nearly one year since my last blog post.
It’s amazing what you can learn in a year. A year can make you, break you, and change your life. My life has been irreparably changed. I waded into a most familiar, unfamiliar world. Let me explain.
I’ve been encapsulated in the educational sphere my whole life. I grew up with a father who is not only an educator, but a seasoned pro who travels the world consulting and is set to be a keynote speaker on Christian education in China this year. I’ve been behind the scenes for years. I’ve witnessed the triumphs, tragedies, and the occasional and unavoidable politics. I had a pretty good sense of what I was getting myself into.
No amount of insight, knowledge, or preparation could have prepared me for my first year of teaching. I was given a chance. There were people who took a chance on me, and it was something I vowed never to take for granted. It was the hardest year of my life, but I wouldn’t have changed a thing. I learned more in that year than all of my years combined. I survived it and so can you! Here is a short synopsis of what I learned:
Read MoreOne could take a Luddite/Troglodyte position and oppose the common core simply because it’s the government (federal or state) coming to help or because it’s trying to bring school systems which are sub-standard on average up to a reasonable standard above which many Christian and independent schools work all the time. We could use fightin’ words and obscurantist/elitist vernacular.
But let’s not, and not even say we did. Also, let’s focus. For a start, set aside the macro arguments of bringing public school systems up and consider that one another time. Also, for now, set aside the question of what part the common core might play in the practical future for Christian and independent schools (because no school will remain untouched by the core). Consider only the question of what part common core standards may or should have in the ideal future of Christian and independent schools.
Some burrow in on one area or another of the standards; for example, whether they forsake too much classic literature in favor of technically challenging but questionably valuable white paper writing. If we dig into the real challenges of understanding, contextualizing, communicating about, and creating arguments using truly difficult technical writing, we can’t so easily brush off the common core as a dumbing down of the curriculum. We can disagree from now ‘til Sunday with some choices made, but it’s not so simple just to call it simplified. Look, for example, at a 7th grade, criterion-referenced, end-of-course exam in the common core arsenal which calls the student to answer text-based questions from topically connected selections in history, persuasive argument and technical background. Challenging well the student’s analytical abilities, the test then turns to a synthetic challenge of weaving together multiple threads from the varied selections into a coherent whole as a position or argument or accessible portrait of an idea. That sort of assessment and expectation doesn’t lay so very far below the highest ideals in Christian and independent school curricula. Of course, a tough test question does not a consistently rigorous curriculum make. But let’s not dismiss it out of hand as “below us.”
Read More
Eighteen Ways to Make YOUR Superintendent Very Unhappy Guest Article, Bruce Johnson
Things brought to him as superintendent for almost three decades.
Gossip in the Teachers’ Room and don’t hold anyone accountable for anything they say (and don’t let anyone hold you accountable for anything you say).
Trust students (or your spouse) to keep confidences about other students or staff.
Break confidences that you have with parents by “sharing” with other parents, co-workers or your spouse.
Keep confidences you shouldn’t keep (moral, ethical, legal).
Discuss students with other student’s parents.
Miss deadlines for grades or reports – or anything else – if you feel you have something more important to do.
Teach whatever you want to teach – regardless of the approved curriculum.
Be tardy to devotions, staff meetings and class.
Question everything – all the time – after all, you know better than anyone else.
Tell everyone else before you tell your administrator any complaints you may have about the school or him – or her.
Make excuses for your mistakes and never, ever take responsibility for anything that goes wrong.
Don’t volunteer for anything at any time, no matter how much everyone else is doing or how much your assistance is needed.
Ask for special favors and exceptions to policies that apply to everyone else.
Don’t dress or act professionally – and complain if you disagree with any guidelines, decisions regarding curriculum or anything else.
Don’t be careful what you say or how you say it to students or your co-workers.
Recognize that the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22,23 does not apply to you.
Don’t be loyal to the Lord, or school, or each other.
Remember that the school is fortunate to have you on staff.
I thought keeping a journal, aka a diary, was for girls or that it was an exercise in narcissistic navel gazing. I’m not sure where I got those notions. Perhaps I absorbed them from TV shows or movies where the majority of journal keepers are portrayed by the feminine gender. Regardless of how I came to those conclusions, I was wrong.
I was convinced of the value of keeping a journal by an article titled 30 Days to a Better Man Day 8: Start a Journal published in The Art of Manliness, a journal I discovered several months ago. Refreshingly, unlike most “men’s journals”, The Art of Manliness is not filled with bikini clad women and articles on how to improve your sex life. Instead, it focuses on substantive and practical topics such as How to Whistle with Your Fingers, Latin Words and Phrases Every Man Should Know, How to Take a Punch, Outfitted & Equipped: Working at a Coffee Shop, and How to Accept a Compliment With Class.
What immediately caught my attention in the the article on journaling was the list of famous/infamous men who kept journals:
I figured if Lewis and Clark and Captain Cook can keep a journal then it can’t be too sissified! The author also sets forth the benefits of journal keeping. Each person will have his or her own reasons but for me they include:
It helps one remember events and people. I have a poor memory. Keeping a journal helps me remember the events and people God has used to shape my life.
It facilitates reflection. I may reflect a bit more deeply on my devotions, on what I have learned from some event or person, or on my blessings. Reflecting on my blessings has been an unexpected soul enriching blessing in and of itself.
I can chronicle what I have learned professionally as a school leader. Learning from one’s experiences is invaluable but requires a few minutes to stop and reflect. Journaling encourages such reflection.
I will leave behind a chronicle for my children and grandchildren. While I’m under no delusion that my children and grandchildren will want to read about my ordinary life, they may want to learn something of my life: the lessons I’ve learned and their heritage. Perhaps the Lord can use it teach them the truth that “man plans his ways but The Lord directs his steps.” That has certainly been true of my life.
What I will not do is use the journal as a confessional, for ranting, for sharing confidential information (aka gossiping) about others, or for navel gazing. My journal is intended to chronicle lessons learned, for recalling and counting my many blessings, and to leave a record of these for my children and grandchildren with the prayer that the Lord will use it to bless them. I will not lie about my struggles nor will I write a propaganda piece designed to put my life in the best light. I will be honest but without wallowing in self-pity or unprofitable and unseemly self-absorption.
There are many tools you can use for journaling. The author suggests several tools from pen and paper to online journals. I am using Day One because it is elegantly designed and has applications that sync the journal with my Mac, iPad, and iPhone. It is also consistent with my paperless workflow.
I wish I had started journaling as a young man. But, better late than never. Start keeping a journal. It’s a manly thing to do.
Guest Article by Mark Kennedy (ACSI Canada)
If you’re in a forest in springtime, watch for something remarkable that seems to be clinging to the base of a tree trunk. It appears to be a gray wingless dragonfly, perfect in shape and detail. But look more closely and you’ll see it is just the outside form of the insect, an ‘exoskeleton’. It has the same appearance superficially, but it’s hollow. The life within it isn’t there and the little skeleton will soon crumble and be swept away by the wind.
Do you remember when we used to talk about “the Judea–Christian Ethic”? If you’re younger than 50, maybe you don’t. In the late 1970s Ontario’s leading educational lights expunge the last vestige of Christianity from public schooling. They put an end to the daily repetition of The Lord’s Prayer. In its place they gave Christian parents a palliative. ‘We will still teach a Judeo-Christian Ethic’, they said, tactfully not mentioning what, or Whom they would leave out. By the term ‘Judeo Christian Ethic’ they meant the moral principles of the 10 Commandments and maybe even of the Sermon on the Mount. And they would do so unashamedly in public schools … more or less … as long as no one objected.
Eventually some people did object of course. “Why do we need this outdated morality?!” They said. For most believers the answer should have been pretty obvious: ‘Because the living God established those moral principles out of love for humanity and concern for our well being.’ It is the response we in Christian schools are still free to give. But since the authority of the God of the Old and New Testament was no longer recognized in public education, no one could come up with a good answer. It was like trying to write a one -question examination where any response is acceptable, except for the right one.
So ‘the Judeo-Christian ethic’ crumbled to dust and vanished, ‘swept away by the winds of ‘Why?’, because a biblically based value system will not last long where people have turned their backs on its source. There’s nothing wrong with the ethic or its morality. People who choose to follow biblical morality are blessed by the results. That’s called ‘common grace’. After 25 years as a principal in ‘open enrollment’ Christian schools I’ve seen many examples where non Christian parents use scriptural principles and morality to build positive attitudes in their children and strong family bonds. And I’ve seen too many Christian families who have ignored those things and regretted the consequences. That’s not what I’m talking about here. I mean that sooner or later an individual or society or educational system that rejects the living God will also reject Christian values and morality because they are contrary to humanity’s unregenerate nature.
And even while the Judeo-Christian ethic is in place, those values by themselves tend to produce graduates baring a Christian façade, a mere system of external behaviors that is as lifeless and frail as those hollow insect skeletons. It makes what C.S. Lewis’ terms, “men without chests”, exactly what Paul warns about in 2 Timothy 3:5, people “having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.” In North America today there is an explosion of publicly funded charter schools teaching ‘Christian values’ (I’m not sure where the Judeo part went). But like the Ontario public schools 30 years ago they can’t recognize or honor the source of those values. And even if they hold unswervingly to their convictions, they face one insurmountable question that their students will ask and that school staff are not supposed to answer correctly:
The critical question WHY?
Cafés evoke feelings of warmth, conversation, community and connection. Conversations in a cafe often give birth to great ideas. This is the idea behind this site.
The Christian Education Leadership Cafe is a comfortable and informative place for connecting and sharing best practices in Christian School Leadership. This site is devoted to fostering practical and creative dialog for promoting excellence in K-12 Christian schools. Discussion focuses on leadership, productivity, professional development, technology integration, personnel, dealing with stress and conflict, enrollment and marketing, and best practices for promoting and sustaining world-class quality in Christian schools.
Come on in and join the conversation.
DISCLAIMER
This is a personal weblog. The opinions expressed here represent those of the authors and not those of my employer or any other organization. My thoughts and opinions may change from time to time as a necessary consequence of being a life-long learner. The information on this blog is authentic to the best of my knowledge, and as such, it is prone to errors and the absence of information. The content on this blog is provided for entertainment and informative purposes only and should not, therefore, be perceived as professional advice in regards to health, finances, or any other field. This disclaimer is subject to change at anytime without notification.
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