On Display

Much of what we do at school seems to happen behind closed doors... the school day starts, students rush to their classes, and the day begins.  Each class has its own set of expectations and curriculum that it must discover, and often times that happens to the joy of those in the classroom, but not to the eyes of others.

My recent time spent in California and digging deeper into educational research has drawn attention to the fact that this is one of 'the problems' with education. Often, learning and the projects students put their hard work and efforts are 'for the teachers' eyes only'.  This needs to change.  Students need to do more work that has a real audience (and meet a real need... but more on that later).

This week is a time when we see more 'on display' than we do normally, and the results are evident in the student work.  When students know that their work will have an audience, their efforts and engagement increase exponentially.  

• Last Saturday's boys basketball tournament and the coming Saturday's girls basketball tournament are opportunities students get to test their skills in a real situation in front of real opponents, and a real crowd. Excellence results.
  
• This Tuesday is our annual science fair.  Grades 7 and 8 put their work out in front of judges for evaluation, but also to the public for browsing through that evening.  Top notch work is produced.
• This Thursday is the annual Fine Arts Festival.  Students put their best performance forward in front of a new audience to have them delight in spoken word and drama.  Beauty is created.

Be a part of our students' audience as we celebrate their learning. Encourage their efforts to uncover and develop their God-given gifts.  Applaud them for taking the risk to put their learning on display.  Give praise to our Creator who has blessed us with opportunity to image Him, and for the gift of growth and development of talents. Look for more work on display in the future as we transform the traditional educational models that hide our lights under a bushel.....

Good (mental) health in grace-shaped community

This Thursday evening, we will be joined by Andrea Groenewald, a partner counsellor with Shalem Mental Health Network (http://shalemnetwork.org/).  She will speak with us and whomever wants to join us about anxiety in children.  As parents, one of our greatest fears is the peril of our children, whether that be an injury, trauma, or stress.  It is near impossible to shield our kids from these, so our tactics need to focus on prevention and setting them up to meet risk and challenge in life and develop good coping skills for when they do experience hardship.

Dr. Syd Hielema is no stranger to stress in children and families having worked for many years as an educator and chaplain supporting students and families through difficulty.  He believes that Christian educational institutions, as communities shaped by grace, are positioned to develop the needed response to the crisis of increased mental health struggles.  "We need holistic treatment regimens that combine the wisest guidance we have for chemical, psychological, relational, and family history issues.... a touch of heaven arrives on earth when all of the above are enfolded within communities being transformed by grace." (CEJ, Feb 2015, p 4-6)

So what is a grace-shaped community?  He outlines two dimensions:

1) a community with an enhanced capacity for respect.  
This means seeing one another not in their present form, but as works in progress - as new creations in which Christ is at work... confident that He will 'bring it on to completion until the day of our Lord Jesus' (Phil 1:6)

2) a community that practices disciplines that unlock the 'Image of God'.   These practices include being transparent, noticing one another, giving voice to one another (listening well), and encouragement.  These four practices, Hielema says, begin to form a community that 'smells' like the aroma of Christ (2 Cor. 2:14-15)

Pray that Covenant Christian School, in its daily activities, and in the activities of its parents and supporters, may become a grace-shaped community.

How do we 'make it right'?

Since 2010, NACE schools have been on a journey towards being schools of restorative practice.  Those words pack a lot of meaning, especially as the rest of society is beginning to learn more about this movement, and react to it.

"When hurtful behaviour occurs, the restorative mantra of talking about what has happened, looking at who has been affected or harmed and how, and what is needed to make things right, is similar in the Christian context to acknowledging our sin, confession, honest contemplation and reflection on the impact of our actions, reconciliation, and healing." (Bruce Schenk in "Restorative Practice in the Christian Context" - Christian Educators Journal, October, 2010)

This difference of approach is a departure from what many of us have grown up with. I certainly did not have the experience of restoration in my Christian School experience. Offenders were given punishments, the harm would continue quietly, the persons involved (victim and offender) were shamed, victims were silenced, and rarely was the situation 'made right'.

Mark VanderVennen (in the same journal issue of CEJ cited above) points out that "The shift to a restorative paradigm begins by asking this question:  when we are in the midst of conflict, how do we image God?  We are not permissive; we insist on accountability for behaviour and standards of relational practices..... Instead we are restorative; we hold people accountable in the context of nurture and support.  We honour them in their journey towards healing relationships."  Often this requires more work of those involved than a simple punitive approach.  It is work well worth the result, and certainly well worth the result for those affected!!

In community, that is our step toward making things right. 

I have made a number of copies of this issue of the CEJ available for NACE parents who wish to read more about how Restorative Practices align well with our mission as Christian Schools.  Please let me know if you would like to have one.